Small Presses: 7 Questions to Ask While Researching Them
by Elizabeth S. Craig, @elizabethscraig (with content from @JaneFriedman)
I receive one or two emails a month from new writers asking for information and help in either publishing or promoting their book.
It’s happened enough that I have a detailed ‘canned response’ email that I’ve written to give details and resources to these writers. The main resource that I reference is Jane Friedman’s blog, in particular her collection of articles titled “Start Here.” One is Start Here: How to Self-Publish Your Book and another is Start Here: How to Get Your Book Published.
So when I was offered a complimentary ARC of Jane’s new book (publishing today, March 16), The Business of Being a Writer, I eagerly accepted it. As expected, it’s jam-packed with savvy information for writers. One common issue I notice in writers is a certain amount of business insecurity, a fear of making a mistake. This is a reference to help keep writers of all levels of experience from making a mistake.
One important note is that this book, unlike many others that I’m familiar with on the market, encompasses the writing business in its entirety. It doesn’t stop with writing books. This is also an excellent resource for anyone interested in supplementing their novel-writing or nonfiction income with freelancing in its different forms. There’s also an entire section on ways for writers to make money, including grants, contests, affiliate income, and teaching and online education.
I was fascinated reading Jane’s section overview on understanding the publishing industry: trade book publishing, magazine publishing, online and digital media, and 21st century literary publishing.
The book offers help with finding a traditional publisher (small and large), pursuing self-publishing, and promoting published books.
Here is an excerpted piece from Jane’s book on researching small presses. She recommends seven questions for writers to ask (with more detail offered in the book):
Where are the books distributed?
Does the publisher invest in a print run or use print-on-demand only?
For digital-only publishers, what value do they provide that you need?
What’s the publisher’s editing process like? Will you be assigned an editor?
What marketing and promotion do their titles receive?
How can you terminate the deal?
Can you speak to recent authors?
Obviously, Jane Friedman is a go-to resource for me and her blog is the place I send new writers to the most. What resources do you depend on? Read any helpful books for writers recently?
The Business of Being a Writer:
Available at:
Amazon
Barnes and Noble
IndieBound
7 questions for writers to ask while researching a small press (via @JaneFriedman ):
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