WoodPig Press is currently CLOSED for submissions. To find out when we re-open, you can sign up to our newsletter, where we also share periodic news on book releases, offer complimentary copies for reviews, and generally chronicle the trials and tribulations of setting-up and running an independent micro-press.

NOTE: WoodPig Press also offers editing and design services. These do not involve being published by WoodPig Press, and works that use these services are ineligible for publication through us. Also please note that titles that have been rejected from the submissions process are ineligible for publication services.

Our AI Policy

First of all, let us be absolutely clear: WoodPig Press does not accept submissions that have been created or assisted using AI. Our reasons for this are many, but the primary ones are:

  • AI training often involves the theft and piracy of copyrighted work;
  • AI undermines the ability of creatives to make a living;
  • AI is having a harmful effect on culture, intellectual development and education;
  • AI simplifies, homogenises, dumbs down, distorts, lies and hallucinates.

You may or may not agree with these assertions, but our policy is non-negotiable. If we find out that your submission has involved AI, then it will not be considered for publication.

However, we do understand that AI is basically in everything now, so it is hard to completely avoid. We also want to acknowledge the distinction between general computer-aided creation (using spelling and grammar checkers, internet searches, etc), and the creation of words and images from prompts (using such things as ChatGPT, Sudowrite, Claude, etc). We can see that there may be a potential grey area here, concerning the use of AI as an editorial tool or for research. Concerning editing, it’s really fairly simple: if your computer assistant goes beyond putting a squiggly red or green line under certain words (e.g. by suggesting rephrasing, tone, plot points or story structure), then your book is probably ineligible. As for research, we appreciate that many search engines now come with AI baked in, and it’s hard to avoid. It can also be very useful in summarising basic factual(!) information, or interrogating it in order to explore issues. This is up to you. Given the well-documented tendency of AI to get things wrong, however, we would strongly advise against using AI as the sole basis for your research, and we will not accept non-fiction submissions that do not seem to be backed up by the author’s own experience and expertise.

So, in summary:

  • Neither WoodPig Press nor any of its freelancers will use generative AI to design, illustrate, edit or proofread works published directly through the press, or those titles worked on for clients.
  • We will not publish or work with authors or clients who use AI for generative rather than assistive purposes.
  • Aside from from templates for boring or technical stuff (which no one reads, and we may not know who wrote it), we do not use generative AI to create text or images for social media or the substantive pages and posts on this website.

We want to find authors who share our values and practices, not police the way you write. For a full explanation of our AI policy, and the reasoning behind it, please see here. But as with all things, if you’re not sure, get in touch.

What We Want

WoodPig press specialises in speculative fiction and non-fiction. If your book falls outside of that, then we’re unlikely to consider it.

Fiction

Speculative fiction is anything with a “What if…?” premise. Wikipedia has a useful overview of what the term generally covers. It can apply to the past, present or future, and includes (but is not limited to):

  • science-fiction
  • fantasy
  • alternative history
  • time travel
  • horror
  • the paranormal and the supernatural
  • weird/slipstream fiction
  • the dystopian and utopian
  • apocalyptic and post-apocalyptic fiction
  • magical realism
  • fairy tale/fable
  • satire (assuming it takes some speculative form – e.g. Gulliver’s Travels)

Or any blend of the above – we are less worried about whether your book is a neat fit for a particular genre, and more interested in the quality of your writing. If your story has some speculative element, then whatever the genre, we will likely consider it. This also applies to graphic novels or anything with a non-conventional format: if there’s a speculative element, then we’ll take a look.

Non-Fiction

In terms of non-fiction, we’re looking for anything broadly philosophical that questions established beliefs and dogmas. This needn’t be “philosophy” as such, but can be cultural critique, literary criticism, popular psychology, sociology, anthropology, or anything that looks to explore and analyse some potential of human experience. So, for instance, the feasibility of colonising Mars, or how social media is destroying our children’s mental health. But speculative non-fiction need not be about the future; you could argue that the contemporary obsession with zombie films is an unconscious cultural expression of the dehumanising forces of capitalism, or that the Asterix books have done more to shape our understanding of Ancient Rome than Mary Beard. Again, the key thing here is “speculative”, and while we are open-minded to almost anything, the more of this speculative element there is, the more likely we are to be interested.

Aside from this, the book should be aimed at the general reader. This doesn’t mean that it should dumb down or patronise, but rather that it doesn’t assume any prior knowledge or expertise.

What We DON’T Want

In terms of genres, we do not accept:

  • poetry
  • short stories/flash fiction
  • plays
  • romance
  • erotica (where this is the main thrust of the story)
  • literary fiction (where there is no speculative element)
  • academic monographs/theses
  • textbooks
  • self-help books
  • business/crypto/management books
  • young children’s books
  • memoir
  • partisan political treatises
  • ANYTHING WRITTEN BY OR COMPOSED WITH AI (just to reiterate that – sorry for shouting)

Again, this is not an exhaustive list. We are also happy to consider any of the above where a strong case can be made for it being “speculative” (e.g. a handbook on how to survive the apocalypse, a sci-fi story told in verse, or a children’s philosophy book). If in doubt, get in touch before submitting.

How to Submit

First of all – in the words of the great Douglas Adams – DON’T PANIC! We are publishing professionals who have all experienced the pain and humiliation of rejection in our careers. As creative people, we also appreciate the vulnerability that the submissions process involves, and so even if we decide to pass, we will respond to your submission in a way that respects the time and effort you’ve put into your work.

The submission process itself is very straight forward, and the information required is intentionally minimal. Just head over to the Submissions Portal and fill out the form.

