There is an equation that was invented by an eminent physicist in an effort to dampen enthusiasm about the possibility of discovering intelligent life on other planets.

It looks something like this (n1x n2 x n3 x n4 x n5 xn6) with each of the ‘n’s representing the probability of a necessary condition for intelligent life occurring (like a suitable atmosphere, lack of meteor strikes, etc.). The resulting figure – the probability that we might someday discover a clever bunch of small green men – is, well, astronomical. 

The calculation for deciding whether or not to submit and then publish a book is similar. It goes something like this:

IF you have the time to write a book (n1), the inclination (n2), a subject (n3), think that you write well – ask friends, honest ones (n4), the subject is original (n5), the subject is marketable – Have you ever bought a book like this one? Have you seen books like but not too much like this in your local bookshop? Can you imagine a complete stranger buying this book? (n6), WE think the subject is original (n7), we think you write well (n8), we think that the book is marketable (n9), we think the book would sit well on our list (n10), you are prepared to be edited (n11), you are prepared to market the book energetically (n12), we think we would enjoy working with you (n13), the people from whom we ask opinions about such things agree with our positive assessment of all of the above (n14) THEN we will be very pleased to add your book to the 100,000 odd titles published every year in the UK. 

If one were to calculate the probability of each of these conditions and then multiply them together, they would probably get a similarly astronomical figure. But the fact remains that we do publish books and we enjoy doing so. There really are no other criteria than those listed above. I could list a number of types of submission that we get quite regularly and quite regularly send back but that doesn’t mean that we won’t publish one of them, one day, so long as it meets the criteria.  

Non-fiction titles are generally easier to judge than fiction. With non-fiction one can envisage the potential market relatively easily and how we would go about editing and designing the book for that market. Fiction must be judged on more ephemeral qualities. 

Rejections

The worst thing about working in publishing is the necessity of rejecting submissions. There is nothing more deflating. Have you ever told a friend that you don’t like their partner? Or a complete stranger that they have no dress sense? It’s a similar experience but we have to do it more or less ten times a day. The only reason that we ever reject submissions is because we can’t see how we could make the book a success. It’s also worth remembering that in submitting your book to us you’re effectively asking for an investment from a small company of many thousands of pounds. Not to mention the hours of time, effort and creativity from an already heavily loaded workforce.