by Joe Walters

Writers, it’s about that time.

You’ve done the work. You’ve written, you’ve revised, revised again, gotten beta readers, implemented their feedback, edited, edited again, polished, and now you’re feeling confident that your book is pretty damn good. 

First of all, hell yeah.

Second of all, where do you go from here?

It’s easier to publish a book in 2023 than it has ever been. But that doesn’t mean you should necessarily take the easy route. Sometimes it could be the best decision; sometimes it could be the worst. Take your time and choose with confidence (and maybe a little guidance from me). This post includes info & tips for writers looking to publish with an indie press, to self-publish, or to publish with a major publisher.

Here’s an essential guide to publishing companies (with 50+ publishers included).

I’ve never shouted, “I love indie presses!” from the rooftops, but that’s only because I don’t like rooftops.

Independent presses run the full gamut—large, small, niche, broad, great, not-so-great, you name it. There are a lot of people out there who love books enough to publish them. An indie press can be a side-gig for a book lover or it can be a million-dollar business for a CEO with major connections and funding. 

Indie presses are important to book publishing. So many books in your local bookstore come from the same five publishers and their imprints–more on this in part 3!–but traditional indie presses expand the horizon of books and ideas. Many of these presses take risks on books they believe should be published even if they don’t fit a common model like salability and neat genre fits. I salute them (and review them) as often as I can!

So how do you publish with an independent press?

That depends on the press! Some indies require agented submissions, while others you can submit without an agent. You just have to follow each specific press’s guidelines, write your best book, and cross your fingers.

My biggest recommendations for publishing with an indie press:

• Actually read a couple books from the press. Not only do you want to find out if their vision matches that of your book’s, but you also want to see if it’s professionally formatted and something you’d be proud to share a shelf with.
• Follow their submission guidelines exactly. They receive a lot of queries, and you don’t want to miss your chance at the very beginning.
• Google them & their books to find out any book publicity they’ve received. You want to see what kind of coverage your book could get.
• Make your book as good as it can be ten times over. Many indie presses want to take books that can slide right into a publishing queue. Since they pay their editors on their own dime, it’s a lot less of an investment to take on a book that requires fewer editing-hours to complete.
• Write and get feedback on a compelling query letter.
• Some presses take breaks in their reading periods. Don’t submit outside of them, and if you think your book is the best fit for that press anyway, wait for them to re-open.
• Many indie presses publish books across genres, but some ask for specific genres. Don’t submit if your book doesn’t fit.
• Some publishers frame their submissions as contests or awards. This is fine! You may have to pay to submit, but it usually helps pay an advance to the winning author, something not every indie press does.
• Actually like the look and applicability of their website! The online marketplace is an important one.
• Research what they do to market their books. Do they run a regular newsletter? Are they active on social media? Do they get a lot of book reviews?
• Ask their authors what their experience has been.
• Try university presses! (Not included in list below)
• Peruse more lists like on Duotrope, NewPages, P & W, and Bookfox.

Want to know what people would say about your book if it was published today? Try group beta reading!

Self-publishing is the right route for some people. There’s no getting around the fact that you get complete creative control AND a considerably higher royalty percentage than publishing with a press. You can publish that thing today if you wanted to, or you can transparently use it as a business tool to funnel clients straight into your business. 

You know what that means? More money!

But you know what it also means? More competition & less free help!

But before we get anywhere, it’s imperative that you recognize which part of the publishing process you are skipping: The gatekeeper.

An agent receives thousands of queries. Publishers do too. They choose only a select number of them per year—could be two, could be twelve, could be two hundred. It depends on what that particular person or organization is planning to do with their business. 

They choose only the books that they think will: sell, get acclaim, move readers emotionally, get optioned into a movie, or some other business-specific reason.

By skipping this gatekeeper step, you are not putting your book to the test in the market. I want you to have a published book too, but sometimes that book isn’t ready. You publish it early, and some readers don’t love it. Some might even find things hurtful inside it. That’s a big reason why beta reading and getting feedback is so important. Test the market. Take your time. Make that thing shine before publishing.

