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.

7 Common Mistakes New Authors Make When It Comes To Publishing

For the purpose of this article, I am defining new authors not as people new to writing, but as writers new to publishing their work. Publishing your work is a completely different beast than writing. There is some overlap between crafting a good query letter and crafting a good chapter, but it is insignificant in…

Claret Press: Seeking Manuscript Submissions

Claret Press is a UK based press founded in 2015. It is an independent press that focuses on publishing works of political fiction and creative nonfiction. They publish a minimum of three books a year. Most books are offered in print and digital format. Some also have an audio option. They do not have traditional…

Agate Publishing: Now Accepting Manuscript Queries

Agate Publishing is a small press located in Evanston Illinois, a suburb of Chicago. They started in 2002 with their Bolden imprint and initially published only African American authors before expanding from there. They have good distribution within the United States. They are only open to queries, which means that you can only send your…

12 Specialized Manuscript Publishers that Accept Direct Submissions

All of the presses on this list meet all of our guiding principles, but most of them have such a specific focus that we cannot justify writing a full review and sending it to our full list of subscribers. But they are still good publishers. Instead, we have compiled this list of mini reviews. I have…

Princeton Architectural Press: Accepting Submissions

Princeton Architectural Press is a small press that focuses on publishing books on architecture, design, photography, landscape, and visual culture. They also publish beautiful stationary and children’s books. They are based in New York. In 2009 they were bought by McEvoy Group. They are now a sister company to Chronicle Books. They have excellent distribution…

Ad Lumen Press : Seeking Manuscript Submissions Through August 15th

Ad Lumen Press was founded at American River College in Sacramento, California in 2013. The founder is author and professor Christian Kiefer. They are the only university-style press based out of a community college in the United States. Because they are part of a college, the press is actually used in part as a tool…

20 Literary Journals Always Open to Submissions

Most literary journals are open to submissions for a window of time each year. Sometimes it is a very long window. Sometimes it is more than one window. But it can be frustrating to visit their website and realize that they just closed to submissions. It is particularly hard during the summer, when the majority…

Flame Tree Press: Now Seeking Manuscript Submissions

Update December 8th, 2023: Hachette UK recently announced that they became a shareholder of Flame Tree Publishing. Hachette UK has been the companies distributor for a while now. Flame Tree Press is an imprint of Flame Tree Publishing. Flame Tree Press focuses on publishing speculative fiction, science fiction, fantasy, horror and crime fiction. They have…

42 Writers’ “Rules for Writing”

Most writers have their own special “rules for writing,” even if they don’t talk about them. I find other writers’ rules fascinating, even when I don’t agree with them. A lot can be learned by reading about other authors’ approaches to writing. The New York Times and The Guardian have published famous author’s answers to…

Sapere Books: Now Accepting Manuscript Submissions

They are accepting submissions of crime fiction, mystery, thrillers, romantic fiction, women’s fiction, historical fiction, history, and historical biographies, as well as action and adventure books. You can submit unpublished manuscripts or out-of-print titles. They are a digital first publisher with a focus on thorough editing, good covers, and a fair royalty rate. They also…

Chandra Press: Now Accepting Manuscript Queries

Updated January 2022: Because of lack of website updates and book publications they appear to be defunct. Do not submit Chandra Press is a digital first press that focuses on publishing science fiction. They do offer print versions of all their books. They have a detailed staff page that is very different than most publishers,…

Seven Exciting New Literary Journals

The following is a list of 7 new literary journals. All of these journals have been around for less than six months. In my experience, there are many reasons to seek publication in these journals. When a literary journal is new, the editors tend to be a lot more passionate. I have gotten handwritten thank…

Fahrenheit Press: Now Accepting Manuscript Submissions

Fahrenheit Press is a publisher that focuses on publishing thrillers and crime novels. They are not interested in any books outside of these genres. They are a print and eBook Publisher. It is important to note that they don’t mind re-publishing self-published books, as long as all the rights belong to the author. They are…

Penmore Press

Updated July 2025: They have reopened and have a new website here. They are actively publishing work and appear to have fully returned to a traditional contract. I still would very much approach with caution and please read all of the updates below first. Updated October 2023: A reader brought it to my attention, that…

The Problem of Traditional Publishers With Vanity Presses

Vanity presses have been around for a long time. They charge writers significant amounts of money to get a book published, offering services such as editing, design, and marketing, often for many thousands of dollars. I have many problems with vanity presses in general. More recently, there has been a recent trend of vanity presses…

« Older Entries Newer Entries »