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Submitting Music for Publication
We at Shawnee Press often hear from those
who have written a song or arrangement and wish to investigate the
possibility of having it published. Since we are committed to providing the
best possible literature, we always welcome the opportunity to examine
manuscripts for publication. The following information should prove helpful
to the composer and/or arranger, and will facilitate the handling of
submitted manuscripts.
Guidelines for
Manuscript Preparation
BEFORE SUBMITTING YOUR MANUSCRIPTS, YOU
SHOULD KNOW…
- We do not perform custom printing or
publishing for individuals or firms outside our own company. Any material
accepted for publication is worked into our publishing program at our
discretion.
- It is not necessary to register a
copyright on your work before submitting it.
- Shawnee Press publishes choral music of
all types. The Shawnee Press series includes music for schools, community
choruses, and concert choirs. Harold Flammer Music publishes primarily
"standard" church anthem materials. GlorySound publishes
church music in
more "popular" styles, often characterized by terms such as contemporary
Christian, gospel, or evangelical.
- We also publish music in a variety of
other mediums - piano, handbell, instrumental music, etc.
-
We
prefer all submissions be sent electronically as a Finale or PDF file.
Church submissions should be sent to
church@shawneepress.com.
This includes the GlorySound, Harold Flammer, & Mark Foster
imprints; school submissions should be sent to
school@shawneepress.com.
Please type the title of your submission(s) in the
subject line and also remember to attach your document before sending. In
the body of the email, it is important that you provide us with the
following information:
Name
Address
Phone Number(s)
& Email Address
- While we are glad to meet anyone who
chooses to visit our facilities, we do not examine manuscripts in the
presence of the composer. We have found that our reviewers are able to
render far more objective and thorough reviews when they can review the
manuscript in private. In addition, we sometimes seek further opinions
from out-of-state reviewers, and thus a written manuscript must be left in
our possession.
- Submit only two or three manuscripts at
a time. While we try to give each work a careful review, it is possible
that a large group of manuscripts may get less careful attention. Submit
what you consider to be a representative sample of your work.
- Send as complete an arrangement as you
have. Lyric
sheets or tapes alone are not sufficient. Written manuscripts,
containing words and music are preferred. If you choose to send
a tape also, please send a cassette or CD. Submissions to the Instrumental
Department must be accompanied by a performance tape.
- We do not review lyrics alone. We have
found that it is difficult to act as go-between with composers and
lyricists.
- Please do not submit to us your
arrangement of another publisher's copyrighted song. It would be more
logical to submit such arrangement to the song's publisher. Otherwise, the
permission of such copyright owner would be necessary for making the
arrangement.
- We try to acknowledge receipt of every
manuscript submitted. Please be aware that we receive a large amount of
material and the review process does take time (anywhere from two to three
months*). Once a manuscript has been submitted, please do not continue to
write letters or call asking for a "progress report", suggesting changes, etc.
We
answer every manuscript submitted, so please be patient!
-
Please note that we are not currently
accepting submissions for larger works such as cantatas, musicals,
collections, or instrumental books.
IF YOUR MANUSCRIPT IS ACCEPTED FOR
PUBLICATION…
- We will send you a letter and eventually
a royalty contract for you to read and consider. (Sometimes, before a
contract is sent, we will ask your approval of certain revisions or
changes felt necessary for publication.) The royalty contract basically
calls for the assignment of all rights in the work to us in exchange for a
royalty (a percentage of the publication's selling price payable to you on
all copies sold).
- When your work is published, you will
receive a limited number of complimentary copies. You will also receive a
royalty report twice a year.
IF YOUR MANUSCRIPT IS REJECTED, REMEMBER
…
- Some works that may be very valid and
effective in a local situation do not have the proper qualities to make
them suitable for wider distribution. A composer may truly be inspired to
write a particular work, but sometimes the inspiration may be only for the
composer and his immediate situation. Publishing is a specialized field,
and not all good or inspired songs are effective material for publication.
- The rejection of your manuscript is not
necessarily a negative reflection on its merit. We accept those
manuscripts which we feel have the greatest potential usefulness in our
particular publishing program. We receive more manuscripts for review than
we can possibly publish, and thus our choice is not necessarily between
good and bad, but good and best for our particular needs.
- Limitations of time and the volume of
material received for review make it impossible for us to provide critical
reviews or suggestions for manuscripts submitted to us.
