How to Apply and Our Submission Policy

Effective date: October 12, 2026

Who we are

MTN Duck Press is an independent imprint of Hardball HQ LLC, an Ohio company. MTN Duck Press is a trade name of Hardball HQ LLC, not a separate legal entity.

We focus on publishing books in nonfiction, including self-help and books about artificial intelligence, as well as young adult fiction and cozy mysteries. We are currently focused mainly on our own imprint, family, and pen name projects, and consider a limited number of outside projects.

We work by application

There is no self-service signup and no publishing package you can simply buy. Every author and project must apply. We review each application and, if we decide the project is a fit, offer the arrangement we consider appropriate:

• Track A: Exclusive publishing license. For projects MTN Duck Press selects for exclusive publishing.
• Track B: Non-exclusive a la carte services. Individual services, with the author publishing through the author's own platform accounts.

You do not choose or automatically qualify for a track. A book that has not previously been published, or has no sales history, is offered Track B only. Applying costs nothing. An application does not create a publishing relationship, commit us to publish your work, or guarantee that we will offer either track.

We are not a vanity press. Paying for services does not guarantee that we will accept a project. We decline projects we do not believe we can publish well.

What to include in your application

Email your application to press@mtnduck.com. Please include:

• Book title, genre, and category.
• Approximate word count.
• Whether the manuscript is complete or still in progress.
• A short description or synopsis.
• Whether the book has ever been published or offered for sale.
• Any available sales or royalty history.
• The services you are looking for.
• Your publishing goals and preferred timeline.

Please do not send a complete manuscript with your initial application. If the project looks like a possible fit, we will ask for any additional materials we need.

We aim to respond within 30 days. We review applications, but a reply is not guaranteed.

Submissions are not confidential

We receive material from many people. Some submissions may be similar to projects we are already working on, considering, or developing ourselves. For that reason, we cannot accept submissions in confidence and will not sign a nondisclosure agreement for a submission.

By sending us an application or other submission material, you acknowledge that we have no obligation to treat it as confidential. We may already be working on or developing something similar. We do not read submissions from anyone who requires confidentiality, so please do not send a confidential manuscript expecting us to keep it secret.

This policy does not take away your copyright or give us ownership of your work. You keep all rights in your work, and we claim none. We will not copy your actual expression.

What happens after you apply

Where practical, we will acknowledge receipt. We will review the application and may then:

1. Ask you for more information or materials.
2. Offer the track we consider appropriate for your project.
3. Pass on the project.

If we pass, we keep no ownership or rights in your work, claim nothing, and charge no fee. Applying and receiving a decision do not obligate either side to enter an agreement.

Material we do not accept

Do not submit work that is unlawful, defamatory, infringing, hateful, or that we reasonably consider unsuitable for the imprint. Do not submit material you do not have the rights or authority to share with us.

We never charge a reading fee or submission fee. Any offer of publishing services will be set out in a written agreement signed by the parties before services begin.

This page is a general summary. It does not create an agreement or legal relationship and is not legal advice.