Small and independent publishers

[Ermo]

I am currently shopping a book while writing a second (aren't we all?). I know, or I think I know, the general plan. Get an agent. Pitch the book. Sign. There are, however, other paths to publication that are often referenced but I feel rarely fleshed out. What if I wanted to shop my book to smaller publishers - do I need an agent then? Where would I even find a reputable list of such publishers? What are the negatives to pursuing this? Clearly, I'd prefer a big time agent to pick up my book and go with it. And I'm still in the infancy stages of putting query letters out there but I'd like to know about other options, particularly small publishers. Any help would be much appreciated.

[kans_007]

Hi Ermo,

These days many small publishers are going out of business thanks to Self publishing. So if you don't end up with a contract with the Big 6 publishers, you are better off starting your own publishing label and self-publishing your book through Createspace or LSI (Lightning Source) than to go with a small publisher. Many small publishing houses actually use LSI for thier publishing needs. Ofcourse, this is just my opinion. Others who may have used smaller publishers in the past may be able to offer better insight.

Good luck and best wishes!
Kannan

[HillaryJ]

Ermo, it very much depends on what you want in both the short and the long run.

Are you looking for an advance? Do wish to publish a single book, several, a series? Do you wish to sell domestic rights only, foreign rights, audio rights, e-rights? Are you able to understand and negotiate your own contracts? Is the topic of your book time sensitive? Would it be most relevant in six months which an e-publisher or indie pub might be able to accomplish, or the two years typical to traditional publishing? If you have a disagreement with an editor, are you comfortable handling that on your own or would you want the agent to deal with it so you can just focus on the writing. Do you know how to read or contest a royalty statement?

Figure out what you want, research what's available (and do background checks on either publishers or agents you're approaching) and aim for what best fits your wishes. There's a lot of information available on the web. Some of it's even good.

Kannan - that's interesting. In all my reading on the publishing world, I didn't realize that most small publishers were going out of business. May I ask where you found that information?

[kans_007]

Kannan - that's interesting. In all my reading on the publishing world, I didn't realize that most small publishers were going out of business. May I ask where you found that information?

Hillary - sorry, *most* corrected to *many*. I got the information from my reasearch and reading on the world wide web [perhaps on createspace's forums]...I guess I shouldn't trust everything written on the web , huh?

Ermo - I agree with everything Hillary says. It depends on your needs. Personally I wouldn't go through a small publisher as I like more artistic control over my work, and have learnt through the experiences some of my friends have had with small publishing that they (the publishers they used) did very little publicity and marketing for the author, and had a very limited distribution. The authors had to do most of the marketing themselves in most cases. So personally, I favour self-publishing over small publishers. But that's just me. I am sure you will find out more as you do your own research.

best wishes,
Kannan

[TaylorNapolsky]

Well you're going to be doing the marketing all yourself if your self-publishing too, so there doesn't seem to be a difference there.

I had never heard that small publishers were going out of business either. It could be true though, for all I know. I'm not doubting you. And it does make sense that you may as well self-publish, rather than go with a small publisher.

[cheekychook]

I think it's very important to note here that "small and independent publishers" are not all the same. Some are folding, some are thriving.Some do very little to help the author/publicize/market, others do tons. Just like anything else in this (or any other) business, you have to know who you're signing a contract with and what their track record is.

I recently signed with a small press that does both print (trade paperback) and e-releases (all formats) with nearly simultaneous releases in both. While they don't offer an advance they do a tremendous amount of work that would cost a bit of money (not to mention time) if one were to self-publish. They take care of all aspects of editing (from content to copy) they do all formatting (for print and e-formats), they take care of cover art, isbn numbers, provide author copies, market your book through a variety of means and submit your book to multiple reviewers. In addition they have an active support network among their authors which is extremely helpful in terms of learning other means of promotion and all sorts of other things. This is all stuff you'd have to find elsewhere if you were to self-publish.

In today's market ALL authors are expected to participate in their own marketing, regardless of how big or small a publishing house they have. All. No exceptions.

Yes, self-publishing has its own perks. Total control over artistic decisions regarding cover/content etc., freedom to work on your own schedule/time frame with no wait time, and higher percent of profits (of course).

Obviously you need to look into the small press before you decide if you'd want to work with them, and you need to decide what your priorities are and what your skill set is in terms of being able to self-publish successfully.

It really all comes down to what you want and what works best for you. The right small press will definitely offer you things that would be hard to come by as a first time self-publisher. Self-publishing is, however, ideal for many people. There's no one-size-fits-all answer. Best of luck in choosing what will make you happy.