Independent publishers are to the publishing industry what independent filmmakers are to the film industry. An independent publisher is generally a smaller publisher run by a handful of people who are willing to specialize and take more literary risks than the larger publishers. They serve the niche markets, the special interests.
An independent press will often suit a writer's creative needs better than other publishers. The independent publishing company can usually offer a more intimate, customized, one-on-one relationship with the writer. Some writers go with an independent publishing house because they are simply fed up with the corporate bureaucracy of the big publishers.
Whatever the reason, independent publishing certainly fulfills a need in the publishing market. Various associations and conferences exist to facilitate independent publishing. Three of the main groups are the Independent Publishers Group (IPG), found at website www.ipgbook.com, and the Independent Press Association (IPA), found at website www.indypress.org. These organizations provide great information on independent publishing, events, and opportunities.
There is also a printed guide available loosely dealing with independent publishing. It is:
The International Directory of Little Magazines and Small Presses. This directory is a publishing legend. It includes information on over 5,000 independent presses and journals from around the world, listing addresses, manuscript requirements, payment rates, and recent publications. Subject and regional indexes are also provided. Issued annually, it presents an alphabetically arranged catalog of 4,000 magazines with a circulation under 50,000, and independent presses that publish only a few books a year. Each entry lists contact information, type of material, number of issues or books published in the given year, copy price, average number of pages, length of reporting time on manuscripts, percentage of submissions published, and payment rate.
Another website that is an excellent resource in regards to independent presses: www.independentpublisher.com
Also, Yahoo has an excellent directory of small press and independent publishing companies:
Yahoo's directory of literary small presses