Abingdon Press Manuscript Guidelines

Abingdon Press publishes 20-24 fiction titles each year. Our focus is on contemporary romance, historical romance, women’s fiction, suspense/thrillers, and speculative/visionary fiction. We do not publish Young Adult books or novels based on spiritual warfare, apocalyptic, or “end times” themes.

We only accept submissions from established agents and writers who meet with the editor at writers conferences.

We seek well-developed and original plots that are subtly layered with spiritual themes and ethical virtues. The characters must be complex and diverse people who experience faith, doubt, joy, loss, freedom, addiction, and more. Plots, conversations, and scenes should focus on the emotional aspects of relationships but should not include physical descriptions of sexual activity; voyeuristic or excessive descriptions of violence; “shock language” that profanes the worth of human beings or other living creatures.

A Few Tips for New Authors

• Manuscripts should be complete and between 85,000 and 90,000 words in length.
• Please be able to pitch your story in 25 words or less.
• Please be able to pitch yourself as an author in 25 words or less.
• Before you arrive at a pitch session, please be able to answer the following questions about your story:

o Why will the reader fall in love with your lead character(s)?
o What is the lead character’s primary goal in the book?
o Who (or what) opposes the goal? Why?
o What’s at risk if the goal is not accomplished?
o How has the lead character changed by the end?