Huffway Publishing House, LLC
What We Do
Huffway Publishing, LLC, founded by Ryan Thomas Huff (@NetworkNerd1337), empowers first-time authors to publish their writing in the self-help, philosophy, leadership, and science and technology genres. Discover unique voices at https:/huffwaypublishing.com!
"Writing a book is like whispering secrets to the universe; publishing it is daring the universe to whisper back—usually with a critique."
Frequently Asked Questions
Please review these frequently asked questions BEFORE submitting your manuscript to us. We would love to see a 7,000 – 10,000 writing sample.
YES! We think that is “baked-in” to the DNA of a small indie publisher like Huffway Publishing House, LLC. Open submissions refers to an author sending us a transcript for review and consideration, that Huffway Publishing House, LLC did not explicitly request from the author. In other words, sending us an unsolicited submission through our submission form.
We have finite resources available to review transcript submissions, and not every submission is a good fit for us to publish, or meets our copy and content quality standards. Just becuase we may decline to publish your submission, does not mean it isn’t good, it just means we don’t feel like we would be successful publishing it.
We are not a Pro bono editorial staff (Latin shorthand for “Pro bono publico,” or “For the public good” …. a fancy way of saying FREE). In other words, if a submission doesn’t meet our copy/content quality standards, don’t expect us to tell you what or how you could improve it, for free of course (life tip: never do anything you are good at for free).
It is not unusual for weeks, even months to pass before hearing back from a publisher about a manuscript submission, and in many cases, if we decline to proceed with a submission, there is no communication back to the would-be author. Following up or, “just checking to see if you got my manuscript” types of communication do not work. If we want to pursue, we will be in touch.
Submiting your transcript to us is not a guarantee, promise or even a likelyhood that we will publish, or even review your submission. IF we like your idea, and IF we see a path forward with your submission, we MAY be in touch at some time in the future. If we choose to proceed, we will contact you.
Currently, we are exploring genres in self-help, philosophy, leadership, business and sales, science and technology. We offer publishing services for traditional media (printed book, Amazon Kindle, eBook), as well as digital e-publishing on our website for short stories and nouvelles.
We do not currently publish audiobooks, but we have the capability and are open to it for the right project.
We print and distribute soft & hard cover printed works, and eBooks through IngramSpark, which gives published works the broadest and most compatible reach in the US and abroad. Most book stores, especially the online vairation of book stores, offer their inventory from the IngramSpark database. By publishing through IngramSpark, published works become very accessible to most book stores simultaneously, without having to work with each book store. We also publish through Amazon Kindle Direct Publishing for Amazon Kindle.
We offer two types of publishing engagements, consultive and imprinted. In a consultive publishing enagament our team will work with you, and guide you through the self-publishing process. You’ll create your own publishing company, purchase your own ISBN numbers, submit to the Library of Congress in your own name .. everything is about YOU being a self-publisher in a consultive enagament. You will own and fund the whole process yourself, and you are hiring us as a consultant to guide you through the process and ensure you avoid common pitfalls. We WILL NOT market your book for you in a consultive publishing engagement, but we will guide you through distribution and printing services.
In an imprinted publishing engagement, WE will publish your work through our publishing company. Your work would be published as an imprint of Huffway Publishing House, LLC. We would secure the ISBN numbers, LCCNs … etc for you in our publishing company’s name, as part of the total fee. We would also offer copy/content editing services to ensure imprinted publishing standards. This would also include setting up a website for your book, and getting it set up for distribution. We WILL NOT market your book for you in an imprinted publishing engagement, but we will setup distribution and printing services.
There is no timeline. Please don’t follow up with us, or check to see if we received your submission. This is hard for us to say, because often times this is the first reality check would-be authors encounter. Everyone has a voice, and everyone deserves to speak and write about what they want, but that also doesn’t mean it can be published or would be successful if published, or if we published it. If we received your submission, and if we review it, and if we like it, and if we want to talk to you further about it, we will contact you.
Writing, especially writing something that can be published, takes a lot of hard work. Not everything is worthy, and not everything gets a second look. We will let you know if we think you’ve “got something.” If you do not hear from us within 1-2 months, consider that our polite way of saying, “please try again.”
Yes! We are always looking for new publishers and project opportunities. If you’d like us to consider publishing your work, please submit your manuscript to us using the form below, with a 7,000-10,000 word writing sample. We accept, txt, pdf, doc and docx files at or below 15MB.
NO. Your submission here IS NOT a promise, guarantee, suggestion or indication that we have (or will) review your submission, and certianly not that we would choose to publish your submission. This submission should constitute a SAMPLE of your writing capabilities and is not something that would be published as-is. We request the manuscript you submit to be a sample from you idea.
By submitting to this form, you indicate and acknowledge that you are the copyright owner of your submission, it does not contain AI generate images or narrative, and that you take full copyright responsibility and liability for your submission. Do not falsely represent your submission.
That is very difficult to say in standard “good, better, best” price package terms, and not because we’re trying to bury the lead! The core publishing process is fairly standard and well-understood, but there all sorts of “extras” and “other things” that can be done during the publishing journey to enhance and customize the process and the outcome.
Typically, if an author provides a submission we choose to move forward with, we’ll schedule a consultative call with the author to better understand their intentions and goals for their work. Once we have a better understanding, we can offer tailored pricing. Huffway Publishing House, LLC is very much a “partnership publisher”, we are not a “sausage factory” that churns out massive amounts of 1 to 3 types of sausage.
