Submissions
Welcome to the Pan Macmillan Submission Page. Thank you for your interest in publishing with Pan Macmillan India.
Pan Macmillan India is the trade publishing arm of the Macmillan Group and publishes adult fiction and non-fiction under its imprints, Picador India, Macmillan and Pan.
Picador India – Literary fiction and non-fiction is published under Picador India. VS Naipaul, Ramachandra Guha, RK Narayan, Aravind Adiga, Patrick French, Amitava Kumar, Anees Salim, Aatish Taseer, Kunal Basu, Chitra Banerjee Divakurni, Murzban Shroff, Musharraf Ali Farooqi, Raj Kamal Jha, Siddharth Chowdhury, Tabish Khair, Zia Haider Rahman, A.L. Basham, Alexander Frater, Shandana Minhas, Mohammad Khalid Akhtar, Sami Shah, John Zubrzycki, K. Madavane, Sunjeev Sahota are among our Picador authors.
Pan - We publish general fiction and non-fiction under Pan. Jeffery Archer, Ken Follett, David Baldacci, Omar Shahid Hamid, Meg Cabot, Peter James, Madhumita Bhattacharya, John R. Schmidt, Brian Tracy, Surendran J, Himanjali Sankar, Ashok Banker, Kishalay Bhattacharjee, Santosh Nair, Zac O’Yeah, Maha Khan Phillips, Aditya Sinha, Amitabh Pandey, Neel Sinha, N.S. Inamdar are some of our authors published under Pan.
Macmillan – We publish commercial fiction and non-fiction under Macmillan. Rita Choudhury, Chhimi Tenduf-La, Pranjal Sharma, Ambi Parameswaran, Nayomi Munaweera and Osho are among our Macmillan authors.
We have listed below questions that are asked frequently to provide a perspective for you to understand better what we are looking for.
1. What does Pan Macmillan India publish?
At Pan Macmillan India we accept manuscripts that have a strong connection to India or the Indian subcontinent. We accept submissions in the following categories –
Fiction- modern contemporary fiction, horror, historical fiction, thriller and suspense, historical thrillers, fantasy, literary fiction. We do not focus on campus-oriented, college romance.
General and narrativenon-fiction - self-help, current affairs, sports, fitness and diet, business and management, family and health, popular philosophy, anthologies, travel writing, cultural studies, literary essays, social sciences, politics and government, history, memoirs, epidemiology, biographies.
However, the submissions we accept are not limited to these categories and we will be happy to receive manuscripts in other genres as well.
Pan Macmillan India does not publish school and college textbooks. For queries related to reference and educational publishing, please visit the Macmillan Education website - http://www.macmillaneducation.in/
Poetry submissions are not accepted at present. Short stories, illustrated books, graphic novels and textbooks are not published by Pan Macmillan India.
2. Do I have to submit my work through a literary agent?
Manuscripts sent through a literary agent will receive a higher priority. However, we also accept unsolicited submissions which may be sent by email to paneditorial@macmillan.co.in
3. Can I submit poetry proposals?
Currently, we do not look at publishing poetry. However, we may consider poetry submissions in future. Please keep checking this space for updates.
4. Are short stories accepted?
We do not publish short stories as of now. Please keep checking this space for updates.
5. Can I send a picture book or stories written for children?
At present, we do not look at publishing children’s books or illustrated stories for young readers and graphic novels.
6. What should my submission contain?
For our evaluation process please send us the following:
- A short synopsis of your work (500 words)
- A brief outline of the chapters
- Only the first three sample chapters(please do not send chapters of a random number sequence)
- A short note about yourself that has relevant details like your employment status, any other published work that you may have and so on. We just want to know you better. We do not require a detailed resume.
- As publishers, even though we may love your work we need to think about other parameters like the market, sales and so on. A short note on some ideas that you may have about your book’s target audience, age group and why you think your book will work and what will make it stand out among all the other comparable books being published in the same category will be required. Also please mention which titles in the market (if any) are, according to you, comparable to your work.
Please do not send the complete copy of your manuscript at this stage. Ideas for book covers are also not required.
7. In what format should I send the submission documents?
Please send the documents as separate, attached MS Wordfiles that are not password protected. Manuscripts should be typed in Times New Roman, in black font on white page (font size 12 and double-spaced) to ensure legibility of text. Please adhere to the specified format and do not use unreadable fonts, colour, highlights etc. Do not send PDF documents.
8. Where should I send the submission?
We accept submissions only through email. Please send your submissions only by email to paneditorial@macmillan.co.in
Please do not send hard copies of manuscripts. We do not return manuscripts sent through mail, irrespective of the final decision regarding the submission.
9. When can I expect a response on the status of my manuscript?
We receive a number of submissions every day and we look at each of them with utmost seriousness. This process takes a while. You can expect to hear from us within three months. During this period we would appreciate if you do not call or send reminder mails. It becomes difficult to respond to individual mails and queries while handling the large number of submissions.
10. What is the evaluation criterion?
We evaluate a manuscript on several parameters like style, content, readability, market trends and sales potential. Whether the manuscript fits our publishing programme is also a crucial factor. Furthermore, please understand that as a publishing house, we look at each manuscript in the context of other manuscripts and previously published books. It is essential for us to go beyond a simple reader-oriented approach and analyse if other books in the market stand as a competition to a particular manuscript or if another manuscript(s) execute a similar idea in a more adept way.
