Write thrillers? We want to read them.
Imagine Press is a small thriller house founded by bestselling author Jonas Saul. There are two ways to work with us: submit your manuscript for publication, free and with no agent needed, or work one-on-one with Jonas to sharpen your book.
Submit your manuscript
What we’re looking for
- Thrillers of every kind: psychological, crime, legal, political, spy, action, supernatural, domestic and more
- Complete, polished manuscripts of 70,000–100,000 words
- No agent needed. Submit directly to us
- Debut authors welcome
We publish thrillers only, so please don’t send other genres.
What to send
Fill in the form below with a short query letter, and upload your synopsis (1–2 pages, including the ending) and the first 10,000 words.Priority reading
Masterclass alumni and writers referred by one of our authors or a publishing professional get a priority read, with a reply within 4 weeks. Mention it in the form.We read every submission and aim to reply within 12 weeks. If you haven’t heard from us by then, please take it as a pass. Simultaneous submissions are welcome. Just let us know if your book is accepted elsewhere.
Every submission is judged on its own merits. A priority read means a faster reply, not a better chance.
Submission Form
The Penelope Award
Have an unpublished thriller? Compete for a publishing deal. The Penelope Award, part of the Homer Awards, the first English-language literary prize born in Greece, gives one unpublished thriller manuscript a publishing contract.
Thriller manuscripts only, written in English
€30 entry fee
Submissions open until December 31, 2026
WRITING MASTERCLASSES IN GREECE
Spend a week in Greece learning the craft of suspense from Jonas Saul.
Our masterclasses combine daily workshops on plot, pacing, and tension with time to write, in some of the most inspiring places in the Mediterranean.
Next masterclass: Amorgos, May 2027
Masterclass alumni receive a priority read when they submit to Imagine Press.
EDITORIAL SERVICES
Editing
Edit with Jonas Saul
A thriller lives or dies by its pacing. Jonas personally line-edits every manuscript, going far beyond grammar to sharpen your sentences and dialogue and cut the noise that slows your story down, until every word serves the tension.
What we fix
Awkward phrasing and word echoes
Repetition, redundancy, and clutter
Passive voice and weak verbs
Telling instead of showing
Flat or unnatural dialogue
What you get back
Your full manuscript, edited by Jonas in track changes, with suggestions for every fix
A personal editorial letter from Jonas explaining the changes in detail
He doesn’t change your story. He amplifies your voice.
Try it free
Email us ten double-spaced pages in a Word document. Jonas will edit them and send them back at no charge, with no obligation. If you like what you see, he’ll give you a fair quote for the full manuscript.
All manuscripts are edited to New York publishing standards as per the Chicago Manual of Style in American English. British English or Canadian English is available upon request.
Editing is a paid service, separate from our publishing program. Working with Jonas doesn’t guarantee or affect publication
Line edit and proofread
A one-hour Zoom session is included in the rate.
$ 0.019 per word in USD.
testimonials
Writers who worked with Jonas
Authors from debut novelists to published thriller writers have trusted Jonas with their manuscripts. Here’s what they say.
I’ve written over forty novels and worked with countless editors, but working with Jonas showed me things I not only didn’t know but hadn’t even thought about before
Best-selling author Jonas Saul, my editor, provider of thoughtful feedback, and a steady source of encouragement, education, and camaraderie. Editors are like surgeons: they wield razor-sharp scalpels in order to heal. Thanks, Jonas, for your surgical skill.
I taught English for the better part of two decades, so I felt confident in my manuscript. However, I wanted to be sure, so I sent it to Jonas Saul. Not only did he find everything I missed, but he also offered phenomenal suggestions on how to tighten the novel without altering the tone or voice. I was also pleasantly surprised by how easy he was to work with. I can’t imagine publishing in the future without sending the manuscript to Jonas first. I cannot recommend him highly enough.
BWL Publishing Inc. had the good fortune to have Jonas Saul provide some editing advice for one of our manuscripts this year, and we were so impressed with the quality of his editing. Not only did Mr. Saul provide us with valuable suggestions for improving the manuscript, but he spent considerable time reviewing each paragraph, relating it to the novel as a whole, and suggesting ways in which the edits could be used to move the story forward, strengthen the plot, and emphasize the importance of each character’s role within the story. Mr. Saul does an extremely thorough job of editing, and it will be our pleasure to use his services again in the future.
Jonas Saul is a developmental editor, copy editor,
and proofreader all rolled into one. His ability to take in the story and tease
out what is missing while simultaneously picking up on the minor grammatical
errors never ceases to amaze. If this was not enough, Jonas executes his
editing with grace and compassion for the author – respecting the hard work to
develop the property. I would recommend Jonas to aspiring and established
authors alike
Ι hired Jonas to work with me for pacing and tension on my upcoming novel, HYDE and SEEK, and I’m thrilled with the results. His ability to look at the story at both the micro and macro levels and figure out what will take it to the next level is amazing. I’m thrilled with the product we created. His enthusiasm for writing and stories, and his passion for other writers to succeed in a cutthroat market, is inspiring. I would recommend Jonas to any author at any stage of their career.
Jonas Saul is a fabulous editor. Apart from pointing out faulty grammar and punctuation, his feedback showed me the weak spots in the story and how to fix them. Two reader reviews on Amazon went so far as to mention the professional editing of my novel after it was released. I had attended one of Jonas’s workshops at a writer’s conference, and it was his passion for creative writing that made me want to work with him.
Thank you, Jonas. I look forward to many more projects with you.
As with other relationships in life, finding “your person” in an editor feels like a tremendous victory. I’m so grateful to have found that in Jonas Saul. (It doesn’t hurt that he’s also one of my favorite authors!) Not only is Jonas a highly proficient editor and a true professional, but you’ll find him to be a champion to his authors as well as a tremendous teacher. He’s taught me more about writing novels than any class I could have taken. Choosing Jonas to edit my first novel was the start of what has become a valued partnership.
