[Pub] Tin House Books

[Mevrouw Bee]

Found this on Facebook today. They're having what appears to be a one-day open submission for debut novelists on January 7th.

Anyone know anything about them? Reputation? Their books look lovely, but loathe to judge by the covers...

 

[zmethos]

All I know of Tin House is that their magazine was considered a fine place to be published back in the day. I would guess, (though I do not know via experience or direct anecdote, so this is all assumption on my part), that their books are also good?

 

[ChaseJxyz]

From my googling, it seems that they closed the literary magazine to focus on the book publishing and writing workshops. Only 2 of the books o the publisher's Wikipedia page had their own Wikipedia pages, which doesn't seem like a lot.

 

[Janine R]

They look very respectable. I looked up one book Who is Vera Kelly. It won an Edgar and seems to have been widely reviewed. I don't know how that translates to sales.

 

[MaeZe]

https://tinhouse.com/book-submissions/

Submissions

Three times per year, Tin House offers a two-day submission period for writers to submit their work. Eligible writers must not currently have an agent, and must not have previously published a book (chapbooks okay). Per our schedule below, we accept works of fiction, literary nonfiction, and poetry, both originally in English and in translation (please only submit translation projects which the translator has already been granted formal permission to translate), and ask that you do not send us a project unless you have a completed draft.

In particular, we are looking to engage with work by writers from historically underrepresented communities, including—but not limited to—those who are Black, Indigenous, POC, disabled, neurodivergent, trans and LGBTQIA+, debuting after 40, and without an MFA.

SUBMIT:

From January 7th at 12:01 a.m. PT to January 8th at 11:59 p.m. PT, our Submittable link will be live for debut novel submissions. You can click below to submit then!

I fit the debut over age 40 category so I might give it a try. I don't see age referred to very often as an underrepresented category.

Thank you for the post @Mevrouw Bee

 

[Mevrouw Bee]

https://tinhouse.com/book-submissions/

Submissions


I fit the debut over age 40 category so I might give it a try. I don't see age referred to very often as an underrepresented category.

Thank you for the post @Mevrouw Bee

I was thinking the same thing being also a Golden Girl!

 

[ap123]

Feel free to judge by their covers.
This is a very respected house. Their short open sub windows are a lovely opportunity, other than those 2? 3? windows each year they are open to agented subs only.

 

[Mevrouw Bee]

Feel free to judge by their covers.
This is a very respected house. Their short open sub windows are a lovely opportunity, other than those 2? 3? windows each year they are open to agented subs only.

I guess this leads to a question then...How does one who isn't American (or even live in North America) vet a direct contract from a publishing house without an agent? This is what has always made me hesitate going this route being a Canadian-Dutch writer in the Netherlands...

Not a legal question...more a question about foreign authors accessing American services. Are we even eligible?

 

[Chris P]

I'm familiar with Tin House from their magazine days, and their stories regularly made just about every "best of" compilations I would read. I haven't read any of their books, hope their books are equally impressive. Those covers are

For "unpublished," what about self-pubbed or vanity? That will eliminate a lot of folks.

Alas, one of the cautionary tales of rushing into an untested publishing mill where I sold fewer than 20 copies and the publisher folded within a year nevertheless counts as published. Don't settle in the name of impatience, folks! It cuts off more opportunities (such as this one) than it opens.

 

[Mevrouw Bee]

I'm familiar with Tin House from their magazine days, and their stories regularly made just about every "best of" compilations I would read. I haven't read any of their books, hope their books are equally impressive. Those covers are

For "unpublished," what about self-pubbed or vanity? That will eliminate a lot of folks.

Alas, one of the cautionary tales of rushing into an untested publishing mill where I sold fewer than 20 copies and the publisher folded within a year nevertheless counts as published. Don't settle in the name of impatience, folks! It cuts off more opportunities (such as this one) than it opens.

Totally agree. For the reason I mentioned above in a large part, directly submitting to a publishing house is a last resort after querying. I feel a bit too vulnerable due to geography. And agents are used to dealing with clients who are international I would think and would know how to look after their best interests (as it's in their best interest too).

 

[ap123]

I guess this leads to a question then...How does one who isn't American (or even live in North America) vet a direct contract from a publishing house without an agent? This is what has always made me hesitate going this route being a Canadian-Dutch writer in the Netherlands...

Not a legal question...more a question about foreign authors accessing American services. Are we even eligible?

There are a number of authors (including here on AW) who are not American but have American agents and land contracts here. This might be a good question for a separate thread to catch the eye of those members. That said, I've seen houses that have these open windows state in their guidelines if people outside their country aren't eligible.

 

[MaeZe]

I guess this leads to a question then...How does one who isn't American (or even live in North America) vet a direct contract from a publishing house without an agent? This is what has always made me hesitate going this route being a Canadian-Dutch writer in the Netherlands...

Not a legal question...more a question about foreign authors accessing American services. Are we even eligible?

From the submissions page:

Q: Are international applications eligible?

A: Yes! We’d love to consider international submissions if the project meets the other criteria.

For "unpublished," what about self-pubbed or vanity? That will eliminate a lot of folks.

From the submissions page:

Q: Can I submit if my only published work was self-published?

