Small Beer Press

Nothing direct. I've read a number of their books and met some of their staff at the AWP conference before. I really like their books and their authors, and have submitted to their magazine (Lady Churchill's Rosebud Wristlet) before, to no avail.

They are small, but tied into the literary and literary/speculative scene.

Has anyone published with Small Beer Press? I know these guys are very legit, but I sent them a query back in February 2016, and then an inquiry as to the status of my submission in October 2016, and have heard nothing. Does anyone know what the turnaround time usually is, and if I should hold out hope or assume they have rejected me? Thanks everyone!

Never heard of them, but I love the name!

From their submission guidelines page:

"...Response time is about six months. We read everything, sometimes slow, sometimes fast. Our apologies for reading so slowly. At the moment we are only reading paper submissions. If six months has passed and you contact us we will try and reply with our decision...."

So, if you submitted in Feb of this year, and followed up in October, my thought would be a monthly ping via email. Don't wanna get lost in the sea, but also don't wanna be annoying either. Just my 2¢ in a world where pennies are meaningless.

Also, fwiw, I've not even gotten to the point of submitting work for consideration yet, so the above may be entirely wrong for all I know.

Oh, thank you! I've checked their submission page about 50 times and never saw a turnaround time listed (for their magazine, yes, but not the press itself). They don't really do e-mail (I had to send the query materials in the mail and also sent the inquiry via mail- I had to send an SASE for a reply so I was surprised I never got anything from them) so I think after a year is up I will try one more inquiry and then move on.

I received a rejection from Small Beer yesterday. It was around 11 months from my initial submission, if anyone is interested.

I got a six-month response, FWIW, and they've been pleasant to deal with.

Their paperbacks are incredibly expensive, I find that suspicious.

Curlz said:

Their paperbacks are incredibly expensive, I find that suspicious.

Click to expand...

??

Small Beer Press is a highly regarded press.

I mean, the books are expensive ($9 for an ebook)--whether or not the seems suspicious is more of a personality thing.

Oh sure, their books are expensive. It was the 'suspicious' part that puzzled me.

eqb said:

??

Small Beer Press is a highly regarded press.

Click to expand...

Yup, that's been my understanding too.

Just wondering how they came up with that name and why.

veinglory said:

I mean, the books are expensive ($9 for an ebook)--whether or not the seems suspicious is more of a personality thing.

Click to expand...

I see one for 14.95. I never heard of this place then again it seems to be for literary fiction and I don't write literary or read it besides the classics.

Some on this thread say this place is a top press so maybe that's why they can get away with higher prices.

That name though.

cool pop said:

I see one for 14.95. I never heard of this place then again it seems to be for literary fiction and I don't write literary or read it besides the classics.

Click to expand...

They publish literary science fiction and fantasy--novels, chapbooks, and collections. They also publish a zine called Lady Churchill's Rosebud Wristlet.

I can't speak to e-book prices but their trade paperback prices are exactly in line with those of the Big 5 publishers and other high-quality independents like Tin House, Feminist Press, Grove, etc.

And yes, they are a very well-regarded press with interesting, award-winning books and full distribution through Consortium, so galleys are sent to booksellers and professional reviewers (incl PW, LJ, Booklist, Kirkus) ahead of time and all that jazz. From first hand experience I can say that, while they are a little niche-y, they definitely get shelf space in bookstores with eclectic fiction sections.

A prime example of their work is Sofia Samatar's Tender - currently in hardcover for $24, will be released in paperback next year for $17. Finalist for World Fantasy, British Fantasy, and Locus award. Reviewed by NPR here.

C Alberts said:

I can't speak to e-book prices but their trade paperback prices are exactly in line with those of the Big 5 publishers and other high-quality independents like Tin House, Feminist Press, Grove, etc.

And yes, they are a very well-regarded press with interesting, award-winning books and full distribution through Consortium, so galleys are sent to booksellers and professional reviewers (incl PW, LJ, Booklist, Kirkus) ahead of time and all that jazz. From first hand experience I can say that, while they are a little niche-y, they definitely get shelf space in bookstores with eclectic fiction sections.

Click to expand...

I'm also not sure where the suspicion is coming from. Highly regarded independent press. The E-book prices are also in line with Big 5 publishers, not sure where the suspicion is coming from. Co-founder Kelly Link is one of the most respected people in the independent publishing community.

Not for nothing, she's also a Pulitzer Prize Finalist for Fiction. Her book, Get in Trouble, was published by Random House. The Kindle version is currently selling for $11.99. Is Random House also suspicious?

Out of curiosity, when people say that this is an expensive e-book price, what is that based on? And how is it suspicious?

The prices are in line with the top and the bottom of the market for TPB print on demand and ebooks by presses that are not ebook focused, so in the absence of any other information it's hard to interpret. IMHO big 5 paperbacks tend to be offset print runs which are cheaper.

veinglory said:

The prices are in line with the top and the bottom of the market for TPB print on demand and ebooks by presses that are not ebook focused, so in the absence of any other information it's hard to interpret. IMHO big 5 paperbacks tend to be offset print runs which are cheaper.

Click to expand...

I'm guessing Small Beer is definitely doing offset print runs and not print on demand if they're distributed by Consortium. It's likely the print run will be smaller than an average Big Five print run. Of course the smaller print run makes the unit cost for each printed book slightly higher. Smaller margins might be part of the reasoning for a higher price point. In any case Consortium helps set the price because they're the ones selling it into stores and they've got a vested interest in a book being successful.

Do they publish novellas? I cpuldnt find anything on their site but I'm a dolt and maybe missed it.

Harlequin said:

Do they publish novellas? I cpuldnt find anything on their site but I'm a dolt and maybe missed it.

Click to expand...

They do publish chapbooks, which includes novellas, but those look like reprints.

Submission guidelines (in case I misread): http://smallbeerpress.com/about/submission-guidelines/