Publishers Who Accept Non-Agented Writers

The writing world is a fickle one and I didn't realize this until I started taking my writing seriously. There are so many publishers, agents, and fellow writers out there that it's hard to know who to submit to, who to befriend, and who to trust. I subbed a few agents before finding a publisher I could submit to directly (Month9Books). And then there's the long waits for submissions, if you don't find those that allow for simultaneous submissions. Some say 3 months, while others I found say a year! Who can wait that long just to hear back from one place? 3 quick tips I learned in this process of submitting are the following: 1. Find an agent/publisher that wants the kind of novel you are writing. I am not only talking word count, age group, and genre, but also see if they have books like yours already published/represented. If you aren't what they are looking for, or are too similar to something they already have, then the odds are they aren't interested. 2. Spend time editing. This is really important. No matter how good the premise, if you come across as a writer with no knowledge in grammar or spelling, the agent/publisher may not make it past the first page of mistakes. Don't let a great idea go to waste for what a simple Spell Check can do for you. Other tools I've used are Grammar-ly as well as paid editors (see #3). 3. If you pay to have an editor look over your manuscript, make sure they like your genre. Nothing is worse than having an editor read your middle-grade manuscript when they only like literary-feminist works. Do your research! Would you pay a plumber to do your wiring on your home? No. Find the appropriate editor. This is your precious manuscript. As for those wanting to submit to publishers out there, I've found a few that I would consider myself: 1. Month9Books 2. Entangled Publishing 3. Rebelight Books 4. Bookfish Books But regardless who you choose to submit to, DO YOUR RESEARCH!