2020 Submissions Guidelines for Little Lamb Books
Since our launch in 2015, we have been open to submissions from authors represented by agents as well as those without agents and we have enjoyed receiving queries from authors just getting started as well as those who have a few published titles already on their resume.
As much as it can get overwhelming and take time, searching through the queries to find a few diamonds for our publishing house is a really wonderful reminder of all the stories God is gifting writers around the world in order to give Him glory and share His story with young readers from pre-school to high school.
But, times are changing and as we have grown, so has our submissions box, which for the past year has been overflowing and causing us to struggle with our goal of replying to each one in a timely manner. So, we are doing a hard pivot in 2020 to make things better and allow us to continue to seek out the best stories for our mission and our press.
First, we are changing when we are accepting submissions. Starting now, Little Lamb Books is only accepting queries in February, June, and November. This means that for 2020, we will be opening up one time to new submissions from November 1-30.
What this also means is that if you submitted a query or proposal to us between July and November and have not received an answer, whether you’re agented or not, we will be clearing the deck and saying good-bye to all old queries in our current submissions email folder. In addition, any queries received outside of February, June, or November will not be considered, so please plan accordingly.
We know this is something that takes planning on everyone’s part, but we feel this is the best way to move forward with a clean slate for us and for writers interested in submitting to us.
Second, we are looking for specific types of queries. The pandemic shifted our timeline for our 2020 and 2021 catalog titles, so we are now looking ahead to 2022 and 2023. We say this up front so there’s no surprises. We are growing and we are always on the look-out for those just-can’t-live-without stories, but publishing is a marathon and not a sprint, so patience in the process is necessary.
So, what are we looking for? Little Lamb Books produces premium-quality children’s picture books, chapter books, and novels that not only entertain children, tweens and teens, but also cultivates their faith through timeless stories focused on family values and biblical principles, like kindness, prayer, courage, friendship, and love.
Specifically regarding PICTURE BOOKS and CHAPTER BOOKS, we are looking for evergreen stories for holidays including Valentine’s Day, Easter, Grandparent’s Day, Thanksgiving, and more. We are also looking more for concept-driven stories as opposed to only character-driven stories. We would love to see some stories about developing life skills based on what God says about friendship and loyalty, honesty, perseverance, humility, forgiveness and more.
Specifically for MIDDLE GRADE and YOUNG ADULT, we are seeking really well-written middle grade action/adventure manuscripts or team/group travel or a great scavenger hunt/riddle riddle story. Also, we are on the hunt for a strong mystery story `a la Nancy Drew or contemporary YA titles that have a little bit of sweet romance `a la Kiera Cass.
We are actively looking for writers of color to share diverse cultural views with young readers, and we are adding uplifting and positive non-fiction gift books for all ages. Overall, Little Lamb Books accepts manuscripts that are clean, wholesome, and based on biblical principles that have strong characters and themes that are well-written and offer new perspectives. A reminder that we currently produce books for ages 4 to 19 and we do not publish board books nor do we accept manuscripts with horror, paranormal, thrillers, LGBTQ themes, profanity, graphic sex or violence content.
As you prepare your submission, we recommend that you become familiar with our titles and follow the list of guidelines on our website before submitting. We know that querying is a leap of faith and we look forward to seeing what arrives in our inbox in November.