Welcome Chicago Review Press

creativebyline — Wed, 12 Aug 2009 19:56:24 +0000

We are always pleased when we approach a publisher and find them open to meeting with us and learning about Creative Byline. But it’s really nice when a publisher learns about us, checks out the web site, and contacts us. I’m delighted that Chicago Review Press contacted us and has become a client of Creative Byline. They publish general nonfiction, including popular science, history, biography, and travel; reprints of classic novels; and an award-winning line of children’s activity books.

Chicago Review Press also publishes under three imprints:

Lawrence Hill Books specializes in nonfiction on topics of African American and Latino interest, progressive politics, civil and human rights, and feminism.

A Cappella is an arts imprint specializing in music and film.

Zephyr Press publishes educational resource materials and professional development titles for inspired educators.

Chicago Review Press editors will have profiles available on the Creative Byline system in mid-August. Welcome, Chicago Review Press, to the Creative Byline community.

Why the manuscript submission process is tough on everyone—go ahead and vent

creativebyline — Wed, 03 Oct 2007 00:05:29 +0000

The submission process is every writer’s favorite whipping boy. Writers complain about having to wait six to 12 months for a response to their submissions, and when a response finally does arrive, it rarely contains any feedback about how to make the manuscript stronger. Furthermore, writers are frustrated by the lack of access as more houses, overwhelmed by the number of submissions, close their doors to all but the agented ones. (Writers, tell us your biggest gripe! Take the 15-second survey.)

Editors aren’t very keen on the process, either. They know it can make them look heartless, when in fact they wish they had the time to nurture new talent. Their bosses expect them to do more work with fewer resources; some publishers, as part of cost cutting, have gotten rid of the first readers that used to take the burden off editors. Still, editors are optimists at heart, ever hopeful that the next manuscript they pick up will be one in a million—the one they fall in love with. (Editors, tell us your biggest gripe. Take the 15-second survey.)

Both sides are clearly frustrated. One of the best discussions we’ve seen of the problems with the submission process is this one at Editorial Anonymous, a popular blog posted by a children’s book editor.

In response to the complaints, EA wrote, “I absolutely agree that it’s a rotten system for everybody. But if we could think of a better way of doing things, we’d be doing it. . . If anyone has an idea of how to make the slush process better, I’m open to suggestions. But I’ve thought long and hard about it, and haven’t come up with anything else yet.”

We at Creative Byline thought long and hard about it, too. Then we put a lot of resources into building a better way—one that addresses the needs writers, editors, and publishers. In the coming days, we’ll explain more about how it works. In the meantime, we hope you’ll take a moment to vent on our short survey. Thanks!

Literary Magnet » Publisher reference

Welcome Chicago Review Press

Why the manuscript submission process is tough on everyone—go ahead and vent