Articles by Emily Harstone

Emily Harstone is the pen name of a published writer. Her work has been published in ten countries, four continents, by over fifty different journals. She is a professional submissions adviser and editor. If she owned a dog it would be named Wystan.

The Problem with Mass Submissions

I’ve touched on this issue before in all my books on submitting, both in terms of literary journals and manuscript publishers, but I’ve never focused an entire article on it before. Mass submitting is a term used to describe when an author, or a company working on an author’s behalf, submits their work to a…
Issue Three Hundred Eighty Seven Special Feature

27 Publishers with Excellent Distribution That Accept Unsolicited Submissions

All of the publishers on this list sell many copies of physical books. All of them have books that are available not just at stores near you, but at libraries as well, because they have good distributors. If you want your novel or book to have a good chance of being placed on bookshelves and…
Special Issue

404 Ink: Now Accepting Manuscript Queries

From now through the 31st of October, 404 Ink, an Edinburgh based publisher, is open to direct submissions of full length manuscripts of fiction, nonfiction, short stories, and poetry. They are a small press that has different reading periods every year, so if you are reading this after 2020, please check their website for the…
Fiction Issue Three Hundred Eighty Six Manuscript Publishers Non Fiction Poetry

Moxy: Now Seeking Submissions

Moxy is a UK based literary journal founded in 2018, with a focus on creative nonfiction. They have a beautiful and easy to navigate website. They publish criticism, essays, travel writing, and personal essays as well as art and cartoons. They were inspired in part by the autofiction movement, although much of what they publish…
Creative Non Fiction Issue Three Hundred Eighty Six

13 Literary Journals that Focus on Nature and the Environment

Most literary journals, unless they have a very focused mission, or are genre journals, are open to publishing poems, prose, and nonfiction featuring nature. Most writers that focus on the natural world do not have an issue finding homes for their work in general interest literary journals. Still, there are a number of journals that…
Special Issue

Vinspire Publishing: Open Call for Manuscript Queries

Updated February 27th, 2025: Appears to be defunct. No longer has a functioning websiteVinspire Publishing was founded in 2004. They were originally called Vintage Romance Publishing, because they started only published historical romance. When they expanded their line in 2010 to include a wide range of genres including books for children, they renamed themselves. Although…
Issue Three Hundred Eighty Five Manuscript Publishers Romance

Sunbury Press: Now Accepting Manuscript Queries

January 28TH UPDATE: They are now charging 2.95 cents for submissions, to cover their submittable fee. They no longer fall in line with Authors Publish Guiding principles, even though the fee is small and understandable in this situation. This review is left up for posterity’s sake. Sunbury Press is a small publisher of hardcover, trade…
Academic Christian Historical Fiction Horror Issue Three Hundred Eighty Four Literary Fiction Manuscript Publishers Memoir Mystery Non Fiction Poetry

Warning Signs: How to Avoid Submitting Your Work to the Wrong Publisher

This article is all about how to avoid signing a book contract with the wrong publisher. It is hard to find good publishers, and it involves a lot of research just to find a legitimate publisher that accepts work if you do not have an agent. However, there are great options out there, particularly for…
Issue Three Hundred Eighty Four Special Feature

Coffeetown Press: Now Accepting Manuscript Queries

Coffeetown Press is a literary and non-fiction imprint owned by Epicenter Press. They primarily publish non-fiction, as well as memoir, literary fiction, and historical fiction. Coffeetown Press has distribution through Ingram, which isn’t ideal, but they also have relationships with a number of wholesalers, which is great. They’ve been around for over twenty years and…
Historical Fiction Issue Three Hundred Eighty Three Literary Fiction Manuscript Publishers Memoir Uncategorized

How to Make Time to Write: COVID-19 Edition

“All writers have this vague hope that the elves will come in the night and finish any stories.” ― Neil Gaiman Time for writing doesn’t make itself. This might seem like a ridiculously obvious statement, yet it is a trap writers fall into all the time, myself included. If you have a good writing habit…
Issue Three Hundred Eighty Three

VERVE BOOKS: Now Accepting Manuscript Submissions

VERVE BOOKS is the new digital-first imprint of No Exit Press. No Exit Press is one of the top UK-based mystery publishers, and they are not open to direct submissions, but VERVE BOOKS is. They will focus on publishing crime, thriller and commercial fiction genres, with the focus being on character driven stories. Digital-first means…
Fiction Issue Three Hundred Eighty Two Manuscript Publishers Mystery

Hoxie Gorge Review: Now Accepting Submissions

The Hoxie Gorge Review publishes poetry, fiction, and nonfiction by both emerging and established contemporary writers. They say their only requirement is quality. Their website is well-laid-out and easy to interact with. It’s easy to get a feel for what they publish by reading their current issue. They close to submissions on September 30th and…
Issue Three Hundred Eighty Two

The Most Common Mistake Writers Make When First Submitting to Publishers

There is one mistake that most authors make when submitting their work to literary journals and magazines for the first time. It is a mistake I made when I first started submitting work. It is a mistake that most of the serious authors I know made. What is that mistake? Is it a terrible cover…
Issue Three Hundred Eighty Two Special Feature

Why and Where You Should Start Submitting Your Writing This September

“I went for years not finishing anything. Because, of course, when you finish something you can be judged… I had poems which were re-written so many times I suspect it was just a way of avoiding sending them out.” Erica Jong Starting to submit your work to literary journals is a hard task. Before you…
Special Issue

Camel Press: Now Accepting Manuscript Queries

Updated February 2025 Camel Press is the genre imprint of Epicenter Press. Camel Press publishes genre work, focusing primarily on mystery, including the following sub-genres: suspense, cozy mystery, mystery thrillers, and romantic suspense. They also publish romance, both contemporary and historical and will consider general fiction, historical fiction and westerns, particularly if the author has…
Historical Fiction Issue Three Hundred Eighty One Manuscript Publishers Mystery Romance Westerns

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