A: Yes—if you have a self-published book but no other published books, then you can submit your work.

 

[MaeZe]

I don't see this as "a last result" especially as a debut author. It depends on the publisher. And one can have a lawyer review any contract should one be forthcoming.

 

[Mevrouw Bee]

There are a number of authors (including here on AW) who are not American but have American agents and land contracts here. This might be a good question for a separate thread to catch the eye of those members. That said, I've seen houses that have these open windows state in their guidelines if people outside their country aren't eligible.

No no, not my question. I'm talking being UNagented and querying a publishing house like Tin House directly. I know I CAN regardless of my country of residence, but when it comes to vetting contracts and protecting myself, how do I if I'm not American?

 

[Mevrouw Bee]

I don't see this as "a last result" especially as a debut author. It depends on the publisher. And one can have a lawyer review any contract should one be forthcoming.

"A lawyer"? WHAT lawyer if I live in the Netherlands?

Okay everybody, please finish your morning coffees and reread my questions?

 

[Mevrouw Bee]

From the submissions page:




From the submissions page:

I know I can submit.

How do I vet their contract if I'm unagented and live in a non-English-speaking country in Europe? I know there are Writers' organizations in America that will provide contract vetting but how does that help if I don't live there? Am I eligible for that particular service?

 

[lizmonster]

"A lawyer"? WHAT lawyer if I live in the Netherlands?

There are lawyers in the Netherlands. Some of them speak English.

I don't have experience with international contracts, but that's what you'd be dealing with, and that is absolutely not something you want to be dealing with on your own. So yeah, "hire a lawyer" is the right answer.

 

[Brigid Barry]

"A lawyer"? WHAT lawyer if I live in the Netherlands?

Okay everybody, please finish your morning coffees and reread my questions?

...a contract attorney. And I know with certainty that people in the Netherlands speak English to the point that I'm confident you can find an English speaking attorney familiar with contract law.

Or, and hear me out, you contact an American (or whatever nationality the publisher is) contract attorney to review the contract.

 

[Janine R]

I know there are Writers' organizations in America that will provide contract vetting

I didn't know this. What organizations are those?

 

[lizmonster]

I didn't know this. What organizations are those?

There aren't any, AFAIK. The UK has the Society of Authors, which can offer help, but I don't think there's an equivalent in the US.

The big thing about a publishing contract is ideally you want someone who knows something about the publishing business, not just about the law. A lawyer can tell you what you're signing, but they can't tell you if it's a "normal" publishing contract unless they know that side of it. (This is one reason agents are worth their 15%, if you can find one to work with.)

 

[Mevrouw Bee]

Yeah, there's English and then there's "legal" English. And then there's EU law and UK law and America law.

And that's why I hesitate. Speaking from experience, too many professions are not transferable between the EU and the UK and North America.

I'll stick to querying and let my potential agent worry about contracts.

 

[Mevrouw Bee]

There aren't any, AFAIK. The UK has the Society of Authors, which can offer help, but I don't think there's an equivalent in the US.

The big thing about a publishing contract is ideally you want someone who knows something about the publishing business, not just about the law. A lawyer can tell you what you're signing, but they can't tell you if it's a "normal" publishing contract unless they know that side of it. (This is one reason agents are worth their 15%, if you can find one to work with.)

All of this. Thank you.

 

[Janine R]

There aren't any, AFAIK. The UK has the Society of Authors, which can offer help, but I don't think there's an equivalent in the US.

The big thing about a publishing contract is ideally you want someone who knows something about the publishing business, not just about the law. A lawyer can tell you what you're signing, but they can't tell you if it's a "normal" publishing contract unless they know that side of it. (This is one reason agents are worth their 15%, if you can find one to work with.)

Just checked. The Writers’ Union of Canada offers a $15 Contracts self-help package. I imagine this would be useful for becoming familiar with industry standards. Whether or not you have an agent or a lawyer review your contract you should read it very carefully yourself. The trick to most contracts is a slow read. Pay attention to copyright, reversion of rights, definitions of net, gross, territory.

 

[Unimportant]

No no, not my question. I'm talking being UNagented and querying a publishing house like Tin House directly. I know I CAN regardless of my country of residence, but when it comes to vetting contracts and protecting myself, how do I if I'm not American?

Your options are:

1. You hire a lawyer. A US based lawyer who specialises in publishing contracts and IP. You pay via bank transfer. All of this stuff can be done via email/skype/zoom nowadays.

2. You put in the heaps of time and effort needed to learn enough about publishing contracts, and know what you will/will not accept, that you can usefully negotiate your own contracts.

3. You contact agents once Tin House has offered you a contract and ask if they will take you on as a one-time client: they negotiate the contract in return for their standard X% of the advance and royalties. If they want to take you on as a permanent client, even better.

 

[Mevrouw Bee]

Just checked. The Writers’ Union of Canada offers a $15 Contracts self-help package. I imagine this would be useful for becoming familiar with industry standards. Whether or not you have an agent or a lawyer review your contract you should read it very carefully yourself. The trick to most contracts is a slow read. Pay attention to copyright, reversion of rights, definitions of net, gross, territory.

Bookmarking. Thanks.