Adventure Books of Seattle
Publishing Unique Titles Since 2003
Book Submissions
Submissions Update:
Book Submissions are currently CLOSED. For future reference when they re-open (not decided yet) check the submission guidelines shown below.
How To Submit Your Query
1) You must enter the category of the book you are submitting in the subject box of the email. This means 'True-Life Submission,' or 'Crime book submission', etc.
See below for WHAT WE DO. If your book doesn't fit, don't send a query.
2) A full synopsis of the book must be attached to the query message. We want to see the synopsis. See below on how to write a proper one.
3) You may attach a couple of chapters from the book, but that is optional. Attach the synopsis to your eMail in either Word document, or as a PDF.
Hint: A good synopsis is how we base the majority of our decisions to see more from an author about their book. 'How to Write a Synopsis' is near the bottom of this page if you need a refresher.
Response time on queries for books is usually 90 days or less.
We do try to respond in a timely fashion, but if you didn't get a response, type
'Verify Book Submission' into the subject box of an email and send your request to the Book Submissions link shown below.
No paper submissions are accepted. If you send one, this is what we do:
If you included an SASE, we return it unread. If there is no SASE, it goes into the trash.
What We Seek for Full-Length Books:
Hard Science Fiction -
As noted on the AB News and Updates page, we are no longer accepting submissions in the science-fiction category. The only exception is by invitation-only from the managing editors. All other queries will be deleted.
True-Life Stories of Survival - We love survival stories, or collections of the same. Or a book about a specific incident regarding human survival under extreme circumstances. We suggest you check Google to see if your particular subject has already been done before in detail. For example, we wouldn't do another book on Amelia Earhart or Sir Ernest Shackleton's adventure in Antarctica. Those have been done many times.
True-Life Non Fiction - Human triumph over adversity, in a remarkable (and TRUE) fashion, is a theme we actively seek in this category. Presented facts will be checked through news sources and other verification methods.
Crime Fiction: No detective stories. We like hard-core crime from the point-of-view of the criminals, not the cops trying to catch them. Excessive violence is fine, as long as it is not gratuitous and fits with the story.
Crime: Non-Fiction. We occasionally seek biographies of famous criminals, as long as you have a good angle on your subject. Newer, more current criminals are better subjects, although we will look at historical criminal biographies, as well.
Crime themes we would have published:
Natural Born Killers, The True Story of Bonnie and Clyde, Dillinger.
Other Non-Fiction categories: Political themes, historical, how-to.
HOW TO WRITE A SYNOPSIS FOR A BOOK SUBMISSION
Editors need to know if your story works, and they need it in a nutshell. Authors will often confuse a 'blurb' with a synopsis. A blurb is text that the publisher might use to help sell the book. Blurbs are often found at the publisher's website, or on the sleeve jacket of the book. It leaves a bit of mystery, it tries to build some excitement. IT IS NOT A SYNOPSIS. A good synopsis will be 1,000 words or less that outlines the premise of the book, the entire plot from start to finish, and describes the main characters and their motivations in detail.
Some writers mistakenly think that book editors are looking to steal their ideas, so they don't want to give away the ending. Instead of laying out the book, they try to lead the editor along with mysterious and ambiguous statements.
This is the sign of an amateur, and a sure road to rejection.
Writing a good synopsis is tough. Basically, you are trying to boil down the whole book into less than a thousand words. You will usually have to edit a synopsis several times before it's ready to send out to publishers. But a good one will save you a lot of wasted time. It will either generate a faster response by a publisher to see your work - or the work will be rejected faster. Saves a lot of time on both sides.
However, a good synopsis tells an editor that you are a serious writer.
We may be picky, but we love to give new authors a chance when we can.
Anything not meeting the above criteria for submissions will be deleted without mercy and will not receive a response. If you are invited to send your entire manuscript, use House Rules to do so.
If you feel your book meets the parameters laid down here on what we actually seek for publication, then go ahead and send your query message and synopsis, via this email link.