Goodreads Authors/Readers discussion

I am wanting to publish a novel. I am open to publishing via Amazon but I am hoping to publish my novel in paperback.
It is a historical romance. Do any of you know any publishing companies that are willing to accept manuscripts from first time authors?

You can publish it yourself via CreateSpace for free, and Amazon will distribute it for you.

Thank you

IndieRomanceInk@yahoogroups
This is the place for indie publishing and they have everything you need to know about self publishing....where when and how. Info on book covers, formatting and editors.
It's the best? Try them out!

You can also submit your manuscript to traditional publishers. You can have some trouble getting your foot in the door of the big guys without an agent, but that's not the only game in town. Most of them are perfectly happy to look at manuscripts from new writers, although e-books are increasingly important, especially for genre authors. Carina and Intermix are two well respected e-houses that are willing to look at unsolicited manuscripts and publish romance writers. Some of this should depend on what your goals as a writer are. I love holding a paperback with my pen name on it in my hands because it gives me a feeling of accomplishment, but I sell very few of them. Almost all of my sales are of e-books, and this is true for both my self and my traditionally published work.

One caveat. Real publishers pay you, not the other way around. You will pay for individual copies of your book from CreateSpace or another printing service, but any "publisher" who "accepts" your manuscript and then wants you to pay them hundreds or thousands of dollars? No. Just say no.

D.C. wrote: "You can also submit your manuscript to traditional publishers. You can have some trouble getting your foot in the door of the big guys without an agent, but that's not the only game in town. Most ..."

Absolutely the best advice there from D.C.!

Real publishers pay you, not the other way round!

If you can get a deal with a major publisher that is good, because they will also promote your work. It is also true that smaller publishers will expect you to promote your own work. If you self publish, you obviously also have to self promote, but with ebooks you can determine (and change) the price and make a much larger percentage per sale than a publisher will pay.

Tor accepts submissions from unagented authors. But that doesn't help with romance. I do think Carina would be a good fit for you because they publish a lot of women's lit/romance.

Most of the larger publishers accept manuscripts from unpublished/unagented authors for their ebook lines.

Are you a member of Romance Writers if America? If not, I highly recommend you join and find a local chapter.