Submission Guidelines and Checklist for Stone Bridge Press
Updated July 2009

Here are general guidelines for submitting proposals and manuscripts to Stone Bridge Press. Use your best judgment as to which items to include with your submission. To save time, consider sending us a detailed letter of inquiry first. Please note the following:

• Use email for all correspondence. Send all inquiries to .
• Keep unsolicited attachments to 2 mb or less,
• Suspicious or large attachments will NOT be opened.
• Manuscripts should always be submitted as Word .doc files or as .rtf files. Do NOT use .docx files.
• We do not review poetry manuscripts. We in rare cases look at original fiction if the theme or pitch letter is appealing.
• Allow 2-3 weeks to acknowledge receipt, and up to 6 months for a decision. Usually it takes less time; sometimes it takes more.
• Do your homework. Check our website for the kinds of books we publish. Do not waste your time and ours by submitting inappropriate titles.
• We generally pay a small advance vs a royalty based on net receipts.

Proposals for publication should include items from the following checklist:

___1 A one-page cover letter summarizing what the book is, who it's for, and why it's useful, important, necessary, or unique.

___2 An expanded table of contents, chapter by chapter with summaries. Indicate what will be included in the front- and backmatter (introduction, preface, bibliography, glossary, index, etc.).

___3 For fiction or translation, at least two sample chapters. For non-fiction, an introduction and one sample chapter, or two sample chapters.

___4 Estimated manuscript length and completion date (if it's still incomplete).

___5 Number of illustrations and what kind (line drawings, black and white photographs, maps, color, etc.). Are there any special production or handling requirements? You can attach or zip-archive low-resolution jpegs or tif files. Do NOT send original art or high-resolution (that is, large) files unless we ask you to.

___6 Information about you. Include a c.v. if you have one, and indicate your qualifications to write on your subject.

___7 A discussion of the size of the market for your book and how your book compares to its competition. What makes it different/better? What are you prepared to do to promote the book (very important!)? Do you know others in your field who will provide reviews or testimonials?

___8 Your financial and scheduling requirements, if any.

Email your submission to .

If you need to send hard copy or other materials, send it to P.O. Box 8208, Berkeley, CA 94707. Use media mail or priority mail ONLY.

IMPORTANT!!!! If you require a certificate of delivery or are using Express Mail or a delivery service like UPS, DO NOT USE THE POST OFFICE BOX ADDRESS AND MAKE THE EDITOR STAND IN LINE; instead use our street address: 1393 Solano Avenue, Suite C, Albany, CA 94706. We will be VERY unhappy if you don’t do this.

Please note that we are primarily interested in books with a Japan/Asia connection (however tenuous). Ifyou write genre fiction, like science fiction, war stories, mysteries, and romances, or commercial fiction, you probably shouldn't be talking to us at all.

No materials can be returned to you unless you provide us with sufficient return postage. We prefer to reply by email.

We look forward to hearing from you.

THE EDITORS
Stone Bridge Press
Berkeley, California