Unsolicited Press

[ehorwitt]

Has anyone had dealings with Unsolicited press? I am thinking of querying them. My novel is an historical romance set during feminism's second wave. Two women, one straight and one queer, clash upon meeting but end up together.

 

[Brigid Barry]

Web site: https://www.unsolicitedpress.com/

It doesn't look like they want genre fiction, and they want the entire MS up front, which always bothers me. They tell you right up front that they only have a 3% acceptance rate (not something I'd personally brag about but whatever), why would they want the whole thing?

$5 submission fee, and by submitting you automatically subscribe to their newsletter?

Feedback donation of $25, and MS feedback donation of $125. Looks like they make their money off these "donations". Granted, $125 is cheap for a crit, but you also get what you pay for.

If those aren't enough red flags, they drag trade publishing and don't pay their staff, which is not a good way to run a business. On the about page, nowhere in anyone's cutsie bio did I read any level of experience in the publishing industry.

I'd do a few searches on Amazon for some of their books that they've published, but this place would get a hard pass from me.

 

[Unimportant]

They brag that they don't pay their staff, which is.....unusual. Not a press I'd go for.

 

[frimble3]

Run by volunteers? So, it's really a hobby, a sideline to what pays the bills for people.
And, a peeve of mine: more information about pets and hobbies than relevant work experience.

 

[Helix]

This is irritating and rude. The author has already invested a huge amount of time and effort in writing the damned book.

Authors are expected to to pull their weight, though, as we are a small team. At the end of the day, we like to view publishing as a collaborative effort with everyone dedicating significant time to the process. Our team takes a huge financial risk when choosing to publish a book, so we request a commitment of your time and loyalty in return.

 

[Brigid Barry]

I'm back because I'm on my PC.

Their books available through their web site are $16 or $17 for a paperback, which seems high. I saw one listed at $25, which is definitely high.

Randomly chose one of the books (fiction). They charge $1 more when it's listed on Amazon. I'm sorry, no one is going to spend $18 on a paperback on Amazon. The book was published in 2018 and has a whopping 11 reviews. Then you go to the "used" section and it's priced anywhere between $2.50 and $7. I was so horrified that I looked up another one. Also published in 2018, this one had a whole two reviews, once again $1 more for sale on Amazon.

Best Sellers Rank: #4,643,712 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

• #1,644,440 in Literature & Fiction (Books)

^that is bad.

Reading the blurbs...hard pass.

 

[Brigid Barry]

This is irritating and rude. The author has already invested a huge amount of time and effort in writing the damned book.

The "loyalty" is what gets me. What does it mean to be "loyal" to a publisher?

 

[mccardey]

Never a good idea to sell first rights lightly. But I see you've been around for a while, so you probably know that already.

 

[Sage]

They could never accept a thing & hope to get $5 from every author who puts in “presses who accept unsolicited manuscripts” in their search engine, plus the occasional “donation” for feedback. Why should they bother to actually publish anything?

Maybe it’s my phone, but the pics of their covers are blurry. I can’t even tell the title on some of them.

 

[Brigid Barry]

I thought the covers were okay but the titles were cringeworthy.

 

[Mevrouw Bee]

The "loyalty" is what gets me. What does it mean to be "loyal" to a publisher?

Reminds me of that Inscriptions Literary Agency that was all over Twitter last week, making bizarro demands of writers.

 

[mrsmig]

I don't trust any publisher whose staff only uses first names on their website. I always wonder why they're hiding, and resent how that cutseyness makes it difficult for authors doing their due diligence to ascertain the qualifications of a publisher's staff.

That said, there are always other ways to find that info. "Summer" is the registered agent for Unsolicated, and while she doesn't appear to have a LinkedIn bio, some of the other staffers do. For example, Associate Editor "Jay" has a BA in Social Work and a bit of work experience in that field, but his bio reflects no education in nor experience with trade publishing. On the other hand, Associate Editor "Robin" has a degree in Creative Writing and some concrete work experience as a proofreader (which the press clearly needs, since there are errors on the About page which should have been caught and corrected).

