Traditional Publishing Opportunity by @JoRobinson176

One thing I don’t understand is why writers firstly seek out small publishers, or worse still – vanity press. You’ve written a book – you think it’s fantastic. You’ve edited it and made sure that it’s the best that it can be. Why then would you send it to a publisher with three books on their list and sign your submission to them “from an aspiring writer”. If you’re writing, you’re not aspiring to write – you’re writing – you’re a writer dude! You don’t need a certificate to call yourself a writer. If you write you’re a writer. Yes. I’ve loved my self publishing trip. It’s been really hard work though, and there is no way I would ever submit any book that I’ve written to any agent or publisher that I thought wasn’t anything less than awesome.

If you’re going to be rejected, then get rejected by the best. Look up the very best agents in the world, and submit your novel to them. Expect to be rejected – all the greats have been. But don’t stop submitting to the best. So far, apart from a short story in an anthology, I only have knowledge of self-publishing, so I’m no expert by any stretch of the imagination. The further I go on my scribblers journey, the more I’m liking the word Hybrid. The best of both worlds. Finding ways to make your books appear to potential readers from the millions out there isn’t easy, and there’s no magic formula. Say what you like a about traditional publishing though, if your book gets published by one of the biggish houses, you’re most certainly going to have way more new readers for your Indie books as well.

It’s certainly worth a shot. A couple of publishers are accepting un-agented submissions at the moment. One that’s caught my eye is Hachette’s Tinder Press. As long as you’ve never been published by a traditional publisher – no matter how small a press it is, (except for short stories in anthologies) you can submit your book to them between now and the 15th March. Go for it I say. Even if your book is already self-published it’s eligible. Submit the first fifty pages in double spacing on A4, a short bio, and a one page single spaced synopsis as attachments to the email address there, and see what happens. Who knows? Your book could be the next break out novel of the year. So click on the Tinder Press link and good luck!

2015-03-05 11.38.00

Author: jorobinson176

South African writer.

55 thoughts on “Traditional Publishing Opportunity by @JoRobinson176”

  5. Excellent post. Though to answer your question, it’s because of the sales pitch and lack of knowledge. Many people who go with a vanity don’t know what it is and mistake it for a small press. Tricky predators they be.

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    1. Thanks Charles. You’re so right. When I first started out I thought Author Solutions was impressive. LOLOL! It’s a shame though – how many new to publishing get snared by those predators.

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      1. I made the attempt once when I had the extra cash. Another thing that helps is that they promote a handful of success stories, but never tell you the real truth. A lot more money was spent by those people or they had an in to begin with. One of my attempts came from talking to someone who did it and was successful. He already had an audience though. I didn’t and it failed.

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        1. I reckon if you did it now with your Legends of Windemere and your fan base it would be brilliant. Any chance that you might be able to go for this one? I’m not sure if I will or not yet – I’m really bad at the thought of handing over total control.

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            1. That’s the biggie for me too. My short story that went into the Rhino anthology taught me a little about traditional. My editor was an absolute sweetie pie, and made only a couple of tiny suggestions for a couple of sentences, and even such a small giving up of control just about knobbled me.

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                    1. Ha haaa! I think that between you and me we probably won’t trust anyone to do our work. I’d be worried all the time if I handed over any of my sites to someone else. Control freak – much. 😀

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                    3. True – I’m going for a line editor rather than a copy editor though – my first books I went alone and had typos come back to haunt me, so never again that way. Your covers are awesome. Even though I enjoy making some of mine, I could never have done my sci-fi covers as wonderfully as Chris has though, so I’m also really glad to have his talent for the series.

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                    4. I went alone at the beginning due to not being able to afford any type of editing. So there are still typos there that I get messages about and fix. At least I always had the cover art covered with Jason. Hoping to see what he has for the next cover soon.

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  7. Because, quite honestly, the ‘best’ agents and publishers these days, in the main, often don’t have the courtesy to reply; don’t appear to have given what’s submitted, even a cursory glance; send out standard rejection slips or, more often than not, leave one hanging. I have spent years sending out material, and am now willing to chance it with a ‘small publisher’.
    Thank you for the link. One will have to hope it fits “their list”

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    1. That sounds so disheartening. I suppose they must get lots of submissions, and so many awesome books must slip through unnoticed. This one looks good though – all submissions sent in before the 15th will be read, so the best of the best of good luck to you.

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  8. I enjoy being able to publish in a Hybrid way, both traditional and self publishing. I think that it really depends on the book/story project. I am only dabbling in self publishing starting this year, but I have some projects I’m planning to submit the day I write them. I wish I had already translated my dark Fantasy novel into English to submit with this opportunity! Good luck to everyone submitting a piece!

