Submit Your Manuscript to a Publisher Who Reads Every One
Open for submissions. Half written is fine.
When you submit a manuscript to a publisher, you want a person to read it. Here, every submission goes to our editorial board, and two readers go through it. Send a synopsis and the first three chapters, or the whole thing. If the board wants the book, we'll publish it in the Western Reflections collection. If it isn't right for us, we'll say so and tell you what the book needs next.
Or read what the board looks for first.
An independent house in Lake City, Colorado, in the San Juan Mountains, publishing since 1996.
Why Send Your Manuscript Straight to a Publishing House
Many authors land here after a run of closed doors. Large houses often read only agented work, so a finished book can spend months in query letters before anyone says yes. That gap is where outfits calling themselves publishers move in, then bill you to read, "consider" or accept your book. A real publisher doesn't charge authors to be read.
Send it here and it goes straight to our editors through the form below, and you'll hear back either way.
Send it here and it goes straight to our editors through the form below, and you'll hear back either way.
What our editorial board is looking for
Our two readers weigh the same five things. None of them needs a perfect manuscript.
A voice worth reading
Sentences that sound like a person wrote them. We'd rather fix a sagging middle in the edit than manufacture a voice that was never on the page.
A shape you can see the end of
A clear arc for a story, or a clear argument for nonfiction. Partial manuscripts are welcome when we can see where the book is going. Six chapters of a ranch memoir that build toward the drought year will do. Six chapters circling the same summer won't, yet.
A reader who wants it
"Everyone" isn't a reader. "Retired ranchers who grew up on the Western Slope" is. We look for readers we can name and reach.
Clean rights
The work is yours, unpublished or with rights reverted to you, and permissions for quoted material are cleared.
A fit with the house
Memoir, history, regional nonfiction and literary fiction sit closest to what we do best, and our back catalogue leans toward Colorado and Western writing. If the memoir isn't written yet and you don't have the time, our memoir ghostwriter service is a different route from submitting. Read more about the house.
What we do not take on
Saying no early saves you weeks. These are the books we turn down.
- Work that isn't yours. The form asks you to confirm the manuscript is your own.
- Published books whose rights sit elsewhere. Get the rights reverted to you before you send it.
- Books far from our list. If your book sits far from the genres above, a house that specializes in it will serve it better, and we'll tell you so plainly.
How to Submit a Manuscript to a Publisher Like Us
The files we need
A synopsis and the first three chapters, or the full manuscript. Upload Word, PDF or Pages (RTF and plain text work too), up to 40 MB. The form also asks for your name, email, working title, genre, stage and a few lines about the book. In the synopsis, cover who the book is about, what happens or what it argues, and how it ends. Don't hold the ending back: our readers need the whole shape.
How finished it needs to be
Choose one of four stages: an idea and an outline, half written, full first draft, or finished and edited. An outline alone is welcome too, but the board can say more with a few chapters in hand.
Before you press send
Read chapter one aloud and cut whatever makes you wince. Name your reader in one sentence. Then try our free manuscript formatter and the book writing checklist we give our own authors.
What happens after you submit
Use the form below and pick the stage that matches your draft.
Independent reads against the five criteria, over four to six weeks.
It's one of the three answers below.
You get a contract, and the book moves into production. What's included is set out below.
The three answers you can get
An offer. A revise-and-resend, meaning the readers saw something real and want to see the book again after revision. Or an honest no, with reasons. A no costs you nothing, and the reasons are yours to use with us, with another publisher or on your own.
Your pages are safe with us. Everything you send stays confidential and is read only by our editorial board.
Two Routes to a Finished Book
Sending us a book to consider and hiring us to help you publish it yourself are two separate doors.
The house pays for editing, design, printing and distribution, and you pay nothing. You're assigned an editor and a production slot, and the book gets:
- Developmental edit, line edit and proofread
- Cover design and interior typesetting
- ISBN, print run and warehousing
- Distribution and launch
- A place in our catalogue
You can hire us for the parts you need, whether or not you ever submit. We take the book from manuscript to Amazon KDP, IngramSpark, Google Play Books, Apple Books, and ACX and Audible for the audiobook, with a video trailer if you want one. You keep 100% of the royalties.
There are no packages. We read a sample before quoting and will tell you if the book needs a different stage from the one you asked for. A typical independent book, with editing, cover, layout and files, runs $2,500 to $6,000. Length and edit depth decide where you land: a copy edit is $0.023 a word and a developmental edit $0.034, so on an 80,000-word book a copy edit comes to $1,840 and a developmental edit to $2,720. You can check every price, published in full. Your written quote is one fixed fee, agreed before work starts. It's free and commits you to nothing. If you go ahead, editing, design and production are half on booking and half on delivery, and we don't ask for a full project fee up front.
Each stage has its own page: editing your manuscript before you publish, publishing services for independent authors and audiobook production.
