UPDATED January 2019 – Hydra it is not open to direct submissions any longer. It does not seem likely that that will change at any point.
Hydra is a digital first Science Fiction, Fantasy, and Horror imprint of Random House. That means that they publish manuscripts in an e-book format that is available everywhere (Amazon, Barnes & Noble, etc). If the book does well digitally, a print edition will follow. They are open to queries and will try to respond to all queries within a month.
Hyrda does not offer an advance. Hydra and the author will split profits 50-50. They define the term “profit” as follows
Net sales revenue minus deductions as follows: For print editions, deductions will include actual costs directly attributable to production and shipping of the book; for digital editions, Hydra will cover the cost of production. For both print and digital editions, Hydra will cover all marketing costs connected with general, category- or imprint-wide marketing programs. Hydra will also cover costs of marketing activities undertaken specifically on behalf of the book up to $10,000. Title-specific marketing costs above $10,000 will be proposed in advance to the author. If the author agrees, the incremental costs of such title-specific marketing activities over $10,000 will be deducted from sales revenue before profits are split. Cash payments owed to authors will be made quarterly.
They only publish works that are 40,000 words or more. You can submit any manuscript as long as you have exclusive copyright. Which means it can be previously published or self published, as long as you currently hold all the rights.
Their digital program is focused on building new author brands. The program is managed with the same attention given to all the other Penguin-Random House Publishing Group imprints. You will be assigned an experienced editor and a marketer and publicist.
It is important to note that their contract was initially very controversial, and was modified. There are still points of contention, but there are fewer. It is important to note that their contract was initially very controversial, and was modified. There are still points of contention, but there are fewer. You can learn more about all of that here. The two authors I know who have been published by Hydra were very happy with the experience.
All queries should be made through their easy to fill out form.
To learn more or submit, visit their website here.
Bio: Emily Harstone is the pen name of an author whose work has been published internationally by a number of respected journals. She is a professional submissions adviser. You can follow her on Facebook here: https://www.facebook.com/emilyharstone/
