Submission Guidelines

What kind of material does Covenant publish?

Covenant is interested in a wide variety of topics—virtually any subject that would appeal to an LDS audience and make a fresh contribution (adult fiction and nonfiction, children’s books, holiday booklets, gift books). As you consider submitting a manuscript, here are four questions to ask yourself: (1) Is the work original, insightful, thorough, and well written? (2) Does the work appeal to a broad range of LDS readers? (3) Is the work consistent with the standards and principles of the restored gospel of Jesus Christ? and (4) Does the work tend to promote the faith of members of the Church and inspire them to lead better lives?

In addition, you should be aware that what is popular in the market changes from time to time, so not all genres are equally profitable, even if the work itself is well written. Please know that this marketability factor plays significantly into our publishing decisions. Due to this difficulty, we generally do not accept poetry submissions. If you feel that your product, though containing poetry (for example, a photography or gift book that includes poetry), stands out and is marketable beyond its poetic values, you may submit it with a cover letter explaining as much.

Because our market consists almost exclusively of members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, we do not publish material that fails to support LDS doctrine or values. Thus we usually publish only those works with specific LDS content. However, in the case of some fiction genres—including children’s fantasy, adult fantasy, historical fiction set before the mid-1800s and/or in a place where the Church was unknown, and Christmas works—we will accept general Christian-themed pieces. If you have questions about whether your finished work falls outside these parameters, you may send specific questions to our submissions department. We will not accept manuscripts that contain offensive material, which includes profanity, vulgarity, excessive violence, or sexually explicit or suggestive scenes.

Although we will consider manuscripts that are simultaneously being submitted to other publishers, we prefer to have exclusive review rights during the time your manuscript is with us because we invest time and money into evaluating your manuscript. If you do decide to submit to various publishers simultaneously, we ask that you let us know so that misunderstandings can be avoided. Please indicate in your cover letter whether this is a simultaneous submission.

Submission Instructions

Email your manuscript, along with a one-page cover letter, a one- to two-page plot summary, and the Author Questionnaire to Submissions@covenant-lds.com. We request that all submissions be submitted via email as Microsoft Word attachments. If you cannot email your submission, please burn the Word document onto a CD and mail it to Submissions, c/o Covenant Communications, 920 E State Rd, American Fork, UT 84003.

NOTE: Please do not submit original copies of photography, transparencies, or artwork, and please retain copies of any manuscripts you submit. Covenant assumes no liability for loss of artwork, photographs, or manuscripts. CDs will not be returned.

1. Manuscript
Your submission should conform to the following standards to facilitate our evaluation process. Any exceptions should be explained in the cover letter.
1. Type your manuscript in a Microsoft Word document with one-inch margins on all sides.
2. Use a 12-point type size (Times New Roman font preferred) and double-space all text, including extracts, footnotes, bibliography, and quotations.
3. Compile your manuscript into one document, not a separate document for each chapter. Insert page breaks between chapters, rather than hitting RETURN or ENTER multiple times.
4. Insert page numbers in the bottom right corner of each page of your manuscript. Number pages consecutively—not by chapter. Do NOT insert headers or footers other than the page number.
5. Indent the first line of each paragraph a half-inch (0.5"), and do NOT insert extra returns between paragraphs.
6. Carefully spell-check and proofread your manuscript.
7. For nonfiction or historical fiction manuscripts, include a complete bibliography.
Note on Manuscript Length: We generally do not accept books over 105,000 words (about 350 double-spaced pages) or under 60,000 words (about 200 pages). Children’s fiction should generally be under 90,000 words, or 300 pages. Exceptions to the minimum length requirement include booklets and illustrated books, which should be no more than 30 pages.

2. Cover Letter
In the cover letter, please briefly discuss the following:
• Whether your work is fiction or nonfiction (for scholarly/doctrinal works, see special submission requirements for nonfiction manuscripts below).
• Your background in relation to the topic of your book.
• The intended audience of your book.
• The specific LDS-oriented elements of your book.
• What makes this book stand out from others in its genre.

3. Plot Summary
For fiction submissions, include a one- to two-page plot summary, formatted like the manuscript. For nonfiction, submit a table of contents rather than a summary.

