A Manuscript’s Journey – What We Do in the Acquisitions Department

Have you ever wondered what happens to your manuscript after you send it to a publisher?

The first stop a manuscript makes is at the Acquisitions Department. As Acquisition Associates, we have the pleasure of being the first to read all the manuscripts that fly into Elephant Page Publishing (EPP).

Our lovely Acquisitions Director, Josie, goes through all the submissions we receive. Her job is to find all the important information about the manuscript, such as the word count, genre and synopsis. This information, along with the manuscript, is then put into a spreadsheet. This spreadsheet is the most valuable document in the Acquisitions Department. Without it, we would be so unorganised that the system would fall apart. This spreadsheet outlines all the important information we need to have a brief understanding of each piece of work. This becomes important later when we divvy up the workload.

When the Acquisitions Department members meet, Josie outlines which manuscripts have priority. As you may be aware, EPP is a mostly student-staffed publishing house. This means that EPP has limited capacity during the semester breaks. So, when we start a new semester, there is a lot to catch up on. Our priority is the manuscripts reviewed last semester, but we are yet to contact the authors. We greatly appreciate the patience authors have when submitting to us!

After those manuscripts have been assigned to be reviewed, we move on to the new manuscripts that have hit our inbox. We distribute these manuscripts amongst ourselves. This is where the information in our spreadsheet, especially genre, comes in handy, as we each have a different preference regarding genre. Having different preferences is fantastic as it allows manuscripts to be allocated to the associate who will most appreciate it.

Once a manuscript is allocated, it is time to read (A.K.A., why I joined this department)! While reading, despite the manuscript being in the genre we enjoy, it is vital for us to read through a broader lens. We must consider aspects such as the type of publishing house EPP is, the quality of the manuscript, the competition and the audience for the book. The audience is key here because we might personally like or dislike a specific manuscript, but we must consider whether a wider audience will enjoy it.

When reading manuscripts, we take diligent notes. Our department, and the publishing house, need to be informed of the content of the manuscripts we are reviewing. These notes are key to transparency and accountability.

Unfortunately, despite the fantastic pieces of work we are receiving, we cannot publish every single manuscript as we are a very small publishing house. However, we believe that every submitted manuscript deserves quality feedback. At Elephant Page Publishing, we pride ourselves on giving this valuable feedback. This is where our diligent manuscript notes come into play. These notes provide us with in-depth detail, allowing us to write effective and personalised rejection letters, which we hope will help authors on their publishing journey.

Each week, the acquisitions team meets and discusses the updates for each manuscript. We explain to our team members a brief summary of what we have read and whether it is being rejected or needs another reader.

You might be wondering, another reader?

If we see promise in a manuscript, we have a process that includes a second or even a targeted third reader. Essentially, this is just getting another perspective on a manuscript.

If a book makes it through three separate readers, we know we have something special. It is then up to us to pitch the story to the rest of the publishing house. This pitch will include various information such as a synopsis, the genre and who we think will enjoy this book.

We aim to find a manuscript that the entire publishing house agrees has potential.

Once we manage to do that, we start the process all over again.

We are always looking for more submissions, so if you have a completed manuscript, send it our way!

By Taya Dardengo

Acquisitions Department