4 Top Book Publishing Houses in Oakland, California - Writing Tips Oasis - A website dedicated to helping writers to write and publish books.

There’s something quite admirable about an author who wants to keep the production and marketing of his or her book local.

Not only does this increase the sustainability of an area, and helps to support local businesses to survive and grow, it also increases the cultural fabric of a region. In effect, it helps to promote local creative arts, which benefits the community and beyond.

And the area of focus of this post is Oakland, California, which is the 45th largest city in the United States of America.

Are you an author based in Oakland, CA who has just written a book manuscript?

Are you now looking to approach a local publisher in Oakland to see if you can get your book published?

Well, you’re in luck.

There certainly are some publishers you can take a look at.

Continue reading to find out about 4 book publishing houses in Oakland, California.

1. Nomadic Press

If you’re looking for an Oakland publisher whose aim is to support local authors, and also local organizations involved in the publishing process such as printers, then you may want to take a look at Nomadic Press, a not-for-profit organization. The Founder and Executive Director of this independent publisher is J. K. Fowler who is supported by a strong team of staff. This organization, which has a major community focus, is not only a press, but also a supporter of artists as well, providing venues for creative individuals to present their work. Founded in 2011, the great thing about Nomadic Press is that it accepts unsolicited submissions of manuscripts from across the world, in any language, in genres including poetry, fiction, children’s books, adult books and non-fiction. Take a look here to find out about the individuals Nomadic Press has published.

If you would like to submit your manuscript to this organization, you can do so between 1st January and 28th February, and you can expect to receive a response within 3 months. Nomadic has two locations in Oakland (Uptown and Fruitvale), and one in Brooklyn, New York. And if you’re an author who is looking to get out and about and meet other writers, listen to readings of writers and poets, and watch live performances, you’re literary spoilt for choice. Nomadic Press hosts some great events regularly.

2. Transit Books

Transit Books is a not-for-profit independent publisher, which specializes in the publication of American and global literature. The organization was founded in 2015 by Adam and Ashley Nelson who also happen to be husband and wife. Take a look at this article at Publishers Weekly to learn more about the story behind Transit Books and how it was founded. In essence, the organization was created to address the goal of bridging the divide between readers of domestic works and readers of international literature. Transit Books distributes its books across North America through a partnership with Consortium Book Sales & Distribution, and some of the authors it has published include international writers such as Andrés Barba, Jennifer Nansubuga Makumbi and Carlos Yushimito.

To find out more about how you can submit a manuscript to Transit Books, you can use the form at this page. Transit Books also organizes literary events covering worldwide literature themes. The organization is based at 2301 Telegraph Ave Oakland, CA, 94612.

3. Berrett-Koehler Publishers

With its office in Oakland, California, Berrett-Koehler Publishers was founded in 1992 by Steven Piersanti after he refused to lay off staff at McMillan where he used to work at. Take a look at this page to read about the inspirational story that led Steven to form Berrett-Koehler Publishers. The organization is an independent publishing house, publishing books that align with its agendas, which are changing lives, changing organizations and changing communities.

Hence, if you’re book emphasizes on the promotion of positive change at the personal, organizational, or societal level, do take a look here to learn about how you can send a proposal to this publisher. To give you an idea of what you need to include in your book proposal, among others things, you need to explain clearly why your particular book is needed now, its purpose and how it contributes to its field of interest, its goals, the readership your book is targeted to, the impact it will have, how you measure the impact of your book, the existing knowledge base that has informed your work, an outline of each of the chapters, some sample chapters and a description of how you will support the marketing activities of your book. Do expect to wait 4-6 weeks to find out if Berrett-Koehler Publishers decides to take your book concept further.

4. New Harbinger Publications

If you’ve written a well-researched self-help book based upon science that has been validated through clinical practice, then New Harbinger Publications could be worth taking a look at. Founded by Dr Matthew McKay and Patrick Fanning in 1973, New Harbinger Publications has several imprints, which among others include Instant Help Books (publishes self-help mental health books for teens), Context Publishing (books about contextual behavioral psychology) and Non-Duality Press (publishes modern books about non-duality). If you’re interested in submitting a manuscript to New Harbinger Publications, you can take heart from the fact that your book will sell. The organization prides itself on selling on average, in excess of 7000 copies of a book in its first year. Take a look at this page to find out more about the types of books this publisher publishes, and how you can submit your proposal. It usually takes New Harbinger Publications around 2-3 months to review a submission.

Have you had a book published by any of the book publishers in Oakland, CA featured in this post? Please share your experiences in the comments box below!

Hiten Vyas is the Founder and Managing Editor of Writing Tips Oasis.