11. What if there is no response within three months?
In the rare event that you do not receive a response from us within three months, please send us a reminder, which includes the initial date of your submission, and we will surely respond to it.
12. What happens if Pan Macmillan India is interested in my submission?
If your submission generates interest then our editorial team will ask for the full manuscript. This does not imply that your manuscript has been accepted for publication. Subsequently, there will be a detailed evaluation of the entire manuscript and it may be returned to you with feedback and editorial inputs and suggestions. If you so wish, you may work on the suggestions and resend the manuscript to us, we will then evaluate it again. At this stage, please let us know if you have submitted your work elsewhere. Upon a second evaluation, if it meets our standards and requirements we will send you an offer for publishing the work.
13. Is it possible to submit my manuscript in person and/or meet the editor?
No, please refrain from sending a hard copy of your manuscript or delivering it in person. Doing so does not increase chances of acceptance of the submission. Please send us a soft copy according to the above-mentioned guidelines.
14. I am yet to finish the book, may I still send a proposal/outline?
No. We do not accept proposals, please write in to us only when you have a finished manuscript with you, though you do not need to send it right away but we may ask for it if your submission generates interest.
15. Can I submit my manuscript simultaneously to other publishing house(s)?
You can send your manuscript for evaluation to other publishers as well. However, please mention clearly in the email if you’ve sent your work for evaluation elsewhere. Also, if your manuscript is accepted by another publishing house while we are evaluating it, let us know immediately so that we can discontinue the evaluation process.
16. Can I resend my manuscript if it has been rejected once?
Manuscripts once rejected will not be looked at again. Please do not resend the manuscript.
17. Will I be given a feedback on my manuscript, irrespective of being accepted or not?
You will receive an email when the editors complete evaluating your submission. However, with the large number of submissions we receive, it is not possible to give an individual feedback.
18. How can I be assured that my idea won’t be stolen by the publishing house?
We value the immense faith that we have received from authors and readers alike over the years.Our constant endeavour at Pan Macmillan India is to publish quality fiction and non-fiction for the general audience. Please understand that it is strictly against our value system as a leading publishing house to indulge in idea theft or any form of unethical/unprofessional practice.
19. I am not from India. Can I still send my submission to Pan Macmillan India?
We look at publishing stories that have a strong connection to India and the Indian subcontinent, irrespective of the nationality of the author. However, if your submission is set outside the Indian context, you may wish to look at sending it for evaluation to one of our international trade publishing arms -
Pan Macmillan USA - http://www.panmacmillan.com/
Pan Macmillan Africa - http://panmacmillan.co.za/
Pan Macmillan Australia - http://www.panmacmillan.com.au/
Picador UK - http://www.picador.com/
20. How long does the publishing procedure take?
Once your manuscript has been accepted, the publishing process takes up to 12 months. Depending on length of the manuscript and the editorial changes required, the time period may be shorter.
21. If my submission has been accepted, who is responsible for marketing the book? Do I, as an author, have a role in marketing?
In a world with evolving networking and communication technology, the best results are achieved when the author and the publisher work in tandem to market the book. On acceptance of submission, the author will be guided through a detailed procedure outlining the marketing and promotional program of Pan Macmillan India by our marketing team.
22. Can I get a better insight on Pan Macmillan India’s publishing policies pertaining to royalty, marketing, distribution, book cover design, sales and promotion?
Queries related to marketing, royalties, distribution etc. are discussed in depth once the manuscript has been accepted to be published. It is too early to consider these at the initial stage of submission.
23. Are there any tips/suggestions to make my manuscript more readable/ error-free?
A list of simple do’s and don’ts can be helpful in making a manuscript readable and easier to evaluate.
- Please ensure that the submission sent to us is your original work.
- Please proof-read your manuscript for errors of spelling, punctuation, paragraphs, page numbering, indent, grammar, spacing, typography etc. A thoroughly proof-read copy is easier, quicker and impressive to read. If you have quoted material from another text or author, please mention the sources in footnotes or in a separate Word Document. A failure to do so will automatically amount to plagiarism and subsequent rejection.
- Ensure that the synopsis is concise and clearly lays down the plot or purpose of your manuscript. Avoid unnecessary details.
- Adhere to the word limit. The assessors may lose interest in reading the main submission if a lengthy synopsis or author profile has been given. Also, do not send the entire manuscript as it is not required at the initial submission stage.
- Please follow the given font style, spacing, coloring etc.
- Make sure you’ve attached all the documents as separate MS Word files and have given the necessary details correctly including your name and contact.
- The cover letter is a crucial document and the editors examine it closely before looking at your manuscript. Pay sufficient attention when drafting it.
- Address the cover letter to the Evaluations Editor.
- Lastly, once complete, read your manuscript and critically ask yourself ‘Did I enjoy my work as a reader?’ Or ‘Would I recommend my work to others to read?’
Please retain a copy of your work. Pan Macmillan India will not be liable for any loss or damage to the submitted work nor will the company return manuscripts to the author.
We look forward to hearing from you.