[Publisher] Snowbooks, Ltd.

[Carmy]

Anyone dealt with them or have any information?

http://www.snowbooks.com/index.html

Not listed on P&E.

[Chicken Warrior]

Afraid not. They say they publish 10 books a year, and don't seem to be too strict about genre. Their submission process is unique, and quite frankly, I like it (although not asking for a cover letter is pretty bizarre). They essentially say they put ten thousand pounds into every title, which sounds a bit inflated, but they ARE a real, established, print-focused publisher. I noticed one or two of their titles are available at my local bookstores through Thunder's Mouth Press (an imprint of Avalon).

[Old Hack]

A friend of a friend has published with them (Sarah Bower, Needle in the Blood), and she's delighted; and Susan Hill (novellist and publisher at Long Barn Books) has said great things about them on her blog. Snowbooks has a good blog of its own which is worth looking at.

[RTH]

I think there's been some comment on Snowbooks over on the Networking section -- look under "favorite & profitable small presses for SF"

[J. R. Tomlin]

Hmmmm on re-reading their submission page, I must have misread something. Editing out my original comment.

They say they take a long time but I don't see that they give an amount of time to expect. Not sure what I mis-read. Anyway they seem pretty upfront about their process which I like.

I did like this part: "We do not require a synopsis." I don't mind writing a cover letter, but writing a synopsis makes having your fingernails ripped out look fun.

[Aprylwriter]

Oh, definitely, there's this one publisher I submitted to that said they usually reply under three months, and it's been six months now, even after I sent in a follow-up query.

[BarbJ]

I did like this part: "We do not require a synopsis." I don't mind writing a cover letter, but writing a synopsis makes having your fingernails ripped out look fun.

Oh, yeah.

BTW - welcome!

[Carmy]

Many thanks everyone. Snow Books looked good to me, but it's always worth checking out here.

[seun]

Glad I did a search for Snow Books before I posted more or less the same query

Found them a couple of days ago and thought I'd check them out here before submitting.

[Lisamer]

The only thing that irked me about them is that they send the name of a professional editing company with their rejection letters. Not a big deal, just a bit annoying.

[seun]

I noticed they mentioned the editing company on their homepage. For now, I'll go with it's just a recommendation and not anything dodgy.

[Hobbes]

They seem okay, but is there a disadvantage of publishing with a company not in your own country? I don't want that to sound bad, what I mean is, since I'm in the US and they're in England, is it more difficult to establish a readership in the US? Or does it even make a difference at all?

[Chicken Warrior]

It probably does make a difference than if you found a pub in US of the same size. But in overall sales, you might even be better off publishing in England. I mean, they have ads for books on their subways, for god's sake.

Just to say again, it seems like a few of their books are available stateside through Avalon.

[Carmy]

My settings are all in the UK so I have no problem submitting there.

My work has gone through a couple of really tough critique groups -- online and local -- so I doubt their editing people can do much, but I agree it must be annoying to get the referral.

Good luck, seun -- to both of us.

[triceretops]

I don't know anything other than to generally say they looked okay to me and have evidence of distribution.

I'm about 47 days into a full sub to them.

Tri

[waylander]

The only thing that irked me about them is that they send the name of a professional editing company with their rejection letters. Not a big deal, just a bit annoying.

Professional editing has an entirely different (and more respectable) profile here in the UK than in the US.
FWIW Snow Books are entirely legit and well-respected
I know of a major SF/F editor who has his own book coming out with Snow

[Old Hack]

I submitted to them: got a brief but kind rejection within four weeks, with no mention of any editing service.

Sarah Bower's first book with them sold many copies--over ten thousand--and her second is doing extremely well. Snowbooks does seem to be an excellent press to be published by.

My only criticism is that the couple of Snowbooks that I've read were in need of copyediting--but were so good that even I (notoriously demanding) overlooked that.

[Carmy]

Ahem, dare I say it? Maybe you don't need an editor Old Hack. Good for you.

I know I'd feel insulted if they recommended an editor to me.

[triceretops]

I perceive them to be the quintessential medium-sized publisher, if there is such a thing anymore. I wish there were more of them. They've been very responsive with me, after nudging them. I'll certainly try them in the future with other projects.

Tri

[Broadswordbabe]

Anyone have any information or heard anything about this company? Their website's very appealing, but I don't know anything about their success rate/distribution etc.

http://www.snowbooks.com/

[Old Hack]

Snowbooks is a very well-respected independent press and a friend of a friend of mine, Sarah Bower, has published with it and met with extraordinary success. Her first novel, Needle in the Blood, was distributed across the country and widely reviewed, and now she's enjoying a similar succes with her next.

She's delighted with them, apparently, and has earned a lot of money from the deal too. I don't think that Snowbooks pays advances, but its founders have a very strong background in retail and finance and it's doing extremely well.

The blog's good too.

[Saskatoonistan]

Holy suffering crap! I got an offer from Snowbooks.

---passes out----

[EgyptianGoddess]

Holy suffering crap! I got an offer from Snowbooks.

---passes out----

<throws cold water on your face>

WTG!!!! And good luck!

[frandavea]

I don't know how receptive they are to US authors, but they sound great, and seem open to most genres, so I submitted my YA manuscript just now.

[Old Hack]

Holy suffering crap! I got an offer from Snowbooks.

---passes out----

Wake up and celebrate. Snowbooks is a seriously good publisher, and if you decide to accept their offer your book will be taken great care of.

Oh, and CONGRATULATIONS!