OUR PROCESS

SparkPress is unique in the world of publishing because of our mission and built-in community of women writers and readers, and also because we offer a much-needed alternative in a rapidly changing publishing landscape. You, the author, invest in your publishing package up front, but you retain 60% of the net profits on your print books and 70% of the net profits (minus a small distribution fee) on your ebooks.

Unlike self-publishing platforms that publish whatever comes through regardless of quality, SparkPress only publishes manuscripts that we deem to be publish-ready, based purely on the merit of the writing and not on author platform or other subjective measure.

Submit Your Manuscript

Submit the first 50 pages of your manuscript, along with a short synopsis (not to exceed 2-3 paragraphs), and chapter-by-chapter summaries. For examples of chapter summaries, click here for fiction and here for memoir. If you don’t have formal chapters, or you have a nonfiction book or outlier genre, please do your best to approximate chapter summaries.

Two-Tiered Submissions Process

Tier 1 of the submissions process will place you on one of two tracks—our Publishing Track or Coaching Track. Submissions placed on the Publishing Track proceed to Tier 2, which involves a second assessment that determines publish-readiness.

Proofreading

All authors publishing on SparkPress will have their final manuscript proofread before going to layout.

Production

This includes the custom design of your cover and manuscript, as well as preparing your book for the printer.

Distribution

One of the top benefits of our hybrid model is having your book traditionally distributed.  Through July 2024, our books will be distributed by Publishers Group West (PGW) and starting August 2024, through Simon & Schuster.

Your SparkPress book is for sale in print and online!

SUBMIT YOUR MANUSCRIPT

At SparkPress, our submissions process is more than just a transaction. We have a two-tiered submissions process which gives you the opportunity to get two points of feedback—from reviewers who are in the business, as well as our internal editorial staff. Our primary goal is to get your project ready for publication. If it already is, we’ll give you the green light. If it needs a bit more work, you’re going to find out why and what to do about it.

We are currently acquiring projects for publication in Fall 2025. We publish books on seasonal lists and launch each season approximately 14-16 months prior to the date that can expect to be published.  

We are pleased to announce that as of our Fall 2024 season, our books will be distributed by Simon & Schuster.

If you need to publish before August 2025, we unfortunately cannot accommodate you at this time. 

We are looking for manuscripts in the following genres for SparkPress:

  • Women’s Fiction

  • Edgy/Dark Fiction

  • Young Adult

  • Middle Grade

  • Children’s

  • Thriller/Mystery

  • Health/Fitness/Lifestyle

  • Literary Fiction

  • Memoir

  • New Adult

  • Non-fiction

  • Self-Help

  • Business

  • Cookbooks

  • Contemporary Fiction

  • Poetry

SparkPress specializes in commercial fiction, genre fiction, young adult, juvenile and children’s, and new adult. Our sister imprint, She Writes Press, specializes in memoir, literary fiction, and non-fiction. Learn more about submitting to She Writes Press here.

OUR PUBLICATION TRACKS

Our primary goal is to accurately assess your project and its readiness for publication. If we determine it to be ready to go, we’ll give you the green light. If it needs a bit more work, you’re going to find out why and what to do about it. 

Submissions is a two-tiered process. Once you submit your first 50 pages and chapter-by-chapter summaries, we will evaluate several elements of your manuscript. Within 4-6 weeks, you will receive an assessment from our team, letting you know whether or not you’re moving forward to Tier 2, along with our rationale for this placement. If you’re not moving forward, we encourage you to consider our coaching track.

 

Tier 1

Publishing Track

Submissions that are put on the Publishing Track will move forward to the second tier of our process (see below). This means it may take another four weeks before we let authors know whether we’ll be offering a contract.

Coaching Track

There are many reasons a manuscript may be determined not publish-ready, including but not limited to: needing a developmental edit, insufficient submissions materials, and manuscripts that are significantly longer or shorter than what we publish (manuscripts should be between 40K-100K words; if your manuscript is shorter than 40K words, see our ebook-only publishing platform SheBooks.net). If you land on this track, we invite you to check out our coaching resources. Our assessment of your work will offer next steps as well as information about coaching through SparkPress.

Tier 2

Green Light

This track is for those authors whose work we deem publish-ready. The assessment will notify authors of our impressions of the manuscript and the level of editorial work we feel it requires. 

All manuscripts get a proofread as part of our publishing package. If your assessment suggests a copyedit, we encourage but do not require that this work be done by She Writes Press. We offer copyediting at the rate of $80/hour. We employ a strong stable of copyeditors who are proficient in Chicago Manual of Style (the style guide of choice for book publishing). Find more information about this below (see Editorial/Proofreading).

