Traditional Publishing: Who is Who
If you are looking into submitting your manuscript for querying, want to work as an editor, or are looking to work in the publishing industry; there are many opportunities inside and out of traditional publishing.
To properly explain publishing, a good way to start is to learn who the big publishers are and what they represent. If you have ever walked into a bookstore, you might recognize key names like Penguin Random House, Knopf, MacMillan, Tor, and more. I am sharing a list of websites with you all where you can explore each publishing house and their many imprints as well as some tips about why these organizations are important to be familiar with.
Note: This list is current as of September 2023. Simon & Schuster has just been bought so changes, outside of normal industry adjustments, will be happening soon.
What is a Traditional Publisher?
In traditional publishing, it is important to know who is who. There are currently five big publishers such as Penguin Random House, Simon & Schuster, Hachette Book Group, Harper Collins, and Macmillan. These companies also have many smaller houses or “imprints” within them.
This route is the traditional way to get your book published. You need to have your manuscript accepted by a literary agent first who will then represent it for you to these publishers to be bought or auctioned. These publishers will then edit, design, market, and sell your book to retailers and stores.
The Big 5 Publishers
(Note: all titles of publishers provide hyperlinks to their websites.)
These are very brief introductions into each company. In short, these are the biggest publishers in the United States where you can find a book and author about anything. If you walk into a bookstore, you have 100% picked up or have even read a book by these publishers.
Penguin Random House: Established in 2013 to publish “books for everyone” with over 300 imprints and brands. Adult and children’s fiction, and nonfiction. Prints 15,000 books annually.
Harper Collins: The second largest publisher in the world with over 120 branded imprints and 10,000 new books published every year.
Hachette Book Group: The third largest publisher in the world and is comprised of many publishing groups (Little, Brown and Company, Hachette Books, etc.) Publishes over 3,000 books annually.
Macmillan: Adult and children’s books publisher across fiction and nonfiction. Part of the Holtzbrinck Publishing Group in Germany.
Simon & Schuster: International book publisher since 1924, publishing over 2,000 titles every year. Recently bought out by KKR in 2023. (source)
The Imprints
Each publishing house listed above is made up of many smaller houses called imprints. These are important to know if you are researching specific genres that have been published recently. For example, you can have an entire imprint that specializes in one genre such as TOR, a fantasy and sci-fi imprint of Macmillan.
Why Should I be Familiar with Publisher’s Imprints?
That’s a great question! I recommend perusing the above links to familiarize yourself with a few of the companies. I wanted to write up a whole list of every imprint but that is a silly task when each website already has an easy-to-use list, and some publishing houses have hundreds of imprints!
When you are writing a book, it’s important to know what your readers want and what is being published in the market right now. For example, I am writing a YA fantasy book. As I work on it, I am researching fantasy and YA imprints/ publishers to find what kind of books match my own. See what is out there, what readers enjoy, and more. That knowledge will sculpt my own work as I aim to make my book not only entertaining, but marketable.
Publishing
I will be writing future journals on the process of publishing, but I wanted to touch on this process briefly. There are many ways to get published. There are pros and cons around traditional publishing, indie publishing, self-publishing, and going with smaller presses. I could write a whole book on this! But for now, what you need to know about publishing traditionally is that you usually do not submit directly to these publishers (unless they are hosting an event or call for unsolicited manuscripts.) The usual process is to write a query letter to potential literary agents for representation of yourself and your manuscript. When a literary agent accepts your book, they will pitch it for you to publishers. You need the literary agent as your middleman. This might sound suspicious, scary, or stressful to those unfamiliar with the process but I want you to know that literary agents are your guide, your cheerleader, and your support. They are there to help you through the process!
Conclusion
The publishing world is always changing. And even as I write this article, I know so many changes are happening right now and quite rapidly. This article is a great place to start as you are learning who is who in the publishing industry. There are buyouts happening, transitions, other ways to publish, and more that I will cover down the road. But for now, I wanted to get this information to you all and be sure to explore the links I shared above!