Submissions FAQ
It's exciting for aspiring authors to submit their stories and we know you have a lot of questions. Some of the ones we're asked often are listed below.
Are submissions permanently open?
Living Stone Books has open submissions for the three age groups it publishes. Follow the guidelines page.
What type of books to do you publish?
Living Stone Books' goal is to produce Australian stories with Christian characters for Australian kids and families. We want kids from Christian families to be represented in our books. We publish in the categories of middle grade fiction (9+) young adult fiction (12+) and adult. On this website we also promote other books from Australasian authors and illustrators, but the publishing list of Living Stone Books will only be for books in those three age ranges.
Do you accept submissions from author-illustrators (picture books or early readers)?
Living Stone Books will only be publishing non-illustrated books for ages 9+ so there are no submissions for picture books or early readers.
Will an editor look at the book?
Yes, we have editors who will look at each manuscript in depth. However, ensure your manuscript is well-edited before submission. Our editing team will review manuscripts after submission and help produce the best possible work.
Do you offer manuscript appraisals?
Our partner consulting business can do appraisals but this is unrelated to the submission process and does not increase traditional publishing opportunities. Please review the opportunities at Book Whispers Consultancy.
How many titles do you take a year?
Through our Christian-specific booklist we will take about 6–8 books per year.
What is your timeframe for considering a manuscript?
It will take anywhere between 2 and 9 months.
How do I know the appropriate word count for a story for each age group?
Preparing your submission may include stating the target audience, including the age group. Please research this in advance. Look at the length of other books in the category you're interested in and then decide what age and length is best for your book. We are flexible as we look at the story rather than the word count in most cases.
What royalties do you give?
Our royalties are based on industry standards when set up for a digital (POD, ebook and audio) contract. This means most calculations are done on net receipts. We aim to be extremely fair and you should check every contract offered carefully upon receipt.
What do authors pay for?
We are traditional publishers. That means when a manuscript is accepted, we pay for all production and publishing costs.
We don't pay for editorial BEFORE a submission is accepted. We encourage you to do all the work you can do on your manuscript (editing, etc) prior to submission. Authors can pay for appraisals with our editing team, but this is not part of the submission process. If accepted for publication, we incur all editing, publishing, art, design and printing costs and you receive royalties on sales.