Guide · Updated 2026-11-12

How to evaluate a small or independent press before you submit

Small presses publish a great deal of good fiction, and some of them close. This guide covers what to check before you submit or sign: how royalties are calculated, out-of-print and reversion clauses, fees that signal a vanity operation, closure risk, and where to get a contract reviewed.

A small press can be a good home for a novel: closer editorial attention, a willingness to take on books that larger houses pass over, and a list you can see your work fitting into. It is also a business, often a very small one, and the contract you sign will outlast your enthusiasm on the day you sign it. This guide sets out what to check, and in what order.

This is not legal advice. Contract law varies by country and by the wording of each agreement. Before signing, have the contract reviewed by a writers’ organisation such as the Authors Guild, or by a lawyer who works in publishing.

1. Look at the press before you look at the contract

Before you submit, find out what the press actually does with the books it already has.

• Are its books available? Look up a few recent titles in library catalogues and with ordinary booksellers, not only on the press’s own site.
• Who has published with it? Past and current authors are the best source of information. The Authors Guild suggests checking feedback from past authors, so ask them how they were paid and treated.
• Is it open about its terms? A press that explains how it pays authors, and in what formats it publishes, is easier to assess than one that does not.
• Has anyone reported problems? Search the press name together with “Writer Beware”. If the press sells author services, check whether the Alliance of Independent Authors (ALLi) Watchdog Desk has rated it. ALLi presents those ratings as informed opinion, with levels running from Excellent and Recommended through Mixed and Caution to Watchdog Advisory.

2. Money should not flow from you to the publisher

A traditional small press pays you. It does not charge you to be published. Be wary of any of the following:

• a “contribution”, “co-investment” or setup fee;
• a requirement that you buy copies of your own book;
• paid marketing packages with few concrete deliverables;
• promises of guaranteed sales or bestseller status.

Some companies call themselves hybrid publishers and openly charge authors. The Authors Guild notes that these fees can run from a couple of thousand dollars to tens of thousands. Its guidance on hybrid contracts lists the warning signs above, along with a history of unpaid authors or closures. If you are asked to pay, you are not dealing with a conventional small press, and you should judge the offer as a paid service.

3. Understand advances and how royalties are calculated

An advance is money paid up front against your future royalties. Some small presses pay a modest advance or none at all. That alone is not a reason to walk away, but it means your income depends entirely on the royalty terms.

What matters most is the base the royalty percentage is applied to. Writer Beware describes three common bases:

• List (cover) price: the clearest base.
• Net income or net receipts: what the publisher actually receives after retailer and wholesaler discounts.
• Net profit: income after the publisher deducts its own costs. Writer Beware treats this as the least favourable base, because the deductions can shrink payments a great deal.

A large headline percentage can be worth less than a smaller one on a better base. Check the following:

• every term (“net income”, “sale price”, “proceeds”) is defined in the contract;
• each format (paperback, ebook, audio) has its own rate;
• the contract requires regular, itemised royalty statements;
• costs such as returns or distribution fees are not charged against your royalties without being written into the contract.

4. Read the grant of rights and the term

Find out which rights you are granting (print, ebook, audio, translation, film), in which territories, and for how long. Some contracts last for the life of copyright, and others for a fixed term of years. Writer Beware notes that fixed terms, especially short ones, reduce the risk of being stuck. It also flags perpetual options on your future books as a problem.

5. Make sure there is a workable reversion clause

A reversion clause, also called an out-of-print or termination clause, sets out when the publisher must give your rights back and what you must do to get them. A book disappearing from shelves does not by itself return your rights.

The weak point in many contracts is the definition of “in print”. If any ebook or print-on-demand edition counts, a book can stay technically in print for decades while selling almost nothing. Writer Beware and the Authors Guild both recommend an objective test, such as earnings or sales falling below a stated threshold over a set number of accounting periods. The Authors Guild prefers a royalty threshold to a sales threshold.

The Guild describes the usual pattern this way: you send written notice, the publisher has a set period (often about six months) to say whether it will reprint, and the rights revert if it declines or fails to reprint within the agreed time. It suggests negotiating for automatic reversion where you can. Writer Beware’s advice on a life-of-copyright contract with no reversion clause at all is to walk away.

Whatever the contract says, keep your copy of it. Also keep every royalty statement and any reversion notice you send, along with proof that it was delivered.

6. Plan for the press closing

Small presses can close for ordinary reasons, such as money, health or a founder moving on. Barking Rain Press, a small fiction publisher, announced on 7 July 2019 that it was closing. One of its authors wrote that royalties owed were to be paid by the end of that year, and that authors had to recreate their own files and cover art to republish. (This site is independent and is not that press.)

Several practical points follow from Writer Beware’s reporting on closures:

• A bankruptcy clause may not protect you. If a publisher formally files for bankruptcy, clauses that return rights on bankruptcy are generally unenforceable. The contracts pass to a court-appointed trustee, and authors are unsecured creditors. Many presses, however, simply close without filing.
• Act on warning signs early. Late or missing royalty statements, shifting excuses, and a press going quiet are all reasons to consider requesting reversion while the publisher can still be reached.
• Get reversion in writing. A dated letter or email confirming that your rights have reverted makes republishing much easier.
• Ask about files. Check whether the contract gives you any right to the edited text, cover art or production files. Often it does not, and you will need to replace them.

7. A note on long-term US termination rights

Separately from any contract clause, US copyright law (section 203) allows authors, or in some cases their heirs, to terminate grants made on or after 1 January 1978 after a long statutory period. The U.S. Copyright Office explains that termination must fall within a five-year window. Notice must be served between two and ten years before the effective date and recorded with the Office. This applies over decades, not as a remedy for a struggling press, but it is worth knowing it exists.

8. Before you sign

Writer Beware’s contract advice comes down to a few habits:

• Assume any clause may one day be applied.
• A friendly editor did not necessarily write the contract.
• Don’t rely on verbal promises that a clause “won’t be enforced”.
• A publisher that discourages questions is a reason to walk away.

For a review, Authors Guild members can have a publishing contract reviewed free of charge. This doesn’t apply to the Emerging Writer and Student tiers, and hybrid contracts get a checklist instead of a line-by-line review. In the UK, the Society of Authors is the trade union for writers. In Ireland, the Irish Writers Union offers members a model contract and contract advice. Otherwise, consult a lawyer who handles publishing agreements.