Submission FAQ
Submissions are an exciting time for aspiring authors and we know you have a lot of questions. Some of the ones we get 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 has a goal of producing Australian stories for Australian kids and families with Christian characters. We want kids from Christian families to find themselves naturally represented in our books. We publish in categories of middle grade fiction (9+) young adult fiction (12+) and adult. On this website we also promote other books from Australiasian authors and illustrators, but the publishing list of Living Stone Books will only be working on books in those three age ranges.
Do you accept submissions from author-illustrators (picture book or early readers)?
Living Stone Books will only be publishing non-illustrated books for ages 9+ as a result there are no submissions for picture book or early readers.
Do you have an editor to look at the book?
Yes, we have editors that will look at each manuscript in depth. However, ensure your manuscript is well edited before submission to a publisher. Our editing team will then review manuscripts after submission and help produce the best possible work.
Do you offer manuscript appraisals?
Our partner consulting business can do appraisals, however 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 book list we will take about 6-8 books per year.
What is your time frame for considering a manuscript?
It will take anywhere between 2 and 9 months.
How do I know the age group of my book compared with my word count?
Preparing your submission may include stating the age group as a target audience. Please research this in advance. Look at the length of other books in the category you are interested in and then decide what age and length is best for your book. We are quite 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 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. So we encourage you to do your hard work editing etc prior to submission. Authors can pay for appraisals with our editing team, but this is not part of submission. If accepted for publication we incur all editing, publishing, art, design and printing costs and you receive royalties of sales.