Frequently Asked Questions

Are you a hybrid press?

No, not in the sense that you must pay to publish with us. We don’t charge reading fees, and we have high standards for the work we choose to publish. If we accept your manuscript for publication, you will not have to pay for anything except marketing if you want to do more paid advertising than what we can provide.

That said, we do offer consulting and various editorial and design services to authors who want to self publish or polish their work to land an agent to get published by a bigger press, for example. We support your goals!

Do I need an agent to submit?

Nope! But we’re happy to communicate with your agent if you have one.

What should I send?

First, a query letter. Authors should send us 50-100 words about themselves (including publication history), followed by a brief synopsis of the work, via our contact form. Currently, we only consider full-length collections of poetry or short fiction, novellas/novelettes, and memoir manuscripts for publication by Red Sweater Press. Do not send unsolicited attachments or excerpts in the body of an email. If you do, your email will be deleted without being read or replied to; this is primarily to protect us from viruses (it’s not personal).

If we like your query, we’ll ask for more!

If you accept my manuscript for publication, will it be edited?

Yes! But, it’s a conversation. We work with authors before and after the publication contract is signed to determine what aspects of the manuscript each party is flexible about, and suggestions for revision are just that: suggestions. We all want the book to be the best it can be, right?

Do I get to choose my cover?

Yes, but again, it’s a conversation. You tell us your vision, and we will present some options. If you are/have been a professional designer and want to design your own, or you have already paid a cover designer to make you one, we are open to that, as long as the final product meets our publication standards. Again, we all want to make the book the best it can be!

More questions? Check out our Services page, or send a message through our contact form or email Caitlin at cait@redsweaterpress.com