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  11. There can be lots of reasons a person decides to submit to a smaller press before submitting to one of the big houses. First, with the occasional exception like the one you noted, big presses generally don’t accept unagented submissions. For a writer who doesn’t have an agent, it can be easier (and take far less time) to just submit to the smaller houses rather than submit to agents and then wait for them to submit to larger houses.

    Second, the smaller houses likely don’t get quite as many submissions as some of the bigger houses, so the chances of a submission getting read are greater with a small publisher.

    Third, sometimes it isn’t a matter of confidence, but practicality, that makes an author go with a small house rather than trying for a big press. I agree that someone should always go for it, but only if they’re comfortable with that; i.e., if they have the time, the patience, and the resources to wait for what may turn out to be a very long time before getting an answer.

    Great, thought-provoking post!

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    1. Thank you! I suppose there’s also things like cover art, editing, and formatting which small presses supply which is a big draw. The thing that I’ve found a bit disturbing is that there are so many of them these days. Anyone with (or sometimes without) a bit of knowledge can set themselves up as a publisher, and newbies are getting properly tied up by some of them. A lot of Indies also set themselves up as a publisher for their own books only, which means that they’ll have the name of a publisher in the front matter of their books. Technically this means they’re traditionally published, even though they alone are the CEO and staff of their own press. I’m pretty much set in the self-publishing method so I personally would never go with a small press, but I do see how some of them must be good, and probably without them many would never see their books in print. I reckon that seeing as we’re writing more books all the time, it can’t hurt to lob one of them off to the big boys too.

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  12. I agree that you should submit to the best.. just make sure you get their submission requirements covered.. and do some homework first. I get the Writers Handbook every year with updated information on publishers and agents. We are self-publishers and are very clear that we are.. I do not agree with that fact being hidden – I don’t like how most of the large companies work with one size fits all and unfair division of revenues. Whilst we publish my books that does not stop me from considering mainstream publishers for specific ones.

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    1. I totally agree Sal. That’s what I was thinking with this – there’s no need for us to keep all our eggs in one basket, and you never know when luck will strike and a book will be snapped up by one of the big presses. I’ve got a feeling that a lot of writers don’t even consider submitting to them any more, because there are a couple of them accepting straight submissions right now, as well as big house agents on the lookout. Maybe we’re about to see an interesting shift in the world of books again.

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      1. I have no doubt about it.. the publishers are businesses and they now have a huge source of great books written and published independently.. They have not had the risk of publishing new authors and only have to scan the best selling book lists on the various sites to see who might be their own next best seller..have a great weekend… hugs.. Sal

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        1. Exactly! We’re doing their work for them. 😀 To make any sales as an Indie is a massive accomplishment in the white noise of freebies out there. They’re definitely very interested in self-published books too. A wonderful weekend to you too dear Sal – Hugs!

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  13. You have made excellent points. My fourth book is going to the best until there aren’t any more left. My publisher has a number of titles and is not vanity but way too slow and non-supportive for me.

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    1. Cool John! We should definitely start at the top. I also reckon that with your books already out there and doing well, it makes for a brilliant addition to your bio when you start submitting to the biggies. I’ve seen a lot of posts about publishers not doing marketing for their stables of authors. Apart from editing and covers, I just don’t see what the writers are getting back from these deals.

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  14. The wait is long and the author feels left out in the cold when dealing with a big publisher. It may take a year before you know you have or haven’t been accepted. Then another year before you see you work in print. A small press is less cold although it may take almost as long to the finish line. Sigh.

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    1. True Tess. 🙂 I’ve seen authors announce that their new book will be published in eighteen months. I suppose if the deal is really sweet financially it would be worth the wait, and we could probably just get going on the next book. I’m seriously lacking in the patience department though – a wait of a year would probably result in the top of my head blowing right off.

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      1. Or what about those who’ve waited a year and then the book deal falls through? Patience is a virtue I do not have either.
        You have been on my mind but I can’t seem to get done. All afternoon I spend at the computer store as the wicked Microsoft OneDrive quit working for the second time in a week. I couldn’t open a file and it wouldn’t synchronize. Eke.

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    1. Pleasure! It’s definitely worth having a go – it would be a huge success to get published by Hachette, and give you money to carry on scribbling in the old garret. Good luck!

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    1. Thanks Cate! It really hurts when I read those stories too. Done out of all their rights, and generally not earning much, if anything. Considering that a couple of the small presses I’ve researched have most of their listed books hanging around the two million mark in the rankings it’s obvious that they’re not trying to sell them. I often wonder why they do it – unless they’re selling the books elsewhere.

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