Submission guidelines for collections and pamphlets
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We are not reading new submissions until February 1st 2022, when our annual competition has closed (it's open now — full details here.)
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We have an Author/Publisher agreement which we and the Author sign when we accept a manuscript for publication. If you would like a sample copy of the contract emailed to you, please email us and request one.
There are initial costs to the author associated with our publishing their books. Poetry books are normally most effectively sold by the poets themselves and we expect authors to take at least 100 of the copies we print, at 50% of RRP, for their own distribution at readings and through their own contacts. (There is a discount if the author takes 150 books from the first run.) We set up and maintain a page for each author's books (published by us). Sales from our web-pages through Paypal earn 10% of RRP and sales through our AmazonUK inventory earn 5% (paid to the author in April.)
Please note that we cannot sell books outside the UK, and international sales will be the responsibility of each author.
As publishers, we offer as much support for poets as we can: we advertise their books in our newsletters and on Twitter, Instagram and Facebook, retweet and share their posts, and in 'normal' times, hold events at the Poetry Café, London, to showcase them, where the authors can sell their own copies at no commission, and we attend Poetry Book Fairs. During the Covid-19 pandemic, we can no longer hold 'live' events, but we are offering a Zoom online launch to every author who wants one for their new publication.
There are initial costs to the author associated with our publishing their books. Poetry books are normally most effectively sold by the poets themselves and we expect authors to take at least 100 of the copies we print, at 50% of RRP, for their own distribution at readings and through their own contacts. (There is a discount if the author takes 150 books from the first run.) We set up and maintain a page for each author's books (published by us). Sales from our web-pages through Paypal earn 10% of RRP and sales through our AmazonUK inventory earn 5% (paid to the author in April.)
Please note that we cannot sell books outside the UK, and international sales will be the responsibility of each author.
As publishers, we offer as much support for poets as we can: we advertise their books in our newsletters and on Twitter, Instagram and Facebook, retweet and share their posts, and in 'normal' times, hold events at the Poetry Café, London, to showcase them, where the authors can sell their own copies at no commission, and we attend Poetry Book Fairs. During the Covid-19 pandemic, we can no longer hold 'live' events, but we are offering a Zoom online launch to every author who wants one for their new publication.
Submitting a manuscript: what you should do:
First check that we are reading new manuscripts by reading our notices on this website.
Send your files to us at dempseyandwindle@gmail.com, as word (.doc or .docx) attachment in an email headed with your name and SUBMISSION. (Please don't send a pdf.)
In the body of the email, please give your name, address and phone number, your social media details and your website if you have one.
If we are reading manuscripts, you will hear from us within a calendar month, whether or not we can publish your book.
First check that we are reading new manuscripts by reading our notices on this website.
- All submissions should be sent with a covering letter giving your full contact details, and a short literary CV, including details of any previous collections or pamphlets that you have had published previously.
- All submissions by email, please. We are inviting collections that have not been published before, though the individual poems may have been published elsewhere (see [7] below)
- Make a continuous Word file of your poems, in the order that you want them to appear, with a title page and a list of them at the beginning. There's no need to number the pages or make a Contents page. The font should be 11 point Times New Roman. Divide the poems, preferably with page breaks (not from the 'section break' menu on Word, please.)
- We recommend making a conscious decision about using uppercase letters at the beginning of lines, and overriding Word's default setting unless you definitely want a capital letter at the beginning of each line. (In free verse, this is generally inappropriate, in our opinion.)
- We publish most of our individual collections in A5 format, some in custom formats or Royal. We will adjust fonts, margins, page numbers and page breaks as necessary, when we lay out the book.
- The poems should be finished. We do not expect any adjustments to the content of the poems to be requested or made after you have sent us the manuscript, other than punctuation where necessary. (We will consult with you if necessary about adjusting the order of the poems, to ensure a reader-friendly flow by putting longer poems on double facing pages.)
- We expect to publish a book within about three months of the agreement's being signed, and your manuscript should be carefully proof-read for typos and punctuation before you send it to us.
- In a separate file, please send us: acknowledgements of books or magazines where your poems have previously appeared; a foreword, introduction or epigraph if you want one; a dedication if you want one. (If you haven't decided about these things, they can be added later if you want them.)
- We will also need a photograph of you for the back cover of your book, and a short literary biography (about 200 words) suitable for the back cover, a profile page online and a page about you inside the book.
Send your files to us at dempseyandwindle@gmail.com, as word (.doc or .docx) attachment in an email headed with your name and SUBMISSION. (Please don't send a pdf.)
In the body of the email, please give your name, address and phone number, your social media details and your website if you have one.
If we are reading manuscripts, you will hear from us within a calendar month, whether or not we can publish your book.
