Despite what other publishers' guidelines are, we are always pleased to receive promising submissions from authors both new and established! There are, however, a few points we would like to highlight:

• We can only accept a very few manuscripts for publication. We receive, on average, 10 submissions per week and we are limited as to how many new titles we can publish during the year. We therefore have to say no to some very good ideas which either don't fit our house style or frankly don't come up to scratch! We know how disappointing rejection can be, so please don't be too hopeful.
  
• If you're hoping to retire on the strength of your advance, we're probably not the right publisher for you. We believe we pay a fair advance, and offer a decent ongoing royalty package, but there's no pretending we're going to replace your pension scheme!
  
• If you can't deliver text to us on time, please don't read any further! Deadlines are sacrosanct in publishing and the sudden death of an aging relative, the cat using the manuscript as a litter tray or the budgie catching bird flu will hold no water with us I'm afraid.
  
• Due to the hectic nature of publishing we have very little time to devote to looking through submissions and responding to them. We would therefore be extremely grateful if you would read through the sections below and send in only material which fits our criteria and in the correct format.

Any submissions which do follow our guidelines will get a personal reply. All others will receive a standard, but nevertheless polite reply.

At present we have one distinct series lists under The Greatest in the World brand namely 'The Greatest Tips in the World' series - e.g. The Greatest Gardening Tips in the World.

Titles in this series are growing quickly to include the widest possible range of home & leisure titles.  The books are in hardback format and are each around 160 – 200 pages, equating to between 25,000 and 30,000 words.

We are very clear about precisely what constitutes a ‘The Greatest Tips in the World’ title and all must fulfil the following four criteria:

1. They must be written in a friendly, easy to understand style to be enjoyed by a reader who is a novice in the particular subject matter, whilst still being of interest to the more experienced reader.


2. They must be informative. At the end of the book the reader must know something interesting and useful that they didn't know before they read it, whether it's how to overcome a golf swing problem, potty train a toddler, stop slugs munching your marigolds or an amazing, little-known fact about Ian Botham.


3. They must attract media interest. We are big on media interest in our books whether it is the national press, BBC Radio or the trade & consumer press. Alongside this goes the fact that authors themselves must be friendly and presentable and be prepared to give interviews, appear on radio and TV, and generally do their best to promote the book.


4. They must have plenty of obvious marketing channels outside the book trade. As a proactive publisher we like to ensure that we sell plenty of books through other outlets, including corporate enterprises, specialist shops, website etc...

Just to save wasting your time and ours, there are certain types of books we do not publish. These include:

• Anything specifically religious or with a strong cultural bent.


• Anything political or with an extremist viewpoint.


• Anything aimed at a small, specialised market, such as a guide to juggling with hedgehogs, or how to become a successful kebab shop owner.


• Long, rambling accounts of seemingly interesting personal experiences about which few other people will really give a damn about or aspire to copy themselves!

Well not the full manuscript for a start - we won't read it and will probably reject the proposal outright if the book is already written. We have a specific house style so please only come to us with the list of ingredients, not the final, baked pie! What we'd like from you - assuming your idea fits the criteria above - is a proposal which sets out:

• Briefly what the book is about (a synopsis of approx. 200 words) including how it will benefit the reader.


• A list of possible chapters (these can change later)


• Two or three short tips for each of the different chapters in the book.

Accompanying the above proposal should be a short biography about yourself and why you would be ideal to write the particular title. Don't forget - we may be getting a number of different submissions for the same title so really sell yourself to us! Also don’t forget to include all your contact details, including email address.

You can see a successful submission by clicking here.

Our Author’s Guidelines can be downloaded here.

You can submit by email to info@thegreatestintheworld.com or by post to

Submissions Department
The Greatest in the World Ltd.
PO Box 3182
Stratford-upon-Avon
Warwickshire CV37 7XW

If you choose to make your submission by post please include your email address.

If we are excited by your proposal it will be put forward for discussion at our weekly publications meeting where we receive input from our design and editorial staff. We will then gain feedback from our field sales team as to whether there is a current market for the particular title. If everyone is in agreement that we should accept the proposal we will contact you immediately with the good news and a contract! Be aware, though, that the publication date for your book could be more than 12 months away.

At The Greatest in the World we pride ourselves in making sure that all of our authors are happy and enjoy the experience of working with us long term. Too many publishers have a very clinical, arm's length relationship with their authors but that's not our style. If you are not prepared to have fun and go that extra mile to give us a cracking title both in the writing and marketing of the book then we are not for you nor you for us.

We take on only titles to which we feel we can do justice and achieve maximum expose for the author along with maximum sales potential. We put several weeks' dedicated effort into promoting each title, and exploring sales channels for it. Our titles are marketed both as part of their successful series and also individually with much emphasis being put on the expertise, charisma and media confidence of the author. Even when we move on to the next title we don't forget previous titles but continue to give them promotion when opportunities come along.

All authors should be prepared to freely give interviews to the media to promote their book and to attend book signings, if required.

We hope that you have not been put off by all our criteria and requirements. They are in place to save you wasted time and to ensure that we have time to consider those submissions which really have potential as The Greatest in the World titles.

Thank you for showing an interest in writing for us.

The Publishing Team