Have a story that you think will be perfect for Nat 1?
Send it to us at any time—we accept submissions all year!
First and foremost, Nat 1 Publishing is a niche publishing house dealing in science-fiction and fantasy—usually with a good dash of comedy, parody, or satire—your story or poem should fall into at least one of these fields. The non-exclusive list of genres we accept are:
- Biopunk
- Dark Fantasy
- Dungeon Core
- Game-related Fantasy
- Harem / Reverse Harem
- Heroic Fantasy
- Historical Fantasy
- Horror
- LitRPG
- LGBTQA
- Magical Realism
- Parody
- Poetry
- Portal Fantasy / Isekai
- Post-Apocalyptic
- Romance
- Romantic Comedy
- Science Fantasy
- Space Opera
- Steampunk
- Superheroes
- Sword and Sorcery
- Thriller
- Urban Fantasy
For romance submissions, we’ll consider any level of heat, from sweet to erotic.
Short Stories and Poetry
Right now, we primarily take short stories, 50 to 3,000 words (this is a very flexible guideline) and poetry (4 to 40 lines, including stanza breaks, also flexible) to be included in our anthologies. These anthologies are typically themed so be sure to check out which collection you’re submitting to. Every accepted work is given an original illustration based on their story, and authors will receive a digital copy of the anthology. Occasionally, we also have small monetary payments for inclusion.
Full-length Works
Despite being primarily anthology-oriented, we do our fair share of novelettes and novellas of at least 8,000 words (We tend to gravitate most for novellas with a word count between 8k and 40k, but we’ll consider any length!). These works can be standalone or series. For these longer works, authors will receive 50% of the royalties made as determined by the distributor (until we gain more momentum, we offer exclusively through Amazon) to be paid out quarterly via PayPal.
BUT PLEASE NOTE, Nat 1 is a niche micro-publishing house. What does that entail for your book? Scroll down to the bottom of this page for a quick FAQ!
Submission Guidelines
- No glorifying sexism, racism, ageism, ableism, or any other isms,
We are an avid supporter of the LGBTQ+ and POC communities; submissions attacking any community will be automatically rejected; - It must be your own original work and does not infringe on existing copyrighted material (includes fan fiction);
- No AI-generated/assisted text or illustrations;
- It must be previously unpublished (personal blogs, websites, Patreon, Reddit, etc. are okay);
- Simultaneous submissions are okay, if accepted elsewhere let us know ASAP;
- We read submissions blind. Do not put any identifying information on your submission, including the file name.
Response time
We respond to anthology entries the month after a submission window closes and novella submissions within six months unless the “expedite” option is chosen. Publishing agreements are also sent out during this time, even for expedited acceptances.
Submission Fees
We’ve figured out that while submission fees do deter the submission of AI-generated stories and poetry, it prevents some amazing works from getting to us from people with limited computer access. We would rather deal with sorting through bots and AI than keep a writer from getting their work to us so we no longer have any form of mandatory submission fees!
Nat 1 Publishing currently only accepts submissions sent via Submittable.
So You Want to Publish a Book through us? Great! Here’s a FAQ—
How much does it cost?
You are not required to pay for anything, including acceptance, edits, cover, or physical books.
How many books will I sell / Will I be a bestseller?
It is impossible to tell, and we can make no guarantees. That said, for a micro-publishing house this size that primarily picks up new authors and caters to a niche demographic, a successful title will have between 100-200 verified sales
How much will I make?
We keep our price points very low to help entice readers to take a chance on the quirky stories we print, meaning an author typically makes between $0.15 and $1.00 for each verified sale (eBooks have the higher profit). Take those numbers and compare them to what makes a successful title, and you have roughly $20-$200.
How am I paid?
For novels, novellas, and novelettes, you will receive 50% of net revenue. This means once all expenses are taken out (such as print costs and distributor platform fees), you will receive half of what’s left as royalties. The same applies to chapbooks, except you can opt to receive a lump sum of $25 instead. Payments are made quarterly through PayPal, so long as your work(s) earned at least $5, if not the total will roll over into the next quarter.
How long will it take for my book to be published?
Most titles are published about a year after being accepted, but based on their length, how much in-house editing is required, and what other projects are in the pipeline, it can be as soon as two months or as long as a year and a half.
Do I have to advertise/promote my book?
You are not required to market, and Nat 1 does advertise our titles; however, because of our size and demographic, our range of influence is limited, so you may find it beneficial to also promote your book—especially if you have connections to different circles that wouldn’t necessarily interact with Nat 1 Publishing or its imprints.
Can I provide my own cover?
Yes! While we do create a cover for every book, if you would like to provide one that you or someone else made for you, we can certainly make it work. Just note that it likely won’t match the other titles in our catalog, and some homemade covers may look less professional and affect sales.
Do you have a question not answered here? Don’t hesitate to ask us on Discord or hit up our Contact Page!