4. Author Questionnaire (file requires Microsoft Word)
Download the Author Questionnaire here. Please read this form carefully and fill it out.

Once you have prepared the four required documents according to the specifications above, you are ready to email them as attachments to Submissions@covenant-lds.com. Due to the volume of submissions we receive and the thoroughness of our review process, it may take us several months to make a decision on whether to publish your manuscript.

Special Submission Requirements for Nonfiction Manuscripts
Nonfiction manuscripts require special handling. When you use a quote, fact, or idea that originated with someone else, you must introduce the quote appropriately and then document the source of the information in a footnote, endnote, or the text itself. In addition to documenting the quotations and paraphrases you use, you must also prepare a bibliography containing all the sources you have cited in your manuscript. Use a consistent format for your footnotes and bibliography, such as those explained in the Chicago or MLA style manuals.

You are also responsible for obtaining permissions for any copyrighted materials you use. Please note that due to fair-use laws, any quotes from General Authorities of the Church must be limited in number and used only as support for your own ideas; they cannot serve as the main point of a paragraph or section. It is extremely difficult to obtain quotation permissions for compendium-style manuscripts.

You as the author are responsible for carefully checking all quotations and paraphrases prior to submitting your manuscript, and you will also need to provide us with the materials necessary to verify the accuracy of your citations, so please keep good notes. For each source you use—whether as a direct quote or as a paraphrase—you will need to submit photocopies of the copyright page, title page, table of contents, and the page containing quoted material itself (with the quote highlighted). This is crucial for any additional source checking we may do in-house.

If your manuscript contains illustrations, figures, or charts that do not translate well into Word, include these on separate pages (email in as a .pdf documents or mail in hard copies) and indicate where in your manuscript you want them to appear. As with your manuscript, do not send original or irreplaceable artwork.

What is involved in the evaluation of each manuscript?
After a manuscript has passed an initial review for potential marketability, it is sent to professional evaluators with expertise in the category or subject matter of the manuscript. If the evaluators return positive reviews, the manuscript is presented to the New Product Committee. This committee (representing Covenant’s editing, marketing, graphics, finance, and sales departments) makes a final decision as to whether or not the manuscript will be provisionally accepted for publication pending budget approval.

After the committee provisionally accepts a manuscript, they will work on establishing a budget that will make sure your book is profitable. If this process is successful, we will notify you that your book has been accepted for publication, and we will draw up a contract. Your manuscript will be on its way to becoming a published book!

Once my book is accepted, how long will it take to publish it, and what is the publishing process?
To some extent, the length of time that a particular book is in production depends on both the subject matter and the length of the manuscript. For example, if your book is seasonal in nature (Mother’s Day, Christmas, etc.), it will be scheduled accordingly. A short fiction book naturally takes less time than a longer nonfiction book that includes a great deal of source material. Also, we like to have our products ready for the press at least six months in advance of when they will appear in bookstores. Consequently, it may take a year or more from the date of acceptance for a book to be published. Publication dates can change due to market shifts and other factors, so be prepared to be patient as we work to ensure that your book will be released when it has the best opportunity for success.

Once a manuscript is accepted, the author is assigned an editor who will guide the book through the production process. The editor may request one or more fine-tuning revisions by the author after a book is accepted. Once the revised manuscript is returned to Covenant, it is edited thoroughly and returned to the author for review. When both author and editor are satisfied (under the demands of a deadline), the manuscript goes through several professional copyedits. After incorporation of the copyedit changes, the manuscript is typeset. The typeset manuscript is then reviewed by the author and by proofreaders. Corrections at this stage are limited to typesetting errors only. The final typeset manuscript is then given to the production team, which sends it to the press.

What about marketing?
Covenant’s marketing strategies are very aggressive. We are committed to providing appropriate and innovative marketing for each new title we publish. Our sales representatives maintain close contact with hundreds of LDS booksellers in the United States, Canada, England, and Australia. We advertise our books in catalogs and other media sources.

Authors are also expected to help market their books through signings, radio interviews, and other promotional activities.

If your book is accepted for publication, you will receive further information on how you will need to be involved in that process.