In this monthly column, we pose your questions to an expert in a specific field of speculative fiction. This month, Black Shuck Books’ Steve J Shaw tackles questions about indie publishers, as asked by BFS members in our dedicated Discord channel.
Note from the editor: Yes, you might notice that this month we’re not talking to Laura Bennett from the Liverpool Literary Agency. I promise it’s with a very good reason! These columns have proven so popular since we started them in January 2024 that we’ve decided to broaden the scope. Not everyone in our community is seeking an agent; our members cover the full depth and breadth of all things speculative fiction. So we’ve broadened things out and will be putting questions to a designated expert in a different field every month from now on. Keep an eye on our social media at the start of every month for news of who that month’s expert will be, and jump into the members Discord server to ask your questions.
This month: Working with indie presses, with Steve J Shaw of Black Shuck Books
Name: Steve J Shaw of Black Shuck Books
Website: blackshuckbooks.co.uk
Specialism: Steve has run Black Shuck Books since 2015; he also offers typesetting and book design services via WHITEspace.
Location: England
Follow: BlueSky @blackshuckbooks.bsky.social, Facebook @blackshuckbooks, Instagram @blackshuckbooks
Steve J Shaw is an editor, publisher, typesetter and designer based in the depths of rural Kent. He is the proprietor of the multi-time BFA-nominated press Black Shuck Books, home to the Black Shuck Shadows series of micro-collections, the Black Shuck Signature novella line and the recently-launched Black Shuck Screen imprint. He is also the editor of the ongoing Great British Horror / Something Peculiar series of anthologies. Away from Black Shuck, Steve takes on cross-genre typesetting and design work through his freelance business, WHITEspace.
People often say that running a small press is a labour of love. What do you love about running Black Shuck Books?
Without a doubt the best thing about running Black Shuck has been the people that I’ve met. The British genre fiction community is the best, most supportive and most welcoming group of people that I’ve ever had the pleasure of working and being friends with. The fact that a lot of them are rather good writers, and that they keep entrusting me with their work, is just a bonus!
It’s hard not to feel a certain level of pride, and excitement, when an author that you respect and admire, sometimes one whose work you have been reading for many years, sends a new story or a new book and asks if you would like to publish it. One of the things I like best about what I do is that I have the opportunity to take those works and – particularly in the Black Shuck Shadows series of micro-collections and my annual Great British Horror / Something Peculiar anthology – publish them alongside newer and less well-known authors, some of whom have never had a book or even a story published before.
Small presses often publish work that would be overlooked by major publishers, that might be less commercial, or that is aimed at a more niche audience. As an indie publisher, do you feel a sense of mission or responsibility, in terms of giving a space to work or voices that might otherwise not see the light of day?
I don’t know if responsibility is the word I’d use, but being able to publish work that might otherwise not be read is one of the best things about being independent. I often say that my favourite thing to hear from an author is “But of course no-one will publish it”, to which I generally reply “Well, not no-one…”. As a reader, I actively seek out stories that are more unusual, and as a publisher I like to work outside the mainstream, putting out books that – as you say – might otherwise not get the chance. If a piece of work is good enough – well-written, interesting, original – there will always be a readership for it somewhere… you’ve just got to find it.
Submitting to / working with indies
If I wanted to get published by an indie press, where would I start? Would I need a literary agent? A full manuscript?
In my experience, you wouldn’t normally need an agent to submit to an independent press – the vast majority of my submissions come from un-agented writers. My suggestion would be to have a full manuscript written before you get in touch with a publisher, then if you do hook their attention, you have the work ready to send. Most independents are very approachable, and will be happy to respond to emails, but it’s always best to look at their submission policies first – some, for example, won’t entertain any submissions whatsoever outside of set times.
A brief, polite email is the best way to make contact – ask if the press is accepting unsolicited submissions, give a brief idea of what you are pitching and offer to send over all or part of the manuscript if they’re interested.
Among queries to agents, I’ve been looking at several small presses and indie publishers that take un-agented submissions. What are the top things one ought to bear in mind when considering navigating the publishing world without an agent’s guidance?
The key things to look at are what you’re going to get out of the deal – both in terms of money and quality – and what it’s going to cost you. When you’re looking at potential publishers to submit to, have a look at their back catalogue – do they publish similar works to your own, do you like the way the books look (cover art, style, etc.)? If you own, or have access to, books that they’ve previously published, do you like the way the interiors are laid out?
