Free traditional publishing for new UK writers

Your first book,
published properly.

We read manuscripts from writers who have never been published, and from authors who have self-published just one book on Amazon at least a year ago. If your book is right for us, we take care of the editing, front and back cover design, printing, distribution, and marketing and promotion, at no cost to you. With a promotion and advertising strategy that we will share with you, we will make both your book and you as an author known to readers.

No agent? No problem. Most traditional publishers only accept books through a literary agent. We don't: send us your manuscript directly, and if we like your book, we will publish it on a traditional basis, at no cost to you.

Submit your manuscript
Free for our authorsFront and back cover design, proofreading, typesetting, and marketing and advertising actions, 100% financed by the publisher.
No literary agent neededSend your manuscript straight to us. With or without an agent, every first-time author gets the same chance.
Your copyright stays yoursYou simply authorise us to sell your book for the one-year term of the contract.
Sold in the UK and in Málaga, SpainAvailable through Amazon UK, Waterstones and other major booksellers, as well as in bookshops in Málaga, Spain, for its British community.

Is this for you?

Your book could be next, and it costs you nothing

Getting published for the first time is hard: most traditional publishers only take books through a literary agent, and many writers end up paying to see their book in print. We want to make it easy. If your manuscript is right for us, we publish it at our expense.

Never published?

Your first book

You have finished a novel, a collection of stories or poems, and you have never published it. Send it to us: you don't need an agent or any previous experience.

One book on Amazon?

A second chance

You self-published one book on Amazon at least a year ago, and now you want a publisher behind you. You are welcome too.

At no cost

Free from start to finish

Proofreading, typesetting, front and back cover, ISBN, printing, distribution and a launch in your own town. You don't pay anything and you don't have to buy any copies.

Send us your manuscript today

What we do

Everything a book needs, at our expense

We publish in the traditional way: the cover, proofreading, typesetting, marketing campaigns and distribution of your book are completely free for you. You see and approve every proof before anything goes to print.

Proofreading

A careful read

Spelling, grammar and punctuation. Your voice and style stay exactly as they are.

Typesetting

A proper interior

Professional page design with a full imprint page, ready for print and digital editions.

Cover

Designed for you

We design the front and back cover. If you have an idea or an image you hold the rights to, and it suits the book, we can start from it. You approve the cover before printing.

ISBN

Registered in the UK

Every book receives its own ISBN through Nielsen, the UK ISBN agency, at no cost to the author.

Distribution

In the shops readers use

In print and in digital format, available to order across the UK and internationally, and in bookshops in Málaga, Spain, for the British readers who live there.

Marketing

Promotion at no cost

To promote each author and their book, we hold book launches, starting in the author's own town, and run marketing campaigns for our authors' books, working together with each author, at no cost to them.

Amazon UKWaterstonesBlackwell'sWHSmithBookshop.orgBookshops in Málaga, Spain

How it works

From manuscript to bookshop in five steps

We answer every question before you sign anything, and the contract sets out every condition in writing.

  1. 1

    Send your manuscript

    Email us your book as a Word file, with a short synopsis and a few lines about yourself.

  2. 2

    We read it

    Our editorial team reads your work and replies with a decision within one to three weeks.

  3. 3

    Contract

    If we would like to publish, you receive a clear traditional publishing contract covering rights, royalties and duration.

  4. 4

    Editing and design

    Proofreading, typesetting and cover design. You approve the final proofs.

  5. 5

    Publication

    Your book goes on sale in print and in digital format, and a launch and book sale is held in your town. We start promoting your book months beforehand and keep promoting it throughout the year of the contract, with our marketing plan, free for you.

Two shores, one love of books.

Our publisher, José Antonio Gómez, is from Andalusia, in the south of Spain. He has been publishing books since 2012, and in 2019 he brought his publishing house to the United Kingdom.

The name tells his story. Sol is the Andalusian sun he grew up under; the Thames stands for the country he fell in love with. Sol & Thames Press is the meeting of the two: Spanish warmth and British literary tradition, working together for new writers.

We are interested in first-time authors: novelists, short story writers and poets who have not yet published in print.

FAQ

Before you submit

The questions writers ask us most often.

Do I have to pay anything?

No. We are a traditional publisher. The cover design, proofreading, typesetting, marketing campaigns and distribution of your book are free for you: we cover all of those costs.

Who owns the copyright?

You do. The copyright of your book always belongs to you. With the contract you authorise us to publish and sell your book for one year, the term of the contract.

How much will I earn?

You receive royalties of 10% of the cover price on every paperback sold and 35% of the cover price on every digital copy sold.

Do I have to buy copies or sell a minimum number?

No. There is no obligation to buy copies and no minimum sales target.

What kind of books do you publish?

All literary genres except children's books. We publish novels of every kind, short stories and poetry in English, by writers living in the United Kingdom.

Who can submit?

We publish first-time authors and writers at the start of their career, whether they come to us through a literary agent or submit directly, without an agent. We do not finance the publication of authors who have already published more than two books with sales of fewer than 1,000 copies each. Authors must live in the United Kingdom, and the work must be unpublished: never released on Amazon, self-published or with a publisher. If your writing has only been shared online, on Wattpad, Inkspired, Instagram, TikTok or a blog, that's no problem: we can still publish it.

How long does it take to hear back?

We read every submission and aim to reply within one to three weeks.

Submissions

Send us your manuscript

Email your manuscript as a Word file, together with a synopsis and a short biography. You do not need a literary agent: we read submissions sent directly by authors as well as those sent by agents.

Our editorial adviser, Emilio García, looks after submissions and answers every email. On social media, you will be talking to our coordinator, Belén Sánchez.

Emailsubmissions@solandthamespress.co.uk
Registered officeDevonshire House, 582 Honeypot Lane, Stanmore, London HA7 1JS