Submissions FAQ

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If you're concerned you may have been approached in a fraudulent way, please contact info@mushens-entertainment.com.

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Do I really have to follow your guidelines?
Yes please! Sending us the correct information helps us process your submission faster and more effectively; we want to give you the best chance of presenting your work and these guidelines do that. They also help us a lot as we sift through thousands of submissions that come in every year. Any submission that doesn’t follow the guidelines won’t be considered.

How long will you be open to submissions for?
Don’t worry - our submissions inbox is open indefinitely!

What genres do you accept?
Please see our Submissions Guidelines for more information on what each agent is looking for. As a general rule, none of our agents accept: novellas, Children’s fiction younger than YA, picture books, or erotica.

If my manuscript was previously declined by one of your agents, can I submit to another? 
No, you should not submit material which was previously declined by another agent at Mushens Entertainment. However, you are more than welcome to resubmit new material to the relevant agent. Several ME clients had previously been turned down for manuscripts, before being signed for a later novel.

If one agent passes on my submission, will it be handed over to someone else to consider?
If we receive a submission that we think is ultimately right for another agent, we will pass in house to that person. We work very closely together.

I see that _____ is closed to submissions, when will she open?
Any dates for reopening or closing will be announced on the submissions guidelines page on our website. As soon as we decide an opening date, it will be put up on the website. Until then, sit tight and check the website for any changes.

I submitted to you but haven’t heard back.
As a rule, we respond to every single submission that we receive – if you haven’t heard anything from us after 4-6 weeks, please send a follow-up email to the respective agent! We get a lot of emails and sometimes a few slip through the cracks. If an agent has requested to see your full manuscript (yay!), please follow up if you’ve not had feedback within 8 weeks.

I accidentally sent in my submission when someone was closed, will they see it?
Every submission sent whilst an agent is closed will be deleted, unread, no exceptions. You are more than welcome to resubmit once the inbox is reopened.

I want to submit to ____, but her guidelines aren’t up on the website – where can I find them?
Individual submission guidelines and requirements will be posted when an agent reopens her submissions. Please do not contact another agent or our Info email asking for guidelines.

 
Do I need to have a full manuscript written in order to submit to you? 
Yes please! See Juliet’s FAQ blog post for more insight into making sure your manuscript is ready to send.

Do you have any editing tips?

Yes, we have just started a How to Edit series to help with this! The first post explores word count.

If I already have a book deal but am looking for someone to handle film/TV rights – can you handle that for me?
Mushens Entertainment specialises in publishing rights, and therefore does not represent authors solely seeking TV/Film deals. Whilst we handle TV/Film deals for our existing clients, we unfortunately cannot offer representation to authors who are only in need of screen rights.

What if I send something to the wrong email address?
Please note that submissions will only be considered if sent to one of the submissions email addresses, which can be found on the submission guidelines page. Any submission sent to the Info address or any other address will be deleted unread. The main reason for this is to help you – our agents receive hundreds of emails a day relating to existing clients and work, so the dedicated submissions inboxes make it easier to keep track of new submissions. If you accidentally send something to the wrong email, please just resend to the correct address!

Can you give me personalised feedback?
Owing to time constraints and the number of submissions we receive, we can’t offer personalised feedback on projects. However, if we have requested a full manuscript from you and go on to turn it down, we will try to offer some specific guidance where appropriate.

Any last bits of advice?
Submitting a manuscript can be a stressful time, but try to remember that it’s a subjective business, so a ‘no’ from one agent certainly doesn’t mean every agent will respond that way. Please be kind and thoughtful in your words towards us: we’re always excitedly looking for new submissions, but rejections are unfortunately part of the job. We endeavour to be polite and respectful in our communications and ask the same of any prospective authors. Good luck!