While I appreciate the altruism of Unsolicted's volunteer staff, good intentions aren't what to look for in a publisher. Instead, look for solid sales, good reviews, and a staff that's skilled in editing, design, marketing and promotions. Look for a company that can do the job of getting your books into readers' hands, while you focus on your job - which is writing your next book. Any press that expects the writer to shoulder any part of their job is a press to avoid.

 

[ehorwitt]

Thank you all. Your comments are very helpful, if discouraging. I have to say, based on conversations with literary friends, reps of various small presses, and a small press AWP session, a lot of these presses expect you to do most of the marketing. Some demand a complete marketing plan. Comments?

 

[Unimportant]

The smaller the press --> the smaller the staff --> the less services the press can offer the author. With any press, large or small, ask yourself: what can they do for you that you cannot do for yourself? And, are those things worth what you're 'paying' for them in terms of shared royalties?

Large presses provide pro-quality editing, copyediting, layout, cover art, marketing, distribution -- many many thousands of dollars worth of services, including some that a self-publishing author could never access. So for most authors for whom the bottom line is the bottom line, it's a good investment to publish with such a press and share the profits with them. Some small presses also provide those things, though to a lesser degree and often to a less pro-quality, but again many authors find it worth partnering with them. Some authors may be happy to sign with a press that does pro quality covers but no marketing, if the author is a skilled marketer themself. Other authors may be happy to sign with a press that does poor covers but good editing, because the author is a skilled artist and can do their own covers.

There is no one size fits all. Every author is unique. Every press is unique. Every author has to know what they want and go look for it. Nobody can do the homework for them or make the decision for them.

 

[Brigid Barry]

+1 to Unimportant. There is a line somewhere that you are giving royalties to a press who is effectively charging you to use their name but for all intents and purposes, are you really self publishing?

Long story but I swear it's not a derail: eons ago when I got out of college I started working for a real estate office. I am really, really, REALLY good at attention to detail and making sure that all the t's are crossed and i's are dotted and all of the paperwork is compliant. But you get me on the phone with someone and it's incredibly awkward. I email people and my small talk is so uncomfortable that I come across as an alien trying to assimilate into human culture. The people I work with are complete scatter brains (job security for me) and miss the most obvious things on their paperwork, but they could sell ice in Siberia. Me? I couldn't sell water on credit in the desert. It's two very different ways of thinking to be really good at paperwork or be really good at selling.

The moral of the story is that the entire point and purpose behind me trying to trade publish is the marketing services that I need, because (and I can't emphasize this enough) I suck at sales and I fail at human interactions. So if I run into a small press that's like, "what's your marketing plan?" my answer will be, "finding someone else to publish with". When presses are open about expecting authors to already have a platform and do all of their own marketing I don't submit.

Like Unimportant said, ask yourself, what services do you want that you're looking to go the trade route vs self publishing, and does the small press you're looking at offer the things that you, as an author, need in order to successfully sell your book.

 

[sweetwriter2023]

Has anyone had dealings with Unsolicited press? I am thinking of querying them. My novel is an historical romance set during feminism's second wave. Two women, one straight and one queer, clash upon meeting but end up together.

I have worked with them. My book came out last year with them and I've had nothing but the best experience with their whole team. They are a trade small press -- you pay nothing and they cover everything from start to finish. We started the process over three years ago and in comparison to a few other small presses I've published with, all I can say is these people take care of you. My editor , Kristen, was courteous and helped me turn my book into something so much better than I could have ever done on my own. They helped me schedule readings and got my book into indie bookstores. We're now doing the audiobook together. Honestly, the $5 submission fee was pennies in the jar compared to the time they put into PR, marketing, and sales.

Based on what you say about your book, they would probably be down to read it. The publisher is heavily geared toward feminist works.

 

[Brigid Barry]

thank you @sweetwriter2023 and welcome to the boards.

What do they offer for PR, marketing, and sales?

 

[Paul Lamb]

They took one of my stories for their lit journal, so I have the $5 paid. It's supposed to be a one-time fee applied to all future submissions. When I submitted a novel to them (containing the story they accepted before as a chapter), noting that I'd paid the fee, I never heard from them. Not even a generic rejection.

