16 Wonderful Publishers For First Time Authors
A unique opportunity to bypass the literary agent
Now that you have written your book, what next? The elusive literary agent? We know that is almost impossible. So, how do you get into the hands of a great small publisher? Well, here is a list that I’m sharing with you. These publishers are willing to take on a first-time authors. Be sure to follow the submission guidelines perfectly. Good luck.
1. Avon Impulse
Avon is looking for big, high concept historical and contemporary romances. They want inclusive and diverse romances that reflect our world–all sexualities, races, ethnicities, religions, genders, body types, disabilities, and ages!
2. Baen Books
Baen Books is an American publishing house for science fiction and fantasy. In science fiction, it emphasizes space opera, hard science fiction, and military science fiction. “We prefer to see complete manuscripts accompanied by a synopsis. We prefer not to see simultaneous submissions.”
3. Black & White Publishing
What they publish:
commercial women’s fiction (chick lit, saga, romance)
crime and psychological thriller
children’s fiction and Young Adult
celebrity memoirs
sport (UK and Ireland in particular)
humor, gift and activity books
food and drink
4. Coffee House Press
Coffee House Press publishes emerging and midcareer authors. Nearly all CHP authors have had works published in literary magazines or other publications (a résumé including a list of prior publications can strengthen your submission). Although prior publications are important, they are not a requirement; part of our mission is to present promising debut authors alongside those who have been previously published.
5. Chicago Review Press
“We are interested in publishing high-quality nonfiction that will sell year after year. We look for books with a well-defined, passionate target audience.”
6. Chronicle Books
“Chronicle Books publishes an eclectic mixture of traditional and innovative children’s books. We are looking for projects that have a unique bent — be it in subject matter, writing style, or illustrative technique — and that will lend our list a distinctive flair. We are interested in fiction and nonfiction books for children of all ages, as well as board books, decks, activity kits, and other unusual or “novelty” formats.
On the Adult Trade side, we publish a wide range of books, stationery, kits, calendars, and novelty formats. Our list includes cookbooks, fine art, design, photography, pop culture, craft, fashion, beauty, home décor, relationships, lifestyle, and innovative formats such as interactive journals, kits, decks, stationery, and much, much more.”
7. DAW
DAW is an imprint of Penguin that is open to manuscript submissions from authors without an agent. DAW Books was the first publishing company ever devoted exclusively to science fiction and fantasy. “DAW Books seeks to publish a wide range of voices and stories, because we believe that it is the duty of the science fiction and fantasy genres to be inclusive and representative of as many diverse viewpoints as possible.” DAW accepts unsolicited submissions of science fiction and fantasy novels.
8. Entangled Publishing
Entangled Publishing is a romance publisher committed to acquiring diverse books and books written by diverse authors.
9. Felony & Mayhem Press
Felony & Mayhem publish mystery fiction for adults.
10. Hard Case Crime
“Hard Case Crime brings you the best in hard-boiled crime fiction, ranging from lost noir masterpieces to new novels by today’s most powerful writers, featuring stunning original cover art in the grand pulp style.”
11. Quirk Books
“We’re always on the lookout for strikingly unconventional manuscripts and book proposals. A well-written novel with an off-the-wall editorial premise? That’s Quirk. A playful cookbook or craft book with cool photography or crazy illustrations? That’s Quirk, too. We publish across a broad range of categories — always with the goal of delivering innovative books to discerning readers.
Put more simply, we publish books that are smart, original, cool, and fun.”
12. Seven Stories Press
“Seven Stories publishes works of the human imagination — sometimes in the form of fiction and literature, sometimes in the form of political nonfiction and sometimes in a hybrid form that has elements of both.”
13. Source Books — Casablanca Imprint
“We are actively acquiring agented and unagented Romance fiction for our Casablanca imprint. We look for strong writers who are excited about marketing their books and building their community of readers, and whose books have something fresh to offer in the genre of Romance.”
14. Tor/Forge
Tor Books is the most successful science fiction and fantasy publisher in the world. It is an imprint of Macmillan. It is the winner of the Locus Award for best SF publisher 20 years in a row.
The Forge imprint publishes a wide range of fiction, including a strong line of historical novels and thrillers, plus mysteries, women’s fiction, and a variety of nonfiction titles.
Tor/Forge has also become the leading modern publisher of American westerns.
15. Turner Publishing
Turner publishes books in a wide range of categories and formats — fiction and non-fiction. “Our capabilities include title acquisition and development, editorial, design, promotion, sales, warehousing, and distribution. Our reach is from coast to coast with some international distribution.”
And we have another one to add to the list:
16. Erewhon Books
This new, independent, speculative fiction publisher opened in June 2018.
‘We are primarily considering novel-length works in any speculative fiction genre including science fiction, fantasy, horror, and other sub-genres, but we’re also open to other works of interest to the community of SF&F readers.’
