We are not currently accepting query letters. We will publish a link when we are ready to accept them.

Let’s get this out of the way: getting published is difficult. Most of our efforts run aground on the shores of indifference—even rejection emails are hard to get these days. Complete silence regarding our latest submission is more common. There are all kinds of reasons for this, but two leading causes are the massive volume of submissions publishers receive, along with submissions that do not fit a publisher’s purpose. Have a look below to find out what will want to make us take a longer look at your work.

First off, here’s what Cosmic Cranium Press is not looking for.

1) Romance/Romantasy.

2) Textbooks

3) Children’s Books

4) Cook/Diet Books

5) Graphic Novels

6) Poetry

7) Material generated in whole or in part by any form of Artificial Intelligence.

8) Anything hateful. If your manuscript targets an identifiable group, it won’t get published here. Move on.

Having said all of that, here’s what we are looking for: Books in any other genre that fit the Press’ vision of publishing breakthrough ideas, concepts that hover on the edge of social awareness, words that radiate bizarrely or do all of these things. What does this mean in practical terms? Hard to say exactly, but here are the sorts of questions that you might ask yourself before submitting a manuscript: Have you spent years studying a particular religious, scientific, historical, philosophical or musical tradition and found a shocking new approach to it? Is there a cultural rupture on the edge of busting open that you have the chops to write about? Does your well-researched sci-fi novel speak from the perspective of a punk-rock Sufi master whose ex-husband is a post-modern real estate broker in the Canis Minor region?

So, there is a small set of examples that could work as a book at Cosmic Cranium. Just as importantly, your ideas should be a struggle to write about, but penned so that an intelligent, first-time reader will get the picture. Why? Because mainstream writing is comparatively easy, which too often makes it boring. We are looking for incisive thinking that jolts the reader without depending on gross-outs or gratuitous sex/violence to drive home the point. Also keep in mind that, while every publisher loves a bestseller, we’re not necessarily looking for the next big thing. Popularity fades. Street-cred endures. Cosmic Cranium is more interested in developing a tradition that celebrates intelligence thus far consigned to the margins. If you’ve got a manuscript that fits with this vision, we could have something to talk about.

Let’s suppose you have a manuscript that looks like a natural fit for Cosmic Cranium Press. How well edited is it? Self-editing is important but peer-editing is crucial. When we get too close to our writing, it becomes difficult to see where changes need to be made. Peer-editors can help in this regard. But the chances of the Press accepting your manuscript increase when you hire a professional editor to work with you. We are not making this up. For example, years ago, Cosmic Cranium’s acquisitions editor, John Hughes, submitted his first book to a well-regarded New York publisher who had asked for a full manuscript. John had self-edited, and had friends read over the manuscript but did not hire a professional editor. The result? Rejection of the manuscript and a THREE YEAR WAIT to find another publisher (after hiring an editor). Don’t let this be you.

The last thing has to do with promotions. Promoting books does not come naturally to every writer. If you are shy about promoting your work, please focus on overcoming this. Like we say, we’re not necessarily looking for a bestseller, but we do need to keep the lights on—and that means selling books. Promotions are of vital importance in this regard. With this in mind, please have at least one active social media account that regularly engages with people. Please also come prepared with several connections to community promotional events. Please be available to participate in promotional events that Cosmic Cranium arranges.

Please do not submit query letters as we are not accepting them at this time.