If you dream about seeing your words in print, you need to know who the major book publishers are. Having one of these companies sign you to a book deal means that you get the benefits of having professional editors working with you, as well as the advantage of a well-organized advertising campaign to promote your work.
Some Major Book Publishers
A few of the well-known publishing companies are listed below.
Atlantic Books
Atlantic Books is the U.K. branch of American publishing house Grove/Atlantic, which is an independent. The company has been operating since February of 2000, and its first book was published in May of the following year. Atlantic publishes the following genres of works:
- Current Affairs
- Fiction
- History
- Memoirs
- Politics
HarperCollins Publishers
HarperCollins is a very successful publishing company that was founded in 1817 in New York. The 2008 fiscal year was an impressive one for the Company. HarperCollins was selected as the "Innovator of the Year" by Book Business Magazine. The 2007 Nobel Prize for Literature was awarded to Doris Lessing, one of HarperCollins' writers. With revenues of more than $1 billion per year, the Company puts out books in a variety of genres, including:
- Business
- Children's Books
- Commercial Fiction
- Cookbooks
- Literary Fiction
- Mystery
- Reference
- Religion
- Romance
- Spirituality
HarperCollins is an international company, with publishing groups operating in the following countries:
- Australia
- Canada
- India
- New Zealand
- United Kingdom
- United States
The Company has an impressive roster of authors in its offerings. Readers who have enjoyed the works of Agatha Christie, H. G. Wells, C. S. Lewis, and J. R. R. Tolkien were reading products released by HarperCollins.
McGraw-Hill
Founded by James H. McGraw, a teacher, and John Hill, an editor, in 1909, the McGraw-Hill Companies is a very well-respected player among the major book publishers. The Company focuses its attention on publishing educational materials for students from the pre-K level up to the post-secondary level. McGraw-Hill also provides reference books and trade materials for these industries:
- Business
- Engineering
- Medical
Oxford University Press
Oxford University Press published its first book in 1478. The University was granted the right to publish the King James version of the Bible in the seventeenth century. In 1896, the company opened its first branch office in New York City. As of the summer of 2009, the New York office alone publishes almost 500 titles each year. This company is well known as a leading publisher of dictionaries and reference materials of various kinds. It also releases children's books, textbooks, journals, as well as academic and professional publications.
Penguin Group
The Penguin Group is one of the largest English-language publishing houses on the planet. The company was formed in 1996 when Penguin Books USA and The Putnam Berkley Group merged. Along with its U.S. office, the Penguin Group also has a corporate presence in these locations:
- Australia
- Canada
- China
- India
- Ireland
- New Zealand
- South Africa
- United Kingdom
Penguin has a very impressive list of bestselling authors on its roster, including:
- Robin Cook
- Tom Clancy
- Patricia Cornwell
- Catherine Coulter
- Arthur Miller
- Joyce Carol Oates
- Nora Roberts
- Carol Shields
- John Steinbeck
- Amy Tan
- Kurt Vonnegut
This publishing house is also well known for its children's books. Favorites such as Nancy Drew, The Hardy Boys, and The Little Engine That Could are all offered to the public by Penguin Books.
Approaching a Publisher
Before you contact a publisher about your own work, you will want to do some research to make sure that the company you are interested in handles the kind of book that you have written. You will also need to discover whether it accepts submissions directly from authors or if the company only deals with agents. Getting familiar with a publishing house before making contact will help to increase the odds of being able to work with the company to get a book deal.
