Dear Author,

Sourcebooks is always enthusiastically interested in developing the careers of its authors. To find out more about us, read:

• The Sourcebooks Story
  

Sourcebooks has strong distribution into the retail market—bookstores, gift stores and specialty shops whose primary product is something other than books—and provides tremendous editorial, sales, marketing and publicity support for our authors.

We follow a somewhat out-of-date model for book publishing that makes our passion for books central. In short, we believe in authorship. We work with our authors to develop great books that find and inspire a wide audience. We believe in helping develop our authors' careers, and recognize that a well-published, successful book is often a cornerstone. We seek authors who are as committed to success as we are.

Fiction:

Our fiction imprint, Sourcebooks Landmark, publishes a variety of titles. We are interested first and foremost in books that have a story to tell. We are currently only reviewing agented fiction manuscripts with the exception of Romance fiction.

For Romance fiction submission guidelines, please click here.

We are interested in books that will establish a unique standard in their subject area. We look for books with a well-defined, strong target market. Our Sourcebooks publishing list includes most nonfiction categories, including entertainment, history, sports, general self-help/psychology, business (particularly small business, marketing and management), parenting, health and beauty, reference, biography, gift books and women's issues.

In addition, we have several imprints focused on publishing great books into specific categories:

1. Sourcebooks Casablanca publishes titles related to love and relationships
2. Sourcebooks Hysteria publishes humor books
3. Sourcebooks MediaFusion publishes titles that uniquely mix traditional books with integrated new media
4. Sphinx Publishing is a leading consumer self-help law publisher

In order to consider your nonfiction book for potential publication, we will need to see a proposal that includes the following items:

• A brief synopsis in 1-2 paragraphs
• Author bio or resume specifying credentials and publication credits, if any
• A complete table of contents, plus estimated length of manuscript in words and pages
• Two to three sample chapters (not the first)
• A description of the target audience
• One page/paragraph on your book's unique advantages
• A list of competing or comparable titles and how your book differs

Please do not send complete manuscripts unless a specific request is made for one. Queries only and simultaneous submissions are OK. We advise against the expense of sending your proposal via overnight delivery or certified mail.

Please send your proposal and self addressed stamped envelope to:

Sourcebooks
Editorial Submissions
P.O. Box 4410
Naperville, IL 60567-4410

While we love talking to authors, we're a bit bookish, meaning we need to actually read your proposal. That's the long way of saying it's best not to call or personally email us. If you follow the directions above (or if you even come close), your proposal will be given a fair and thorough review. For more hints, try books like The Writer's Market, or any number of books and magazines like it, available in bookstores and libraries. Finally, receiving proposals via email or fax may seem convenient, but isn't for us, and may actually cause manuscripts to miss the review process other proposals receive. Therefore, we advise against it.

Please send only copies of your materials. Do not send us any original manuscripts or artwork. We will not be held liable for materials lost or destroyed in the mail. Please enclose a correct size (depending on what you want returned) self-addressed, stamped envelope with your proposal, with enough postage for your materials to be returned at first-class rates. We will not return manuscripts without appropriate postage. Canadian and foreign postage coupons will not be accepted.

We usually return rejections within six to eight weeks. We may take longer if your book is being considered for publication.

Thank you again for thinking of Sourcebooks for your book. We look forward to reviewing your materials and considering your book for publication.

The Editors
Sourcebooks, Inc.