That’s right, Swann+Bedlam, the world’s most ignored underground press run by two indie authors, is now ready to publish books by other people. Come join the cool kids.
What we are looking for?
Anything that’s good, whether it be lit fic, horror, fantasy, or memoir. We’re particularly interested in books that smash, stretch the limits of, or just don’t care about genre. Yeah, we said it - fuck genre!
Who we are looking for?
We are looking for good writers! We don’t care about identity politics. Don’t even bother telling us your ethnic identity or sexual orientation. If your book is good we will publish it. If it’s not we won’t.
What is Swann+Bedlam?
Swann+Bedlam is a small press. Small presses are not like big presses. Big presses are subsidiaries of global corporations with powerful networks of influence. Big presses can get your books onto shelves, into libraries, onto TV shows, onto successful blogs and podcasts. Big presses can get your name out there and make you sound like the second coming of Jesus, even if your writing sucks ass. They can market the shit out of your books without having to spend a dime because they own so many forms of media production. Small presses like us are much more limited. We do not have the same resources when it comes to marketing. Don’t be fooled - anything a small press can do, you can probably do yourself with a little bit of research and some hard work. In fact, publishing with a small press is often worse than self-publishing, because:
Many small presses are run by one or two people who are also idiots
Many small presses are run by semi-illiterate philistines who couldn’t write or edit their way out of a paper bag and will not edit your book properly
Many small presses are run by idiots who can’t use InDesign and won’t typeset your book properly
Many small presses are run by people with poor taste who will put a really shitty cover on your book
Many small presses spend zero dollars on advertising and rely on a very small social media presence to sell books - and therefore don’t sell any books, even if those books happen to be good
Many small presses have shitty websites that look like they were designed in the late 1990s
Many small presses are run by cronyistic idiots who only publish books written by friends, friends-of-friends, or cousins
Many small presses want you to write in a ridiculously niche genre that they invented and won’t consider submissions that don’t fit with their stupidly narrow branding
Many small presses are run by pretentious phonies who project a false aura of success while engaging in what is essentially a vanity project
So why publish with Swann + Bedlam?
What you get from Swann + Bedlam:
Editing
If we choose to publish your book, we will make sure it is edited as close to perfection as possible. We will edit the shit out of your book until it is a lean, mean, mind-blowing machine.
Typesetting
We will typeset your book so that it looks beautiful in both paperback and eBook. We’ll use sexy fonts and make sure your book isn’t riddled with weird formatting errors.
Cover Design
We’ll make sure your book has a decent, eye-catching cover on it.
Marketing and Promotion
We’ll market your book on Instagram. We’ll also include your book in at least one paid promotion, something most publishers won’t do.
Royalties
We’ll pay you 50% of the gross royalties. But don’t get your hopes up - most writers make next to nothing, and small press books often sell poorly.
The Swann + Bedlam seal of approval
With the Swann+Bedlam seal of approval, you don’t have to venture into the cold, unknown darkness of publishing by yourself, and your ego will be protected from collapse if anyone challenges the quality of your work. With the Swann+Bedlam seal of approval, no one can challenge your status as a legitimate writer. You can say “I’m a traditionally-published author!” You can even look down on self-published authors, even if they are better writers who make more money than you. We’ll even protect you from your own self-doubt and lack of creative confidence. You won’t have to face the daunting prospect of believing in yourself 100% - you can just believe in yourself a little bit, and we’ll carry you the rest of the way.
Total Honesty
We will not pretend to be more successful than we are or make false promises about how much you are going to be making. We will give you honest feedback and will not sugarcoat it.
Ready To Submit?
Send submissions to: swannandbedlam@gmail.com
Paste the first 2,000 words of your work into an email. If you want, add a little blurb to let us know where the story is going. If you don't follow these guidelines chances are we'll read it anyway and get back to you.
If we like it we'll request the full manuscript from you.
WE DO NOT SEND FORM LETTERS. If we decide not to publish your book we will give you a reason why.