Submission Guidelines


We are a commercial fiction publisher, and as such, our goal is to entertain and satisfy our consumers. Please keep that guiding principle in mind while considering Lyrical Press as a potential home for your work.

Although Lyrical Press is actively seeking erotica and romance and paranormal sub-genres, we welcome all submissions except screenplays, young adult and poetry works.

Please inform us if the submitted manuscript is being offered elsewhere simultaneously, and keep us informed of its status.

General Submission Information:

  • We do not require queries before submission. Submit only full manuscript and two-page synopsis. All other query types will be ignored.
  • We do not publish non-fiction of any sort. Non-fiction queries/submissions will be ignored.
  • We do not publish fan fiction of any sort. Fanfic queries/submission will be ignored.
  • Submissions are usually passed into the review process once a week. You will be notified when that happens. If you do not receive confirmation of receipt within 14 days of submission, please resubmit the full manuscript and two-page synopsis.

  • We are fairly quick in turnaround. If you have received notification of receipt but do not hear back from us within six weeks of notification, please email us to inquire after your status.


    • Imprint submission guidelines can be found here: Imprint Submissions


    Length Requirements:

    Submission length: 15,000 words and up. Currently, we are not considering works longer than 100,000 words.

    Length terminology: (for your reference when submitting)

  • Quick Read: 15,000 - 20,000
  • Novella: 20,001 - 35, 000 words
  • Short Novel: 35,001 - 60,000 words
  • Novel: 60,001 - 100,000 words
  • Super Novel: 100,001 words plus


    • What we're looking for:

    Our main focus is Erotica and Romance. However, we are actively seeking submissions in these genres (in no particular order of importance):
  • Action-Adventure
  • Erotica
  • Fantasy
  • Historical
  • Horror
  • Humor
  • Mystery
  • Paranormal
  • Romance (all categories)
  • Science Fiction
    • We are not currently accepting screenplays, poetry or young adult.

    Regarding objectionable content, LPI will not consider any work that glorifies, justifies or excuses the following subject matter:
  • Pedophilia
  • Rape
  • Incest (in any form)
  • Bestiality
  • Necrophilia


    • SUBMISSION PROCEDURES:

    We will only consider completed works. No partials or proposals. There is no need to query first. Just send the full manuscript as prescribed below. Please include the following information in your cover email:
  • Name
  • Pen name
  • Contact phone
  • Working title (include series name and details if applicable)
  • Word count
  • Genre(s)
  • A short blurb (no more than three paragraphs, please)


    • Please attach the following to your email:

  • The book, in its entirety
  • Two-page synopsis, attached separately


    • All submissions should be sent to: submissions@lyricalpress.com

    FILE NAME CONVENTIONS:

    For an example, let's pretend your name is Nora Asimov, and you're submitting a novel called "Fantastic Falls".
  • Please name your book file FANTASTICFALLS_sub_NoraAsimov
  • Please name your synopsis file FANTASTICFALLS_syn_NoraAsimov


    • BOOK FORMATTING TIPS:

    Keep it simple. All we care about are the words. Beyond that...
  • File type: .rtf or .doc only
  • 12pt black font (Times New Roman, Cambria or Georgia preferred)
  • Line spacing: 1.5 (or Multiple 1.25")
  • Margins: 1" all
  • One space between sentences, not two, please.
  • No double-spaces or extra returns between paragraphs
  • Use your word processing toys to indent new paragraphs. Do not tab or use the space bar.
  • Page-breaks between chapters
  • Do not use style elements or sections breaks


    • If you want to score major brownie points, please include your name, pen name, and email address in a header.
    Please do include a title page listing the following information:
  • Name
  • Pen name
  • Contact phone
  • Working title (include series name and details if applicable)
  • Word count
  • Genre(s)


    • SELF-EDITING TIPS:

    A few pointers to help you help yourself before submitting.

  • Use spell check. (You'd be surprised how many don't.)
  • No bold, underlined or other special fonts except italic, used only where appropriate.
  • Point-of-view: We prefer first or third person. Limit point-of-view to essential characters. POV impossibilities a/o most head-hopping within scenes will make editors cry.
  • Punctuation: Again, keep it simple. Avoid clusters of emdashes a/o ellipses.
  • Repetitive word use: Check carefully for repeated words and phrases in proximity and throughout the work.
  • Unnecessary words: Common offenders are that, had, and, really, very, little, then, and then, just, about, against, so, all, but, like, and was/were.
  • Sentence structure: Generally speaking, it should be varied to avoid striking uncomfortable rhythms. Beware paragraphs with every sentence starting with articles a/o pronouns. Beware any overabundance of present progressive verb tense, possessive pronouns, -ly adverbs and prepositional phrases.
  • Dialogue tags: Sometimes, less really is more. Not every line needs a tag, and "said" and "asked" are just fine. Use a good mix of action a/o speaker attribution tags. Seek balance and clarity when distributing front, middle or end.
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