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Home > Guides > Letter to a publisher
Mail a publisher at its submissions or permissions address, never a general inbox address copied from a website footer, and say in the first paragraph whether you are submitting work, asking permission, or following up. Follow the publisher's stated guidelines exactly, because unsolicited material that ignores them is often returned unread.
Publishers sort incoming mail by department before anyone reads it. A letter sent to the wrong desk can sit for weeks, or be returned, even if the work itself is strong. The fix is unglamorous: find the right address and the right guidelines before you write. Most publishers post submission guidelines on their websites, and many state plainly whether they accept unsolicited work at all. Sending work to a publisher that does not accept it wastes your time and theirs.
| Your purpose | Send it to | Note |
|---|---|---|
| Submitting a manuscript or proposal | The submissions editor or the imprint that publishes your kind of book | Many publishers accept only agented work; check first |
| Asking permission to reprint | The permissions or rights department | Give full details of the work and how you will use it |
| Following up a submission | The editor you first wrote to, by name | Quote the title and the date you first sent it |
| Correcting a published error | The managing editor or corrections desk | Give the page, the error, and the correction |
| Ordering or trade question | Customer service or the sales department | Editorial staff do not handle orders |
Address the editor by name when you can. A named editor is more likely to open a letter than a pile addressed to "Dear Editor". If the guidelines name an editor, use that name. If they say "no named submissions", follow that rule instead; a named letter that breaks a stated rule reads as careless. For magazines and journals, the same logic holds: the section editor for your topic, not the editor-in-chief, is usually the right reader.
A cover letter for a submission is short: title, genre or category, length, and a one-paragraph account of what the work is about. Say why you chose this publisher, in one line that shows you know its list: a comparable title, a series, or a subject area. Mention relevant credentials briefly, such as prior publication, but keep it to a line or two. End by saying what you are sending with the letter and how the publisher can reach you.
Do not send the full manuscript in the same mailing unless the guidelines ask for it. Most publishers want a query letter first, then sample chapters on request. Sending a full manuscript unasked can mark you as someone who did not read the guidelines. Also, a letter sent through LetterAgent contains only the letter itself: no manuscript, no sample pages, no return envelope. That makes LetterAgent a good fit for a query letter, a permissions request, or a follow-up, but not for sending a manuscript that must travel with the letter. For manuscript mail, use a service that accepts the full package.
Permissions letters need detail, because the rights department cannot answer a vague request. Name the work you want to use, the author, the exact passage or image, the book or article it will appear in, the print run or audience, the territory, and the time period. State whether the use is commercial or educational. A permissions request that leaves out the print run or the territory will earn a reply asking for those facts, which costs weeks. Give a deadline only if you truly have one, and say so plainly.
Keep a copy of every permissions letter and every reply. Rights are often granted in writing, and the terms matter years later when a work is reprinted. File the letter, the reply, and any payment record together. If the publisher grants permission with conditions, such as a credit line, follow them exactly; a granted permission can be withdrawn if its terms are ignored.
Response times vary widely. Some publishers answer queries in weeks; others take months, and some answer only if interested. The guidelines usually state a response window. Wait until that window closes before following up, then send one polite follow-up letter quoting the title and the original date. One follow-up is professional; repeated follow-ups are not. If the guidelines say "no response means no", take that at face value and move on to the next publisher.
When a rejection arrives, it is usually a form letter, and it rarely explains why. That is normal, not a personal judgment. Note the date, file the reply, and send the work elsewhere. Many published books were rejected several times before finding the right house. A short thank-you note after a personal, encouraging rejection is a kind gesture that editors remember, but it is optional, not expected.
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