Bake-a-book

“Those who write are writers. 

Those who wait are waiters.” ― A. Lee Martinez

We are inviting unsolicited manuscripts in fiction category to be considered for publication by us. It could be romance / mystery / thriller / sci-fi / paranormal/ horror / humour / fantasy / young adults  or about anything that has a story which needs to be told. We are waiting to hear them. So what are you waiting for? To get published with us, please send us :

• Author's Bio
• Synopsis
• Plot Outline
• Sample 3 chapters 
• Recent Photograph

To - - - - ->  publish.halfbakedbeans@gmail.com.

Once you have prepared the whole manuscript many people feel the author’s work is done. Actually the reality is far from that! The author’s real work starts from there. Editing, proof reading, submitting to publishing houses, writing synopsis etc form a long chain of the to-do list that is still pending once the writing is over.

 

We at Half Baked Beans would be glad to assist you deliver your best even when in the post manuscript stages.

Author’s Bio

However wonderful an author is in writing stories, when it comes to talking about our own selves we all seem to falter somewhere. And especially when you talking about your own self you want nothing but the best for it is going to be there for the world to see!

A bio typically should be in the third person means, it should not have any I’s rather it should have your name as if someone else is talking about. To broadly classify the topics it should include some details like:

·         The title of your book

·         The reason why you have titled it so

·         Any published work that you might have prior to this one

·         Awards or accolades if any.

·         Qualifications and work experience. (If the experience is not relevant here in terms of the story / writing per se then it is recommended you limit it to 2-3 lines)

·         Sample work ( This could include link to your blogs / website or any other portal where your work could be reviewed by the publisher)

Most importantly it is necessary for a bio to be short and crisp. Say anywhere between a 100 to 200 words.

P.S: A special tip from our editorial team – always make the first sentence very impactful, for more often than not it makes or mars a decision strongly!

Synopsis

If you were to check a dictionary for its meaning – Synopsis simply means a brief description. In a way it is what you can call a teaser for your book. Publishers most of the time request for a synopsis as they want to get an overall feel about how the story will be, who will the main characters and how will the flow or narration be. Once this suits their tastes they will ask for the whole manuscript.  So this makes your synopsis the litmus test which it has to pass in order to get your book published and hence it has to be carefully worded showcasing your work in the best possible manner.

The first step in beginning with your synopsis would be to classify your manuscript into a genre for e.g crime, thriller, psychological thriller, detective, sci-fi, horror, comic, chic-lit, historical, saga, literary, experimental, graphic, erotic, fantasy, romantic etc for that will make it easy for the publisher to understand what to expect from the story. Always ensure this is a well researched work as this will determine the fate of the manuscript.

A synopsis should not be more than 500 words and should be as concise as possible. In case the publisher would need a chapter by chapter detailed breakup of the story you will be asked for it separately.Also, the same holds true for detailed synopsis which then can be written till about 2500 words outlining the plot in details.

It should start with how the story flows, grows with the narration, unfolds and why should one read it.  Gradually you could move onto giving details like the background, the period when it is set, the location. Introduce the central character and other important characters relevant in the story. (Important point: Don’t mention all the characters coming up in the story unless and until they have a pivotal role to play), highlighting the turning points of the story.

Remember your synopsis needs to have the end of your story mentioned clearly without any ambiguity as the publisher needs to know that to analyze your manuscript accordingly. Along with the synopsis also do send the total word count of your story and your contact details. ( Yes... we need to reach you right!! )

Sample three chapters

This is usually asked by the publishers to know the narration and the language used in the story by the author. You can choose to send the top 3 chapters which according to you are the best to be sent to the publisher. They need not be in a chronological order at all. They can be random picks as long as they are from the manuscript you are going to submit.

Having said all of the above we still believe that a good manuscript can never be overlooked upon basis the synopsis or author bio. By writing a gripping synopsis you are already setting the expectations from the story which should be followed by a stronger manuscript as well. There is no right or wrong in all of these as each one has his or her, own individual style of writing. And as long as it draws the readers in, it’s all worth it!!

Please feel free to write to us in form of comments below or to publish.halfbakedbeans@gmail.com in case you still have any doubts or queries, we would be glad to assist you.

Though we would love to read them just like the rest of the world ( By that we mean in word format) we would love it more if  you would want to send the same in any other innovative manner like video, teaser or a presentation. Needless to say innovation will be given preference over the otherwise accepted mode of submission.

 

If we like your synopsis we will then further request you for your complete manuscript. We would request you to please be patient with us as we evaluate your proposal and arrive at a decision. Incase you dont hear from us for quite sometime , do feel free to write to us and we would be glad to revert.

Confused as to how to write them? Just click on any of the topics you need help on and our editorial team will help you through the process.

And as it is said by Coco J. Ginger ,

 “Writers do not have the privilege of sleep. There is always a story coming alive in their heads, constantly composing. Whether they choose it or not", 

its time for you to give sleepless nights to your readers with your stories!

With Baked Wishes

Editorial Team