Enclave Publishing is very author-friendly. From a personal connection to the publisher, Steve Laube, to contracts that are favorable to the author, we are a fellowship of Christians who write fiction. Whether you’re one of our authors or not, we want to help you improve at the craft of writing fiction.
Writers Guidelines for Enclave Publishing
Enclave publishes full-length novels for Christian adults, teens, and older YA readers (11 and up) in the speculative fiction genres. Speculative Fiction includes Fantasy, Science Fiction, Supernatural, etc.
Our philosophy is this:
“Enclave publishes out-of-this-world stories
that are informed by a coherent theology.”
We will consider publishing a manuscript if it meets all of these conditions:
- It is a speculative novel (SF, fantasy, etc.– please, no books of poetry).
- It is at least 70,000 words in length (maximum word count limit of 140,000).
- It is for adult, teen, or older YA readers (no children’s, middle grade, or chapter books).
- It arises from the Evangelical Christian worldview.
- It is a completed manuscript (no partials, unless you are an already well-established and published author).
What is a Book Proposal, You Ask?
There are many ways to create a book proposal, but remember, in a sense, this is your job application. Present yourself as a professional and let your idea and your writing speak for themselves. Directions below are to guide you so your submission will be engaging, complete, and follow industry standards. Instead of obsessing over minor details, follow the standards and let the focus be where it belongs: the book itself! Please read everything below.
Your first submission to us will be through our acquisitions form (at the bottom of this page). Enclave authors do not have to be represented by a literary agent to be considered for publication.
COVER LETTER
The cover letter should include your name, address, phone number, and e-mail address. It should sum up the plot or idea in a single paragraph, as well as give the book’s title and estimated word count of the entire manuscript (not page count). The cover letter should not be more than one page.
Cover letter article.
(We HIGHLY recommend that you read this article!)
THE PROPOSAL
The first thing is your title. And if a series, the name of the series. For example:
Magnificent Book Title
Book one in the Fabulous Fiction series
Create a Promo Sentence and a Sales Handle (these are the bits you see on the front cover of a novel or as a headline across the back cover. In addition, create back cover copy that tells the story without giving it away (back cover is usually around 75 words)
Examples (from the cover of the novel Oxygen by Randy Ingermanson and John Olson):
Promo sentence:
A mission gone desperately wrong – and no way out short of blind faith…
Sales handles: A tragic accident or a suicide mission?
Back cover copy:
Dreams turn suddenly to nightmares for NASA and the crew as an explosion cripples the spacecraft on the outward voyage. The crew’s survival depends on complete trust in one another – but is one of the four a saboteur?
In the year 2012, Valkerie Jansen, a young microbial ecologist, was presented with an amazing opportunity to continue her research as a member of the NASA corps of astronauts. When a sudden resignation opens the door for her to be a part of a mission to Mars, her lifelong dream becomes a reality.
Synopsis:
This is a three-page, single-spaced exercise in telling your entire story in a small space. We use this to get an overview of the whole book if we like the first few chapters. It is also later used by sales and marketing to get a handle on the entire story as they look for hooks to sell it.
Series Info:
If it is a series, please provide a 1/2 page overview in the proposal of the subsequent books in the series so we can get a feel for the entire series story arc.
Other elements you can include:
Since fiction can be entertaining and taps the emotional center of a reader, here are some other helpful things to include in your proposal :
In a single sentence, state your purpose for writing this novel. Why did you write (are you writing) this story? What are you trying to prove about life with this story?
Describe your protagonist’s quest. What does he want or need? What is his goal? For what does he yearn?
What is at stake in this story? If your protagonist doesn’t attain his goal, so what? Why does it matter and why should the reader care? What are the consequences?
What is the “takeaway value” of the story? How will the reader be changed for having read it?
THE MANUSCRIPT
The manuscript should be double-spaced with one-inch margins on all four sides. (The proposal and synopsis above are single-spaced. The manuscript is double-spaced.)
You can include your full manuscript if it is complete. Be aware that we will only read the first three chapters to make an initial evaluation. If it passes that threshold, we will read the rest. (This is just like you do when evaluating whether or not to purchase a new book. Likely you will either flip to the first few pages or click a “look inside” feature.)
If the manuscript is not complete, let us know. But if you are a first-time author, it will be tough to know if you can finish the book well. We recommend you finish the book first before submitting it to any publisher.
A COURSE ON HOW TO WRITE A BOOK PROPOSAL
We recommend that you consider taking Steve Laube’s course on book proposal preparation found on The Christian Writers Institute website. (Here is a link to the course. The cost is only $29.99. This is a 70% discount from its regular price!) It is an extensive video course that will walk you through, step-by-step, the basic elements of a proposal. The course includes two sample proposal templates, one for fiction and one for non-fiction. Plus, there are worksheets, articles on specific topics on what you need for your preparation, and a sample of an effective cover letter. In addition, he includes a copy of the ebook below in different electronic formats.
You should also consider reading all the Steve Laube Agency articles on the topic of book proposal preparation. For example, Tamela Hancock Murray wrote a ten-part “Book Proposal Basics” series (find it here). In addition, they have nearly 200 blog posts on this topic…which is a measure of how important it is. [You can find them here.]
Please Use the Form Below
We prefer that your submission to us be through our acquisitions form below. Authors do not have to be represented by a literary agent to be considered for publication. We will consider all proposals that fit our guidelines. Please include your name and contact information in the documents you upload.
Filling out our acquisitions form
If you would like us to consider publishing your novel, and if it fits with our writer’s guidelines (as shown at the top of this page), then please fill out this form.
The above guidelines and the form below will occasionally raise questions. Try not to overthink it.
Simply upload in the form below:
File #1: Cover letter
File #2: Proposal
File #3: Full Manuscript or Sample chapters. Or…if the proposal has the sample chapter, that is fine. If you have the full manuscript, please include it. Saves a step if we want to read more than the first few chapters.
We try our best to respond within three months or so. But it might be longer. Remember, we don’t do many books per year and must be highly selective.
If you would like to ask a question, please use acquisitions@enclavepublishing.com. All proposals and form submissions below are sent to that address.