We are looking for a good story from an unusual point of view. For example, a protagonist who is interested in social issues, is angry/emotional, has a sense of humor or has dependencies. Strong, believable characters and tight plotting are requirements. We want to be surprised.  We like the cutting edge.  We are particularly fond of feminist mysteries.  We are interested in books with puzzle AND
character.  We insist on beautiful writing.  Be aware that we are a very small press. Our authors have to be willing to self-promote.

IMPORTANT Hints:  
We enjoy but we do not publish non-fiction, translations, novellas, children's books or illustrated books.
We do not publish romances, religious books or science fiction.
We are unlikely to accept work that is highly experimental. 
We aren't interested in cop/robbers, car chases, drug heists, or stories where people are portrayed purely as sex objects.  We don't want to be bored by long descriptions or gratuitous sex scenes - everything you write should contribute to the story in some way.
If you have more than one manuscript, please just send us an inquiry about one of them. 
If you have difficulty deciding which we'd like to see, take a look at the books we've already published and you'll get an idea of what we like.
If you are just getting started, we probably aren't for you.
If your query letter (or email)  is poorly written, misspelled or in broken English we will not take you seriously.
If you have a collection of short stories, we will be far more interested in them if you have published at least some of them in literary magazines before you submit them to us.
We look very favorably upon people who have read our books (but don't pretend if you haven't).
We are looking for authors who, when published, will actively promote their work.
We do not accept money to publish books.  If we publish your work, we pay you.

How to submit:
If you aren't sure that your work is for us, send us an email query letter (with no attachments).  Tell us about your book and about you.  Be sure to put "QUERY" at the beginning of the subject line as we have an aggressive spam filter and if something looks like spam we won't receive it.  (NOTE: Due to the overwhelming number of emails we receive about manuscripts for possible publication, we cannot guarantee you a timely response.  We assure you that all emails are read the first working day they are received.  We will not review or acknowledge email attachments.)
If you are convinced that what you have written is what we are looking for, send the first 50 pages with an introductory letter by mail (not email).  If you have a biography worth sharing and/or interesting ways you think your book can be marketed, include that too.  Manuscripts must be typed, double-spaced, and unbound. If return postage and packing are not included your manuscript will be recycled (which means that it will not be returned).   If we request a full manuscript, it will take 2 to 4 months to respond.  Simultaneous submissions are acceptable when you send us the first 50 pages, but if we request the whole manuscript, we expect to be the only publisher reviewing the work.  
Send to: Avocet Press Inc, 19 Paul Court, Pearl River, NY 10965