Bridge House Publishing

[gothicangel]

http://bridgehousepublishing.co.uk/firstnovel.aspx

My query is twofold.

First does anyone know anything about them? I've tried googling and got zilch.

Secondly . . .

A friend of mine gave me the detail of the above debut novel competition. It sounded like a good idea at first, but then my instincts kicked in. They've only published anthologies before (and few at that), so what do they know about publishing a novel? They seem so small I even doubt they have the connections with wholesalers, distributors, the media, bookstores etc to do the winner justice.

My main worry is however is that I'm selling myself short. I'm currently reworking my novel following comments made by agents and critiques. It has been a few years since I've approached agents and would like to try again in the next twelve months. Would it be a mistake to enter this competition with a minor indie? I can't help worrying that I could be missing out on a chance of signing with the big guns.

I've worked too hard for the novel to end up on some obscure backlist. I have this really good feeling about it, it could be a potential bestseller for all I know.

Thoughts?

 

[Richard White]

Always start high.

I'd burn through all the major agents that rep my area of writing first and then the mid-levels and then start with the biggest publishers that don't require agents, then the mids before I ever got to the smalls.

Why sell yourself short?

 

[CaoPaux]

With the exception of an early poem in a charity anthology pubbed by Francis Lincoln, the rest of the founder's works are self- and vanity-pubbed (incl. Publish Britannica). Aim higher.

 

[gothicangel]

Wow! How did you find that one out!

I had a suspicion after doing some research into their existing titles and saw the awful, SP-style jacket design. I also had a look at their marketing page on the website and it seems all they intend on doing is printing books, the rest: book launch; media etc is up to the author.

Definitely no, I dream of a glossy/photographic jacket.

 

[James D. Macdonald]

If you try Googling and get zilch, that all by itself is a red flag. Publishers, like agents, have to be visible. There's no such thing as a stealth publisher.

 

[gothicangel]

Thanks James.

I've been writing for ten years now, and today has been a real eye opener!

 

[CaoPaux]

Updating link: http://bridgehousepublishing.co.uk/default.html

Most of the site is stuck in '11, and the last releases were in '12, Anyone have recent contact with them?

 

[CaoPaux]

Updating URL: http://bridgehousepublishing.co.uk/

Has resumed publishing, although so far only an annual anthology.