One of the things I hear from authors most often when I accept a manuscript is how no one else seems, to date, to want to publish this particular thing in question. I am usually surprised, esp when it was an immediate "yes" pile situation for me personally. Sometimes, the author has published, and continues to release many things, but no one has bitten on this particular collection. Sometimes, they weren't quite sure where to send it or what to do with it. Sometimes they are otherwise relatively unpublished, but with this awesome single manuscript. Sometimes, they actually knew immediately they wanted to send it to us--whether through savvy research or love of the titles we publish. I wouldn't think much of it if I hadn't heard it uttered so many times. Usually, they are spot-on and of course, I love it. It's strangeness and unpredictability is exactly what makes it appealing to me.
I've often said I love publishing work that takes risks--not only in weird perspectives or subject matter (though those are important) but also in the world the small collections builds an maintains. I often say I will follow an author anywhere if they take me there with a certain amount of authority and confidence, wherever it goes and how we get there. The more off road, the more I adore it. But I at least want to know where you're going, and if you don't, that the going is a delightful journey (and sometimes these books are amazing as well.) So much of what I wind up saying no to are the sorts of books that give me so much of the same I see everywhere--in journals and from other presses--and they are competent and well executed, many completely publishable (and some do get picked up elsewhere.) Very rarely do we get submissions that are terrible (I think this comes from word of the press moving more word-of-mouth in nature and not advertising reading periods much, it keeps things more targeted. The ratio of unpublishable to publishable is far more skewed to the latter than any journal or curated project or contest I've read for in the past. )
At the same time, I can say this and it's harder to pin down as advice when you are thinking whether or not you want to submit, or guaging your chances of success. Of course I would say I'd love to see it, whatever you are working on (the weirder and stranger the project the better) but also you have not much to lose in terms of reading fees. Only perhaps a little time--no sim sub policy was bred from the chaos of trying to keep track of submissions when people were blanket submitting (troublesome for me), but also an incentive for me to not keep manuscripts too long (annoying for you.)
