Q. WHAT IS THE LIBRARY MARKET?
A. The Library market consists of books that are printed particularly for libraries. Avalon Books are geared and marketed for librarians to purchase and distribute.
Q. HOW DO I ORDER AN AVALON BOOK?
A. At BN.com or Amazon.com. You can also order directly from Avalon Books. Call 1-212-598-0222 for details.
Q. ARE BOOKS AVAILABLE AT BOOKSTORES SUCH AS BARNES AND NOBLE?
A. Avalon Books are available at some bookstores, but not all. Check with your local bookstore owner or Barnes and Noble location. You may request your bookseller order books from us or order online at BN.com.
Q. IS IT BETTER TO SEND A QUERY LETTER OR A PARTIAL?
A. It is better to send a partial. We require a brief cover letter, a 2-3 page synopsis, total word count, and the first three chapters. Send this to us with a SASE. Queries without all of these items may not receive a response. We do not accept e-mail partials or manuscripts. Please see our Writer's Guidelines for full details. Please NO PHONE CALLS.
Q. HOW SOON CAN I HEAR ABOUT MY PARTIAL?
A. The turn around time is usually 2-6 weeks.
Q. DO I HAVE TO SEND IN THE FIRST THREE CHAPTERS? CAN I SUBMIT NONSEQUENTIAL CHAPTERS?
A. You must send in the first three chapters. Do not send three random chapters, please send only the first three.
Q. HOW SOON CAN I HEAR ABOUT MY MANUSCRIPT SUBMISSION?
A. You should hear back from Avalon Books within 10-12 months. PLEASE NO PHONE CALLS BEFORE THAT.
Q. WHEN CAN I CALL TO CHECK ON MY SUBMISSION? IS E-MAIL PREFERRED?
A. You may call after a year has passed and you have not heard back from us. E-mail is preferred.
Q. DO I NEED AN AGENT TO SUBMIT?
A. No you do not need an agent to submit. Just follow our guidelines carefully and we will get back to you.
Q. DO YOU ACCEPT E-MAIL QUERIES?
A. Due to an overwhelming number of submissions we are no longer accepting e-mail queries. Please see our Writer's Guidelines for instructions on how to query us.
Q. WHAT IF I CHANGE MY ADDRESS BEFORE I HEAR FROM YOU?
A. Send an e-mail with the title of manuscript, the date of submission, your name and your new address.
Q. DO YOU ACCEPT SCIENCE FICTION, ROMANTIC SUSPENSE, OR HISTORICAL FICTION?
A. We do not accept science fiction. We do accept romantic suspense but it has to lean toward either Mystery or Romance, it cannot equally bridge the gap. The only historical fiction we accept is set in the old West.
Q. DO YOU PUBLISH YA, SUPERNATURAL, OR CHRISTIAN ROMANCE?
A. We only publish the genres listed on our Writer's Guidelines page. We do not publish YA, Christian, or paranormal stories in any of our approved genres.
Q. WHAT TIME PERIOD CAN MY NOVEL BE SET IF IT IS A HISTORICAL ROMANCE?
A. We accept historical romances that range from the Medieval period to World War I - roughly 1930.
Q. WHAT IS TOO SEXY FOR AVALON?
A. Sexual tension is fine but not more than a kiss or embrace is allowed.
Q. HOW STRICT IS THE WORD COUNT? CAN I SUBMIT EVEN IF IS DOESN’T MEET THE REQUIREMENT?
A. Our word count restrictions are very strict. We accept manuscripts between 50,000 and 70,000 words. No more, no less. Our Westerns and Contemporary Romances usually range between 50,000-60,000. Our Historical Romances and Mysteries usually range from 50,000-70,000 words. Please do not submit manuscripts longer than this as they will not be considered.
Q. WHAT ARE THE RULES ON ROUGH LANGUAGE?
A. No cursing throughout all of our books. Nothing heavier than a “hell,” “damn” in Westerns and Mysteries. We don’t like cursing at all in our romances. We do not accept racial epithets, no harsh language, and no sexy talk.
Q. WHAT ARE THE RULES ON LIQUOR?
A. In our Romances keep it minimal, if any. In our Westerns and Mysteries it is okay within reason.
Q. DO YOU HIRE FREELANCE READERS OR EDITORS?
A. No we do not. Avalon Books is fully staffed.
Q. DO YOU HIRE FREELANCE COPYEDITORS OR PROOFREADERS?
A. If you live in or near the New York City metropolitan area we are happy to consider you for freelance copyediting or proofreading. Send resume to: Editors, Avalon Books, 1202 Lexington Avenue, Ste. 283, New York, NY 10028.
Q. DO YOU HIRE FREELANCE ARTISTS?
A. No, we are fully staffed at this time.