Find out more about our company and our mission.
Kickstarter Campaign & Bookboxes
I backed your Kickstarter and I am excited about the rewards. Where can I get updates?
First off, THANK YOU! We're excited too! We will continue to use our Kickstarter page to send surveys to collect more information (such as mailing addresses for physical rewards) and provide updates as we continue along the process. It's all very new at this moment, but we're working hard to form relationships with vendors and authors in order to produce the best rewards possible.
I am a woman-owned small business! Can I be a vendor in your book box?
Let's talk! Please send an email with your business information and a link to your website/Etsy shop/etc. to admin@swordandsilkbooks.com
Do you have a timeline for releases yet?
In the last quarter of 2020, we will be publishing two novellas. These will not be funded by our Kickstarter campaign or apply to the Kickstarter campaign rewards. Instead, these novellas will function as a test run of our system and processes to ensure that our future releases will go off without a hitch. As the owners of the company, the authors of these novellas have pledged their royalties to the company. Meaning, buying/reading these books will contribute directly to future releases.
Contracts & Publishing
Do I have to pay for anything?
No. Sword and Silk is a traditional publisher. Which means, you never have to pay for any part of the publishing process—from editing to cover design.
Do you pay an advance?
Yes! Although currently our advance rates are not quite as large as some other publishers, at this stage we are able to offer a small advance on manuscripts we sign.
What is your distribution service?
What is your royalty rate?
So, once you sign me I don't have to do anymore work, right? I mean, I wrote the book. That's the hard part.
What sets you apart from other small publishers? What can you offer authors?
Thanks to our Kickstarter campaign, we are proud to offer authors a small advance at the time of signing, a stellar marketing campaign for their release, professional editing and cover design, a personalized bookbox for each release, and a street team ready to spread the news of your release to as many people as possible.
Submissions
If I am a man, can I still submit to you?
Of course! We just ask that your novel be able to pass the Bechdel test and have strong women written well.
What about non-binary, trans, or genderfluid people?
As both a company and the individuals on our team, inclusion is incredibly important to us. We recognize terms such as "woman" and "female" do not only include cis-women. The goal of this company is to highlight those that may have been previously disadvantaged in the publishing industry, including those with a non-binary, trans, or fluid gender identity.
I'm under 18. Can I still submit to you?
Unfortunately minors (people under the age of 18) cannot sign into a binding legal contact, something that's pretty necessary for publication. We encourage you to stick with it though, and would love to see your work when you turn 18!
I previously put a rough draft of my work on a website for readers. Can I still submit to you?
Short answer, yes.
Do I have to have an agent?
Nope! But if you do, we'd love to talk to them!
Does my book HAVE to have strong women?
Yes. End of story.
What do I need to do before I submit my work to you?
Then revise it once more.
I hate querying. Is there another way?
Our submissions process, including both the query letter and sample pages, help us keep things in order.
General FAQ
Who are you?
So is this a "man haters" club?
Sword and Silk is company born out of love and light, out of a desire to lift other women up. It does not mean that doing so has to put others down and, in fact, we are strongly against hate in all forms.
I heard about a possible online writing conference, can you tell me more?
Details about this are being hammered out. Join our mailing list to stay up to date!
I just want to buy swag, not submit, am I on the wrong page?
You're in exactly the right place! You can shop our swag by visiting our Shop page in the top menu.
I thought you guys were a podcast, not a publisher...
We're both! We publish books AND talk about books. What can we say? We love books.
I heard about your street team. How can I be a part of that?
Please fill out our application form here and we will let you know more as soon as possible.