Submission process:

  • Fiction (adult fiction, young adult fiction, mystery, noir, southern fiction, historical fiction). Nonfiction (essays, memoirs, biographies, creative or historical nonfiction). International history. Southern history and folklore. Short story collections and poetry.

  • You may submit your manuscript in PDF form initially by emailing it to the email address listed on this website.

  • Authors submitting a manuscript to Front Porch should allow a minimum of six to nine weeks following the initial submission of their manuscript. Generally, within that time, their manuscript will be reviewed and considered for publication. If further questions arise, Front Porch will contact the author for further clarification or explanation. 

  • Submissions must be in Word format and the length of the manuscript may depend upon the genre or type of submission (e.g., novel, short story collection, poetry collection) - Go to submission guidelines  for more information on formatting and guidelines. 

  • Yes, if Front Porch ultimately does not choose to publish your manuscript, you will be notified by email of our decision not to publish.  

 The publishing process:

  • The timeline for publication is very subjective. Much depends upon the condition and state of evolvement of the manuscript submitted. The better edited and more refined manuscript, the shorter the timeline for publication. Further, the publication time can also depend upon the plant that prints the work. The timeline for publication varies from publication to publication. The publisher will discuss this with you if your manuscript is chosen for publication. 

  • The level of editing is entirely dependent upon the state of the manuscript when it is submitted. If a manuscript is chosen for publication, Front Porch will consult with the author as to what editing is still needed prior to final approval for publication. 

  • If published by Front Porch, your book will be available in hardcover, paperback (trade paper) and eBook. Audio books are currently unavailable at Front Porch. 

  • Front Porch will design your book cover, and you are free to provide input, but the ultimate decision as to design resides with Front Porch.

Contracts and royalties:

  • Typical royalties for print books is15% after print cost, and the rate for eBooks is 25%. 

  • Royalties are generally paid on a quarterly basis, when there are sales in the period of a quarter. If a quarter elapses without a sale, no royalty check will be issued. 

  • No, Front Porch does not pay advances. 

  • Contracts are complex legal documents and legal counsel for Front Porch will forward the publishing contract to you upon approval of your manuscript for publication. Once you have received the publishing contract, you are encouraged to seek independent legal counsel if you feel such is necessary. 

  • You, the author, retain your copyright for your intellectual property.  

Marketing and promotion:

  • Other than inclusion of your work on such online booksellers as Amazon, Books-A-Million, Target, Wal-Mart and many smaller online booksellers, we do not provide marketing and publicity for our authors. Authors are responsible for their own website and social media management as well. Front Porch can communicate on social media when the book is launched, and share some content from the author’s campaign. However the main creation of content and campaign is the author’s responsibility.  

  • No pre-order campaign will be launched or initiated by Front Porch. 

  • You are responsible for all advertising and marketing of your work. Front Porch will design the book and manage the printing process for the book itself. Front Porch’s communication input will be limited to some content on our social media, our blog and the book in our catalogue.

  • Book signings, like all other marketing, are the responsibility of the author. 

Other common questions:

  • Front Porch will provide further information on such orders to you once your manuscript has been approved for publication.

  • Front Porch utilizes Ingram Lightning Source and other Ingram subsidiaries for printing services. We get our sales data from Ingram and will pass the same along to you as we receive it.