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.

33 Romance Publishers Open to Direct Submissions

In 2018 and 2019, after a sustained period of growth, the romance publishing market started to see a number of changes, mostly in terms of romance publishers going out of business. A year ago this list had 40 publishers on it. It now has 33. Part of this is because of diminished eBook sales and…

Aethon Books: Now Accepting Manuscript Submissions

Updated July 6th, 2023: They recently updated their submission guidelines and are now open to Thrillers of all types, though with an emphasis on Action, Political, and Military Thrillers. Aethon Books is a print and eBook publisher that focuses on Science Fiction and Fantasy. They are open to all sub-genres within these genres including Hard…

The Rupture: Now Seeking Poetry, Fiction, and Non-Fiction

The Collagist is a literary journal published by Dzanc Books. It was very recently re-named The Rupture. They also got a comprehensive re-design. They are an electronic publication. They publish short fiction, poetry, and non-fiction. They are open to submissions until July 31st. They reopen to submissions in October. They publish one issue every two…

On Pen Names

I am writing this using a pen name. I write poetry, prose, and nonfiction, and only my prose is published under my legal name. That said, there are plus and minuses to pen names. I don’t think they are for everyone, and after using the same one for almost a decade I wouldn’t chose another…

17 Mystery Publishers Open to Manuscript Submissions

“The crime novel is the great moral literature of our time.” JEAN-PATRICK MANCHETTE “Nobody reads a mystery to get to the middle. They read it to get to the end. If it’s a letdown, they won’t buy anymore. The first page sells that book. The last page sells your next book.” MICKEY SPILLANE Mystery is…

Allworth Press: Now Accepting Book Proposals

Allworth Press is a non-fiction imprint of Skyhorse Publishing. They have major distribution, and while Skyhorse’s past reputation has been a little mixed, they seem to be doing well for a while now. They have good distribution, decent cover design, and marketing. Allworth publishes books in the following categories:     Graphic Design    …

How to Write a Third Person Biographical Statement

When you read submission guidelines, which vary from literary journal to literary journal, almost all of them will require that you include a brief biographical statement (or bio). Usually they require that the bio is in the third person and to be 50 words or less. These bios are tricky to write. It is hard…

22 Respected Literary Journals and Magazines that Publish Creative Writing

The literary journals and magazines on this list reject the vast majority of what is submitted to them. Sometimes authors’ works are rejected for years, decades even, before they receive an acceptance. But these literary journals are respected and trusted. Most have a large readership and good distribution in libraries and bookstores. Many of these…

Histria Books: Accepting Submissions

Updated January 14th 2021, Contracts continue to ask for rights in perpetuity. This is in no way standard or acceptable practice. Updated November 3rd 2020 – The last contract I saw asked that the author surrender copyright. This means you could lose all rights to your book. This is in no way standard or acceptable…

An Argument for Writing Poetry

One of the funny things about writing poetry is that most writers either think of themselves as a poet or as a writer. This is not in fact the case, poetry is after all just a form of writing. However a lot of writers, even writers with lots of experience and published books out, are…

Amberley Books: Now Seeking Book Proposals

Amberley is a UK based publisher that focuses on publishing historical books. They only publish nonfiction. The books they publish include regional history, specialist history and general history. They have published well over 2,000 titles. Their distributor is Casemates, and their books are widely available, particularly in the UK. They offer writers an advance, but…

16 Major Book Publishers Always Open to Submissions

Some publishers open and close their doors to submissions on a routine basis. It can be hard to determine if they are open or shut to submissions, and when you should submit. The following 16 publishers, however, are always open to submissions from writers without agents or previous publishing experience. They are all respected publishers…

Carrel Books: Now Seeking Manuscript Submissions

Carrel Books is a non-fiction imprint of Skyhorse Publishing. Carrel Books was founded in 2014. It’s an unusual imprint because, while its books are available for purchase from the public, they aren’t distributed in brick and mortar stores the way most other imprints of Skyhorse are. Instead, their focus is on selling to libraries. This…

20 Approachable Literary Journals

If you are just starting to submit your work to literary journals, or perhaps you just want to avoid rejection, this list is for you. All of the literary journals in this list accept around half of what is submitted to them. So the odds of your work being accepted just went up. These are…

Angry Robot: Open to Manuscript Submissions

Angry Robot is a respected science fiction and fantasy publisher that occasionally dips into related genres (such as urban fantasy, steampunk, and horror). Angry Robot was originally funded by HarperCollins. They offer advances and good royalty rates. The contract they offer covers print, e-book, and audio book rights. They are based in the UK but…

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