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Submission Guidelines

We are curently OPEN to new submissions by Australian and New Zealand writers until November 30, 2024 (or until our submission queue is full).

We’re a Brisbane-based publisher specialising in science fiction, fantasy, horror, and crime, as well as non-fiction works that can be tied to those genres. We operate under a digital first model—the bulk of our books are sold as ebooks or print-on-demand copies.

Please read the submissions guidelines below before submitting. If you have any questions, you can email us at BrainJarPress@gmail.com.

We’re primarily interested in science fiction, horror, fantasy, crime, and thriller fiction, as well as short story collections aimed at readers of those genres.

While we have published authors based outside of Australia and New Zealand in the past, we are not currently seeking international submissions at this time.

WHAT WE PUBLISH

Brain Jar Press is open to publishing:

  • Chapbooks (5000 to 10,000 words)
  • Novellas (10,000 to 40,000 words)
  • Short novels (up to 60,000 words – please note we will not consider projects over 60,000 words)

We’re particularly interested in serial and series works, whether they are written at short story, novella, or novel length, and works that fit into some of our established product lines such as the Writer Chaps series (chapbook collections of writing-oriented non-fiction).

We are also interested in non-fiction that’s focused on the craft and business of writing, or topics aligned with the fiction genres we cover. Basically, think “would a relatively left-wing geek who enjoys genre fiction enjoy this?” If the answer is yes, it’s probably in our wheelhouse. We are happy to consider non-fiction at chapbook length and above.

WHAT WE AVOID

When we take on a book, it’s usually because it plays to Brain Jar’s strengths editorially and commercially In short, we take on books we believe we can develop and enhance through the editorial process, and promote to our readers effectively.

Our maximum capacity is publishing about 6 to 8 books a year, so we’ avoid taking on books that don’t play to our strengths. As such, we are not the right market for the following genres:

  • Young adult
  • Hard science fiction
  • Miltiary SF
  • Miltiary thrillers
  • Romance
  • Religious fantasy or catasphe fiction
  • Historical fiction
  • Literary Fiction
  • Memoir

HOW TO SUBMIT

Please submit enquiries for manuscripts that are completed and polished. We’re not interested in pitches for incomplete work.

Send your submissions to BrainJarPress@gmail.com with the subject line including the following details:

SUBMISSION: [Title]; [Author Name]; [Genre]. If you are submitting for one of our established lines, such as Flash Chaps or Writer Chaps, please use the series name in place of genre.

Include a brief query letter that includes the genre, word count, and contact details (including email address and phone number), plus a short description of your project (up to 600 words) in the body of the email. If you’re addressing your letter with a personalised greeting, please include both members of the Brain Jar Press team (Peter and Sarah). We’re also happy to receive emails address to Brain Jar Press or the BJP Team.

Please attach the following to your email, all in a single .rtf or .docx word file that includes both title and author name in the file name. This file should include:

  1. A 500 to 800 word synopsis of the book (for novels or non-fiction) or a list of prior publications (for collections).
  2. The first four chapters/sections of your manuscript or the first 10,000 words of your manuscript (whichever comes first). If we’re interested in seeing more, we’ll contact you and ask for a full manuscript.

Please format the attached file using the standard manuscript format.

SUBMITTING PREVIOUSLY PUBLISHED WORK

Brain Jar Press is open to publishing out-of-print works after the rights have reverted to the author, or taking on available digital or print rights for existing works where such rights are available. To submit reprints, please send your submission to BrainJarPress@gmail.com with the subject line: Submission; [title of your book]; [your name]; REPRINT, with a word file of your book attached. Please note the available rights in your email.

We will generally respond to submissions of previously published work within two weeks.

HOW WE PUBLISH

Brain Jar Press publishes in ebook and print on demand, working on a digital-first model that only produces print editions when they’re ordered. This means we do not pay advances, but we do offer a slightly higher royalty rate on print books sold than larger publishing companies.

The Downside of Our Business Model: if you dream of seeing your book on the shelf of your local bookstore, we’re probably not the best fit. While some of our books find their way into stores and we distributed all our titles via Ingram, the vast majority of our sales take place through our web store, in-person, or through online retailers.

The Upside of Our Business Model: we’re not competing for the limited shelf space in those stores, which means we can build an audience for an author and take on more diverse, experimental, and outright weird projects. This means we focus our attention on books that are often thought of as too short, too strange, or too niche for a larger publisher. Several of our early projects started with a writer saying, “I’ve got a weird idea for a book, but…”

We also have global reach, which means our small, locally produced titles reach audiences in the UK, USA, and Europe, in addition to Australian readers.

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