Once you have found a publisher you like, and they’re offering to publish, then you need to think about the financial side. Many small presses will offer either a flat fee but no royalties, or royalties but no advance – there are pros and cons to each system, and what you’re happy to accept will likely be a matter of personal choice.
The second point is much easier to deal with: if a press is telling you that they’ll charge you to either read or publish your manuscript, stay well away.
What are the benefits of small presses for authors, particularly over self publishing? And what do you see as the downsides, or areas which a small press is less adept at covering?
The main advantage of publishing through a small press, to my mind, is that the technical side of the process – editing, typesetting, design, and the administration of getting the book to market – is all handled for you. You should also find that most independent publishers have something of an audience for their books already, meaning you have the opportunity to get your book in front of people who perhaps otherwise would not be aware of its existence. You may also find that a publisher will have a better chance of getting your work into real world shops, although this is by no means guaranteed, particularly in genre publishing.
The downside is that you may not have complete control over the final product, although most presses should work with you to produce a book that you’re both happy with. And, of course, that you have to split your potential profits – whether the benefits of working with a publisher offset that split is entirely a matter of personal opinion.
I’m aware of the wonderful work that indie and small presses do, but my agent mentioned something to me about it being very hard to break into the big 5 if you have debuted with an indie. I’m curious if you tend to think of your authors as a lifelong relationship or do they tend to publish with others as well? Any thoughts on that point about where a writer should aim to debut?
I think that if an author has a positive experience with a publisher, be they independent or mainstream, they will be more encouraged to work with them again in the future. In the independent world, most authors seem to publish with a variety of presses, although there are a few notable exceptions. I’m lucky enough to have one or two authors who will usually bring me any new manuscripts to look at first, before they go anywhere else, and I’m sure the same is true of other author/publisher relationships.
How do you decide which of the surely many, many manuscripts you get you’re going to publish? And how many do you publish a year? Do you have regular submission windows, or do you open and close them as needed? Sorry, that’s a lot, but the practicalities of running such a thing mystify me!
I’m very fortunate, because what I decide to publish really comes down to one thing: do I like it? The books and stories I release are all ones that I have read and enjoyed, and being the sole owner of Black Shuck means I get to have final say on which submissions I accept. I generally publish around ten books a year, although that is entirely dependent on what submissions I get sent. I don’t have formal submission windows, with the exception of the odd anthology call, and I’m usually open to looking at anything that’s peculiar and original.
Operating an indie press
Do you do a lot of IRL promotion, such as book fairs, local library events, and working with friendly indie bookshops? I’d love to hear about your experiences with this side of things and if you have any advice as there often seems to be a focus on online stuff in the self-publishing space.
Marketing is the most challenging hurdle I face as a publisher. The vast majority of my marketing is done online, and I have experimented with social media, paid advertising through, among other places, Amazon and Facebook, and traditional advertising in print media, although I’m sorry to say that I have yet to find an avenue which works any better than the others. I have also done some face-to-face events, although in an attempt to keep my overheads low, I don’t usually hold much, if any, stock of back titles, so this makes dealing at these events somewhat prohibitive. The exception to this is launching specific books, usually at a convention, which can be a good way to get word out about a new title. The most effective ways I have found thus far are a regular Black Shuck newsletter and simple word of mouth promotion.
Are indie presses usually run by only one or two people? I am curious about how indie presses manage lots of submissions and if they typically have in-house editors, artists etc
Most independent presses are run either by individuals or very small teams (2-4 people), although there are exceptions. The larger independents have teams of readers, designers, etc. but a lot of people, myself included, handle everything on their own. I can only speak in detail about how I run things at Black Shuck, where I read all submissions, and edit, typeset and design all the books myself; I’m sure there are a number of small presses who do the same thing, but there are also some who outsource part of the process – most commonly editing and artwork – to freelancers.
Can you please tell us about how you deal with the challenges of selling books outside the UK now?
As the vast majority of Black Shuck titles are printed on demand, I haven’t (so far) had any major issues in selling in the US or Australia – the books are printed and shipped locally, so there are no problems with import taxes, etc. The one area that has been more of an issue is selling into the EU – without the appropriate registrations, the printer I use won’t send anything from the UK to the EU. I’m still working on sorting out a long-term solution to this problem, and currently dealing with it on a case-by-case basis.
Read previous columns
Ask an expert
- April 2025: Being a traditionally-published author with Adrian Tchaikovsky
- March 2025: SFFH artwork with Jenni Coutts
Ask an agent, with Laura Bennett:
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