Submissions – 4 Horsemen Publications

Submissions are temporarily closed.

Thank you for your interest in submitting to 4HP. At this time our submissions are closed. We do not have the date when they will re-open, however, you can join the 4HP Newsletter and we will be announcing it there.

We wish you luck in your publishing journey!

Erika Lance CEO 4 Horsemen Publications

Are you a series-based or multi-book author looking for a publisher?

We publish series-based, multi-book authors.

4HP publishes multiple books that follow the same storyline or take place in the same world. Why? Because series sell! Readers will find one book then will buy all of the author’s books.
While 4HP does occasionally release a novella that takes place in the same world as the primary series, we focus on full-length novels of at least 80k to give readers their money’s worth.

Don’t have a series? Looking to publish non-fiction? Novels inspired by a Storytellers Forge TTRPG? Or children’s books? Consider our imprints below:

Are you looking to publish a non-fiction or reference book? Please see our imprint, Accomplishing Innovation Press, and submit there.
Are you proposing a Storyteller’s Forge novel (taking place in one of those worlds)? Submit here.
Do you have a children’s book? Check out our imprint, Little Horsemen, and submit here. (COMING SOON!)

We publish all of our books in paperback, hardcover, ebook, and audiobook, which are available anywhere books are sold (not just on Amazon).

4HP uses the same distribution network as the big guys, so your book will be available for sale literally anywhere books are sold (including the library system).
4HP also has tables at conventions and events to sell your books.

We offer a five-year, ten-book contract.

A contract with 4HP is for five (5) years from the date you sign the contract, not the date of first publication–which is typically six (6) months from approved manuscript to release date.
- This means if you sign the contract on May 15th, and submit your approved manuscript by June 1st, your book will be out by Christmas! If at the end of the five years, you do not want to renew your contract with 4HP, you can take your books and go.
A contract with 4HP is for ten (10) full-length novels submitted over a five-year period. You can have multiple series (two trilogies and a quartet or a trilogy, a quintet, and a duology or any combination that makes up ten total books). Novellas are not part of the 10-book requirement; they are additional.

Our contracts protect author copyright.

4HP files the copyright for each book in the author’s name. As our COO says, she already has her own imaginary friends–she doesn’t need anyone else’s! 4HP is listed as an agent, so we can fight for you if copyright infringement happens.
4HP also provides ISBNs for the duration of the contract and registers the LCCN (Library of Congress Number) for each book.

We offer guidance to build your brand through social media and marketing.

While 4HP cannot be you online, we model effective social media practices through webinars and videos and offer samples and suggestions for you to promote your brand through your social media channels. We want you to be successful!
Yes, 4HP can even send you information on setting up your newsletter! You have to do it, but we are here to help get you started.
While promoting your first and second book is important, 4HP has found that after the publication of book three is the most effective time for paid marketing campaigns. In the meantime, build your social media, then get back to writing!

We respect your privacy.

4HP keeps all author identities separate from personal identities. We will have many avenues for you to advertise yourself such as event panels, podcasts, and blog interviews, but if yours is a secret identity, we will keep it that way.

We are looking for serious authors who share our values.

Writing is hard. We know. We’re writers!
4HP is looking for writers who have a compelling story and a clear writing style. Our aim as a publisher is to connect authors with stories to tell with the readers who want to read them. This means we need writers who can plan effectively, meet deadlines, and submit polished prose every single time.
4HP ultimately has the final say on cover, typeset, and branding of the books we produce under 4HP (including genre and target reader). We do this because we want you to make money as an author. That is our goal. If you are successful, we are successful. We’ve done the research, we’ve tested the waters, and we know what we are doing. Trust us.
4HP supports veteran authors–and we LOVE backlists. If the rights to your previously published works have reverted to you, we are happy to re-release older series or even previously self-published books.

Still interested? Here’s how the submission process works here at 4HP.

First, you tell us all about the completed first book in the series (title, length, genre(s), blurb, audience, keywords) and share a bit of the series arc.
Then, you attach a sample of the first three chapters (3500-6000 words) that follow the formatting guidelines (listed below).
Our Submissions Team reviews your manuscript. If your story and writing style meets our standards and catches our attention, we will reach out to you within 90 days.
The whole submission process takes roughly six weeks from our first response to your submission to the contract signing stage.

Unlike our competition, we encourage “revise and resubmits”–even our rejections let you know what turned us away from your work and what you can do to improve in order to be considered again.

Ready to Submit?

Formatting Requirements

Your completed manuscript should be at least 80,000 words. You are submitting the first three chapters (3500-6000 words).

Your document should:

Use Times New Roman 12-pt font
Be double-spaced throughout (without extra spaces between paragraphs) and be properly Indented for new paragraphs
Be left-aligned
Have 1-inch margins all around
Use Heading 1 style for chapter titles, Heading 2 style for subtitles, and centered ### for scene breaks within chapters (It doesn’t matter what your styles are–just that they are set up properly inside Word)
Be saved as DOCX or DOC file type
Be labeled as “Your Name_Series Name_Manuscript Name_Submission” (Writer McWriterson_Story Magic on Aisle Five_The Supermarket_Submisson)

Basics of 4HP Style Guidelines

“Normal dialogue should be inside quotations.”
[Name: text message] (These get left-aligned, not indented. Yes, you can use emojis.)
“<If your characters are speaking non-English, but you are translating it for readers into English, use quotation marks inside right-angle brackets (sideways carets).>
If your character has a direct internal thought, which should always be in the present tense, put it in italics!
<If your characters use telepathy or send direct thoughts to one another, show that by using italics inside right-angle brackets.>
<<If your characters use non-English telepathy, show that by using italics inside double right-angle brackets.>>
<If your characters use a non-standard language of communication, like the hissing of snakes that is understood by those characters, put that communication inside right-angle brackets.>
Italicize foreign words when you want to emphasize their foreign-language-ness.

Include a title page with:

First and last name
Pen name, if any
Title of work
Series name
Blurb/Pitch
Header with last name, title, and page number in top, right-hand corner. For example, Willis/Book Title/Page#

Important Notes

If you do not follow the submission and formatting guidelines, you will be automatically rejected. However, you can fix it and can resubmit. We will not review the content of submissions that fail to follow instructions.
You must have your first manuscript completed before submitting it. You are only sending us the first 3500-6000 words, but it is important to know we can hit the ground running.
This writing should be fully edited. We shouldn’t see simple grammatical errors and misspelled words that are flagged by Word upon opening. Please submit polished and well-edited writing.