How To Get A Book Published Without an Agent

What Happens When You Have Written Your Book?

So, you have hidden away from the world wrapped in a blanket of your own imagination whilst you feverishly try and put into words the thoughts that torment your every waking moment. You finally take a step back and gaze upon your intricately crafted masterpiece. A nervous smile creeps onto your face whilst you think of all the people that will end up reading it, and then, a disastrous thought brings you plummeting back down to earth… HOW DO YOU EVEN GET IT OUT THERE???

One of the biggest hurdles an author faces is the challenge of finding an agent to review and then submit their book to publishers, and even then, an agent cannot guarantee you a publishing contract.

Just to be clear, finding an agent is what you want to do first as they can help open doors to some of the top publishing companies that will only accept submissions from an agent or an established author and if this is your first book then they will not consider anything you submit directly.

With this in mind, finding an agent can be really difficult as many can be fully occupied at the moment, not deal with your particular niche or have too many from the same category. Do not despair as there is a way to release your creation upon the world, become published without having to go down the route of self-publishing.

There is a reasonable amount of publishing companies that will accept submissions from those without an agent. Most of these will publish in both print and eBook format, help with marketing and even provide an advance under the right circumstances.

Before you jump ahead and submit to every one of them, please bear the following points in mind:

1) Your book is definitely finished

2) You have already tried approaching agents

3) You have had someone other than yourself read through it (they will see grammatical errors or plot errors that you will not pick up on when skimming through)

4) You know where you want to go with your story if you are writing a plot that will spread over multiple books (they may ask what direction it will be going on how many you plan to publish in the series)

List of Companies That Do NOT Require an Agent

I have put below a list of companies that accept submissions without an agent. I have tried to categorise them so that you can target a particular niche if you wish. These are compiled of mainly UK and US publishers but there are others as it is great to get into multiple countries to gather the largest following. Although a publisher may be situated in a different country, they can still assist with worldwide exposure.

Any Topic Publishers

· Union Square & Co (Formally Stirling Publishers) — Large US publishers that cover most categories. — https://www.unionsquareandco.com/

· Chronicle Books — US Based Children and Adult Trade Publishers (so most categories aside from adult fiction/ fantasy) — https://www.chroniclebooks.com/

· Skyhorse Publishing — Independent US publishers who have built up a large repertoire covering all categories — https://www.skyhorsepublishing.com/

· Kensington Publishing Corp — Popular general publishers with some big hits — https://www.kensingtonbooks.com/

· Black Inc. — An Australian based publisher that covers everything aside from children stories — https://www.blackincbooks.com.au/

· Persea Books — Smaller US-based independent publishers that cover fiction and nonfiction books but will not publish genre fiction or children stories — https://www.perseabooks.com/

· Severn Stories — Covers everything — https://www.sevenstories.com/

· Black and White Publishing — UK based publishers that cover all genres — https://blackandwhitepublishing.com/

· Turner Publishing — US-based publishers and reputable book store that covers all genres — https://turnerbookstore.com/

· Koehler Books — A US-based publisher with different publishing models for those who experienced or are new to the industry — https://www.koehlerbooks.com/

Dark Fantasy/ Horror Publishers

· Belle Books — A known publisher who now covers other genres but started as horror fiction and is certainly one to approach for anyone in the horror category — http://www.bellebooks.com/

· Dark Regions Press — Full horror and dark fantasy focused publishers who will also start up Kickstarter campaigns to give you a boost and generate more income as well as run the occasional competition for cash prizes — https://darkregions.com/

· Black Bed Sheet Books — Dark fiction and nonfiction publishers with a good fanbase — https://blackbedsheetbooks.com/

· By Light Unseen Media — Vampire publishers covering fiction, folklore, media and culture — http://bylightunseenmedia.com/

· Severed Press — A respected large player in the dark fantasy and horror publishing game — http://www.severedpress.com/

· John Hunt Publishing — A UK based publisher focusing on horror — https://www.johnhuntpublishing.com/

Fantasy/ Sci-Fi and Fiction Publishers

· DAW Books — A highly respected small publisher in the fantasy world publishing global books by authors such as Patrick Rothfuss — https://dawbooks.com/

· BAEN — Publishers of Science Fiction and Fantasy books only. One of the very few large ‘established’ publishers that accept without an agent — https://www.baen.com/

· Jolly Fish Press — Publishes commercial and literary fiction, fantasy, science fiction and young adult — https://jollyfishpress.com/

· Angry Robot — A UK based adult sci-fi and fantasy publisher with a staggering international reach from the US to Australia and New Zealand — https://angryrobotbooks.com/

· Felony and Mayhem — Publishers of literary fiction — https://felonyandmayhem.com/

Children’s Publishers

· Peach Tree Publishers — Publishers children’s books covering board books to picture books to young adult fiction and nonfiction — https://www.peachtreebooks.com/

· Charlesbridge — These publishers now do cover all ages but specialise in children’s books — https://www.charlesbridge.com/

· Albert Whitman and Company — A great publisher for targeting between the ages of 0 to 15 — https://www.albertwhitman.com/

· Flashlight Press — Great children’s book publisher for young to early teens — http://flashlightpress.com/

Nonfiction Publishers

· Oneworld Publications — A great publication for those looking to publish biographies, self-help, religious material etc. — https://oneworld-publications.com/

· Beacon Press — Fantastic publication for those looking to publish strong fundamental issues such as racism, diversity, justice etc — http://www.beacon.org/

· Free Spirit Publishing — A publisher that targets all age ranges and is great for works looking at mental health, challenging the norms and education — https://www.freespirit.com/

Romance/ Erotic Romance Publisher

· Evernight Publishing — Submission needs to be at least 10,000 words — https://www.evernightpublishing.com/

I hope this list helps those struggling to find a publisher. When hunting for publishers, remember to always avoid any that charge an upfront fee to publish your work. These are called Vanity Presses and should always be avoided at all costs. If you know of any other publishers that do not require an agent then please comment and I will add them to the list so we can build up a big portfolio to help as many writers as possible and don’t forget to heart for the algorithm.