- If Shawnee Press rejects your manuscript
and you feel it has merit, do not hesitate to submit it to another
publisher. Publishers differ greatly in their needs, and a work that one
publisher cannot use may be just what another publisher is seeking.
- Whether your manuscript is accepted or
rejected, if you are serious about writing music, it is imperative that
you continue working and studying. Be your own severest critic. Writing
music is not easy and takes work. Study the artistry & craft of music and the work of
other successful writers. The work of a composer is not for everyone, but
it is challenging and rewarding.
Guidelines for
Manuscript Preparation:
(Choral Compositions)
By observing the following guidelines, you,
the composer or arranger, will insure that your manuscript makes the best
possible impression on the editors. If your manuscript is accepted for
publication, its neatness and correctness will minimize the possibility of
error in the printed copies. Please take note of our publications, and use
them as examples in preparing your own manuscript.
PREPARING A MANUSCRIPT FOR SUBMISSION
WE PREFER THAT ALL MANUSCRIPTS BE
TYPE-SET USING ANY COMPUTER SOFTWARE APPLICATION. If that is not
possible, please follow the guidelines for hand-notation very carefully.
MANUSCRIPTS should be prepared on
standard 9 ½ x 12 ½ or 8 ½ x 11 inch manuscript paper. Use dark pencil
or black pen. A clear, dark photocopy is acceptable. NEVER SEND YOUR ONLY
COPY, as we are not responsible for lost or damaged manuscripts (or
recordings). Please use only one side of each page of manuscript paper.
If the manuscript is handwritten, rule each
music system for three measures across the page. If there are many notes or
words per measure, use only two measures across the page.
Follow standard music notation practices,
being sure all noteheads are clearly positioned and all dots, stems, flags,
slurs and beams are properly notated.
BE CONSISTENT IN ALL DETAILS - If
you have begun beaming eighth notes in groups of four, don't switch to
beaming in pairs. Indicate unison passages with a "unis." label. Be sure
your dynamic and tempo markings make sense. When there are several tempos in
one piece, be sure to clarify what you mean by "a tempo." Use D.S. al Coda
or any other standard device to indicate a repeat, but DO NOT use the
shorthand "col" or "copy out" or "same as."
TEMPO MARKINGS Clearly indicate all
tempo markings with a word and a metronome mark (e.g., Moderate = 72). Show
all tempo markings, including ritard., accel., a tempo and Tempo I once
above the voice parts and again above or within the keyboard staves.
DYNAMICS should appear ABOVE each
vocal staff, but BETWEEN keyboard staves. When an instrumental part is in
the score, such as a drum or flute part, the dynamic go BELOW those staves.
CLOSED SCORE - If a piece is
homophonic in texture, please prepare the manuscript in closed score, using
only two voice staves. OPEN SCORE - Pieces that are mostly polyphonic should
be laid out in open score, assigning each voice part a separate staff.
OPEN/CLOSED SCORE - Use the closed
score layout whenever possible. If a section of a work requires an
open-score layout, do just that section that way, and return to the closed
format for the rest of the work.
LYRICS - Write all words legibly,
using capitals and lower-case letters. Capitalize and punctuate according to
proper English usage. Be sure syllables align with the notes to which they
correspond. Use hyphens between syllables and text extender lines when a
syllable extends for more than one note value. Capitalize and punctuate
verses the same way when they repeat.
INSTRUMENTAL PARTS should be cued in
the choral score directly above the keyboard part (i.e., flute, brass choir,
drum, handbells, etc.) However, do NOT follow this rule for rhythm section
or horn parts for pop or show choir pieces. It is our policy to make such
accompaniments available separately, and not to cue them in the choral
score.
GUITAR ACCOMPANIMENT - All pop-style
songs and any arrangements for which guitar accompaniment would be
appropriate should have chord symbols, placed above the keyboard part. The
symbols should be kept as simple as possible.
RE-VOICING - If you are arranging
more than one voicing of your piece, be sure the re-voiced manuscripts
follow the same layout as your original manuscript.
PROOFREADING - If your work is
accepted, you will be asked to proofread the engraver's proof. When doing
this, use a red pen or pencil and indicate exactly the way the correction
should
be. Write a message in the margin with a line to the error. It is best to
draw a little piece of staff in the margin with the correct notes, then draw
a circle around it, draw a line to the error in the music, and circle that.
Be neat, and take care to find all the errors. The editor might miss one.
Return the proofs promptly, or e-mail or fax in the corrections if there are only a
few, so we can proceed with production without delay.
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