Editor Interview: CavanKerry Press

Doors to others' lives.

We value authentic work that allows us to connect to the author, so speak from your heart!
Also, we don't have many guidelines, but each of them that we do have is there for a reason, so please triple-check the guidelines to make sure you're not, for instance, leaving your identifying information all over your manuscript. We have every right to decline your submission outright if you fail to follow the guidelines, but we really don't want to have to do that if we can help it!

I've often said that the books we publish are a bridge allowing access to the author's world, life experiences, and perspectives. There's nothing better than crossing into someone else's world and feeling your own world grow bigger and more meaningful because of it. So be sure that bridge has a solid foundation!

Including names in the manuscript is probably the number one issue. We can't consider your work anonymously if your identifying information is plastered all over the collection. Ctrl-F is your best friend! If removing your name would shatter the experience (for instance in a ghazal or a memoir), please substitute your name with a pseudonym and indicate as such on the title page of the manuscript.
There's also the issue of submitters withdrawing, then resubmitting their work because they caught a minor error with their submission that they needed to fix. Believe it or not, but that actually creates more work for us! Not to mention, who has that kind of money to be sending it in again!? So just email me directly - [email protected] - and let me know what the issue is and I'll help you resolve it in the most efficient way possible, if it's even something that really needs attention.

We don't read the cover letters until after we've made our decision, so they only matter in that they are the introduction to someone we've already decided we want to meet, and they are important as a one-stop spot to collect all relevant contact information for when we need it.
Publication credits don't matter to us. We're here to publish your work if it speaks to us.

At the absolute least, we have two readers give 15-20 minutes of attention (per reader) to each collection we consider. If they find merit there, the work gets additional eyes on it, and the second round readers spend longer per manuscript as well. We read from various parts of the book as well, so the first impression isn't everything! If you have only polished the first 1/3 of the book, we'll know and it won't work out for you.

In rare instances prior to accepting a manuscript, we may decide that, while we like the work a lot, there are significant issues that need attention before we're willing to accept it. We will provide our notes to the author accordingly, who is free to incorporate them and send us the revised version for our consideration, or to look elsewhere.
Once we've accepted a manuscript, we have a dedicated content editor who will look closely at each work and suggest areas that the collection could be sharpened or rearranged, which the author can choose to pursue or leave as is. After that process is complete, our copy editor combs through the whole thing to ensure that it's grammatically correct/consistent. At every stage, the author is communicated with and called on to resolve points of ambiguity.

Yes, as consistently as possible given our awareness of said awards and our budget. We leave the awards that authors can self-nominate to in the hands of the authors, but often forward such possibilities to our authors when they cross our desk.