How to Find the Best Publishers

Finding the best publisher largely depends upon whether you intend to purchase a publication, or submit your own writing.  The type of work you write and the type of work the publisher accepts will dictate the best publisher for your particular needs.  

• Research publishers based upon the type of writing you wish to submit for publication.  Trade book publishing companies produce the types of books that are readily available at public libraries and bookstores.  A term called “the big six” refers to the six major trade book publishers in the U.S. consisting of Random House, Penguin, Hachette, Macmillan, Harper Collins, and Simon & Schuster.


• Narrow down the types of content the companies publish in order to make a list of the best publishers.  For instance, in terms of sales, the Christian publishing company Thomas Nelson Publishers ranks in the top ten of trade publishers in the United States. 


• Find the best textbook publishers based on whether you are a consumer purchasing a book or an author selling a particular manuscript.  While it is extremely difficult to get published in academic journals and textbooks, there are smaller academic publishers that specialize in particular fields of study.


• Use your writing talent to compose and share knowledge with open-licensed publishers.  These are books and periodicals in the public domain, which makes them free or low cost to access, download, and distribute.  The writer still maintains credit for their work.  This means when your work is published in an open-licensed publication either in print or on the Internet, you maintain rights to the work.  Additionally, when another writer cites information from your works, the writer must include your name in the bibliography.