The Word Cloud

Hi,
I've never attempted publishing before but i would like to try with my Horror Novel that i wrote 5 years ago. It's been edited several times, and my University Lecturer says it's time to start looking for an Agent.
So i bought a copy of Writers' and Artist's yearbook but only found one Agency (Anubis Literary Agency) that aspects Horror and when i looked on their site they mostly publish Fantasy and Sci-fi i didn't see any Horror.
Most places say that wont accept it and those that say they do, i haven't actually seen any in their books or their authors.
Could anyone give me any advice please.

Hi CF,

have you looked at this site: http://www.authoradvance.com/

also you could try small publishers direct. I know Deadstar accept horror fiction.

Thanks Nashelle i saw that site earlier maybe i should take a closer look.

As for Publishers most don't accept unsolicited manuscripts which i think means you need an Agent to submit it.

Is there anyway i could call it a thriller like a 'supernatural Thriller'? Rather than a Horror

When I wanted to find an agent for my horror novel (now shelved awaiting major rewrite!) I checked out the W&AYB and found the same thing - none of the agents/agencies explicitly state that they accept horror submissions. But I found that most of those that accept SciFi and Fantasy will also look at a horror MS. Also, have you thought of checking out the US edition of the W&AYB? American publishers seem to be more keen on horror, and they pay better as well. The US also has another resource book for writers: Writer's Digest, which Stephen King says (in his book 'On Writing') he used in order to get published - it's supposed to be the best for publishing in the US, and is available online.

CF! Well done on writing a horror novel, we need more dark works published.

As for agents, I'm at the same stage. Your best bet is to consult the website mentioned by Nashelle and purchase W&AYB mentioned by Wrathnar (there used to be an online listing, but that has been down for ages) you can also just use Google and have a look on there.

My advice would be to stop searching for agents who accept horror and start looking for those that don't specify whether they do or don't. I think you'll find there a lot more (particularly in the US) who would be willing to read your work.

Also, you don't really need an agent in order to get published... Visit duotrope.com for horror listings (there are quite a few if you don't restrict it to the UK) and submit to any of those as well.

I've only just learned this myself recently. I sent out my emails nearly two weeks ago and so far I've had one in-depth edit from a publisher and four requests for a full MS!

Good luck with your book and be sure to keep us updated! :)

I found this resource this weekend:

http://darkmarkets.com/

It is a listing of magazines, anthologies and publishers that either accept or deal exclusively in horror. They are on the whole small indie presses... but beggars cannot be choosers!

Publishers that I am currently keeping an eye on include:

Dark Moon Books http://www.darkmoonbooks.com/

Samhain Publishing http://www.samhainpublishing.com/

Angry Robot Books http://angryrobotbooks.com/ (they run an 'unsolicited manuscript month', and are planning to do another one soon)

Kraken Press http://krakenpress.com/

Dorchester Publishing http://www.dorchesterpub.com/site/submission-guidelines.aspx (closed atm, but it never hurts to keep an eye on them)

Blood Bound Books http://www.bloodboundbooks.net/projects.html

I have no idea what any of these publishers are like - I've just been looking at names, and you'd have to do more research to find out how desirable they are.

Yeah, i noticed last night that lots of places that accept Fantasy or Sci-Fi often taken Horror. If not i may try putting it as Dark Fantasy.
I've never thought of trying America and would be a little dubious about it though i have noticed America is more keen on Horror in the past.
Most Agencies wont even allow Emails so you can't ask them if they'd look at your work, i thought of going straight to a publisher but some say 'no unsolicited manuscripts' which i think means not without an Agent. But i'm quite new to this so maybe a bit more knowledge and research is needed.

If i find anywhere decent i'll let you know.
Good Luck with all your stories!
xx

Not my genre, I'm afraid, but I would urge anyone who's thinking of submitting direct to a publisher that isn't one of the ones everyone's heard of, to check them out at Preditors & Editors first:

http://pred-ed.com/

and maybe the AbsoluteWrite Watercooler, too:

http://absolutewrite.com/forums/

and if you're offered a contract by an agent or a publisher, you can join the Society of Authors and get it checked out:

http://www.societyofauthors.org/

Emma

Sounds like a good idea CF. However, if you are going to class your book as dark fantasy, you will have to have an element of fantasy to justify it. For example, if your book is about a serial killer on the prowl, you can't really class it as fantasy (unless he has psychic powers or something...)

Also, America is not to be sneezed at - not only are there more publishers who take on horror, but there's a lot more people in the US who might buy your book if it's on the shelves.

Whichever you choose, if you get took on by publisher or agent - it's all good

Thanks Damien,

It's more of a Supernatural Horror than about Serial Killers. Being published in America would be great! Just seems a little more scarey than the UK for some reason. I'm not really in any rush i'd rather take my time and get it right.

Yeah I think that's definitely the way to go. If you're in no rush then take your time. Do your homework and submit to an agent/publisher who you think would suit you best (mentioning this in your cover letter wouldn't hurt either!)

I think I rushed into it quite quickly because I've got loads more books yet to write. I think I just wanted to wash my hands of the first book so I could free up time for future projects. I'm not complaining about the number of requests I've got, but now it means even more work by researching each of the publishers to see who would benefit me more!

Good luck with your book! I'm sure I'll see it on the shelves soon!

I have loads of book stashed away in my mind maybe i'll be a female Stephen King haha!

Thank you