Parson Place Press LLC
Author Guidelines

So you want to be a published author. Well, you've come to the right place! At Parson Place Press, you're one step closer to realizing your dream. Christian authors should simply follow the author guidelines printed below to have your written work considered for publication by Parson Place Press. Please read the FAQ section of this site, too, for more details on our publishing process.

What to Submit

• conservative, Christian-themed topics and content only
; literature that fails this requirement will not be considered for publication by Parson Place Press (why?)
• content that is not currently under consideration for publication by another publisher; in other words, we do not consider simultaneous submissions
• book length manuscripts of not less than 80 pages in the format shown below
• both fiction and nonfiction
• any genre, e. g., mystery, romance, didactic, apologetics, etc.
• any age group, i. e., children (elementary and above), juvenile, or adult

Book Proposal Submissions

Before you send us your manuscript, we prefer to read your book proposal first. If you can sell us on the idea for your book in the proposal, we will then request a digital copy of your manuscript. However, we will still reserve the option not to publish your manuscript if we feel it is in conflict with the Scriptures of the Holy Bible, or if it is unsuitable for a Christian audience, or if it otherwise fails to meet our arbitrary standards for publishability. Should this happen, we will explain our reasons for rejecting your manuscript.

Book Proposal Format and Preparation

Compose and submit your book proposal in Microsoft (MS) Word document file format, per the instructions given below. When preparing your book proposal for submission, select Page Setup from Word's File Menu, and set up your page as follows on the Margins tab:

Top - 1 inch
Bottom - 1 inch
Left - 1 inch
Right - 1 inch
Gutter - 0 inches
Gutter position - Left
Orientation - Portrait
Pages: Multiple pages - Normal
Keep the default settings for the Paper and Layout tabs.

Use a Normal, Times New Roman, 12 point font. Use block paragraphing; do not indent the first line of each new paragraph. Use left-justified, single-spaced lines for every paragraph. Double-space after each heading and between paragraphs.

You are free to develop the proposal however you choose, but it should include at least these elements:

• a working title
• the author's actual name and any pen name used
• a brief, general description of the main subject of the book
• a brief description of the book's plot, if a work of fiction
• a proposed Contents page (i.e., a list of your book's chapter titles; this is very important!); this may be omitted only if your book is a work of fiction which does not use chapter titles
• the target audience of the book
• a brief biography of the author (not your whole life story; a couple of paragraphs about your place of birth and upbringing, education, and current city/state/country of residence will suffice)
• and two sample chapters.

The object here is clarity and brevity. Your book proposal should be as clear as possible while remaining as brief as possible, not exceeding two full pages. Of course, the two sample chapters are separate, but in addition to, the two-page book proposal, and so they are not subject to these limitations. If you have any questions before submitting your book proposal, you may contact the Managing Editor, Michael White, by email at info+parsonplacepress.com. If he likes your book proposal, he will request a digital copy of your manuscript. Use the following guidelines for your manuscript submission. However, DO NOT submit your manuscript until requested.

Manuscript Format and Preparation

All manuscripts submitted to Parson Place Press must be in MS Word document file format. When preparing your manuscript for submission, select Page Setup from Word's File Menu, and set up your page as follows on the Margins tab:

Top - 2.2 inches
Bottom - 2.1 inches
Left - 2 inches
Right - 2 inches
Gutter - .25 inches
Gutter position - Left
Orientation - Portrait
Pages: Multiple pages - Mirror margins
Keep the default settings for the Paper and Layout tabs.

Use a Normal, Georgia, 12 point font. Use justified, single-spaced lines for every paragraph. Do not double-space between paragraphs, but do double-space after each chapter title, and triple-space before and after any charts, graphs, computer screenshots, etc.

To make paragraph formatting easier, when you first begin typing your manuscript, you can have Word automatically format every paragraph for you when you insert a carriage return (i.e., when you press the ENTER key). To do this, simply place your cursor at the beginning of the first line of the first paragraph of your text and choose Format | Paragraph from the menu. When the paragraph settings dialog appears, use the following settings:

Indents and Spacing tab
General
Select Justified from the Alignment: box
Select Body text from the Outline: box.

Indentation
Choose First line from the Special: box
Type .25" in the By: box

Spacing
Type 0 pt (zero point) in both the Before: and After: boxes
Select Single from the Line spacing: box
Make sure the At: box is blank

Line and Page Breaks tab
Make sure all boxes are unchecked, because we will take care of those issues during our editing and preparation process.

If you've already finished your manuscript, and you're now wondering how to quickly reformat all your paragraphs to fit our requirements, here's how to do that in minutes, instead of hours. FIRST, do a Save as on your manuscript's current filename and rename it something different, like "reformatted version of my book", or some such. This is a very wise precaution. In case your attempt to reformat turns your work into a complete, jumbled mess, you can always delete that file, do another Save as, and try again. Your original work remains intact.

Now, here's the quick and easy way to reformat your work. First, highlight all of the text in each chapter, except the chapter title and any charts, graphs, photos, etc. You can do this simply by placing your cursor at the beginning of the text block, scrolling to the end of the text block, then holding down the Shift key and clicking your mouse after the last character in that text block. This will immediately highlight everything in the entire text block. Take extreme care at this point NOT to press any other keys on the keyboard, except the ALT key plus any other underscored key on the menu, such as the "o" key for the Format menu. Pressing any of these keys without first pressing the ALT key will replace all of the highlighted text with whichever key you press. If it makes you feel better, you can use your mouse to select from the Format menu, as clicking your mouse anywhere on the screen while your text is highlighted will simply insert your cursor wherever you click the mouse and unhighlight all of your text. If you should accidentally hit a key while your text block is highlighted, you can hold down the Control key then press and release the Z key to undo that action. However, do NOT hold down the Z key continuously, or it will undo all your recent changes up to the maximum number of changes stored in Word's memory, including the changes you meant to make!

Next, choose Format | Paragraph from the menu, and the Paragraph dialog described above will appear. Tweak all the settings to match those listed above. Finally, click the OK button on the Paragraph dialog, and wait for Word to complete the formatting function. You can watch the status bar along the bottom of the page where the page numbers and section numbers are shown. When the last page is formatted, you can continue proofing your manuscript for other items you want to change/correct.

Book Proposal and Manuscript Submission Requirements

The preferred method of receiving book proposals and manuscripts is by email attachment, because this is the most expeditious means and because it lessens the likelihood of receiving damaged or corrupted media. However, postal submissions will be accepted, PROVIDED that you put your work on a CD. NO PRINTED MANUSCRIPTS WILL BE ACCEPTED, because we will NOT re-type or scan any manuscripts before sending them to the printers. You will be notified by email, if you included a valid email address, that your work has been received and whether or not it is under consideration for publication. If you choose to mail your manuscript, send it to:

Parson Place Press LLC
ATTN: Manuscript Submissions
P. O. Box 8277
Mobile, Alabama 36608-0277

If your manuscript is rejected, we will destroy all copies in our possession and notify you either by email, if a valid email address is given (our preferred method of contact), or by regular mail, if you provided an accurate mailing address. If you wish to have your CD returned to you, you must provide a self-addressed, stamped envelope (SASE) or package mailer for this purpose, or you may pay the cost of return shipping by credit or bank card through our PayPal payment system. We will provide you with the URL to this site at the time you decide to use this option.

If you still have questions, please browse our frequently asked questions (FAQ) page for more details. If you do not find your questions answered there, you may email us at info+parsonplacepress.com for further assistance.