And if you do go the self-publishing route, make sure you read up on book marketing! Taking an honest look at what you’re up against—like the amount of actual work hours it’ll take to market—will help you decide if self-publishing companies are the right decision for you.

In addition to doing it all yourself, you can self-publish with a vanity or hybrid press.

A vanity press is one that you can pay to publish your book for you. They do the dirty work like uploading, designing, and accounting. Depending on whichever services they offer in your contract, they may also provide developmental editing, copy editing, proofreading, cover design or illustration, and marketing. 

A hybrid press is a press that either A) requires some money to publish your book, but will front other costs; B) Doesn’t publish every book that is submitted to them; or C) a press that publishes some books on their own dime and other books by being funded by the author.

Some vanity or hybrid presses are awesome to work with. They care about their authors, provide great customer service, and are upfront about their fees and requirements. Others are not as awesome. Some have poor or nonexistent customer service and mislead authors to expect the brightest lights in exchange for more money. 

Some questions to ask your vanity or hybrid press:

• How much is the basic service and what specifically does it entail?
• What does the upgraded service include specifically? 
• Do you charge me when I need to make changes to my book or my book listing?
• How often are you available for marketing help and guidance?
• How many book cover mock-ups does your designer provide?
• Does the basic service include developmental editing, copy editing, and proofreading?
• Are there any yearly fees?
• Can I get freelance services elsewhere and still use your company to publish?
• How long will it take to edit, design, and publish the book?
• Can you show me some books in a similar genre that you’ve published?
• Can you share any other authors’ contact information so I can ask their opinion of your company?

Don’t be afraid to say no to hybrid or vanity publishing companies. There are others out there. 

Here are some of our favorite indie books of 2022.

The big five publishers—listed below—publish many of the top-selling books of a given year. These books appear on reading lists, major media outlets, celebrity book clubs, and bookstores all over the world. They have many imprints and have published a ton of books for a long time. They are a sort of 1%, except they’re probably more visible than that.

As an author, these things probably sound great to you. If you want to get an advance and get financial backing for your book, publishing with a big five publisher is something you probably want to try.

But wait! 

In order to publish with them, you have to find a literary agent to represent you. Then they have to successfully convince a publishing house to publish your book. This is not easy.

Authors spend years perfecting their craft, making connections, publishing short form works in recognizable outlets, getting grants, increasing their social media following, and beyond in order to impress agents and publishers to increase their chances. But again, this doesn’t guarantee anything.

Yet again, some authors don’t take years. Some take one incredible story to blow the doors off, get signed, and get published. 

Lesson of the day: Write the best book you can. Pitch agents strategically. And write more books.

Parting words

Publishing a book is complicated. Choosing the right path, pursuing it at the right time, dealing with the repercussions of your choices: It’s all stressful but only because you care so much.

Take your time, publish the best book you can, and keep writing. That’s what it’s all about anyway, isn’t it?

What is the most important thing you need from from publishing companies? Let me know in the comments below!

About the Author

Joe Walters is the editor-in-chief of Independent Book Review and the author of The Truth About Book Reviews. He has been a book marketer for Sunbury Press, Inkwater Press, and Paper Raven Books. When he’s not doing editorial, promoting, or reviewing work, he’s working on his novel, playing with his kids, or reading indie books by Kindle light.

Thank you for reading “50+ Publishing Companies for Traditional & Self-Publishing: A Guide for Writers“ by Joe Walters! If you liked what you read, please spend some more time with us at the links below.

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Reviewed by Joe Walters

Reading A People’s Guide to Publishing feels like cheating. Like a chef revealing his secret recipes, Joe Biel gives us all the information we need to find success in book businesses.

Book people stick together. Writers. Readers. Industry pros. When one person gets on the mic, we gather around to listen. There’s always something new to learn, and the audience has one primary interest in common: More. Good. Books.

