I'm curious to ask some of the veteran writers out there, what publishers have you found are the most friendly ones? What publishers seem to accept the most unsolicited pieces of work? What publishers pay the best? What publishers are the best for people without an agent?
Even veteran/experienced writers won't be able to accurately give you an answer. That's because they'll likely only have dealt with one or two publishers. I'm not counting rejections here because it's hard to get a good feel for publishers based on a rejection (unless they're just outright unprofessional). Your question about payment is also hard to answer because some publishers might be generous with royalties but may not offer an advance at all (and vice versa). A lot depends on how marketable your book is. In case this helps, here's a list of over 700 book publishers. It includes things like websites, average response times, etc. You'll have to go through the websites to see if they take unsolicited submissions.
@thirdwind thanks I book marked that page. I was just hoping to hear some personal stories verses what could be some third party information. It's always nice to read about good experiences once in awhile.
I am not sure friendly is what you're looking for. Polite and professional. Most successful publishers, large and small, are polite and professional. I've met editors from Baen and Tor (major publishers) and they fall under this category. I've met editors from too many small publishers to list. Most are professional. As I think about it, the editors were 'friendly' too, but not your buddy, if that makes sense. I've served with some on panels and spoke to them at cons and exchanged emails, and a good editor/publisher will maintain that line. Eventually, friends may come, but not when you're submitting your first novel for acceptance. And, in the end, you have to remember it's first and foremost a professional relationship you're forming, not a friendship. Smaller publishers tend to accept a greater percentage of novels from the slush pile. But, not all publishers are created equal. There are publishers that won't benefit an author to be published with. Just know that, even with the growing option of self-publishing, the competition for publishing slots in a publisher's schedule is very stiff. You're competing not only with all those authors trying to break in with their first novel, but those with second novels, and established authors with a proven track record. That is really impossible to tell. There are so many factors that go into a contract. I know that advances and royalty rates are important, but there is so much more that can affect 'pay' both in the short term and in the long run. Many publishers don't accept unsolicited manuscripts (slush). I think there are examples of folks who have successfully ignored this, but I've never met one. Those that do accept slush, it tends to be a slow process. Agent representation bypasses the slush pile. Fantasy and SF publishers ( the larger ones in the USA ) tend to accept unsolicited manuscripts. Other genres, not so much. Smaller publishers are far less likely to require agented submissions. Just about every publisher has guidelines somewhere on their website. I will throw out there something which isn't really part of your line of questions but what I think is relevant...If a publisher's website appears more focused on being author friendly and focused, as opposed to reader friendly and focused, it would be something of initial concern. Doesn't mean they'd not be a good publisher to submit a novel or novella to, but certainly would be something that would make me question how focused they are on selling novels rather than attracting authors. There are websites that focus on warning about or discussing publishers (other forums, Preditors and Editors, Writer Beware, etc.) And I think that they're discussed in other threads on this forum. Good luck as you move forward.
as noted above, no one can answer those questions with any degree of certainty, lew... you'll have to do the research on your own, since what one person has found to be an 'easy' publisher may only have been 'easy' because the author's ms was clearly a money-maker... and what another found 'hard' may only be because their work wasn't up to publishing standards... plus, too many other considerations to list, that may have affected the rating... thirdwind... thanks for that link!... i hadn't come across that listing before now and it seems to be a good one worth adding to my resources file for passing on to mentees and clients... love and hugs, m
Why would you try for an easier publisher? Is it really more important to get that manuscript in print than to make sure it's good enough to deserve to be in print? Demand no less of yourself than uncompromising excellence!
Maybe because many people won't take you seriously until you have gotten something into print. It's like getting your foot in the door. Sure it sounds nice to think you are going to get published by the big publishers on the first try, but that isn't realistic. Fact is I was just making a list of different attributes of publishers to try and get people talking about their publishing experiences and share them with those of us that haven't been published. Instead all I've gotten is pretty much posts like yours that are not contributing to this thread one single bit.
Really? Then why are so many responders saying similar things? Whether the contribution is what you personally were looking for is not the same as not contributing. Perhaps you should have been clearer in the first place.
There are some people that are contributing. Sadly some aren't giving personal experiences and naming any companies. Take for example, I sent a poem to a company that publishes literature that strictly has to do with the ocean, I can't remember the name of it offhand, but they were nice enough to send me a personal letter telling me that they would put it in their slush pile for possible future publication. Now, what you did by saying, "Why sell yourself short, why not go for the best?" What good does that do? You've been around the forums and writing long enough to know that very, very, very, very little people get published by a major publication company their first time. So how was that helpful whatsoever? I know I joke around a lot, but I have seen you jump people's cases for much less than what you have done here. Is it a case of, "do as I say, not as I do?"