Our Response

If your book meets our criteria, and we like the sound of it, we’ll email you back and ask to see a sample. This should be a Word doc of the first 10,000 words ONLY, give or take. While it would be nice if your sample stopped at a natural point (e.g. a chapter break), we know that this isn’t always feasible. Don’t sweat it. 10,000 words is plenty to decide whether we want to see the full manuscript.

Please send your sample as a Word compatible document in standard manuscript format (see e.g. here), using 12 point Times New Roman, with double spacing. Do not include a bio or a CV – we don’t want to know anything about you. We want the book to speak for itself. We won’t even Google you or search for your socials. So, send it via your auntie’s Hotmail or an anonymous email account, if you want – all we need is somewhere to respond to. There’ll be time for introductions later.

Once you’ve sent a sample, you’ll receive a submissions number. WoodPig Press closes to submissions every fifty submissions, so your number will be somewhere between 1 and 50. We aim to respond to submissions as soon as possible, ideally within a month, but it can take longer.

If we are interested in reading more, we will respond with a request for a full manuscript (fiction), or additional chapters and an outline (non-fiction). We aim to respond to full manuscripts within three months, but again, this is not always possible.

If at any time during the submissions process you receive an offer of agent representation or publication, then please let us know, stating whether you still wish us to consider your submission; if so, we’ll either give an immediate decision, or an estimate of when we can respond to you by. Other than that, please do not contact us to chase the progress of your submission, to provide updated versions, or to discuss any other matter while you’re waiting to hear back from us. We will respond as soon as we can.

In the event of a rejection, we will try to provide something other than a boilerplate response – usually just a line or two. We know how frustrating the submissions process can be, and if we can help or encourage you in even a small way, then we will. However, other than regarding requests for clarification of our comments, we regret that we cannot enter into correspondence regarding the feedback provided.

What You Get If You’re Successful

Contract and Royalties

If we decide that we may be interested in publishing your book, we’ll be in touch to discuss matters further, and so you can tell us all about yourself and your project. If this goes well, and both parties are happy, then we’ll offer you a formal contract, which you’re welcome to run by your agent (if you have one), or a contract vetting service such as the Society of Authors provides. Whatever the case, the terms are to an extent negotiable, and we’ll do what we can to accommodate any serious concerns you have. We aim to give the author 50% of profits, or royalties of 10% of the retail price (whichever is the higher). These are good terms, and we offer these because as a small press it is unlikely that we can offer you an advance. However, since an advance is just a forward payment on anticipated sales, then all this means is that your royalties will trickle through over time.

Professional Editing

Once you’ve signed, your manuscript will then go through a developmental or structural edit with the commissioning editor. It’s at this point that we will look to iron out any “big picture” issues with writing voice, point of view, plot, style, etc (if it’s fiction), or scope, structure, argument, tone, etc (if it’s non-fiction). Once we’re both happy, the manuscript is passed on to a copy-editor, who will focus in on smaller issues, such as sentence structure, grammar, punctuation, and phrasing. Both these processes are fairly collaborative, but as editors we will also have quite developed views on what works and doesn’t work, and so you should be open to any constructive criticism and suggestions. Trust that we’ve chosen your book because we believe in it and you, and we want the best for both these things.

Cover Design and Formatting

While the copy-edit is going on, we will start looking at things like cover design and layout. Again, we will try to involve you in these decisions, but we will bring our own professional expertise to bear on these questions, and the final say will reside with us. This is standard across all forms of publishing, and it can come as a surprise to a first-time author just how little say they have in cover design or marketing copy. However, the intention is not to foist something on you that you hate, but for the book to benefit from the expertise of our professional designers and illustrators.

Selling and Marketing

As a small press, we do not possess the marketing budget of the bigger publishers. However, we will do everything we can to sell and market your book through the traditional means. This will include (but may not be limited to):

  • making your book available in high-quality print and ebook formats (depending on sales, budgets and the type of book, we might also consider audiobook)
  • sale of the book through the WoodPig Press shop
  • distribution of your book through all major online platforms (Amazon, Barnes & Noble, etc)
  • attempting through our sales reps to get it stocked in bricks and mortar bookstore chains (e.g. Waterstones, W.H. Smiths)
  • sending out complimentary copies and trying to arrange reviews in legacy media (newspapers, magazines, radio) and online (blogs, vlogs, TikTok, YouTube, etc)
  • arranging in-person events, launches, signings, talks, interviews, etc (if the author is comfortable with such things)
  • promoting the book via newsletters and social media
  • paid advertising (if appropriate – though our research on this suggests that it will likely prove ineffective for our niche type of books)

All the above represents our investment in your book. We do not ask for any money from you. Ever. Nor do we expect you to do things you are not comfortable with. If you like public speaking, or spending time on social media – great. We can help you with that. Anything you can contribute to increase the likelihood that your book will be a success will be much appreciated. But if you’re a wilting violet, that’s also fine. It’s the book that counts.

In all likelihood, as much as we’d like to dream, this process will not make any of us rich. We do it because we love it. Which is probably the best attitude for authors, too.

IMPORTANT: A Note on Funding

Publishing books is an expensive business that requires a lot of up-front investment. It is our long-term aim to fund the press through our publishing services, and through profits from the titles we publish. However, especially in the short term, there may be times where we are reliant upon grant funding (usually through the Books Council of Wales).

In practical terms, this might mean that there is a delay of 2 to 4 months while we await confirmation of funding. If our bid for funding is unsuccessful, it might mean that we make you a scaled back offer involving digital only publishing (ebook), or perhaps only with print-on-demand paperback and limited distribution. Either way, we will keep you fully informed of your options in advance so that you can make a decision as to whether to sign with us or withdraw from the submissions process and seek publication elsewhere.