Creative Byline's Website and Blog

From our Facebook group write-up:

Writing a manuscript on any topic in any style is both a joy and a close second to physical torture.  And after the months of insomnia, take-out, and countless pots of coffee, writers face an even greater enemy: navigating the labyrinthine process of publishing their work.  Even if they can get a favorable first reading and their manuscript is passed along to an editor, the low threshold for a response is about six weeks, and frequently it stretches on beyond that.  This is not because publishers or agents are ignoring writers, but precisely the opposite: publishing houses are inundated with hundreds of manuscripts daily, some--most--of which are either poorly written or not even in a genre the publisher prints.  To wade through those manuscripts takes time, time that, were there an alternative to this system, one could spend more profitably on writers with unique voices and insight that fit a given template.

Brad MacLean began Creative Byline at the beginning of 2008 as that alternative.  Taking a cue from online matching services, he's provided writers with the opportunity to receive a first reading from trained Creative Byline readers before even sending their manuscripts to a publisher.  After uploading their synopses and manuscripts, CB first-readers review the work and provide feedback on the most important practical question in a writer's mind: Is my work ready for publishing?  If it needs work, a first-reader will give it a second review once a writer has made revisions.  When the manuscript is ready, Creative Byline provides each writer with a list of editors on the hunt for that kind of manuscript.  If one of the dozens of editors affiliated with Creative Byline--from such major publishers as Globe Pequot, St. Martin's, Dutton Children's Books, and Tor/Forge--is not looking for your particular kind of manuscript, they will not show up on your list.  Once you format your query package and send it to an editor, your subscription fee guarantees that your qualified manuscript will be seen by an editor you've chosen. (If no response comes within that three weeks, a credit will be added to your account and you can send your query package to another editor.)

Take a tour of the website!  Memberships are free through the end of the beta, and the cost of submitting a manuscript to the process--about $19--is comparable to what you'd spend printing, binding, and mailing your work to a publisher, with the added benefit of the guaranteed response time and close attention of our first-readers.  The FAQ and our blog, publisher list, and philosophy are accessible from the main page,

http://www.creativebyline.com/

(Blog: http://creativebyline.wordpress.com/ )

We're here to streamline this process for you and make less treacherous the bridge between writing and publishing.  Email us with any questions at clientservices@creativebyline.com or call us at 616.494.0431 between 9 a.m. and 5 p.m. (EST), M-F.