Should you publish with a small press?

When most new writers think about “getting published,” they think about landing an agent, who in turn will get them a deal with one of the Big Five publishers in New York.

But that’s not the only way—and for a lot of writers and projects, that’s not the best way.

Did you know that more than half the market share of traditionally published books in America comes from independent, university, regional, and niche press publishers? These are houses with small staffs and smaller catalogs, typically...