What are we looking for?
Caltrop Press serves both previously-published and unpublished authors.
We’re looking forward to reading books that keep us interested enough to work on them for a few months. That’s the only way they sell.
Will the next one be yours?
We will help you get your book ready to sell, and to advise you on selling it thereafter.
Submittal guidelines
We can work with detailed outlines (chapter headings plus paragraph-length synopsis for each chapter) or full manuscripts.
We can only produce a maximum of ten original titles a year, so we’re only going to take yours on if we believe in it.
Series are strongly encouraged, and once the first book or two in the series have some traction we’ll reduce our revenue share on subsequent books.
Submissions are accepted electronically only. Please check the submission guidelines when preparing your material.
Sample Contract
You’ll find a sample contract at this link. The one we finally execute with you may differ based on your prior experience, your initial submittal or other factors.
Why these terms?
Yes, our terms are different from some you may run into.
In the end, you’ll make more with us than you might do with a “conventional” publishing house. The difference is that we aren’t going to pay you an early advance, but you’ll be making much higher royalties. And remember, a conventional publisher only provides a hefty advance to a very, very few authors. The rest don’t get enough to cover their first book signing, if they get picked up at all.
Given the uncertain nature of narrow-niche books or those by author is without a large existing following, our approach allows you to bring your book to market for minimal outlay wile providing us with a means of recapturing the cost of our significant upfront efforts. Once the book has some momentum, then the revenue moves increasingly in your direction.
Your Responsibilities
The contract isn’t huge. There’s no room in the indie press for battalions of lawyers. We’ve provided an explanation of why we have set things up the way they are. We couldn’t include every eventuality; if we’re going to work together, we have to work together to make a success out of your masterpiece.
There are certain situations and conditions that arise for even the newest author. They’re not inherent in the contract; they’re inherent in you being an author. The main one is that it’s up to you to complete the work. It’s not always easy! (See the Do-It-Yourself page for some pointers.) Our base service doesn’t include mentoring you through the actual writing process; if you need that we can talk about it. What we will do is stick with you and provide whatever advice and guidance you might need to move forward (sometimes it’ll be more than just advice, as in “you need to get this done or we’re going to have to put our priorities elsewhere”).