Editorial Guidelines for Writers

For all submissions:

Please send to the attention of Kathleen Tucker, Editor-in-Chief.
Enclose a brief cover letter.
Include a self-addressed stamped envelope (SASE) for our reply. If you would like your work to be returned to you, please make sure the postage and size of your SASE is sufficient.
We permit simultaneous submissions. If you are sending your manuscript elsewhere, please let us know in your cover letter.
We recommend that you label the outside envelope of your submission to indicate whether a query or a full manuscript is enclosed.
Please do not use email or fax to send your work to us.

Picture books:

Story text need only be presented in a typed and double-spaced manuscript. Given this format, most picture book manuscripts should be less than eight pages.

Other formats—such as storyboards, dummy books, layout suggestions, and illustration ideas—are unnecessary. Please do not include them unless you are a professional artist.

Illustrations are not needed. When we publish a manuscript, we prefer to choose an artist whose style we feel best complements the story.

Novels:

We prefer that you send a query letter with three sample chapters first. We publish very few novels, so please bear in mind that the competition is particularly fierce.

At this time, we are not seeking manuscripts or writers for the Boxcar Children® Mysteries series.

Nonfiction:

You may send the entire manuscript if it is picture book length (see above for picture book guidelines). For any work that is longer, please send a query letter first.

We will consider biographies, but we prefer ones that are not fictionalized.

Responses:

We respond to most manuscript submissions within three to four months of receipt. Queries, when labeled appropriately, are usually answered within six weeks.

For notification of the safe arrival of your manuscript, please use the certified mail or return-receipt services offered by the post office. We can not ensure the reliability of postcard enclosures or other kinds of confirmation methods.

We are no longer responding to submissions without self-addressed stamped envelopes. See important tips for more information.

Important Tips

We will not read any unsolicited manuscripts, queries, or proposals sent via email.
Writers may notify us by postal mail if five or more months pass without a response. Letters clearly marked Status Inquiry will be given immediate attention.
Did you send us your manuscript without a self-addressed stamped envelope? The best thing to do is to simply re-submit your manuscript with an SASE. Don't just send the SASE on its own—it can be very difficult to match it up with the original submission!
Please do not send international reply coupons or currency checks. U.S. postage is available for purchase online.
We can not be held responsible for the loss or damage of materials, so please do not send anything that is irreplaceable or expensive. It helps to be clear in your cover letter about what materials you wish to have returned.
Some other common concerns about the submission process are addressed in our Frequently Asked Questions.