Editor Interview: Unsolicited Press

Underrepresented Voices

As a publisher I am always looking at the works of other small presses because we all work so hard. I am really into Forest Avenue Press, Microcosm Publishing, Sublunary Editions, Autofocus Books, Malarky, and Lit Fox Books.

We are focused on publishing underrepresented, and often, authors who aren't afraid to push genre limits. Some of the authors I've truly enjoyed working with include Francis Daulerio, Elisa Carlsen, Amy Baskin, Mari Matthias, John W. Bateman, Rosalia Scalia, Douglas Cole, and Yvonne Osborne.
If I'm talking about writers beyond the scope of our press, then my go-tos include: Sharon Olds, Maggie Smith, Pam Houston, Joe Wenderoth, Rebecca Solnit, and Rachel Zucker.

The vibe at Unsolicited Press is rebellious, relentless, and philanthropic. All of the net profit is funneled back into the business to maintain operations. Additionally, we love supporting non-profits that are doing so much good by donating a portion of our proceeds to support their missions. We embrace being quirky and love helping authors launch and/or further their writing careers.

The absolute best thing a writer can do is to read our guideline thoroughly before sending us anything.
Also, I always recommend that writers should buy a few books from the presses they are interested in submitting to because it can help determine if it is the right fit.

We're on the hunt for essay collections, all kinds of poetry, experimental works, hybrids, literary novels, novellas, short story collections, memoirs, and nonfiction that pushes boundaries—think literary criticism, history, cooking, health, science, and long-form journalism.
We're also on the lookout for submissions from authors who understand that publishing books is a front-facing business....and that they are ready to promote themselves.

I would say that the biggest problem we see is sending us a query letter that is clearly written for someone else. It shows unprofessionalism from the start.

Gosh I love to know the people behind the books. Most of the writers I work with have my number. We forge real relationships. I want to know if you prefer pie to cake, you know. I want to know why you wrote this book....what was the motivation. Publication credits do not matter as much as someone's drive to tell their story.

This is a submission-dependent question.
If it is poetry, I will read two from the front and two from the back. I will pick a few from the middle. If that sells me, I will read the whole thing.
If it is fiction:
For short stories: I read several stories.
For novels: I read the middle. I do not care about the "hook" that everyone is so obsessed about...the first sentence of a book is not enough to tell me if your book is excellent. I want to know the guts.
If it is nonfiction:
For memoirs: I read all over...I read for craft, in particular.
For essays: I pick and choose. I think a lot of authors place what they think is their best essays in the front and back, so I always go to the middle first. If you can sell me on the middle, then I will read a bit more.

We have several readers and editors who assist in the selection process.

On days that I read submissions, it looks like this:
5AM: Lift and walk five miles
7AM: Read 10 subs
9AM: Emails
11AM: Take a walk around the block or play with the cats
12PM: Read 20 submissions
3PM: Check all social media
4PM: Done for the day

Every day is different, though. Somedays I have to be across town so the schedule changes. And I do not read daily. I cannot. But I love helping out when I can.

Oi, some of the manuscripts we select are so good and do not need a ton, but we still put it through rigorous editing. And then others are still in the development phase. We edit everything, and we do it several times.

Of course.