I recently lucked into winning a full MS critique from author Michelle Davidson Argyle. Not only did she give me an outstanding critique, but I quickly realized we had much in common as small press authors. I’ve learned a tremendous amount about the business of publishing during the publication of my book with Omnific Publishing. But until I talked to Michelle, I hadn’t really appreciated how similar my experience was to many other small press authors.
Michelle is running an excellent blog post series, Should you Consider a Small Publisher? (Part 1, Part II (full disclosure, I’m in there), and Part III ) I encourage you to check it out!
It keeps getting better, folks! Don’t miss Part IV (An Agent’s Perspective on Small Presses) and Part V (A Small Publisher Weighs In and More Testimonials from Small Press Authors) and Part VI (where she answers my questions about Distributors).
I'm off to check it out. 😀
Thanks so much for the info. I've been wondering about this topic lately!
@Stina and @Julie If you have any questions, feel free to leave them here – or there! 🙂
Cool! I'm off to check em' out!
~JD
Michelle's posts are timely. Because with it being so hard to break in – esp. with a quieter story, small presses can be the way! I love hearing about a writer's experiences with them.
But… are small publishers good at fending off giant turtles?
@Justine I saw your comment over there, and I think that's a concern of a lot of writers. That somehow a small press is "settling." There's a two part answer to that, I think: 1)Not all stories are right for big press publishing (they just don't have the wide appeal) and 2)It's not a question of "giving up" and forever staying with small presses (which authors may choose to do, because they've found a home), but a matter of where to start. I think authors used to be able to "start" at a big press and grow within a house. Now, you're expected to be a fully-formed bestseller candidate before you arrive (at a big press). Of course that's just my impression, but it's based on listening to what a lot of people say about the industry.
@Laura Like I commented to Justine, I think you're exactly right. Some stories (quieter, unconventional, niche market) are just not going to be one of the few picked up by a big press, because they don't have the potential to have huge sales (it's a business, after all, and big presses have to make tough business decisions about what to put their heft behind). Small (and medium!) size presses fill a great need for those smaller-scale stories.
@Bryan Only if they pick the right writers. 🙂
Small presses can be awesome choices. You and your mss are given lots of attention, and usually more time to prove that you have a sellable story that kids will be reading.
Thanks for the links, Susan. I will most definitely check them out. 🙂
oooo you had me at conjuring! I am thankful to have found your blog through Lee Wind!
Thanks for sharing. I'm heading over to check them out now.
Oh, a subject near and dear to my heart – heading over there right this minute….
@Catherine I wonder how the future of small presses will change, with all the changes going on in publishing. I can't help but think the will keep growing in importance, and perhaps even "acceptability."
@Shannon Thanks for stopping by! 🙂
@Jonathon Thanks for hopping over! 🙂
@Kelly I hope you find them useful!:)
@Darby I hope you'll join the conversation over there! It's very interesting. 🙂
Michelle is awesome. I need to visit her blog more often. Plus, her last name is Argyle. You can't really beat that.
I am a huge fan of the small press, and I think they along with self-publishing will the way to go, with agents dropping like flies. Will go check out her blog, thanks for the link!
Enjoyed reading about the experiences with small presses. I'm very happy with mine.
I read all three… good posts! I just subbed to a small press myself. It's a good one and has gorgeous books!
@Matthew She really is! I can't believe it took me this long to connect with her. 🙂
@KarenG I hope they don't drop quite like flies, because, well, they're nice people! But I know what you mean … the ways, they are a changin'! 🙂
@Beverly I need to go hop over and say hi! 🙂
@wordwrangler Oooh! Good luck with the submission!!
After reading all these comments, I really look forward to popping over to read Michelle's posts. Thanks for the info.
@moonlight Thanks for stopping by! Michelle's really done a great thing, starting this conversation! 🙂
That was a really fascinating insight, between Michele and you and Jessica and others. really opened my eyes – I'm starting to think small press is the way to go for me – better fit for my personality and goals. Thank you!
@Margo I'm so glad you're finding it helpful! 🙂
@Everyone Today's post over at Nathan's blog talks about the future of agents, which touches on KarenG's point about how things are still changing in the publishing world. 🙂
@Everyone Michelle's series continues and I highly encourage you to check out the other parts:
Don't miss Part IV (An Agent's Perspective on Small Presses) and Part V (A Small Publisher Weighs In and More Testimonials from Small Press Authors).
Susan, thank you for putting this up! Sorry it took me forever to get over here. I've been utterly swamped. Thanks again, and some awesome insights over here! Thanks to everyone who visited my blog, as well! 😀
@Michelle Thank YOU! I just hopped over to read the final installment, where Rhemalda answered my questions about distribution. I can see why you are so happy with them – they (and you) have been an incredible help in understanding this (sometimes murky) industry. 🙂
I also enjoyed Michelle's series on small publishers and appreciated your comments on Omnific Publishing. I see you all over the place in the blogsphere and thought I really ought to check out your blog. Very nice, and universally good infomation here!
@JB I'm glad you stopped by! And it's funny that you say I'm "all over the place" because lately, I've been feeling like a hermit, with my nose in my WiP. This is why I love the internet! 🙂