How to Submit 

manuscripts + book proposals

Please do not send manuscripts, proposals, or writing samples before sending a query letter. Dunham Literary does not accept these materials unless requested in response to a query letter.

Here are some guidelines about manuscript and proposal submissions.

 Please send the manuscript, requested pages, or proposal along with…

            A cover letter. This should be a brief letter stating that we requested your work and what is enclosed in your package. Please keep it short and factual.

Your bio. Please include previous writing credentials including articles, reviews, stories, and books already published; classes attended or taught; writers’ colonies attended; grants and awards received; and any other experience or pertinent information relevant to your book project and writing career. If your book relates to a topic, particularly for non-fiction books, then author credentials in that area are also important.

If you are submitting fiction: A synopsis. Please try to restrict the synopsis to one page.

If you are submitting non-fiction: A table of contents or outline. It’s fine for this to be several pages as the outline is probably a major portion of the book proposal. Descriptions of what will be covered in each chapter are helpful. Remember, part of the purpose of a book proposal is to whet the reader’s appetite. An agent or editor should finish reading the proposal with two thoughts in mind: the subject is fascinating and it warrants a book-length treatment (not a shorter length such as a magazine article).

A market statement. A marketing statement contains information about who will buy and read the book, and how the book can be sold by publishers and by the author. The statement should answer the following questions about who will buy the book: Who is the target audience for this book? Why is it timely, important, newsworthy, etc.? Why did you write the book? The market statement should also include an answer to the end of the following sentence: “My book is the first ever to….” If there are any relevant statistics or figures, these are helpful too particularly for books, both fiction and non-fiction, that focus on a theme or topic. This is also a good place to include any information about the author's plans to promote the book once it's published. We don't need to know which publishers you think would want to publish the project, that's our job. We want to know who will read it and how you as an author plan to support the book once it's on bookshelves.

A self-addressed, pre-stamped envelope large enough for however much you sent that you want returned. If you want us to recycle your manuscript should we pass up representation, please say so in your cover letter and enclose an envelope for a letter response only. If you want all of your materials returned, please send a jiffy padded mailer, box, or other appropriate package. Please do not send cash or checks to cover the cost of postage and shipping materials or loose stamps. We only accept self-addressed, pre-stamped envelopes. We do not accept International Postal Coupons. We do not respond by email.

 We need at least 4 - 8 weeks to consider manuscripts.

Frequently Asked Questions 

about submitting manuscripts + book proposals 

If you receive a letter from us requesting more material, perhaps you will find yourself saying:

You’ve requested my manuscript or proposal. I’m excited. What do I need to know?

No. Please send the query letter first. Every week we receive manuscripts that are sent before query letters, and the vast majority aren't a match for us. These people spend money on postage to send their manuscripts when they could have found out for much less money that their project isn't right for us. Sometimes people call to ask about a manuscript that was sent, and we do not track submissions unless we requested them so there is no way for us to check on them.

 Sometimes it’s faster, sometimes it’s slower than the 4 -8 weeks we request. We do our best to go as fast as possible while still considering your work seriously. We realize how hard it is for an author to wait.  

 If your manuscript is on submission elsewhere on an exclusive basis, you should wait to hear from that first agent or publisher before sending your submission elsewhere including to us. (You don't need to contact us and tell us this. We assume you aren't ready to submit it yet.)  If two months or more have gone by and you haven’t heard anything from that other agent or publisher, we suggest that you write a note asking about the status and giving a reasonable time period after which you’d like the submission to be non-exclusive.

 If your manuscript is on submission to one or more other agencies on a non-exclusive basis, please send your manuscript to us in the usual way. Please make sure to tell us clearly in your cover letter that other agencies (or publishers) are already reading it, and please also confirm that you will contact us and give us a chance to respond if you receive an offer of representation from another agent before you accept any offer of representation.

 Congratulations! That’s great for you. We hope that you will have a long and prosperous relationship with that agent. It would be nice if you send us a note letting us know so that we can remove your previous letter from our “requested manuscripts” file.

 We will not automatically contact you to confirm receipt of your submission. No, not even by email so please don't ask. If you send a self-addressed, pre-stamped postcard, we will send it back confirming receipt of your package. Do not bury the postcard so that we don’t see it. Put it on top near your cover letter, so that it’s clearly visible. You might also mention in your cover letter that you enclosed such a postcard. If your postcard does not have your address or sufficient postage on it, we will not return it or you will not receive it (remember that post office affairs and policies are beyond our control). Please don't call to ask if we've received your manuscript.

 Yes. Plain and simple, this is our favorite method for consideration. While we do not guarantee an amount of time for consideration, we prioritize exclusive submissions. Please state clearly that your submission is exclusive, otherwise we won’t know to prioritize it.

 Yes, but there are some ground rules involved. First off, please state clearly in your letter that you have sent a non-exclusive submission. If you get an offer from another agency, please contact us immediately by phone or email. We will need to know your name and your manuscript’s title. We will talk to you and ask for a further brief amount of time (a week or less) to consider your submission. This is standard, and other agents will understand that you need time to think about their offers of representation. Choosing an agent is a big decision and shouldn’t be made hastily. Within that brief period of time, we will either contact you to offer representation or to pass up the chance. If you have another agency eager to go, they will still be eager a week later. A week does not make or break the salability of good writing. And the best case scenario is that you will have your choice of agencies.

 If you are looking for an agent, you should not submit to publishers. An agent often cannot submit to a publisher if an editor there has already considered it, so it limits the agent’s ability to market the manuscript or proposal for you. Also, it’s the agent’s job to know which editors will most like a project. If you submit to an editor at a publisher who isn’t the agent’s first choice, the agent cannot then submit to that other editor that might be a better match.

 It’s ok to check in with us to see where we are in the process. Chances are that if you haven’t heard from us, we’re still considering your work. It does take a while to read manuscripts because we try to give a fair chance to each one. If  an agent has the voice of one manuscript in his or her mind, we try not to let it influence our decision on another manuscript which means waiting a bit before picking up the next submission to read it. We know it’s very difficult for you to wait, but please try to be patient. 

  That's not necessary. By law your work is protected without registering it officially.

  No. You should trust an agent with whom you want to work. If you are concerned about the reputation of any agent, do some research before you submit your work. Frankly, most agents we know are too busy to steal ideas. Besides, lots of people have good ideas, but it's much more difficult to write a terrific book based on that good idea. It's about the quality of writing. Stealing the actual writing is against the law.

  Usually, if we want to see a revised manuscript or another manuscript by the same author, we'll put that in our first response letter. Sometimes we don't. If you previously received a long letter with detailed suggestions, probably we do want to see it again. If you received a short letter with a reason why it wasn't right for us, we were probably trying to be nice and give you a suggestion even though we don't feel like the right agency for you. 

  And if you have any doubt about what to do, write a letter asking if we want to see it again. We'll let you know. Treat this as a sort of re-query and make sure that you enclose the SASE. (We know, we know, you are probably having nightmares about envelopes chasing you down dark alleys. What a pain in the neck. The good news is that once you have an agent, SASEs become a thing of the past.)

  In general we do not give advice about projects. It's better for a writer to receive advice from an agent who is interested in working with a client, than one who doesn't share your vision for the book.

  Please remember that if you get turned down by our agency (or any other agency for that matter), it doesn't mean that your writing is bad. It means that we (or that other agent) aren't the right match for you. It's more of a "not us" response than "not you". Every day agencies turn down perfectly good writing and writers. Turning down writers is one of the tough parts of being a literary agent.

Sorry, we do not offer a critique service, not even for money.

Thank you for your submission to us. We look forward to reading your writing.