Zibby Books: Market Spotlight
For this market spotlight, we look at Zibby Books, a brand new book publisher (just announced earlier today) that wants to introduce a new model with book champions and ambassadors to the publishing and promotion process.
Zibby Books is a brand new book publisher. In fact, it's so new that it was officially announced earlier today. Their goal is to release one exceptional book-length story (fiction or memoir) per month beginning in January 2023, which means now is the perfect time to begin submitting your work if it fits what they're seeking.
Co-founded by Zibby Owens and Leigh Newman, Zibby Books has grand designs for moving "publishing into the 21st century" through a model that turns "the influencer model on its head. Instead of relying on celebrities to promote books, Zibby is calling on other bestselling and established authors to give back and lift up individual titles from inception to publication. Dubbed 'Book Champions,' those bestselling authors will get an equity stake in their Zibby Book and mentor the author along the way."
You can read their press release for more details. While it's anyone's guess if this new model will catch on, they do get points for trying a different approach.
What They're Looking For
Zibby Books is looking for original book-length fiction and memoir by debut and established authors. Particularly wants works from diverse voices and points of view with a strong sense of place.
They don't want science fiction/fantasy, ultra literary fiction, poetry, romance, self-help/parenting, political, or children's books (picture books/middle grade/young adult).
How to Submit
Potential authors can submit on their online form at www.zibbybooks.com, which will ask writers for: Author name, email, bio and website; agent name, firm and email; book title and genre, elevator pitch in 2-3 sentences, 2-3 comps, contact info for follow-up.
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Robert Lee Brewer is Senior Editor of Writer's Digest, which includes managing the content on WritersDigest.com and programming virtual conferences. He's the author of 40 Plot Twist Prompts for Writers: Writing Ideas for Bending Stories in New Directions, The Complete Guide of Poetic Forms: 100+ Poetic Form Definitions and Examples for Poets, Poem-a-Day: 365 Poetry Writing Prompts for a Year of Poeming, and more. Also, he's the editor of Writer's Market, Poet's Market, and Guide to Literary Agents. Follow him on Twitter @robertleebrewer.
