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Pan Macmillan SFF imprint Tor UK is now accepting direct submissions from authors, with editorial director Julie Crisp acknowledging that having closed lists can mean "many writers feel that the only option is to go down the self-publishing route".
In a blog post on the Tor site, Crisp sets out guidelines for writers wishing to submit their manuscript directly to the publisher, stipulating that it must be complete, and ofbetween 95,000-150,000 words.
Crisp said: "Until recently Tor UK followed the submission policy of Macmillan in that we didn't accept direct submissions. To be honest, with so many submissions from agents, plus manuscripts from existing authors and actually publishing books-there's little to no time to actually go through what we used to fondly designate the 'slush pile'.
"However, we do know how frustrating it is for non-published authors to try to get their work into a traditional publishing house. With so many publishers and agents having closed their lists for submissions, many writers feel that the only option is to go down the self-publishing route.
"And while that works for some writers, trying to get the visibility for a novel amongst the sheer numbers of other writers all attempting the same thing is never going to be easy. Besides, hopefully, there is still a fondness for having the book edited, packaged and published by us traditional types."
She writes that the editorial team will read the submission, but is not promising any editorial feedback or a fast response.