The submission process is simple and straightforward. Send a few chapters or some other representative sample of your project (up to 10,000 words), preferably as a Word.doc (although we can probably handle any word-processing application you use), along with a cover letter telling us anything you think we need to know, to <submissions@namelos.com>. When we receive the file and confirm that we can open it, we will send you an invoice (via PayPal) for $200. You need not have a PayPal account; you can use a credit card. When we receive notification that you have paid, we will turn our attention to evaluating your manuscript. You will receive our comments within two weeks of payment.

Why should I pay you to read my work?

Some would say, it's not supposed to work that way in publishing. You shouldn't have to pay to get your manuscript read. The way it is supposed to work is that you send in your manuscript to a publisher, and in a few weeks an experienced editor opens the envelope, reads your book, and makes an offer to publish or writes an informative, deeply considered letter suggesting ways to improve the manuscript and inviting resubmission.

For a host of reasons, that simply doesn't happen very often anymore. The way it usually works is that you send a manuscript to one of the few publishing houses that will still consider unsolicited submissions, and then you wait for a response. If you get one, it is often a form letter that arrives three to six months later saying no thanks. Full stop. That's it. You don't get an explanation or an evaluation. Publishers don't have any incentive or time to guide you unless they want to publish your book.

You aren't paying us just to read your manuscript. You are paying us for our time, expertise, and guidance. You expect to come out knowing more than you knew going in. We tell you what we know based on decades of publishing experience, assessing the merits and viability of your project and giving you the best guidance we can. And we respond within two weeks.