WHO IS CSS PUBLISHING?

CSS Publishing Company is a Christian publisher that publishes printed and online Christian Books,  Sermon Books, Sermon Resources, Christian Preaching Resources, Worship Resources, Pastor Resources, Worship Preparation Tools, Lectionary Preaching Resources, Christian Stewardship Programs, Christian Education Resources, and many other worship resources to serve the needs of pastors, worship leaders and parish program-planners in the broad Christian mainline of the American church.

Our catalogs reach over 60,000 congregations several times each year. Although we reach many denominations, our primary market is Lutheran, United Methodist, Presbyterian, United Church of Christ, Episcopal, Roman Catholic and Disciples of Christ.

Our Christian publications are also marketed through catalogs of several mainline denominational publishers and distributors, independent religious bookstores and the Spring Arbor distribution network.

We publish about 50 titles annually.

OUR GENERAL NEEDS

As we review manuscripts, we ask: Does this material meet a real need, open a new door, spark a fresh idea, or fill a gap in the life and ministry of a mainline congregation? Our material is practical in nature. It focuses on "ready-to-use" ministry needs of congregations. Categories in our development list include:

• Lectionary-based resources for worship, preaching, group study, drama, and use with children (but NOT children's books).
• Sermons, sermon resources, preaching resources and worship resources for special seasons and days of the church year and for special themes or emphasis.
• Children's object lessons and children's sermons.
• Resources for working with youth.
• Pastoral aids and pastor resources such as materials to assist in counseling.
• Easy-to-perform dramas and pageants for all age groups. Our drama interest primarily includes Advent, Christmas, Epiphany, Lent and Easter. We do not publish lengthy dramatic works.
• Parish-tested materials for use in parish education, Christian youth ministry, Christian stewardship and Christian church growth.
• Material generally adaptable to the needs of congregations.
• A few general titles of the type found in general religious bookstores.

We do NOT publish children's books, novels, essays, curriculum, poetry or anything that pertains to a single denomination.

HOW TO SUBMIT TO CSS PUBLISHING

We welcome author submissions. Please follow our guidelines as listed below.

Regretfully, due to the number of author submissions CSS Publishing only responds to proposals that are of interest to us. We apologize for any inconvenience.

All proposals become the property of CSS Publishing and will be kept on file for one year from date of submission. Because we only respond to submissions that are of interest to us, save your money and do not send a postage paid return envelope. Do not send any original artwork or photographs. We cannot assume responsibility for them.

Authors or their agents are asked to submit the following by mail (not email or fax):

• A short query letter
• Your author bio
• A one or two page summary of your work
• One or two sample chapters
• Marketing information which responds to the following questions: Why do you feel your book fits our list? Who specifically will be interested in your work? How best can your intended audience be reached?

You may also send us a short email query (no attachments please) to editor@csspub.com. We will respond to email queries if we are interested in finding out more about your work.

Thank you for your understanding.

Mail submissions to:

SOME GENERAL CSS STYLE RULES

• Permissions are required when quoting lengthy (100 words or more) copyrighted material as well as song lyrics and poetry. Authors are responsible for securing these permissions from the original publisher and forwarding them or a photocopy of them to CSS. Do not write for permission to quote from any version of the scriptures. We secure these.
• Punctuation should be consistent throughout the manuscript. Place commas and periods inside quotation marks.
• Lower case "he" and "him" when referring to the deity.
• Always spell out names of books of the Bible. Do not use Roman numerals with Bible book names. (1 John, not I John).
• CSS prefers the New Revised Standard Version when using scripture.
• Be as concise as possible when citing references. If your work includes many references, list them under "Endnotes" at the end of the manuscript or at the end of each chapter. Do not list footnotes at bottom of pages.
• Avoid the temptation to over-capitalize words, especially those which are generally common nouns. Likewise, refrain from overuse of quotation marks around words or phrases for emphasis. Use quotation marks mainly for direct quotes and to enclose titles of shorter works. (When in doubt lowercase and omit quote marks.)

CSS follows Chicago Manual of Style.