We embark on a partnership journey with our authors. We both put skin in the game and we drive to a successful outcome together.
For some context, a budgetary figure in the $7,000 – $10,000 USD range is not unreasonable to start wrapping your head around. That is assuming the breadth of work involved to bringing your project from a rough outline, through polished manuscript, to a fully edited and printed book in your hands, including cover design, image licensing, publishing itself (ISBN, printing fees … etc), website … the whole thing.
Yes, you can save money in just about every area of book publishing by doing it yourself (DIY). However, if you could/wanted to do that yourself, then why are you here? Said in the least offensive, but candid way. Just like anything, you aren’t only paying for costs, you’re also paying for the time, talent and experience of someone who has done this before and can shave months off of the publishing process for would-be authors trying to figure it out on their own.
That is highly speculative, but the best estimate is that you’ll most likely (probably will) lose money!
Yep!
Believe it or not, making any money by publishing a book is HIGHLY UNLIKELY to happen, unless you already have some sort of existing celebrity/fame/notoriety to market from. In fact, “breaking even” (considering your total investment) would be considered a good/unusual outcome for a first-time or single-work author. More likely, you’ll end up selling 1 to a couple dozen copies to friends, family and co-workers etc. from an online bookstore or from your give-a-way stash, and that’ll be the end of it.
We’re not being harsh, but we are being direct and honest. Indie publishing is not the land of untold riches to be had by would-be authors. CAN, first-time authors make it rich by publishing a single book? Sure, anyone who plays the lottery, has a chance to win the lottery.
When you hear about a celebrity that writes a book and it hits the NYT Best Seller list within a few months, it probably isn’t because of the book. The book is probably fine, but the book sold that many copies because it was written (probably ghost-written) by a celebrity. The celebrity is what sold the book, not the book itself.
That sounds terrible. Why would I go to the trouble of publishing my writing then?
Well, you probably shouldn’t if you’re asking yourself that question. People who go down the path of self-publishing as an indie author do so because they love writing. They love books. They love the writing process. It is a passion. Do you spend money on your passion and hobbies? …. Same thing for us.
It’s also a significant life achievement. It demonstrates your ability to focus on, and complete a complex project on a timeline and with a budget.
AI generated narrative will be rejected immediatley. To be clear, we will not even consider a manuscript if the narrative (the actual story/body of the manuscript) is generated by a LLM (Large Language Model) like ChatGPT/CoPilot, Grok, Claude etc. Readers don’t want to hear what your AI bot thinks, they want to hear what YOU have to say, they can ask ChatGPT themselves.
We also will not publish AI generated images, some imagery is legit, but there is still too much ambiguity around copyright to do this safely at scale. We do allow AI generated non-image content elements as long as it is declared and cited as such, if and where appropriate.
An example of a permissible non-cited AI content element is a non-fiction manuscript that makes matter-of-fact claims about a piece of technology. We would accept an AI generated citations page (though it is still the author’s responsibility to verify the citations that AI generated).
Short Stories & Nouvelles
Discover our collection of short stories and nouvelles—a space dedicated to the art of brevity. Here, authors share captivating tales and creative snapshots that don’t stretch to full novels but demand to be heard. We’re proud to give these shorter works a stage to shine.
Unlearning the Echo
Alex is a young soul raised on the certainty of one side’s truth. Their life hums with the familiar rhythm of family beliefs, amplified by screens and voices that paint a simple portrait: us versus them. But beneath this clarity lurks the Wetiko mind virus—a subtle, insidious force that feeds on division, blinding the young to questions and the old to doubt…..
Rags, Riches, and a Few Good Kicks
In the gritty backwater of Gritsville, Riley’s born with little more than a pair of holey sneakers and a knack for trouble. With a mom slinging hash at the diner and a town that bets on failure, Riley’s odds look grim—until a trio of unlikely mentors steps in…..
The Curious Case of the Crushed Caviar
Delve into a witty yet chilling murder mystery where high society’s elite, fast cars, and a vengeful poodle unravel a conspiracy dripping with caviar and betrayal…..
Author Feature
Who is Ryan huff?
I am a technologist at heart, with a passion for writing code & books, and I live in Atlanta, Georgia. I had a Midwestern childhood in Southeast Ohio. Half of my childhood existed in the “analog 80s,” when the boombox was the technical marvel of envy, and the “tech 90s,” when consumer electronics started to boom, devices got smaller, CD players took over, and Internet access in your home was all the rage. You can find me online as either @ryanthomashuff or @NetworkNerd1337.
Published Books
We take pride in showcasing the works of independent and first-time authors who bring fresh perspectives to the page. Our catalog is a curated collection of thought-provoking and inspiring titles, spanning the genres of self-help, philosophy, science, and inspirational creativity. Each book reflects our commitment to empowering new voices and delivering content that resonates with readers seeking growth, insight, and imagination.
Achieving success in an engineering career can be challenging. However, with the proper virtues, personal characteristics, philosophies, and self-care, one can navigate the field with style and personality. Ryan, a seasoned engineer with over 20 years of multiple-domain experience and multiple industry certifications, shares his insightful anecdotes and valuable advice with fellow engineers.
Unleash the transformative power of your mind with “The Art of Inspired Thinking: Cultivating Creativity.” This compelling guidebook delves into the heart of what it means to think creatively, offering readers an exhilarating journey into their untapped potential.