 

[sweetwriter2023]

thank you @sweetwriter2023 and welcome to the boards.

What do they offer for PR, marketing, and sales?

Before I get into it, I want to say when I submitted to them and received an offer of a contract, I responded by asking for references. Their managing editor got on the phone with me and gave me contact info for three authors as well as a local publicist, and the owner of an indie bookstore. She also said that if I wanted a reference for someone of my choice, such as an author she didn't provide me, that she would happily connect me with that person. I spoke to all of the people she put me in touch with and one other author I chose, and all of them raved. Not one negative comment. The authors I spoke with encouraged me to work with them and I'm so happy I followed that advice.

A few things that stood out to me in the pre-pub phase were: they printed hundreds of ARCs that go out to book reviewers, influencers, and trade review outlets. For my book, they sent to Kirkus, Booklist, Foreword, LibraryJournal, and Publisher's Weekly. They also targeted literary journals I have published in and newspapers in the area to generate interest. The press really believes in tapping into connections that have the most probability for success rather than just throwing the book into the universe and seeing what sticks. They also said that if I had a list of people to send out to for early reviews or consumer-forward interest, that they could send books to all of those people too. When it was time to discuss the sales and marketing plan for the book, I was invited to participate so I could fully understand how the book would be pitched to book buyers, journalists, and consumers. I loved how they identified my book's "reader" and then built a plan around that. Some of that was ads, a book giveaway, posters for stores, book festival submissions, bookmarks for me to give away, book award submissions, excerpt submissions, and podcast interview outreach. The publisher puts in a ton of hours -- she connected with the librarians in my area to get the book in and set up future workshops that I can speak at. For me, that meant something because it was clear that the process was not just about the book, but also about the trajectory of my writing career. Something that really surprised me was that on the day of publication, they paid me for all the preorders that had been sold, and they paid more than my contracted royalty percentage. Now that we are post-pub, I get a weekly email detailing what they are doing and asking if I need anything. I could say more but I think that's enough It's a good small press.

 

[Unimportant]

Gosh, that all sounds excellent!

 

[Brigid Barry]

Holy crap, that sounds amazing. I might need to sub to them.

 

[sweetwriter2023]

They took one of my stories for their lit journal, so I have the $5 paid. It's supposed to be a one-time fee applied to all future submissions. When I submitted a novel to them (containing the story they accepted before as a chapter), noting that I'd paid the fee, I never heard from them. Not even a generic rejection.

I would reach out to them. Maybe their notice went to your spam? Or, they never even got the sub. From my experience, they are very responsive.

 

[sweetwriter2023]

Holy crap, that sounds amazing. I might need to sub to them.

Shoot, you should. I can't brag enough. I've never had a small press do what these people have done for me. It makes you realize that you deserve the best. I once worked with a small press that never paid me. Unsolicited paid me like I said and then they continue to regularly pay me based on our contractual agreement. And like I said, the feeling of family is nothing to be dismissed. Summer, the publisher, is true a den mother.

 

[Maryn]

For whatever it's worth, my local paper featured a story today about an area writer whose new book, available for pre-order, is from Unsolicited Press. I clicked through (one advantage to reading the e-version of the paper) and saw both good and bad elements.

The cover art looks professional, but it doesn't so much as hint at the genre. This cover could be on a textbook, a memoir, a biography, a how-to. It doesn't look like fiction.

The "About the Book" section has multiple mistakes in punctuation. Not a this way is more common but the other is acceptable but missing commas and commas where none belongs. The first sentence has a misplaced phrase. (It's obvious what it's trying to say, but that's not what it says.) Not fatal mistakes likely to lose a sale, but I'd want better.

It's not clear who writes this text, but the publisher should have proofed it and did not. Maybe they don't have sufficiently skilled volunteers available?

Maryn, who will not name the book or author

 

[Gramps]

Having an opportunity to view some of their current art and prose is helpful. At least if you decide to use them, you're not going in uninformed. Thanks @Maryn