Small Press

by Kaye George

For my debut here, I promised to go into the types of publishing that I've had experience with.
Actually, I think I've had experience with them all. Today it's small press.

These are springing up like mushrooms to fill the void left by the NY publishing houses, who are cutting back on anything that is unlike what they know to be successful. That's a good thing! Of course, established midlist authors are self-publishing in droves, but others are using small presses. It's a great way to enter the publishing world for new authors, too. The smaller presses are more ready to take a chance on something that doesn't quite fit an established niche. And, let's face it, that's what writers love to write--something new, fresh, different.

I've been with several small presses, two POD presses, one e-book only, one audio-book only. (POD means Print on Demand and produces a trade paperback sized book, larger and more expensive that the mass market paperbacks seen in bookstores from the NY publishers.)

Frankly, POD makes so much business sense, it would seem the only way to go. But the books do cost more, so that's a tradeoff.

Here are some factors to consider:

If you get an offer from a small press, be sure to read the contract carefully. Even then, some of it might be obscure! Some are very plain, some are couched in legalese. Get help if you don’t understand some of it. It's worth it to find an attorney to interpret if you're unsure about some of the clauses.

Some small presses have better terms than others. A 40 percent discount on buying your own books is common. However, I found it impossible to get my books into one local Austin bookstore that insisted on consignment and a 60/40 split (60 percent for me, 40 for them). With me already paying 60 percent on the books, plus shipping, that put me behind at the start. That book store also demanded a $25 fee up front, so that I lost $1.78 on every book sold there! They only did that for small press books, of course, otherwise they would have nothing to sell.

Other independent bookstores have been much, much friendlier. I got a 70/30 split from one, another ordered my books from the publisher.

Some of my small presses pay much higher royalties than others. They don't like the writers to disclose the contract terms, but I'll tell you that they are NOT all the same.

Another area where they differ is cover design. You don't have the final say for any small press, but some give you more input than others. Since so many books are sold online now, I feel that cover design is becoming more and more important. It's catch someone's eye with a thumbnail, but that's what your book has to do. It also has to fit your genre so you attract the reader who is expecting to find what you've written. I'd advise looking at the covers for the small press you're thinking of going with to see if they do it for you. Also, plunk down the money to buy at least a couple of their books to check the quality.

I'm so grateful for the small press experiences I've had, and for the chance to have my work validated by publishers who want to take a chance on my books!

mushroom drawing in public domain from wiki commons, by  James Sowerby's Coloured Figures of English Fungi or Mushrooms, 1803