Market Research

There’s an old saw tacked up on our bulletin board:

Commercial publishing houses publish books. Independent houses publish authors.

We define an independent house by its editorial freedom; some have corporate business managers. It’s the old market driven vs. art driven argument. But don’t assume that independent presses accept books without a plan to make back their investment. Indie presses know their market and select books that will make them money; the difference is that their threshold for turning a profit is considerably lower than a large corporate imprint like Vintage.

This is not news to many writers, but it has set certain criteria for our student-generated press reports. In choosing a press, the students must limit their search to presses that have a track record, publish at least two to three books annually, and accept unsolicited manuscripts. To meet these criteria, particularly the latter, students settle on independent presses. Each report includes a fact sheet, editor interview and book review. These reports will assist any writers searching for a press to submit their book manuscript.

It goes without saying but we’ll say it anyhow; the views expressed in our market research are those of the student reviewers and do not represent the opinions of the Fiction Writing Department, or Columbia College Chicago.

Abrams Press - A large press with an eye for detail.
PDF Press Report   

 Atticus Books - Literature that transcends. 
 PDF Press Report

Black Balloon Publishing-They'll lift you off the ground and take you to a whole new world.
PDF Press Report

Caketrain - Beautifully designed covers. Beautifully written books. Only $8 each.
PDF Press Report

Curbside Splendor Publishing - An indie press so Chicagoan it goes to the Logan Square Farmer's Market.
PDF Press Report 

Dark House Press New, promising, and dark, like the day's first cup of coffee. 
PDF Press Report

 Dzanc Books- An indie press vying for the future of literature. 
 PDF Press Report

Eraserhead Press- Franz Kafka meets John Waters meets David Lynch meets Dr. Seuss of the post-apocalypse.
PDF Press Report


Gorsky Press - A true indie that looks for work outside the mainstream.
PDF Press Report

Leapfrog Press - Where the writer gets the attention they deserve.
PDF Press Report

NoPassport Press - A press that publishes plays because they're good, not because they're produced.
PDF Press Report

Outpost 19Truly provocative reading.  
 Photocredit: Outpost 19
PDF Press Report
  
7 Stories Press  - Books that aren't afraid to get political.
PDF Press Report

Soho Press - Take the F train to books as hip as the lower west side.
PDF Press Report

Sourcebooks - their mission: "to reach as many people as possible with books that will enlighten their lives."
PDF Press Report

Top Shelf Productions - Welcomes all work, for an emerging author to great such as Alan Moore.
PDF Press Report

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