This Dublin, Ireland-based press focuses on publishing crime fiction, mystery, and thrillers. They do not publish work outside of this genre, and they do not publish work outside of Amazon. Most of the work they publish do very well on Amazon through Kindle Unlimited. The books they publish are not just available digitally, they also use Amazon to offer print on demand (POD) copies. You can learn more about the company here, and see the masthead here. It’s worth mentioning that one of their directors, Brian Lynch, comes from a background in television. This seems to impact the publisher’s approach and makes them a little different then a lot of other publishers.

For one, they have this space they call the Writers Room which they talk about here. This is very unusual, and not a part of most legitimate presses, but because of one of their co-founders’ background in television, their approach to marketing, and the genre-specific focus, it does seem to make sense. Also they do not appear to have a vanity imprint they could redirect authors to, like the other companies who focus on creating space for writers to share ideas. They also make it clear in the FAQ of the site that no one is obligated to participate in the Writers Room and it appears to be something that only happens after a contract is signed.

They also are really upfront, and don’t leave it to be a surprise in the contract that “Inkubator reserve the right to negotiate film and TV rights on behalf of the author for the term of the contract. We will keep 40% of all revenue earned from any such deal.” A lot of small publishers have a clause along these lines, and it is a large percentage to lose, but for most small presses, TV and film rights will never change hands, because the editors of the presses aren’t able to really negotiate these rights. The directors of Inkubator appear to be in an actual position to do so. This is something to very much take into consideration when submitting to them, and could feel like a plus for some authors and a minus for others.

Also their website is geared towards recruiting authors rather then selling books. This isn’t really a red flag with them as Bookouture has a similar approach, as they have found ways to market and sell their books outside of their website. They did have one line that surprised me, “If you are a new author and don’t have an agent, that’s okay.” It’s really clear that they mostly don’t work with agents (most of which would have issues with film and TV rights, and their whole website is geared towards recruiting writers), so I think that this line is mostly there to make new authors think they work with agents. There is a helpful thread at the Water Cooler here, that breaks down some of the pros and cons of publishing with them, and talks a little about the agent line also.

I do think that they are actually focused on and keenly invested in making money for themselves and their authors. They talk a lot about crafting a bestselling mystery and marketing it here and here. It’s also really clear that their books do very well on Amazon and most have lots of reviews and ratings.

In terms of royalty split, they say on the About page, “We offer all our writers 45% of net receipts without any unexpected deductions or expenses.” and then on the FAQ page they say, “We will send you 45% of all money received from Amazon for sales of your book.” The first equation states that is net, but the second equation from the FAQ implies that is actually of gross. I can’t say what is actually correct, but that is something to keep in mind.

They are open to previously self-published and published books as long as you have the digital rights.

They also do significant editing. They ask for rights of first refusal if they are accepting the first book in a series, but otherwise they do not ask for any commitment beyond one book.

They try to respond to all submissions within four weeks. They ask for the full manuscript, a short author bio, and a synopsis (maximum 1 page) of the work.

To learn more about submitting, go here. Also I really encourage you to read the FAQs in full before submitting.