In anticipation for the upcoming Book Launch of By the Stars, we've filled the Merch store with Men's, Women's, and Kid's tees, posters, and coffee mugs! Go check it out and load up before the launch party on August 3rd! You can find the merchandise by following the "Gear up with European Geeks" button located on the Purchase page.

We're only four days away from the launch of By the Stars, the first book in the Embracing Entropy series by Jessica Marie Baumgartner. Make sure to join our FaceBook launch party by visiting www.facebook.com/europeangeeks and clicking JOIN on the link pinned to the top of the page. We'll be hosting trivia, giveaways, excerpts, and more! Plus, a Q&A session with the author, LIVE and in REAL TIME. It's bound to be a good time, so make sure you join in! 

Already available for Pre-Order, By the Stars by author Jessica Marie Baumgartner will be landing on August 3rd, 2015. Make sure to join us for the Facebook launch party (you can find information on our Events Tab) and get your preordered copy now! 

The highly-anticipated first novel by Lego Bionicle co-creator Alastair Swinnerton, The Multiverse of Max Tovey is a unique blend of Science Fiction and Fantasy. Drawing you into the history of the British Isles, The Multiverse of Max Tovey is a constant page turning, drawing you quickly into the series of The Hamdun Chronicles. 

Follow Max across time as he battles demons, Romans, and so much more. 

We will begin teasing segments from The Multiverse of Max Tovey as the date approaches, so stay tuned for more sneak peeks! 

Bloggers: To review Max Tovey - please email us at [email protected] and let us know! 

Whether I'm editing an unpublished manuscript or reading an already-on-the-market book, I find myself reaching for the red pen a bit too much these days.

Considering that most writers utilize some form of word processing program to write their novels (gone are the days of the hand-scribbled manuscripts), some of these mistakes are unacceptable. Of course, not even the spelling & grammar checker can catch all mistakes, which is why editors have not been pushed out of the market yet. Sometimes, you just need a good eye to locate the blatant mistakes that - although they have eluded the author - will leap off the page and smack your reader in the face.

Here is a quick run-down of the most annoying mistakes currently plaguing manuscripts across the world:

Spelling

Nothing bothers me more than incorrect spelling. Some readers may not catch this, but if you have intelligent readers - which, let's be honest, are the best type of readers - your work may not see the light of day again.

Occasionally, autocorrect takes on a mind of its own (It's become Self Aware!), and changes misspelled words into the completely wrong word.  For example, one manuscript I had been reviewing used the word technology where it clearly should have said technically.

Wordiness 

Nobody wants to read through a barrage of unnecessary words. Wordiness refers to one of these issues: whether it’s redundancy, stating the obvious or packing a sentence with excess detail and unnecessary modifiers. Cut the fat - nobody wants to muddle through it to find the story.

Story Inconsistencies 

Oh heavens, does this drive me insane! The biggest inconsistency that I see in my editing and/or reading is incorrect character names. If Rebecca and Paul are the only two in the room, but the next line says that Ethan has left room - I will most likely put the book down (unless I am editing it, in which case, you'll be seeing red.). This goes for places, character descriptions, and back stories. You need to make sure that your details all match up because your reader will notice immediately if they don't. Of course, hopefully, your editor has noticed the error before it lands in a reader's lap... but that's another story.

Voice 

Similar to the story inconsistencies - voice inconsistency is another huge no, no. While an editor is most likely to have caught this and demanded a full-blown re-write, the self-publishing tool has now allowed this one major issue to creep onto the market. When writing or editing, you want to make sure that your book flows - and that begins with the narration. Do not flip flop from first-person to third-person narration, or switch perspective without any obvious breaks.

While editors are there for a reason, being a writer does require having some command of the English language. Remember, in most cases, the editors work for the publishing house (unless you've independently hired one for a self-pub). You want to put your best foot forward any time you send in a manuscript.

So what have we learned today?

If you have an editor, it is best to edit your own work before you send it in. If you are self-publishing, make sure to hire a reputable editor. It's one thing to make your editor pull their hair out, it's quite another to make your reader do it!

Once you've finished your manuscript (and hopefully at least one round of editing!), you may decide it's time to begin the submission process. This can be a daunting, scary time for some authors - even the 'big' ones. Your work is your baby and it can be hard to send it out there, into the cruel world, to face possible rejections. At European Geeks, we believe in supporting authors - ours or otherwise - and to help ease the pain of the submission process, we've compiled a list of tips for those who are about to brave the submission world.

