The changing faces of submissions

Hello Editors. How are you handling submissions?

Submissions are the backbone of the writing industry. Ever since the first story was written and the first reader willing to read it, submissions have driven the publishing process.

As the world evolves to fulfil increasingly complex needs of society, the process of submitting, reviewing and adjudicating manuscripts has undergone vast amounts of change over the last several years.

Whether you rely on ye old faithful pedal-pushing postman or like to dabble in cutting-edge technology, this impartial report will tell you what you need to know about the evolution of submissions management. Is an Online Submissions Manager (OSM) for you? Or would you be more comfortable with email? What are the advantages of accepting work on paper? Where is the next generation of slushpiles headed? In this unbiased article, industry folk weigh in with their thoughts on the pros and cons of various ways of making submissions.

Download the report, including a charming Debora cartoon, now for just a couple of bucks.

Let those submissions pour in!

(Report is delivered as a PDF to the email address making the payment)

***********************

Words from the Wise

"I found it very interesting and in fact I am now looking at Submittable as a way to organise our competitions... 
(It's an) excellent look at submission managers... 
Both (the philosophy and the overview) are interesting...
I think SaaS systems are trying to create a need where none exists and are doomed to failure in professional publishing (it might fool those who think being a content provider is a good idea). As you say, I get sent far more ideas than I can use, even on a relatively small title. I get a lot of detail from the way a submission email is written - how they write and whether they are going to be difficult to work with. But there's no doubt a lot of my time is wasted by poor submissions – time which could be spent developing work from writers who have done their homework and deserve more attention."

Carl Styants

Editor

Writer's Forum

"It's a good article, very well researched and presented...It's a very good piece"

Moira Allen

Publisher

Writing World

"Thank you for your very informative article on OSMs - a lot for an organisation like Wasafiri to think about there."

Nisha Obano

Assistant Editor

Wasafiri