Services

Literary agency
Editing manuscripts
Development of manuscripts with authors
Compiling anthologies

Writing and publishing opportunities

We are interested in the budding as well as the established and award-winning writer, and see ourselves as an avenue for Diaspora writers wanting their work to reach a wider readership by bridging the gap between writers, agents and publishers.

As a literary agency, Ayebia has signed its first author Patrick Wilmot to Random House, whose book Seeing Double will be published in 2005.

Procedures overview: submitting a manuscript

Ayebia specialises in high quality literature:

All submissions must be typed and double-lined spaced and provided on paper
Computer discs will only be accepted if accompanied by a submission on paper
We are currently only accepting novels, short stories and autobiographies
We are particularly interested in manuscripts written from an African & Caribbean perspective although that does not preclude other good writers of fiction who feel that they are representative of minorities

Manuscripts must be accompanied by payment for return postage to the following address:-

Ayebia Clarke Literary Agency & Publishing Ltd
7 Syringa Walk
Banbury
Oxfordshire, OX16 1FR
UK

Submissions procedure details

No initial letter or phone call is required but it is preferred that you contact Ayebia Clarke Ltd before sending your manuscript as unsolicited manuscripts sent without our prior knowledge cannot be read or returned unless accompanied by the appropriate fee, adequate packaging and postage.

PLEASE READ the conditions set out below under which manuscripts are accepted.

There is a consultancy fee of £50 for an initial assessment (return packaging & postage extra) to access the suitability of the manuscript before an in-depth review. This will give you feedback on the overall general structure and recommendations for improvement in addition to giving you details of publishers and editors to contact for possible publication.

Manuscripts WILL NOT BE READ without the appropriate fee (see fee structure).

Text must be printed out in 12 point, double-spaced and on one side of A4, preferably in loose sheets, with each page numbered.

Manuscripts should be submitted in secure packaging, e.g., padded jiffy bag as Ayebia Clarke Ltd cannot be held responsible for manuscripts received in a damaged condition.

We regret we cannot accept submissions on disc.

In exceptional circumstances we will take short manuscripts on e-mail. This will be by arrangement only.

Include a short covering letter with a line about what sort of manuscript it is (thriller, literary, fantasy, romance, poetry, play, biography etc) a bit about you the writer and any history of previous submissions to publishers or agents. Include any specific anxieties/queries you may have about the text itself.

If you are sending an extract only, the synopsis should not exceed 2 A4 singled-sided pages.

All reports take approximately 3-6 weeks to complete.

For an additional fee we can provide feedback within 7-10 days.

Overseas clients. See Fee Structure for payment methods and information on pre-VAT prices, where relevant.

For further details, contact Becky Ayebia Clarke on tel: + 44 (0)1295 709228 or fax: +44 (0)1295 267681
Click here for Email

Make cheques payable to: Ayebia Clarke Literary Agency & Publishing Ltd. and send to: 7 Syringa Walk, Banbury, Oxfordshire, OX16 1FR. UK.

Please Note: We cannot accept responsibility for the loss of scripts in the post. Please DO NOT send the original manuscript. The submission of a manuscript for assessment to Ayebia Clarke Ltd does NOT guarantee publication. This also applies to other publishing houses that we may recommend to you as we have no control over their publishing criteria.

Fee Structure

An in-depth report provides a comprehensive assessment of all aspects of a manuscript, with specific line references. Professional writing terms and concepts are clearly explained and authors are shown how these concepts apply to their work. As with the general report, a manuscript’s problem areas are highlighted while suggestions for improvement are offered but in much greater detail.

Prices

Fiction/children’s/non-fiction/autobiography

Initial assessment of overall manuscript £50

1-2 page synopsis and up to 50 double-spaced pages £90

1-2 page synopsis and up to 100 double-spaced pages £160

Longer manuscripts @ £1.30 per double-spaced page

Up to 300 pages £1.30 /per page

After 300 pages @ 75p per double-spaced page £0.75 /per page

Short Stories

Up to 3000 words £50

Thereafter for every1000 words £16

Please note: Stories are charged individually

Poetry

Up to 300 lines £75

300 to 1000 lines £160

Film

Treatment only of up to 20 pages £90

Script of up to 120 pages £195

Script of up to 250 pages £250

Overseas clients

We prefer overseas clients to send cheques in GBP £Sterling for sums of over £100. Otherwise send a banker’s draft or ask us for account details to facilitate a bank transfer for which an additional handling charge (from £8 - £20 depending on the amount to be transferred) will be included.

Other Services

We provide copy editing and proof reading services. Charges are negotiated on the basis of an hourly rate depending on the requirements of the client. UK standard rate(s) start at £17 - £25 an hour on a sliding scale. Payment is required BEFORE any work is carried out. We will forward edited chapters to clients as the edit progresses and any queries should be raised at this stage and NOT at the end of the edit.

Please note the above conditions are subject to change.

Ayebia Clarke

Ayebia Clarke Literary Agency & Publishing Ltd.
7 Syringa Walk
Banbury OX16 1FR
Oxfordshire
UK

Tel: +44 (0)1295 709228

Fax: +44 (0)1295 267681

Mobile: +44 (0)7986 941250

Email: Click here for email

Website: www.ayebia.co.uk