Submissions

Blank Slate Press was founded in 2010 to discover, nurture, publish and promote emerging writers from the greater St. Louis region. Defining that region has been a little harder than we first thought. After all, everyone’s a Cardinal’s fan, right? So, while we are still focusing on writers in the St. Louis region, we have stretched our definition of the region to include a bit more geography.

Because we are so small (i.e., micro), we can only publish one or two books a year . Although we hope to be able to increase that number, we must do so slowly. We do know that success breeds success and by expanding our list, we hope to expand and share our initial success with additional authors. But we anticipate our growth to be slow and methodical.

So, to be considered for publication, you must follow our guidelines carefully or your manuscript will not be read. And, you must still fill out our funky and unique online application. Also, keep in mind that all our submissions must pass muster with our 9-person Editorial Board (a.k.a., BSP’s Supreme Court of Literary Wonderfulness), and that the Board meets only one or two times a year.

So, read our guidelines carefully.

Fiction Submission Guidelines

The Blank Slate Press imprint is genre-blind but with a literary sensibility. We accept adult and young adult genre fiction and literary fiction submissions, and we are looking to publish a few non-fiction titles eventually. The bottom line is great writing, intriguing characters, and a little extra something to stand out in the crowd–even for non-fiction. BSP seeks excellent writers who are committed to and excited about marketing their book, fostering their author presence online and off, and building a community of readers. You do not need to have an agent to submit your work.

So, to repeat: We consider all genres and literary works in both adult and young adult markets, but the writing must have what we call a “literary sensibility.” In other words, we love genre fiction, but we’re not just looking for good storytelling. We’re also looking for writing that is insightful and moving, and that will stay with the reader long after the book is closed or the device turned off.

Unfortunately at this time we do not accept poetry or children’s picture books.

Submission Checklist

• Submit a query that gives us a clear understanding of what’s at stake in the story.
• Submit the first 50 pages of a complete draft. Manuscripts should be at least 60,000 words. Send to submissions @ blankslatepress.com  (make sure to delete the spaces) with subject: title—genre (e.g. Dancing with Gravity–Literary Fiction).
• Synopsis (that includes the ending), less than three pages, can be single spaced.
• Author bio with contact info.
• One title only.
• We only accept manuscripts in Microsoft Word.
• Fill out the Author Questionnaire here.
• We will confirm receipt within 10 days.
• Our Literary Board meets only once or twice a year, so please be patient and keep submitting to other presses and agents.

Formatting checklist:

• Advice: Set up your document using Microsoft Word Styles. It makes life easier for you (once you figure it out) and life easier for us as we go through the reading/editing process and as we format the interior of the book.
• Double spaced Times New Roman
• Five-space paragraph indents (set up in Paragraph)
• One inch margins
• New chapters start approx. half-way down a new page
• Name, title, genre, page number in the upper right hand corner of the header

What makes a great manuscript  for BSP:

Excellent character development. Characters must be fully fleshed out, and the reader must sympathize with characters in some way whether or not they are “likeable”. They should be interesting and relatable, with emotional depth and personal histories. Secondary/tertiary characters are not exempt from good characterization.

Sense of place & creative world building. Whether this place is in a city, in outer space, or a characters mind, there should be grounding evidence of where this story is happening. This includes description, dialogue, contextual events, etc. Place influences character personality and vice versa, so its importance should not be underestimated.

A life-changing struggle. The character’s struggle and evolution must be important—to the reader, to society, but especially for the character himself. Whether or not character changes for the better, readers must understand their journey and their motivations.

Makes the reader think. Themes and conflicts relevant to universal human struggle, societal issues, or philosophical values. Or all three. Characters should battle serious demons.

Creative story. The book must be engaging and keep us turning the pages.

Good, solid writing. This means realistic dialogue, sensory descriptions, clear narration, purposeful word choice, and few grammatical errors. We recognize that no one is perfect and that typos and grammatical booboos will slip by unnoticed–that’s why editors and proofreaders exist. That said, a manuscript with too many blatant errors and careless misspellings will not be considered no matter how wonderful the story.

That’s it. We look forward to reading your book!

Don’t hesitate to contact us with questions about our fiction submissions guidelines. E-mail submissions @ blankslatepress.com for answers. (Make sure to delete the spaces in the e-mail address.)