Almost two months ago, Kamy made the announcement that She Writes would be launching its very own press. The feedback that we received from all of you has been excited, intrigued, congratulatory and supportive – just what I would expect from this amazing community. Since then our team has been working together to pilot the program and make something that’s a perfect fit for you, the women of She Writes, and for all women who need a little help on their writing journey. I think we’ve done that, and here’s why:

No rejections—ever. Most traditional publishing journeys begin at the same place: an agency. You (the lovely writers) will submit what we in the industry call a query letter. This letter introduces you and your work, and most of the time it’s this one piece of paper that decides if your book moves on or gets dumped in the recycling. That’s harsh, I know, but it’s the way of the land. Unfortunately, if you get dumped, you may never hear anything back from that agent. Some of the nicer ones will send you a form letter with a few lines about how your piece wasn’t “a good fit at this time.” It’s understandable—agents simply receive too many queries to respond to each one personally.

At She Writes, it’s different. When you submit to us we’ll ask you for three things: A query letter, the first twenty pages of your manuscript, and a twenty-five dollar submission fee. These first two materials are the same that most agents will ask for as well. What’s different is what you get in return. At She Writes Press, we guarantee a personal, constructive response to both your query letter and your first twenty pages. We’ll let you know how strong we think your query letter was, but that’s not all. What really makes this press something special is the fact that we will never reject you.

In addition to specific, constructive feedback on both your pages and your query letter, we’re going to give you a recommended next step. The way we set it up is simple. There are three tracks offered at SWP:

Track 1: Good to go! This is the course we assign to manuscripts that we are ready to sign on to the press and work with you to publish.

Track 2: This lane is for those manuscripts that we think could use a good copyedit, and we’ll connect you with a professional we trust, and who you can trust will give you not only a good price, but a great edit.

Track 3: Writers recommended for this path will be connected with a coach for developmental editing. This means we think you have some good content, but maybe the plot needs some ironing, or the structure could use a bit of work. Again, we’ll connect you with that next step person who’s the perfect fit for you.

At first glance this twenty-five-dollar fee may seem steep, but let’s put that into perspective. Here at She Writes we have the occasional contest. I know from personal experience that you all respond to those with enthusiasm and eagerness – which is great! When you submit to those contests we always ask for a reading fee of fifteen dollars, just ten less than the submission fee for the press. Prizes in the past have included a read by agents, editors, or even a chance at publication. Unfortunately, when you submit to a contest we aren’t able to give you any personal feedback. With the press, that will never be the case.

Another way to approach it is this: If you were to submit to many agents you would likely be sending hard copies of those materials. A kit like that could cost anywhere from five to fifteen dollars to mail. Let’s play lowball and go with five. If you submit to five agents (and who only submits to five agents?), you’ve already paid twenty-five bucks, with no feedback and no guarantee that your work will be read at the other end.

Another thing that’s great about the press is that in a way, you’re still submitting to a contest. We’re committed to continuing the Passion Project. We’ll select at least one manuscript each year that we think the world needs to read, and we’ll publish it for free. Every submission to the press is automatically entered for consideration for the Passion Project, and we’re keeping our eyes peeled for that special story.

The thing that makes us the most unique is that She Writes was a community for women first. We were created by women for women, and our number one commitment is still to helping women achieve their writing goals. It has been my great privilege to know all of you, and it is my even greater privilege to be part of the team that can help you with your publishing journey. There’s no obligation to take our recommendations or to work with a coach or an editor through She Writes Press – that’s totally up to you. We have one essential question to answer for each submission we receive: What is the best next step for this writer? We’ve always been committed to helping you write your manuscript. Now it’s done. Who said the help has to stop there?

She Writes. She Publishes. She Needs Help.

—Caitlyn Levin