So maybe it’s not cheating. Maybe author Joe Biel wants us to stick together even more after releasing A People’s Guide to Publishing: Build a successful, sustainable, meaningful, book business from the ground up. Maybe he wants to show us how to start a small press, how to publish books successfully even though his company (Microcosm Publishing) is still alive and well. There’s no competition in here. There’s only excitement, a few laughs, and all of the helpful information authors and would-be publishers are in search of.

A People’s Guide to Publishing is structured like the life-cycle of a small press or self-published book. It begins with an idea, research, and a goal. Before you publish, you’ll need to learn from chapters like “What a Publisher Does,” to put you in the mindset of a book business owner, and explore “Title Development: How to Make Books that People Will Find & Relate to.” This book doesn’t skimp out on the details to help you understand what successful publishers have done in order to succeed and which tactics you could adopt to become successful, too.

As the book progresses, it travels through the publishing process. It takes you all the way through printing and editorial to “Publicity & Launch.” With practical homework at the end of each chapter, this book really does act as the intensely readable guide to publishing that the title suggests.

“If a stranger can’t determine the emotional payoff of your books from looking at the covers, then someone must be present to verbally offer these details to each person who might be interested.”

Since I can’t reprint the whole book for you (sorry), I’d love to share a few highlights of what I learned while reading A People’s Guide to Publishing:

• How to choose your book’s price, size, release date, and cover based on market needs and demands
• Where to sell books
• The process that consumers go through before buying
• Reaching out to libraries and non-bookstore sales channels
• How to pack boxes without damaging books
• How to have a conversation about your book and why it’s okay to mess up
• How to develop your book to be appealing for bookstores

Biel got started publishing the same way that anyone does: he decided to do it. He had to figure out new ways to make his business work and discover development, marketing, and sales tactics along the way. He even shared what he tried in the beginning (like joining bands on their tours) and what he continues to do to this day. It was helpful to follow his journey and to envision which paths I might take if I started my own book business.

For those of you who are not considering opening your own small press, this book is also applicable for self-publishing authors and traditional authors. After all, what is a self-publisher other than their own (very) small press, and what is an author other than the content writer for a product? This book helps authors understand what publishers are thinking so that authors can make their books either appealing to publishers in a pitch or to stand right beside them on the shelves.

“Marketing is responsible for researching, identifying, and selecting comp titles for each book as well as researching how these comp titles were successful and how to imitate translatable parts of the success.”

If you’re going to buy a book about how to make a good book, you’d better hope that it’s a good one. And lucky for us, A People’s Guide to Publishing is just that. I’d recommend it to traditional authors looking to gain insight into the industry, self-publishing authors, small presses, and people who are considering a future in the industry. I had a great time with it, and I really think you would too.

Publisher: Microcosm Publishing

ISBN: 9781621062851

Thank you for reading “Book Review: A People’s Guide to Publishing” by Joe Walters! If you liked what you read, please spend some more time with us at the links below.

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by Jaylynn Korrell

It’s easy to think that the best path to literary success is getting in with a big five publisher.

But there is way more room up there in Successville (which we imagine to be somewhere in the mountains of Hawaii) than you might expect. There are groups of innovative thinkers all across the globe who understand that lesser-known authors and books deserve recognition and readership too.

Indie presses have the freedom to publish works that are unique and real, and guess what? There are more than just a few of them. We decided on sharing only 10 indie presses for now, but even stopping there was hard because there are so many talented and inspiring people devoting their time to giving emerging writers and artists a shot.

After perusing this list, make sure to check out part two: “11 More Indie Presses You Should Know About.”

1. Two Dollar Radio

Created in 2005 by a husband and wife team, Two Dollar Radio is a truly unique indie publisher. Along with accepting bold work and designing incredible covers, this duo also produces films and runs a retail space that sells the books they publish and some totally awesome other stuff too!  If you’re ever in Columbus, Ohio area, enter the words “Two Dollar Radio Headquarters” into your smartphone and let the awesomeness take over. This young press has already had plenty of success in the literary world, publishing books that have been named finalists for the Los Angeles Times Book Prize and have been honored by the National Book Foundation too.

