Advice to Writers
As a result I thought I’d illustrate the kind of work we’d like to publish here at Five Rivers, why we’re looking for this kind of work, and set out our submission guidelines.
What Five Rivers Wants to Publish
We’re looking for non-fiction books on history, experimental archeology, and those that are Canadian in nature, written in a clear, logical fashion, with credible research and documentation. Mass appeal is of no interest to us. If your thing is bog iron smelting, that’s our thing as well. If you have spent the past decade living on a First Nations reserve and collected data about living conditions and government failures, we’re interested in what you have to say.
Five Rivers is also very much interested in fiction that is solidly plotted and character driven in the genres of science fiction, fantasy, speculative, historical and mainstream, but which is, above all, good literature. We will not consider anything to do with vampires or horror, crime or erotica.
Examples of What Will and Won’t Capture our Interest
One of the best rejections I ever received was from the late, great Marion Zimmer Bradley. She told me to stop trying to impress her, to write from my heart. I took her advice. The next story I sent her she purchased for an anthology.
Economy of Words
What did I change? I realized an economy of words is crucial in good writing. Choose one where you might have chosen several; put another way – get rid of the adjectives and adverbs. If you’re going to use environment description, make sure it carries the tension and action of the plot, and further, that it relates to the point of view of your story.
Point of View
And that brings me to that all important literary device: point of view. Too often I see manuscripts with a wandering, unfocused point of view. We dip into this characters thoughts, and that one’s, and consequently the story tends to ramble and a reader quickly loses interest. Decide whose story, or scene, this is, and stick to that point of view.
Neologisms
If you’re going to write fantasy or science fiction, remember that you’re likely going to take your reader into unknown territory, and because of that fight a constant threat of lack of credibility. By adding in a whole cast of strange, invented names you’re simply going to further alienate your reader. My very strong suggestion is to refrain from too many neologisms. Word from the known to the unknown, keeping your reader’s interest as you go.
Originality
It’s often been said no new concept has been written since the works of Ancient Greece. Whether or not that’s true is irrelevant. However, there is a very strong caution in that statement, in that you, as a writer, have to be sure that the subject matter you visit carries a fresh perspective. A general rule of thumb I use is to write down the first three concepts that come to mind. I throw those out. Why? Because if I’ve thought of them so easily, it’s likely someone else has as well. The fourth concept may do. Often, however, I go on to the sixth, seventh, or eighth concept.
The Rule of 30
I remember reading an article in a Writer’s Digest magazine several decades ago that still rings true today. As a writer you’re constantly battling 30 – first 30 words, 30 seconds, 30 lines, 30 pages, 30 minutes. If you don’t keep your reader’s interest on an ongoing basis you’ll lose them, they’ll put down the book, and your name and work will be forgotten.
In order to do this you have to remove yourself from your work and look objectively at what you’re writing. Every word, every sentence, every scene should and must advance your plot, maintain tension, develop character. Fail to do that, and you’ll fail one of the acid tests of 30, lose your reader, and that reader may be the all important editor you’re trying to convince to acquire your work.
Micro-press doesn’t mean Micro-standards
Being a small press doesn’t mean you have small standards. If anything, it means quite the reverse. At least it does for us. Here at Five Rivers we’re interested in publishing work that doesn’t fit into the commercial, mass-market formula of the legacy houses. If a novel or book doesn’t hit best-seller, we’re not about to have an apoplectic fit. Rather, we’re looking to build careers and readership that will endure, creating a legacy of our own.
Five Rivers Chapmanry is a micro-publisher of fiction and non-fiction, catering to new Canadian authors. We employ print on demand technologies as part of responsible management of environmental and financial resources by printing only the books required, rather than warehousing thousands, thereby saving trees, land, air, water, hydro, fuel and capital expenditures. We also produce eBooks as part of that mandate.
We do not offer an advance to authors. We do provide quarterly statements and payments of royalties, based on a standard 10% of retail price, paid within 30 days of the close of the calendar quarter. Our books never go out of print until both the author and we agree to retire the title.
Five Rivers is committed to producing quality books that have had the scrutiny of a good editor, with attention to layout and cover design. We work closely with our authors throughout the process. And we are very aggressive in our marketing, ensuring both our authors and our titles receive the best possible exposure in the global marketplace.
Submission Guidelines
No hard copy submissions, please. All hard copy submissions will be returned unopened.
Query first by email, accompanied by a PDF or RTF attachment of synopsis and first 10 pages of the manuscript. We will read in a timely fashion (usually within two to three weeks) and respond.
Please be sure to include full contact information with your query: i.e. name, mailing address, email address, phone number.
Please, no phone calls.
Final Note
The best advice I can give to any writer is to set an exacting standard of excellence. Good enough never is. So although you may be caught in the excitement of finding a possible home for your work, take time to polish your work, to put your best work forward.