Yellow Light

This track means we are interested in your manuscript, yet have contingencies (i.e., your manuscript needs to be trimmed, we want to offer a specific redirect, or a sensitivity read, or we want to consider your work for a future season due to overlapping subject matter or because a current list is full, etc.). Your assessment will detail what the contingencies may be, and will suggest next steps for moving forward together.

Red Light

Submissions that land on this track were carefully considered, but we ultimately determined the work needs more than a copyedit. If you land on this track, we invite you to check out our coaching resources. Our assessment of your work will offer next steps as well as information about coaching through SparkPress.

EDITORIAL/PROOFREADING

If your submission was given the Green Light, that means your manuscript is ready for . . .

Proofreading

(included in the SparkPress publishing package)

All authors publishing on SparkPress will have their final manuscript proofread before going to layout. This is primarily to catch stylistic errors, but typos and grammatical errors may also be found at this time. Your manuscript will be reviewed by both a proofreader and your Project Manager to ensure quality control. Our ultimate goal is that every SP book mirrors a traditional publishing model, and we strive to publish error-free books.

PRODUCTION

Your Cover

Your cover design usually coincides with the editing or proofreading stages of your manuscript.

There is nothing more important when it comes to selling a book than your cover. That’s why at SP we up the ante when it comes to cover design to make sure that your books are competing with your counterparts at the traditional houses.

The SparkPress Publishing package includes a high-level custom cover design. Our Creative Director, Julie Metz, comes to us with over thirty years of publishing experience at traditional houses under her belt.  We take our cover designs very seriously, and while it’s a collaborative process and we want more than anything for you to love your cover, we also consult and direct this process to make sure we’re giving your book its best chance of success in the current marketplace. We also work with expert custom interior designers who will make sure your interior is as lovely as the cover it rests between. As part of the package, we do full file preparation, both for e-publication and for POD (print-on-demand) or print. The production process begins the moment you submit a manuscript that we have deemed ready for publication.

You start the design process as soon as you sign your contract with SP by filling out a cover memo to help our creative team understand your sensibilities, as well as give examples of other book covers that appeal to you. Where it’s needed, we offer title and subtitle support, as well as input on your back cover copy and leads to potential endorsers.

Layout & Design

Your manuscript will be laid out into a beautiful custom design by one of our interior designers once you’ve approved your final cover design and accepted the changes the proofreader has made to your manuscript.

At this point, you’ll have a chance to review the manuscript and correct any formatting mistakes and other small errors that become visible once a book is designed and actually looks like a book. A  given manuscript typically goes through two to three rounds of changes post-layout.

Final Production

Once you and your project manager have finalized the interior, you’ll need to decide what’ll go on the back cover. The SparkPress publishing package includes an editorial review and edit of your back cover, and then we’ll get it designed for you. At this point, the book is ready to go to the printer.

Once both the cover and interior files are approved and to your liking, your book will be uploaded and made ready and available for POD (print-on-demand), or it will be prepped for printing. You will receive Advance Reader Copies* of your book. This is your last chance to catch anything before the book is printed. A few months after you receive your Advance Reader Copies, you send us any remaining final changes, we’ll update it, and pass the book off to the printer and the ebook converter.

*The cost of printing your ARCs and final books is not included in the SparkPress publishing package.

DISTRIBUTION

One of the top benefits of our hybrid model is having your book traditionally distributed.  Through July 2024, our books will be distributed by Publishers Group West (PGW) and starting August 2024, through Simon & Schuster.

The benefits to traditional distribution are too big to quantify, and one of the primary reasons that SparkPress is a leader in the hybrid publishing space. With Publishers Group West, SP has a built-in sales force, which gives visibility to your books, and, importantly, ensures they won’t receive any push back from independents (which is one of the biggest pain points of self-published authors). We have a whole team of reps who go out into the marketplace to sell books, not just to the big accounts (Amazon, B&N), but also to independent bookstores, libraries, online retailers, and specialty markets.

Your book will be available in Ingram’s catalog, which is available through Edelweiss. This is one of the primary online databases that booksellers review when choosing what books to order and carry.

PGW manages both our print and e-book distribution. Our e-books are available through 127 distribution partners. PGW also has international reach. While we do not have an active sales force selling your book into foreign marketplaces, foreign bookstores and other outlets will be able to order the book efficiently and easily through Ingram International.

If you’re curious why traditional distribution matters, we invite you to download Chapter 6 of Brooke Warner’s book Green-Light Your Book: What You Need to Know About Data and Distribution.

PUBLICITY

The SparkPress publishing package does not include a dedicated publicity campaign. While most authors hire publicists, and we encourage and welcome that, it’s not required. We provide a list of recommended publicists in our Author Handbook.

Ready to submit? Here’s how to submit your manuscript for consideration.