Your rights, and why submitting costs nothing
Your copyright and your manuscript stay yours, and nothing you sign with us takes ownership of the work. If we make an offer, you're paid a royalty on sales, and the terms are in the offer for you to check before you sign. Read any offer, ours included, against the Authors Guild model trade book contract, and if you'd like extra protection, register your copyright with the U.S. Copyright Office.
Sending us your book is free. Reading submissions is how we find the books we publish, so the only thing a submission costs you is the four to six weeks you wait for a reply.
How to Spot a Vanity Press Before You Sign
A vanity press's real customer is the author. The warning signs:
- A fee to read or "consider" your manuscript
- An acceptance that arrives with an invoice
- Packages sold before anyone has read the book
- A contract that takes your copyright
- Pressure to pay or sign before you've had time to read the terms
Hold us to the same tests. Before you sign with anyone, ask for a sample contract, search the company's name next to "complaints", and talk to authors you found on your own. For a fuller list, here are the questions that expose a publishing scam, and Writer Beware's warnings on publishing scams are worth a read too.
Who should send us a book
First-time and returning authors whose books fit the house, from family memoir to a mountain town's history. Tired of querying agents with no reply, or just want a straight read? Send it.
Our back catalogue is regional history, biography, memoir and Colorado and Western writing. If we take your book on, an editor works on it with you, and it's still your book, in your voice. Read what our authors say.
or call (336) 565-6915
Questions we get asked
How do I submit my manuscript to a publisher?
Read the publisher's guidelines, send only what they ask for and never pay to be read. Our form takes a synopsis and sample chapters or the full file, plus your genre and stage.
How much of a book should you write before sending it to a publisher?
Many houses want a finished manuscript, especially for fiction. We read partial work: half written is fine if the direction is clear. Tell us your stage on the form.
How do I prepare a manuscript to send to a publisher?
Do one clean pass yourself, write a one-page synopsis, name your reader and list any quoted material needing permission. Our guide on how to self-edit your book covers that first pass.
How much does it cost to publish a book through a publisher?
When a traditional house acquires your book, nothing: the house pays, and that's true here too. If you publish independently with our services, a typical book with editing, cover, layout and files runs $2,500 to $6,000, quoted as a fixed fee.
Can I submit a manuscript to a publisher for free?
You should always be able to, and a reading fee is a warning sign. Submitting to Western Reflections is free and carries no obligation.
Do I need a literary agent to submit my manuscript?
Not to send it to us. The form on this page goes straight to our editorial board. At the biggest houses, usually yes, so if you're also querying agents, our guide to finding a literary agent will help you build a sensible list.
How long does it take to hear back after I submit?
Four to six weeks, and the answer is an offer, a revise-and-resend, or a no with reasons. Keep writing while you wait.
Which publishers are currently looking for manuscripts?
We're open now, especially to memoir, history, regional nonfiction and literary fiction. For other genres, our roundup of publishers accepting submissions, by genre and format lists houses worth trying.
Send us the manuscript
No reading fee, no obligation. Everything you send stays confidential and is read only by our editorial board.
The testimonials of all our wonderful clients
Our clients love to share how it felt to work with us. Here is what some of the authors we have partnered with had to say about the experience.
★★★★★“Working with the Western Reflections Publishing team was a great experience. I came to them with a book idea but needed help structuring it into a finished manuscript. They took the time to learn my objectives right away, communication stayed consistent throughout, and the writers did a great job keeping my voice while improving the structure and flow. I was impressed by how well the finished manuscript reflected my vision.”
Olivia Adams
★★★★★“Western Reflections Publishing took my half-baked idea and turned it into something beautiful. Sarah, my editor, was incredibly patient with me. The cover design team nailed my vision, and the publishing process was smooth. Seeing my book on Amazon is surreal. I'm beyond grateful for their services.”
Amy Tosh
★★★★★“I'm beyond impressed with the editing team at Western Reflections Publishing. They didn't just fix my grammar; they truly understood my voice and helped refine the narrative flow of my book. The transformation from my initial draft to the final version is incredible. If you want your book to stand out, this is the place to go.”
Dakota Bailey
★★★★★“I've published multiple titles, but working with Western Reflections Publishing for my latest release was the smoothest experience yet. From editing to marketing to distribution, their team was professional and responsive. It's clear they truly care about their authors' success, and the best part was that they valued my input and let me take the lead.”
Betty Lentz
★★★★★“I honestly didn't expect the publishing process to feel this smooth, but Western Reflections Publishing made it surprisingly easy. Their editing and formatting teams were thorough and attentive, and they guided me step by step. I felt supported the whole way, which gave me the confidence to finally share my book with the world.”
Caleb Hudson
★★★★★“I was pleasantly surprised by how smooth the process was with Western Reflections Publishing. Their developmental editing brought new clarity to my manuscript, and the formatting team delivered a polished, professional final version. The team's support and clear communication made the entire publishing experience easy to navigate.”
Madison Palmer
Send us the manuscript
Send us what you have. There's no fee and no obligation.
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