Submission Guidelines

The first imprint under the Quartet Press banner will be Quench Romance! We are actively seeking manuscripts in all subgenres of the romance genre. We want strong, engrossing stories featuring great characters and solid plots: sexy, sweet, adventurous, even unusual romances. Focus on storytelling, character development, and solid plotting. Make us fall in love with your characters and leave us smiling…and wanting to read more.

While Quench features the best of the romance genre, and we are actively acquiring all subgenres, we’ve also created two dedicated sub-imprints. For the first, we are interested in romances that deal with the unusual: steampunk, space cowboys, cyberpunk, science fiction, fantasy, urban fantasy, and new twists on classic paranormal themes. Remember, even as you’re making space jumps, keep the romance alive in these stories!

We’re also launching Quench Classics, a sub-imprint dedicated to bringing out-of-print favorites to a new audience. These are the stories we talk about, seek out in used bookstores (carefully hoarding increasingly rare editions), and say “wouldn’t it be great if I could get that as an ebook?” For authors looking to republish these classic titles, see below for more information.

(Yes, we will consider Young Adult.)

Please only query with new, previously unpublished material or previously published works for which the author has had all rights reverted (see information below regarding reprints). All queries must include:

  • Cover Letter: Include your cover letter in the body of the email.
  • Synopsis: A good synopsis clearly tells your story, including all twists, turns, and surprises. Be specific. We need to know everything about your story, and your synopsis is the best way to show us you have a page-turning plot with solid characters and a great romance. This should be an attachment to your email and separate from your manuscript.
  • Minimum Three Chapters of Manuscript: Show us your stuff! Send, at a minimum, the first three chapters of your manuscript. You can send the whole thing, if you’d like. We won’t say no (but we will only keep reading if the synopsis and first three chapters wow us!). Your manuscript should be a separate attachment from your synopsis.

We’re interested in stories of all lengths (we use computer word count) from 10,000 up to 130,000 words. To make your (and our!) life easier, please name your file in a way that makes it easy for us to identify it. Best practice is “Title_AuthorLastName_manuscript/proposal/synopsis”. Files should be saved at RTF or .doc. No .docx files or PDF files, please.

Send all submissions to submissions {at} quartetpress(.)com

Please be sure your cover letter, synopsis, and manuscript contain the following information:

  • Author Name (Real Name)
  • Pseudonym
  • Address
  • Email Address
  • Website (and any other social networking id’s, e.g.: Facebook, Twitter, Blogs, etc.)
  • Phone Number
  • Word Count
  • Brief description of your manuscript

Quench Classics/Reprints: We are interested in acquiring digital rights for previously published novels. Please contact us via email with specifics regarding title, word count and original publication information. We are only interested in previously published works for which the author has had all rights reverted.

For stories that fall into the “erotic romance” arena, sex scenes must be integral to the story. In any work, actually, the developing sexual relationship should be a natural extension of the story. Remember: quality, not quantity. Language should fit the story, characters, and author voice.

Only one manuscript per author will be considered.

If you are submitting simultaneously to other publishers, please indicate this in your cover letter. If the manuscript you are querying with is accepted by another house, please let us know as soon as possible.

More information about our contract, terms, and marketing plan is here.

We don’t believe rape, necrophilia, incest, bestiality, and/or pedophilia are romantic. If your story relies upon elements such as these as part of the romantic relationship, we’re not the right publisher for you.

Note: Guidelines updated 8/24/2009.