Atmosphere Press Acceptance Standards

What are your acceptance standards?

Atmosphere Press is dedicated to transparency, and because of that, we want you to be fully informed on our vetting process and how we choose which books to publish.

Every month, Atmosphere Press receives more than 1500 submissions! That’s a lot. And we ultimately move forward with roughly 30 publishing contracts per month. Obviously, it’s a mutual decision to move forward on a contract, because we need to want to work with an author and an author needs to want to work with us.

Some people think because an author investment is required that we would sign on anyone who has a credit card in hand. That’s how self-publishing companies work, but we’re a selective hybrid press, so that’s not how we work. We have an obligation to our existing authors—many of whom have won awards, or who are affiliated with top universities, or who have previously published with places like Harper Collins and Penguin Random House—to keep standards high. We say no to a lot of people who are willing to pay, because we owe it to our authors and we have to protect our brand.

So, of those 1500 submissions, we begin reviewing them and removing submissions from consideration, largely by checking through the answers that authors give us in response to questions we ask them during the vetting process. For example, if an author says their book isn’t finished, or they say they are unwilling to invest in their book, they are automatically sent a friendly rejection letter, because it’s clear that we won’t be a good match.

Those who make it through the initial screening are offered an opportunity to schedule a call with an Acquisitions Editor, or “AE”. These highly qualified team members are often the first “voice” of Atmosphere Press that they talk to directly, and this is the exact part of the process where your manuscript can officially become “accepted.” That’s because when someone schedules a call with an AE, the AE’s editorial assistant reviews the submission more thoroughly and provides the AE with a dossier of information on the author, the book, and potential next steps. If the editorial assistant determines that the author likely isn’t a good fit for publication with Atmosphere, the meeting is politely canceled, or the author is offered advice on how to make the manuscript more publication-ready.

When the Acquisitions Editor talks to the author, they will have the notes from the reading team, and will have reviewed the dossier and read enough of the manuscript to know whether it’s a good fit for us, style-wise. They won’t have read the entire manuscript, though, because the AE’s job is not to provide manuscript feedback, but to feel out whether “the person behind the book” will make for a good partner with Atmosphere Press. Because the author/publisher relationship is an intimate one, and is a long-term partnership, making sure that the author will be happy with Atmosphere Press and that we will be happy with the author is the key role of the AE. That’s why the AE is so thorough answering author questions and making sure there’s understanding on the contract; they want this to be a situation where everybody wins.

Luckily, between the editorial assistant and the AE, we use a four-point Acceptance Criteria to determine whether we should accept a book for our catalog. Here it is:

These Two Must Be YES:

Will this be a mutually beneficial relationship? 

➥ Will our team enjoy working with this author? 

➥ Will this author enjoy working with our team?

Will our proven processes be a good fit for this book? 

➥ Does our contract suit this author’s needs, without any major changes? 

➥ Is the book finished, and if not, should we sign anyway?

These Two Must Be NO:

Will this book cause harm to readers? 

➥ Does this book include hateful ideology, misogyny, racism, etc.?

➥ Is it unduly libelous to others, or does it stoke needless controversy?

Will this book cause harm to Atmosphere Press? 

➥ Is this book particularly poorly written? 

➥ Will publishing this book put Atmosphere at significant reputation risk?

If the author and their book fail on any account, we politely decline to move forward, and will wish the author well in their future pursuits. As we’re an author-friendly press that doesn’t believe in gatekeeping the path to publication, we do want these folks to find a home for their work. But because we are dedicated to quality outcomes for both author and publisher, we need to make sure that every book we take on passes the above questions with flying colors and no reservations.

From there, it’s just a matter of finding agreement between the author and us on what publishing package will be best. If the author decides to pass on the opportunity, that’s absolutely their prerogative. But because we have a strong record of providing a rewarding publishing experience for our authors, many who advance through the process ultimately do sign on for a publication contract.

In the end, we cherish transparency and honesty, which is why we make our publication contract public, and why we are the most trusted hybrid publisher. If you make it from that initial 1500 submissions per month down to the 30 who begin the publication process with Atmosphere Press, it truly is an accomplishment worth celebrating!