Written by Emily Harstone July 19th, 2018

Black Opal Books: Now Accepting Manuscript Submissions

UPDATED NOVEMBER 15, 2021 – They are still in operation, but everything I’ve heard from authors has made it clear that their serious issues are ongoing. They are not listed in the manuscript guide and I keep this article up as a reference point.

UPDATED JULY 30TH, 2019 – They have gone through some recent upheaval in terms of new ownership and employees. I cannot disclose details at this time, but I would not advise anyone to approach them at this time. I will update as soon as I hear more.Please steer clear.

They accept all romance genres, including paranormal and erotic, they also publish YA, Women’s Fiction, Chick Lit, Historicals, Mysteries, and Thrillers.  They also occasionally publish non-fiction. They are a small printand eBook publisher. They do not have great sales records, but have been doing this for a while. They often work with the same authors over and over again, which can be a good sign.

Their website and book covers are a little dated, but most of their writers seemed pleased with the editing attention their books receive. Also the website focuses on recruiting new readers and not new authors, which is a good sign.

They only accept submissions between 1 June and 31 December each year. During that time, there is a form you use to submit to them. The link to the form is not available outside of that submission period.

Royalties start at 45% — for both eBook and print, and go as high as 70%, and they are very upfront about that. They currently have two categories of story length for fiction: novellas, which are 15,000–45,000 words and novels, which are 45,000 & up. If your manuscript is little longer or shorter than that, they will still consider it.

They are not interested in manuscripts where the story is told in present tense. They do not consider any fiction manuscripts over 120,000 words in length without querying first. They have separate guidelines for non-fiction. They have through and detailed guidelines for all their submissions, so please review them carefully before submitting.

To learn more, visit their submission guidelines here.

Are you ready to submit?

Please fill out this short form before continuing.

Why this form is required.

Have you revised your manuscript at least 3 times?


 

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