Many people have asked me this question. Why publish with a small press when the big names are still out there? Is it because you aren't 'good enough' for the big league? The simple answer is personal choice. Plus, given the latest Simon and Schuster and B & N shemozzle, would I want that kind of heartbreak?
A good agent is still a writer's best friend, because they have the knowledge and connections to place your novel where it belongs. But those are few and far between also. Mainstream publishing sees your novel into a physical bookstore, where people can lay their hands on it and take it home. Via a Small Press, although a few do get into the stores, you mainly purchase by the Internet. Not many Small Presses have much of a marketing or promotion budget. Hey, they are 'small', but there again, even mainstream authors are meant to do a lot of that themselves these days anyway.
You can see where I am going with this?
The main difference is that placement on the shelves, which, let's face it, is invaluable to any author. But lately, the number of fellow authors I've seen disillusioned by being mainstream breaks my heart. Authors who once would have been carefully nurtured are now tossed aside, not just by the houses but by the numbers people. Heartbreaks where a bookstore won't order a certain novel because the last numbers were so low, but then, forgot to place the book on the shelf in the first place so the author could gain numbers? Sound familiar? Of course, there are always the horror stories and always the success stories and balancing them out is indeed a numbers game.
I'll do a write up on Artema Press in the near future, but for now, just let's say I am happy where I am.
How about you? What main advantages and disadvantages do you see in publishing today? Or do you just prefer to go it alone and publish yourself?
A good agent is still a writer's best friend, because they have the knowledge and connections to place your novel where it belongs. But those are few and far between also. Mainstream publishing sees your novel into a physical bookstore, where people can lay their hands on it and take it home. Via a Small Press, although a few do get into the stores, you mainly purchase by the Internet. Not many Small Presses have much of a marketing or promotion budget. Hey, they are 'small', but there again, even mainstream authors are meant to do a lot of that themselves these days anyway.
You can see where I am going with this?
The main difference is that placement on the shelves, which, let's face it, is invaluable to any author. But lately, the number of fellow authors I've seen disillusioned by being mainstream breaks my heart. Authors who once would have been carefully nurtured are now tossed aside, not just by the houses but by the numbers people. Heartbreaks where a bookstore won't order a certain novel because the last numbers were so low, but then, forgot to place the book on the shelf in the first place so the author could gain numbers? Sound familiar? Of course, there are always the horror stories and always the success stories and balancing them out is indeed a numbers game.
I'll do a write up on Artema Press in the near future, but for now, just let's say I am happy where I am.
How about you? What main advantages and disadvantages do you see in publishing today? Or do you just prefer to go it alone and publish yourself?
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