Information for Authors
Do you have a book you want to publish? Thank you for considering Mapletree
Publishing Company. Currently, we are not accepting manuscripts. Because of some
recent distribution changes and structural rearrangements in the company,
we have a backlog of manuscripts that are awaiting publication. Our
intention is to work through those and then begin accepting manuscripts
again in June 2008.
Our areas of interest are selected subject areas of
nonfiction, (primarily parenting and
homeschooling) and for outstanding works of fiction. Please check our submissions guidelines.
We do not respond to paper manuscripts or proposals. We work with our
manuscripts on the computer, and we require submission of a computer file
of the manuscript. We are happy to deal with agents, but we do not require the
author to have an agent.
General Information
Mapletree is one of a new breed of small publishers that is a
steadily growing force in North America. To read about the reasons for the
ascendancy of small publishing houses, click here.
What we offer, and what we ask of our authors
At Mapletree, we are trying to distinguish ourselves in two
ways.
The first way is with the quality of our work, especially with
editorial quality. We're fairly
choosy with what we accept, and once we accept a manuscript, we're fairly
demanding in the quality of the work we put into the book that follows. We have
developed what we think is a pretty good track record of quality titles as we've
started out, winning praise from influential review journals and literary
critics, and we intend to continue that course: very talented editors, quality
cover designs, using professional interior book designs, and employing quality book
manufacturers. So, what you can expect if we accept your manuscript is
that our editorial scrutiny will be rigorous. Please do not be offended at this.
Our marketing efforts begin with the grooming of your manuscript. In order to
meet the needs of your audience, it may need significant changes. We are in
touch with the market and will recommend the changes your manuscript needs in
order to be
successful in the marketplace. Please see our pages that explain what we are
looking for in quality nonfiction and
quality fiction.
The second way we are working to distinguish ourselves is in
the energy and expertise we invest in publicity. We are constantly working with
publicity outlets—print, broadcast media, and the Internet. For this, we need
the full cooperation of you, the author. For nonfiction titles, we need to cast
you as an expert as we offer you as a guest for talk shows and try to win
exposure in print. We will be asking you to create articles for magazines based
on the material in your book, so be prepared for that. You may think that your
work ended when you submitted your manuscript, but we're going to tell you that
the promotion is going to involve just as much work as writing your book. We may
suggest media training, if you don't have experience with being interviewed or
if you need help developing a sense of what talk show hosts are looking for.
We'll want you to do bookstore signings and other appearances.
To prepare for this publicity, we ask that you provide us with
certain materials that will help us promote you.
Click here for a checklist of those
materials. If we accept your manuscript, we ask that you print this list out and
begin working on it the first chance you get, because, in our view, our
marketing efforts begin as soon as we sign the contract.
How to submit a manuscript to Mapletree
