Getting Your Work ReadyBefore you submit to any publisher, be sure your manuscript is free of grammar mistakes (including proper paragraph breaks,) and is professional in appearance.If you are submitting, you are a professional. One of the mistakes many unpublished writers make is to think that they are not professionals yet. Getting a professional mindset will help you prepare your work.
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Punctuation is another consideration. Below are two examples, one "bad," one "good."
"I haven't had time to do anything fun today." He said. BAD
"Then let's go out to dinner," she replied. GOOD
Notice in the "good" example there is a comma in the quotation, and "she" is not capitalized. The quote and the "tag" are all part of one sentence.
Below are two more "good" examples.
"Have you seen Sara's new boyfriend?" she asked.
"Yes!" the other girl exclaimed.
Please note, when using question marks and exclamation points, these marks are in the quote, and the tag is not capitalized.
Here is an example of BAD POV:
Here is the same scene in one POV:
Writing the synopsis is tricky work. What to include and what to leave out is always a difficult task.
A good rule is, if it adds insight to the character, moves the story along, or plays a part in the wrap up, include it. Descriptions, or dialog snippets do not belong in your synopsis.
Tips
Dialogue
Dialogue is the heart of a romance. What two people communicate to each other spurs the development of the relationship. Keep your dialogue true to your characters, and believable.
Pay attention to regional expressions, class and historical norms if you are writing historical. Point of View
Point of view (often abbreviated as POV) is another important part of your manuscript. Simply put, the POV is what shows the reader the thoughts and observations of the characters.
POV should be limited to one character per scene, and usually only that of the hero and heroine. Chick-lit is an exception. There can be more than the heroine's point of view, but still only one POV per scene.
“Why did you do this?” he asked, wondering if he might have been the reason.
“I did it to please myself,” she replied flatly, as she kept her mind focused on what she wanted.
“Why did you do this?” he asked, looking as if he felt to blame.
“I did it to please myself,” she replied flatly, as she kept her mind focused on what she wanted.Scene Breaks
By Grace Publishing prefers three asterisks (***) instead of two line breaks at scene changes. We use WordPerfect and Easy Word, so pages may not be structured the same as in your programs. Double spaced scene breaks may get lost.
Underlining or Italicizing
Please italicize instead of underlining. Underlining is for regular print publishers. Since our books go straight to production from editing, all underlining must be changed to italics in the editing process. Save us a step.
Your Synopsis
We prefer your synopsis to be one page for every 10,000 words in your manuscript. This should be submitted as a separate attachment. If you have a 45,000 word manuscript, your synopsis should be four and a half pages.
| Inspirational Romance Jewels | Tender Romance Roses | Chick-Lit |
| Pearls 30,000-40,000 words | White Roses 30,000-40,000 words | Shorts 30,000-40,000 words |
| Rubies 45,000-55,000 words | Pink Roses 45,000-55,000 words | Capri Length 45,000-55,000 words |
| Diamonds 60,000-65,000 words | Red Roses 60,000-65,000 words | Full length 60,000-80,000 words |