Elisheva Urbas

With lower overhead costs, these presses can afford to take some chances, says Elisheva Urbas, a freelance book editor and former editor at Farrar, Straus and Giroux in New York."They may have less clout with Barnes & Noble," she says, "but they can often be better at hand selling books and launching lesser-known or first-time authors."

Seal Press in Seattle is one of those smaller houses that's been making a concerted effort to publish motherhood books that aren't all about the how-to.Starting as a feminist literary press that cut its teeth on books about abused women, in the 1990s it hired a group of Gen X editors who kept up the tradition of publishing edgy books by women like She's a Rebel: The History of Women in Rock and Roll and Cunt: A Declaration of Indepen-dence.
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Says Elisheva Urbas, "In publishing, the flavor of the week lasts just about that--a week."

Elisheva Urbas, former Managing Editor, Farrar, Strauss and Giroux; children's book consultant