Amazon has advised its authors it will be welcoming submissions for English-language books in Romance, Mystery & Thriller, and Science Fiction & Fantasy genres under its new publishing program. The news follows last week’s announcement that the publishing pace-setter plans to launch a crowd-sourced publishing program that will see participating authors receive US$1500 plus 50% royalties on net eBook revenues.
It appears at this early stage the program is only available to authors resident in the U.S. – or, more exactly, to authors “with a valid U.S. bank account and U.S. social security number or tax identification number”. Even so, it will no doubt appeal to those many thousands (tens of thousands?) of authors who are eligible…
And if Amazon’s recent expansion of its territories, book-lending arrangements, Kindle ereader sales and the like is anything to go on, it’s very likely the new publishing program will be expanded beyond the U.S. before long.
Regardless, here’s the letter (unabridged) we’ve just received from Amazon, explaining its progam in more detail:
Dear Author,
Thanks for subscribing to receive updates on Amazon’s new publishing program! We’re excited to announce that we’ll be opening for submissions in a couple weeks.
We’ll be welcoming submissions for English-language books in Romance, Mystery & Thriller, and Science Fiction & Fantasy genres. Any adult with a valid U.S. bank account and U.S. social security number or tax identification number is eligible.
It only takes 15 minutes to complete a submission. Here are the things that you should prepare to successfully submit your book:
- Complete, never-before-published manuscript & book cover image – We’re looking for 50,000 words or more in Word format and a book cover image that reflects the essence and uniqueness of your book. Make sure your work is ready for others to read. Only the first pages will be posted to the website (approx. 3,000 words).
- Book one-liner – A very short pitch (no longer than 45 characters) for your book that will be used on the homepage and throughout the website. Think of examples like “Space opera meets the Middle Ages” or “How far will one woman go to save her family?”
- Book description- Help readers understand the content and quality of your book. Keep the description to 500 characters or less.
- Your bio & picture – Give readers a chance to learn more about you. You will also have a chance to answer relevant questions regarding your book and personal story in a short Q&A section.
We’ll also ask you to review and accept our submission and publishing agreement that grants us a 45-day exclusivity period to post your excerpt and tally nominations. If chosen for publication, you will receive a $1,500 advance, 5-year renewable term, 50% eBook royalty rate, easy rights reversions, and Amazon-featured marketing. If not, you automatically get all your rights back at the end of the 45-day exclusivity period.
We’ll send you an email as soon as we’re open for submissions.
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Morcan Books & Films 