Writing for Crossquarter

balancing body, mind, heart, & spirit

query letters are required
unsolicited manuscripts may be returned un-read

We no longer accept fiction queries.

If your manuscript fits in one of the imprints that are accepting new queries (see below), submit a query letter to:

Anthony Ravenscroft
Crossquarter Publishing
PO Box 23749
Santa Fe, NM 87502

We attempt to respond within three months but sometimes it takes us longer. Be patient: Calling one week after you have sent a query is a good way to get into the "No Thanks" category. If we are interested, we'll ask for sample chapters. Do NOT send the full manuscript.

Despite what all the "authoritative" books tell you, don't bother working up a "market analysis" section just for us – we're either interested or we're not.

Simultaneous queries are accepted (please mention this in your cover letter).

Our Imprints

The Crossquarter Publishing Group publishes under several imprints. Currently two of them are open to new manuscripts.

• Crossquarter Breeze: reclaiming ancient sciences — please have something vastly more unique than another "Tarot for beginners" book!
• Fenris Brothers: no-nonsense, hard-edged approaches to everything in life, from Thelemic magick to accounting — are you prepared to confront a friend directly & thoroughly without making her/him feel stupid?

Some Hard Facts About Publishing

Before you go even so far as to send us a query about your projects, there are a few things you really need to know.

1. We are a very small company. We are currently producing four books per year (one is the contest anthology)..
2. We schedule 1 to 2 years ahead. If you book is time sensitive, we are not the publisher for you.
3. Even though we are primarily a "niche market" publisher, & few people have heard of us, we typically receive between 25 & 40 queries per week. Yes, an annual 1,500 proposals has to be winnowed down to maybe 5 actual books.
4. We do not pay an advance against future royalties – period. Should we agree to publish your book, you therefore wouldn't be able to count that book toward membership in professional writing associations such as SFWA.

Your chances aren't zero, but very close. If you still want to go ahead & try, here are a few tips.

• One side-effect of size is that we are often very slow about returning manuscripts. If you cannot risk having your query lost in a six-month backlog (possibly longer), please do not put yourself in such a stressful position.
• We don't care about your resumé. You need to have a good idea, a suitable approach to elaborating upon that idea, & the ability to put all that down on paper. Some of the best books we've read have been written by self-taught "experts"… & some of the worst by authors with multiple Ph.D.s in the subject.
• Don't even query us until you can send a finished manuscript immediately if we request it. Some publishers are willing to "buy an idea" & let an author then go & actually write the book. We don't have that luxury — if we have an opening in our schedule in 6 months, then we need to have an author's final draft in 4 months, tops. Unless you are a writer with a million or so paid-for, published words, we can't trust that such a schedule could be kept.
• Don't over-sell your manuscript. Most of the Crossquarter staff is experienced in sales, marketing, or consulting, & we will only be turned off by hype or pressure. Make your point, & trust your pitch.
• We often turn good manuscripts away, & see them doing well on Amazon.com a year later. We are proud of this. If we do not feel that Crossquarter is the best publisher to support a particular book, we will not make empty promises.
• The best length for nonfiction appears to be roughly 60,000 words.
• None of the Crossquarter imprints will publish a heavily illustrated book. This is primarily a matter of economics. If your project has many graphics or photographs (especially color), don't even consider us.
• If you have already self-published your book, you should probably continue that course. The author is the single best marketer of a book. If you can't do that for us, then we've lost a major asset; if you can do that, & you've already got the book, then you should be enjoying a profit far larger than we can offer.