We are currently OPEN for submissions. Please read submission details carefully.
Imperative Press Books is a small hybrid press. That means we collaborate with a select group of authors to project manage the publication of books we feel strongly about. If your manuscript is accepted, we’ll help you with editing, layout, proofing, cover design, marketing advice, public relations and distribution. We’ll also provide an ISBN, listing on the Imperative Press website, and promotion at events we attend.
There are a few realities you should be aware of before submitting to us:
- Publishing requires an investment: Depending on the length of your manuscript and the amount of support you need, you can expect to spend between $800 and $3000 to get your book published and distributed. (The best way to get published for free is to query an agent or traditional press that takes unsolicited manuscripts.)
- Quality takes time: Expect your publication process to take between 6 months and one year from the time we sign a contract. We promise to keep you updated throughout the process.
- Profit is not guaranteed: Publishing is a subjective industry. Thousands of great books are published every year, and many sell only a few dozen copies. Our goal is to do much better than that, but if you’re hoping to become a millionaire there are better paths to financial security.
What We Publish at Imperative Press
We publish fiction, creative memoir, and stories that don’t fit neatly into a single genre. You can summarize our niche as Weird Stories…
Weird – Unique, unusual, not fitting a specific genre or breaking some social or literary rule.
Story – A sequence of events that evokes emotion and leads to a relevant conclusion or change.
We tend to get particularly excited about stories that involve:
- managing friendships
- navigating grief
- challenging the status quo
- dealing with mental health
- exploring new worlds
- finding your people
- myths and fairly tales
- art and artists
Contemporary fantasy, urban fantasy, science fiction, humor, young adult, new adult, magical realism and adventure are all genres that excite us.
Disclaimer: as you may have experienced, weird stories can be harder to sell because the have smaller, more niche audiences. The standard marketing advice doesn’t always apply, so we can’t guarantee a certain number of sales. What we can promise is a high quality, professional-looking book and support to help you get it in front of your ideal audience.
What we don’t publish
- Children’s picture books
- Romance
- Erotica
- Nonfiction
- Books that handle mental health in irresponsible ways
(if you’re writing on mental health topics, please familiarize yourself with industry best practices and professional guidelines)
How to Submit Your Manuscript
Send submissions to: submissions@imperativepressbooks.com
Subject Line: Title-Author-Genre
Content: Send first three chapters or 50 pages, whichever you think best represents your story.
We are a tiny press run by one person and a handful of contractors. Please allow 3 to 6 months for a response to your query. If you don’t hear from us in 3 months, send an email with Status Request in the subject line.
Note that you may have an absolutely amazing book, but it still might not be the best fit for us. If we pass on your project please keep looking for the right fit. Your story deserves to be told!