Submissions

Are you interested in submitting a proposal to us? We are always eager to hear about new and wonderful ideas for children’s books. You can find our submissions guidelines below.

We welcome proposals for pre-school, picture books, activity and non-fiction submissions only. We are not looking for middle-grade or YA titles at this time. You can submit up to 3 submissions at one time.

Before you pitch, please make sure to familiarise yourself with our publishing.

Please include the following with your submission:

• A cover letter of no more than 500 words giving a brief description of the project and why you think Post Wave UK should publish it.
• An analysis of the potential target audience for your book. For example, what age range is this suitable for? Who is the consumer? You can also supply a list of any similar titles currently on the market.
• Any available sample content, including:
  • A full manuscript
  • Artwork and/or photographs supplied as jpegs or PDFs
  • Cover mock-ups supplied as jpegs or PDFS
  • Page layout mock-ups supplied as jpegs or PDFs
• A biography, that includes more information about you, and any notable accolades or publishing credentials. If you have previously had your work published, please include the name of the book(s), ISBN and any sales data.
• Your contact details, including:
• Name
• Email address
• Address
• Telephone number

General technical guidelines:

• Please use the following naming convention in the subject line of your email: SUBMISSION_TITLE_YOUR NAME.
• Please make sure your emailed submission is less than 5MB.
• Please ensure your text documents are supplied in Word or RTF format. 
• Please supply any artwork as either jpegs or PDFs.
• Unfortunately, we cannot download any material sent via a file transfer service.

Helpful advice for submitting a pre-school book:

• Pre-school books are often board books, with very few words and pages.
• Pre-school books are often centred around a very simple idea, and are used as early learning tools. For this reason, first concepts such as counting, shapes, colours, opposites, are popular themes, as well as first experiences.
• They should be a maximum of 20 pages long.
• Word counts should generally be under 200 words.
• Pre-school books often work best as a series, so think about how your submission could be extended over two or more books.
• Pre-school books often have a novelty element to them (lift-the-flaps, or die-cuts are popular), so consider how you might elevate your submission through the use of novelty.
• Pre-school concepts often work best when they are both written and illustrated by the same person. However, if you are a writer with a strong idea for a pre-school concept, please do get in touch and we can help to find the right illustrator for you.

Helpful advice for submitting a picture book:

• Picture book texts are generally aimed at children aged between 3-5 years, though we will consider submissions outside of this range. They are often designed to be read aloud, and should be enjoyed over and over again.
• The best picture book submissions often have a strong story and a standout main character (or characters). Try to make your character as relatable as possible, and make the story compelling, whether it’s heart-warming, silly, funny, or all of those things!
• Picture book submissions should be either 32 pages, or a maximum of 40 pages long.
• Picture book word counts should generally be under 1,000 words.
• We are willing to consider rhyming texts, but these may not work for international markets. Your story should be strong enough to work without rhyme, if necessary.
• You don’t need to be both an author and an illustrator to submit a picture book. We will happily accept manuscripts from authors and find the right illustrator for you. You can provide artwork notes with your manuscript if necessary. If you are an illustrator with an idea for a story, we can help you to shape your writing too.

Helpful advice for submitting a non-fiction book:

• Non-fiction books are often aimed at older readers, usually between ages 7–9, or ages 9–11, though we will consider submissions outside of this range.
• Non-fiction submissions can be longer than picture book submissions, often between 64 pages and 96 pages.
• Non-fiction word counts are also often higher than picture books.
• We generally work with expert authors and consultants on non-fiction books, but if you are an illustrator with a strong interest in non-fiction, we’d love to hear from you. Please tell us what subject areas interest you the most when you send in your portfolio.

Helpful advice for illustrators:

If you are an illustrator but do not have an idea for a submission, don’t worry! We are still interested in seeing your portfolio. Most illustrators who work on our non-fiction books do not work on the text. We can also pair you with an author for picture books. 

You can submit your portfolio either as a PDF (less than 5MB) or send a link to your website via email.

When submitting your portfolio, it is helpful if you could also:

• Include in your email any subject areas or topics you are particularly passionate about
• Demonstrate a broad range of work – for example animals, people, architecture and nature.
• Tell us a little about your technique
• Let us know your upcoming availability