2. Head of Zeus

A London based publishing company, Head of Zeus opened its doors in early 2012 and, only five years later, was named British Book Award’s Independent Publisher of the Year. They publish a mix of genre fiction, general fiction, literary fiction, and nonfiction . If you’re curious about their unique name, check out its origin story here (It’s short and super interesting, so just do it, okay?).

3. Coffee House Press 

This nonprofit started out in 1972 as a letterpress operation, and has evolved to publishing novels, short story collections, essay collections, and creative nonfiction too. Their authors have won awards like the National Book Award and The Bailey’s Women’s Prize for Fiction. Based in Minneapolis, Minnesota, Coffee House Press now identifies as both a literary publisher and an arts organization by incorporating their Books in Action program, which aims to connect readers and writers not just through the page but through events, library residency programs, and more!

4. Feminist Press

Feminist Press has been celebrating feminism through literature since 1970. They started by reprinting feminist classics like works by Zora Neale Hurston and Charlotte Perkins Gilman, and now, they publish contemporary feminist literature from authors all across the world. Some of my absolute favorite books have been published by Feminist Press like The Not Wives and Mars.

5. Diversion Books

Diversion Books launched in 2010 in New York City as a digital-only publisher, but since then, they’ve expanded their forms into digital, audio, and print, and now they publish up to fifty works a year. Combining traditional methods with their own innovative thinking, Diversion is able to create collaborative partnerships with both new and experienced writers. They are also in charge of Ever After Romance, an imprint specifically for Romance authors. Pretty cool if you ask us.

6. Future Tense Books

Based in Portland, Oregon, this small press keeps the world of indie publishing weird. Since 1990, editor and publisher Kevin Sampsell has been delivering literary gold in the form of pocket-sized books, chapbooks, novels, and more. We’ve been lucky enough to review some of their titles like User Not Found and I Don’t Think of You (Until I Do), and well, let’s just say that I’m including Future Tense for a reason. Check out their recent releases here.

7. Tin House

When you hear of Tin House, your first thought (if not an actual tin house) might be their amazing literary journal. But in 2005 they launched their independent press, Tin House Books, and since then it has given us some amazing work by around 12 authors a year. One of their publications, Rabbit Cake, was even our book of the month winner for May! So if you’re a fan of their daring literary magazine, you’ll be sure to love the books they’ve been releasing too.

8. Ugly Duckling Presse

This Brooklyn-based, nonprofit press was developed from a 1990’s zine by a group of editorial volunteers. Since then, it has published over 200 titles of poetry, experimental nonfiction, translation, and more. They focus mainly on emerging and International writers, but they love to feature unique artwork as well.

9. Dorothy

Named after the editor’s book-loving great-aunt Dorothy, this press takes a new approach to the publishing industry. They publish two new books each Fall, encouraging readers and booksellers to purchase them as a pair by offering discounts. In doing this, they’d like to create a dialogue for readers about the different aesthetics of each piece and to also treat the books as a conversation of their own. Check out their latest two (Wild Milk and The Taiga Syndrome) here.

10. Autumn House 

Initially a publisher of full-length poetry collections, Autumn House Press has now expanded to publishing fiction and non-fiction as well. They run out of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania and have been in business since 1998. In addition to their publications, they also offer submissions for their Autumn House Press Contests, which celebrate writers in three different categories: Poetry, Non-fiction and Fiction. Check ’em out! We know you won’t be disappointed.

About the Author

Jaylynn Korrell is a nomadic writer currently based in Pennsylvania. She writes for Independent Book Review and Earth to Jay. Follow her on Twitter and Instagram @JaylynnKorrell.

Thank you for reading “10 Awesome Indie Presses You Should Know About” by Jaylynn Korrell! If you liked what you read, spend some more time with us at the links below.

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