1. Finish the Book: While this may sound silly, you would be surprised how many people attempt to submit an unfinished manuscript. An unfinished manuscript is not actually a submission, but a proposal (bonus tip - do not use the word proposal in your query letters. It may lead to an unnecessary rejection.). Proposals are generally reserved for well-known authors and/or authors that are already under contract with a publishing house and have a proven track record. They are the proposal of an idea, not the submission of a completed work. As an unknown author, a publisher is highly unlikely to take a gamble, not having seen your work. In most cases, publishers (and agents) are only interested in a completed product.
2. Who Do You Write For: Publishers will want to know who your book is written for - the intended age range or specific gender. What is the book about? In your query letter, define who your audience is. This includes what genre/category your book falls under. Publishers want to see that you understand the market, as well as your audience.
3. Market Research: The worst thing you can do is what is called a cold-call - just sending your work out to everyone, unsolicited. This is a waste of time for both you and the publisher. Make sure that you are submitting your query letters and/or samples (bonus tip two - read submission guidelines and do not send a sample or full manuscript unless it is requested in the guidelines) to publishers and/or agents who deal with your genre. Make sure that your letter and samples/full manuscript is professionally formatted. Use a common font, such as Times New Roman or Courier, in an easy to read size, such as 10-12 point. Leave clear, one-inch margins on both sides and number your pages.
4. Learn Patience: Perhaps the most important tip that we can give you is to learn patience. Publishers are extremely busy and most companies receive dozens if not hundreds, of queries per day. It takes some time to sort through the queries and weed out which samples or complete works they would like to follow up with. Publishers are generally pretty open about this, and will list a timeline in their submission guidelines. For example, in our European Geeks submission guidelines, we state that if you do not hear from us within three months, to assume that we are not interested. Make sure to read the submission guidelines carefully for timelines. Some publishers will suggest you follow up after X amount of time, others will tell you to consider it a rejection.

We hope that these tips will help you on your quest to brave the scary submissions world... Good luck to you in placing your work!

Regardless of how ground breaking your novel may be - there is more to what a publisher considers than just your manuscript. You may be the next J.K. Rowling, but if you're missing one of these items on the checklist, it's likely that you won't get picked up for traditional publishing. While writing is an art, publishing is a business and has to be treated as such. Entering into a contract with an author is no different than signing a deal with a fortune 500 company - it has to be profitable or everyone involved loses.

So what exactly is this checklist that publishers consider before signing a contract with an author?

• The Book - obviously, the book is a large contribution to the publisher's consideration. While it is not the only decision maker, the publisher will not bother looking at any of the other items on the checklist if the manuscript is no good. Competition (other books within the genre) and Market (is there a great enough interest to support this book?) are also items that the publisher will research before deciding on your manuscript.
• The Author - If you don't hook a publisher with your pre-promotion of your manuscript, you won't be able to hook readers. A publisher will want to see that you can put as much promotion into your book as they will. You are an investment, and they will want to see a guaranteed return on that investment. When considering an author, a publisher will look at several factors: your credentials, enthusiasm, and social media platform. You need to start promoting long before you start submitting - to a publisher, a combined social media following of 3,000 people is a pool of built-in readers. If only 30% of those followers purchase your book, it's a great start right out of the gate.
• The Promotion - A publisher will want to hear all about your promotion plans for the book. You'll want to explain a concrete plan to use your pre-established platform to help sell your work. Be creative and extensive - the more in-depth, unique, and long term your plan is, the more likely the publisher is to be interested. Do not just focus on the first month after release - think beyond... 3 months, 12 months, two years...
• Follow-Ups - Are you a one trick pony or do you have more up your sleeve? Signing an author is an investment... a publisher wants to see that you can produce more than one work. Whether it is a sequel or just more in that genre, a publisher will want to see a brand in you.

Publishing is a business, just like any other, and for that business to be successful, it depends on the validity of the partner. Publishers want to find authors who are great business people. Your work is your product, so learn to push, sell, and promote it and yourself. These are the first steps you can take in securing your first publishing contract.

Whether you've written your first book or you're an established author, you're probably trying to decide what to do with that spectacular, unpublished novel. With so many choices in the literary market these days, who do you go with? There's so many indie publishers, small presses, traditional publishing houses - not to mention, there's always the self-publishing route.

While self-publishing may work for some, it doesn't always work for everyone... and the same can be said for the small press and/or traditional route. With traditional publishers, the author tends to lose most creative controls, but they do usually receive an advance, albeit lower royalties. A small or indie press generally gives out lower to no advances, but a slightly higher royalty rate than a traditional. Creative control with a small or indie press can vary by company, but generally the author still loses a large portion of control regarding what happens to his or her manuscript. Self-publishing is the best way for authors to retain full creative control, however, it requires you to be responsible for all cover designs, formatting, copyright filing, etc. And all marketing falls on the author.

So what makes European Geeks Publishing different?

European Geeks was born from the realization that authors haven't been getting the best treatment from their companies. We aim to publish a much smaller catalog than most companies each year, allowing us to spend ample time with each author and body of work - making sure it is handled accordingly.

As a small press, we do not offer advances. We do, however, offer highly competitive royalty rates at 50% for print and 55% for eBooks. While we handle editing, cover art, and layouts in-house, everything is cleared and approved by the author before publication. Marketing will be a joint effort between author and publisher at EG - with both parties being equal partners in the marketing campaign and promotions.

European Geeks strives to be author-friendly.

We have an open door policy for all authors - ours and others - at European Geeks Publishing. Feel free to contact us if you have any questions! [email protected].