I was informed from my copy of this month’s WoW (Women on Writing) Newsletter that March is National Small Press Month. That means that we’re in the midst of celebrating the benefits of small press publishers as compared to big publishers for those people who are involved in the business of getting books published. There are numerous pros and cons to choosing to work with a small press publisher. It’s the right choice for some people and not for others. In fact, it’s the right choice for some books and not for others.
Since we’re celebrating this month, we’ll focus on some of the positives of working with a small press. Those include:
- Loving care for your book. You probably love your book as though you had birthed it (which arguably you did) and therefore believe that it deserves the utmost love and attention. A small press is going to be more committed to loving your book as though it was your own because their livelihood depends more on each individual book than would be the case for a large publisher.
- Niche readers. Many small presses publish only certain kinds of books. Niche readers know which presses publish the books that interest them and therefore you automatically gain that kind of niche audience simply by publishing with one of those presses.
- Niche authors. Where there are niche readers, niche authors are welcome. This is important not just because you have an audience interested in your work but you will be working with authors that actually understand the type of creative material that you’re putting out there. Perhaps you want to work with a women’s press or maybe you have a book written in ebonics. A small press specializing in these areas can help you where a large press might fail.
- Community without the clique. This isn’t a hard-and-fast truth but in general you’re going to find that the small press world is a real community where people are genuinely concerned about each other.
- Laidback relationships. Different presses will have different levels of formality that they keep but in general you’re going to find that communicating and interacting with a small publisher is going to be more laidback and casual than it would be with a large publisher.
- In-depth involvement. Both small and large presses will expect you to be involved in the editing and marketing of your book. However, small presses tend to be more likely to let you guide and influence that process with their assistance as compared to big publishers that are more likely to want things done a certain way.
- No agent required. It’s often just as hard to get a literary agent as it is to get a publisher. They’re required in order to submit to big publishers but you might be able to bypass this step if you work with a small press.
- Location. It may or may not matter to you that you are close to your publisher. If it does, and if you don’t live in New York City, chances are that a small press is closer to you than a big one.
There’s no right or wrong press to publish with; it needs to be reviewed on a case by case basis. But if you’re looking at publishers, you might want to consider some of the small guys in addition to the major ones. In the meantime, support small presses by buying their books!
Question of the Day: Which is your favorite small press?
[Tags] small press, publishers, writing, reading [/Tags]
