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The Whumpy Printing Press is now open to novelette, novella, novel, short story collection, and graphic novel submissions! We’re looking for standalone stories as well as series, and are happy to work with both new and established authors.
Your story should clearly fall into the whump genre (i.e. a character needs to be hurt). We’re looking for strong stories with a balance between whump and plot. We are especially fond of sci-fi/fantasy settings, but will consider any story as long as it gives us whumperflies!
Word count: at least 7,500. There is no word count maximum.
Submissions for the 2026 publication year must be received by September 30, 2025.
The Nitty-Gritty
Off-limits content: No explicit torture of children under the age of 13. No explicit sexual content of characters under the age of 18. No torture or sexual content involving non-sentient animals. No fanfiction, for legal reasons (exception: works in the public domain).
Simultaneous submissions: Allowed, but let us know immediately if your story is accepted somewhere else.
Multiple Submissions: You may only submit one story at a time. If that story is rejected, you can submit another one.
Reprints: Allowed, but please indicate where your story was originally published. This includes if your story was originally posted on AO3 or Tumblr!
Rights: If your story is accepted, we ask for nonexclusive, worldwide, English language publication rights for ebook and paperback. All copyright remains with the author. A simple contract will be provided.
Compensation:
Authors will receive an initial payment based on word count:
7,500-17,499 words $25 USD
17,500-39,999 words $50 USD
40,000+ words $100 USD
Additionally, authors will receive 50% of all royalties.
Submissions are open to residents of any country.
You must be 18 or older to submit.
Formatting: Please submit your story as a Microsoft word document with 12pt, Times New Roman font, double-spaced. Indicate scene breaks with ###. If your novel has chapters, start each chapter on a new page
More Information
More Information
Thank you for your interest in publishing with the Whumpy Printing Press, LLC! Below, we'll explain what you can expect the publication process to look like.
WPP asks for nonexclusive worldwide English language rights for print and electronic distribution. That means that you give us permission to publish your book in English in print and ebook versions in every country in the world. Since the rights are nonexclusive, you do not have to remove your story from websites such as tumblr or ao3. The initial contract is valid for five years, and will renew automatically for another five year term unless you request in writing that WPP stop publishing your book. Once this request is made, WPP will remove your book from publication within 30 days. If you would like to end your relationship with WPP before the first 5 year term is up, you will be required to pay a fee of between $250 and $1,000 USD, depending on your book's word count. This is mainly for WPP’s protection, as we only make money when books are sold so this fee will help us to recoup publishing costs. There is no fee if you would like WPP to remove your book from publication during the second 5 year term.
WPP will send you a contract for publication. Once that is signed, we will send you a payment of between $25 and $100 USD, depending on word count. All royalties from the sale of your book (both print and ebook) will be split 50/50 between the author and WPP. We use the platform Draft2Digital to distribute our books. You will have to set up an account with them, and then you will receive payments directly from D2D. WPP also operates an online bookstore, where your book will be available for sale. You will receive 50% of royalties from sales of your book through our bookstore, and these will be paid out to you on a quarterly basis (March, June, September, December). You will receive one free finished print book and ebook. You will be able to order additional print copies of your book by contacting us. These books will be discounted and we will notify you of the price of additional copies.
Once the contract is signed we will work together to establish a timeline for publication. Depending on the length of your manuscript and the complexity of edits needed, it can be as little as 6 months to as long as a year before your book is published.
Below is outlined our entire publication process. Keep in mind that there might be multiple rounds of edits in each stage. WPP will send you an edited Word document with tracked changes. You will then review the edits, apply them, and send the edited document back to us. We’ll go back and forth like that until we’re both satisfied with the final product. Here at WPP we think of the editing process as a conversation between the author and the editor. If we make a suggestion you disagree with, please speak up!
Step 1: Developmental Edits
During this stage, we’ll look at the big picture. Things like plot, characters, pacing, worldbuilding. This is usually the most intensive stage of the editing process and can involve adding chapters, cutting chapters, and rewriting. Don’t panic! Your manuscript is good (we wouldn’t have accepted it if it wasn’t!) we’re just trying to help it be the best it can be.
Step 2: Line Edits
This stage looks at the sentence level of your book. We’ll be checking things like the flow of sentences, if dialogue fits with characters, and strengthening word choice.
Step 2a: Cover Design
Once line edits are underway, we will begin the cover design process. WPP works with freelance artists, and we welcome any suggestions you may have for a cover artist and/or cover design. However, we do reserve the final say in the cover, as it is essential for marketing.
Step 3: Copy Edits
This round will address the nitty-gritty of the manuscript, namely spelling and grammar.
Step 3a: The cover is finalized, a publication date is decided on, and the book is put up for preorder.
Step 4: Formatting
The manuscript will be formatted for ebook and paperback publication.
Step 5: Proofreading
This is the final step before the book is ready for publication. The goal of proofreading is to catch any typos or errors.
Step 6: Pre-release marketing
Now that the book is ready to go, marketing kicks into high gear. Below are some of our marketing strategies:
Advanced Reader Copies (ARCs): a finished copy of your book (either ebook or print) is sent out to reviewers. The purpose is to generate reviews of the book before the official publication date, as reviews are extremely important in pushing readers to pick up a book. Additionally, ARCs create buzz and excitement around your book release.
Social Media Posts: WPP will advertise your book on our social media platforms, and we encourage you to do the same!
Preorder Incentives: Offering readers something extra for preordering the book. This could be bonus content, like a short story, or physical merch like a bookmark or character art.
Step 7: Publication
Congratulations! Your book is now out in the world!
Step 8: Post-release marketing
After your book is released, we will continue marketing your book through social media and advertisements.
As you can see, there’s a lot of stuff that has to happen to get your book into the hands of readers! Below is an example timeline for your reference, though keep in mind that every book is different and some steps might take more or less time depending on your particular book.
January: Contract signed, WPP starts developmental edits.
February: WPP finishes developmental edits, Author starts developmental edits.
March: Author developmental edits.
April: Author developmental edits.
May: WPP starts line edits, cover design begins
June: WPP finishes line edits, Author starts line edits
July: Author finishes line edits
August: WPP copy edits, cover and publication date finalized, book put up for preorder
September: October: Author copy edits, WPP formatting and proofreading
October: Author proofread, ARCs sent out
November: Marketing
December: Publication!
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