[Publisher] Lee & Low Books / Tu Books (formerly Tu Publishing)

Ummm.... did anyone else notice they're seeking funds from outside sources to 'kickstart' their business so they can even get into publishing?

I give them a no 'confidence vote' just from that.

Yeeks. Stacy Whitman has been a solid freelance developmental editor with a fabulous reputation, but this looks like a "good will but not enough forethought" project that isn't going to take off.

I just went and poked around the site and it looks interesting. They'll be focusing on diversity in settings and characters, which could open up a lot of niche markets. I didn't see any information about distribution and so forth, but the founder has good, relevant experience and the site is professional. The 'kickstart' campaign thing may well be more to test the waters and see how much interest there is in the venture than it is a fundraiser.

I'll be interested to see if they can pull this off. I hope so. There's not enough diversity in genre fiction, and I love that they don't necessarily want books that focus on race as an issue--just good books set in multicultural settings and with non-white main characters.

Since when is looking for a venture capitalist a sign of a problem? All kinds of start-ups do that.

Please note that I haven't checked the link, so if I'm misreading the situation, just ignore me.

IIRC, Summerside Press was started on venture capital, and look how well it's doing. I wish Tu all good success.

Most people who are looking for capital do it before they open for business.

James D. Macdonald said:

Most people who are looking for capital do it before they open for business.

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I may be reading it wrong, but it looks like that's precisely what they're doing. They're not open to subs yet (their submissions page says they'll open on Jan. 1 if their kickstart program is successful--so far it looks like they've only raised about a third of what they want) and they don't have anything for sale yet. Their website is basically a "watch this space" with blog-type posts on various related subjects.

so long as they are not trying to get money from the authors then all i can say is 'good luck with their business model.'

Judg said:

Since when is looking for a venture capitalist a sign of a problem? All kinds of start-ups do that.

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It's not something a business is well advised to do this publicly, to say the least.

Wanted to update this thread, Tu Books is now an imprint of Lee and Low: http://www.leeandlow.com/p/tu.mhtml

Any more news about this publisher? I just stumbled across an open call for submissions but they only accept hard copy/snail mail (which is okay, I suppose) but they make it very clear they will not acknowledge submissions and do not want SASP or SASE included with any submissions. If they don't contact you in six months, they aren't interested.

Again, I'm willing to listen to anyone with actual experience working with this company but if they are that dismissive at the submission point, I cringe to think of how they'd treat the authors they work with.

NonieMaus, FYI (though it's a bit late), we've started taking electronic submissions via Submittable at https://tubooks.submittable.com/submit. Due to the volume of submissions via paper, it was impossible to reply to every submission. However, the Submittable system makes it much easier to auto-acknowledge receipt, as well as for communication purposes along the submissions process.

Also, you can find out more about our books at https://www.leeandlow.com/imprints/3, including reviews and links to authors' sites.

Any updates on this publisher?

josephperin said:

Any updates on this publisher?

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I don't know much, but they have followed my Latinx name on Twitter and seem hugely interested in diverse voices. My impressions is that this is mainly POC, but I could be wrong. I've asked my (YA) agent to check them out for an #ownvoice YA project of mine when we go on submission. Will advise if/when I hear anything else.

No real need to update, Lee and Low is a highly respected and recommended publisher and so are their imprints, including Tu. They are very much about diversity in content and creators.
Their books are terrific (starred reviews by Kirkus, prestigious awards)
https://www.leeandlow.com/imprints