Our Submissions Process
"It’s not always about stats or silverware;
success is often no more than a feeling."
Jonathan Wilson
Indie Novella is excited to reopen our submissions process. We champion inclusion and believe diversity is about bringing together writers from all different backgrounds under one roster. At Indie Novella we work with numerous authors well before the submissions phase, through our writing course and our writing workingshops. Working with an author is such a two-way relationship that we ask two things of those choosing to submit with us.
First, you are ready to submit. At Indie Novella our editors review all our submissions every six weeks. They then decide which manuscripts to take on. Last year we made several full manuscript requests to authors who did not have a full manuscript for us to review. This essentially puts us in an awkward position of not being able to work with that author - our editors would have pencilled in time to review the manuscript and not having it ready means you take the opportunity away from another author who is.
Second, you research which publisher is right for you. Like we said, publishing is such a two-way relationship, you really need to understand what you want from a publisher and who is right for you. Indie Novella is a small press and loves producing high quality short print runs. The average sales for a literary fiction novel is 400 copies so we pride ourselves on short print runs and trying to get our novels in front of those in publishing who love what we do.
Once you've submitted: We try to get back to everyone, but if we don't it will most likely be because of how swamped we get. Please don't think bad of us or let it deter you. If we ask to work with you and you say yes, note we'll likely offer a lot of editorial advice and, as with working with a big publisher, the process will involve considerable back and forth. Publishing is never instantaneous, and that's because self-editing is difficult. We want your book to be the best it can be and remain very much, your book.
We also want our authors taking ownership on the proofreading of their work. This doesn't need to be done before you submit, but professional proofreading is a core part of the novel's narrative and with most decent proofreaders charging £4 per thousand words, it is a bargain. We ask that during the editing process that the author lines up their own proofreader to get their narrative in shape and looking great.
We can only publish UK based authors as we print our novels in the UK and you will have to engage with UK booksellers
Submissions - UK Authors only
Traditionally the UKs publishing community caters to a commercial mandate, seeking tried and tested content, which tends to favour writers from more privileged backgrounds who are already in the know. This is slowly changing but unconscious bias continues to make it difficult for writers from diverse backgrounds to be noticed. Without doubt a real conflict exists for many publishers who are driven by commercial imperatives and who struggle to be more inclusive. Indie offers a new exciting alternative to help give new writers a voice and an accessible platform for sharing their work.
We are a non-profit social enterprise that is not bound by the usual commercial constraints. For us inclusivity and diversity are central to our publishing philosophy and our reason for being. We fulfil this social mission through the free provision of the essential publishing support that is crucial for success.
We have walked in your shoes and understand the challenges that you face when you knock on the usual doors. We have designed our service to remove the many barriers that may face you and we have actively democratised the publishing process to put you firmly in control.
Our end-to-end service is designed to make publishing your work a simple and rewarding experience. From the outset we offer you a free writing course (worth £1500) that is packed full of essential tools, tips and techniques writers need but often do not know about that will help you refine your writing to make it as engaging as possible. As our service grows you will become part of a vibrant, creative community.
As your book progresses we will provide you with free personal mentoring, practical advice and even peer-editing. When it is ready, we can design, illustrate, and economically print your book or deliver it digitally straight into the hands of your readers via their laptop or mobile phone. We fairly and transparently share the profits from the sale of each of your books.
Why do we invest so much? Simply because we passionately believe that your creativity and unique life perspective deserves to be discovered.
Our Writing Course
How To Edit Your Novel, Writing Your Novel, Creative Writing for Beginners, there are a lot of writing schools out there, each excellent at what they do.
At Indie Novella we recognise there is a plethora of talent, either honed by writing courses or nurtured organically. We are looking for quality writing that deserves to be published.
The Indie Novella Writing Course has been designed in collaboration with authors, creative writing tutors and literary consultancies to collate all the tips, tricks and essential literary techniques in one place for both the aspiring and the experienced writer. It is also completely free.
As Indie Novella is a cooperative, we charge no fees regarding advice or consultation. We simply take good writing over the line.
Indie Novella is looking for new, exciting UK-based novelists from a wide range of backgrounds who have written something they are proud of and are ready to have it published. Through our amazing partners, we produce high quality novels available to buy through our own bookselling platform on the Indie Novella website, and on Bookshop.org, Waterstones and Amazon. We also have an exciting Digital Platform which will bring your novel to a global audience. See Publish with Indie below for more details.
We want your novel to be the best it can be. Therefore please do consider attending the Indie Novella Writing Course or joining a Writers' Group before submitting. However, if you are ready to take the next step, please follow our submission process below:
Submit Your First Chapter
We invite UK-based authors to submit their first chapter (or approx. 3,000 words):
Contact Us
Newington Green, London, N1
@indienovella | indienovella.co.uk