Who We Are: Roan & Weatherford is a traditional publisher reaching out to authors who don’t want to take the self-publishing route. We provide a team of editors, designers, and marketers to help bring your work to its finished form. Our goal is to develop long-term relationships with our authors and artists.

What We’re Looking For: We welcome any form of original fiction and non-fiction and we have multiple imprints that can be a home for your work. We want to tell good stories and share those stories with others. We are not, however, seeking single-book contracts. Our experience has taught us that the only way to market new authors is with multiple books over time. Therefore, we’re seeking authors with multiple works in progress, be they standalone, in a series, or a shared universe. We only accept electronic submissions through an agent or on a referral basis.

What We Pay: We’re a traditional publisher. We pay royalties—a percentage of sales after production costs—on a quarterly basis. Our royalty split is the same for all formats: eBook, hardcopy, and subsidiary rights. We do not pay advances.

Your Rights: Our standard contract covers the right to publish the story through one of our imprints. We request several additional rights: translation, serial, audio, dramatic reproductions, and the inclusion of the Work (including as a selection or shortened) in selected anthologies. We consistently shop your subsidiary rights through our trusted literary agency.

How To Submit Your Work: Please have your agent send the entire manuscript with a cover letter and a one-page synopsis of the work. The cover letter should be mainly information about yourself and who referred you to us. Other information should include (but is not limited to) why you wrote the manuscript and the genesis of the idea for the manuscript. In the email subject line, please put SUBMISSION: Title/Author Name. Send the email to: submissions@roanweatherford.com 

The manuscript should be submitted in Word format (.doc, .docx), and the filename should include only Title/Author Name. All manuscripts should be formatted in 12 point, Times New Roman font,  double-spaced, with one-inch margins and .22” first line indent. Submissions that fail to follow these guidelines will not be considered. Your one-page synopsis needs to be the basic summary of the story, all the major plot lines, and the major character (or characters), your name, and the manuscript’s word count. You should also include short synopses of any sequels or follow-up projects you would like our Acquisitions Board to consider.

Manuscripts not conforming to the required formatting conventions will not be considered, and the author or agent will not be notified that the book has been rejected.

Consideration: We know you’re anxious to hear back from us, but between our day-to-day publishing business and the sheer volume of submissions we receive, please allow eight to twelve weeks for consideration. If you have questions about your submission, or need to make a change (like a different email address, change of name, or you sent us the wrong file), put “QUERY” at the beginning of the subject line of the email. If for any reason you need to withdraw your submission, please email us as soon as possible with “WITHDRAW” at the beginning of the subject line. Do not, however, send status inquiries until after the first eight-to-twelve week period has elapsed. If your manuscript is rejected, please do not reply asking for further details or suggestions. Again, with the sheer volume of submissions we receive, it would be impossible—and, frankly, counterproductive—for us to review and critique each one. Our general suggestion for rejections is to join a critique group and improve your craft with the help of fellow writers. Likewise, if your manuscript is accepted for publication, please allow six to eight weeks for our Contracts Department to follow up with you regarding your contract, and do not contact them beforehand.

Production Timeline: Our standard production timeframe for a new author’s first book to work it’s way into our production schedule is eighteen months from date of submission of final manuscript, and includes developmental and line editing, design and layout, galley proofing and correction, and production. This is standard and non-negotiable.