Give Small Publishers a Chance

A Small Press May Be Your Ticket to Success

Feb 28, 2009 R.L. Coffield

Small publishers may offer the best opportunities for getting published in in today's dying publishing world. POD, distribution and publisher friendliness all add up.

It’s common knowledge in the publishing world that the best books don’t necessarily get published. Those authors with the biggest platform, those who the publisher knows will attract the most attention, get published. Basically, who will sell more books? You or a movie star? Forget the message. It's the messenger that counts in today's fading publishing business.

Every author believes his/her book will be the next American novel, or the next book to be on the New York Times Best Seller list for 104 weeks running. Some books that are horrible get this rating. Some books that are great never see the printed page. Thus, the odds of getting published by a “major” publishing house are rapidly failing, largely because “major” publishing houses are rapidly failing.

However, the odds of attracting a small publisher are improving, yet many writers foolishly disdain small publishers. Chat rooms are filled with arrogant and snide comments about these small presses who might very well be the only opportunity, short of self-publishing, that a would-be author will ever have of seeing his/her work in print.

Print on Demand

One of the lamentable complaints that authors have about small publishers is that the small presses often (not always) use POD (print on demand) instead of type-set publishing. This prejudice against POD is really no longer warranted since digital printing is now as clean, clear and crisp as any “traditional” print. POD is significantly less expensive to produce and is far more cost-effective.

Distribution and Marketing

While large publishing houses admittedly have a superior marketing/distribution system because of their budgets, small houses can do a good job of placing books with numerous book sellers and distributors also. Will you see the big box book stores carry these small press titles? Not if they’re POD…it’s the caste/snobbery system all over again. Certainly small presses will have access to better distribution, however, than most self-published authors have.

Author Involvement

One area where small publishers are visciously criticized is that they often expect/ask authors to make a commitment to purchase a number of books for their own marketing. Many authors balk at this, yet large houses also expect authors to participate in the sale of their books. Quite frankly, if you, as the author, are not willing to invest in 200 copies of your own book to sell, why should a publisher go to the trouble and expense of publishing and trying to sell your book? If you don’t care and don't want to be bothered, why should anyone else? Remember, no one can sell your book as well as you can.

Advances

Tiny advances, or the lack of them, is another criticism often leveled at small publishers. Forget the million dollar advance! Unless you’re Stephen King or Dean Koontz, it won’t happen. An advance is simply that – an advance on FUTURE earnings. It’s not money above and beyond.

Give the Small Press Some Thought

When you tire of receiving rejections from agents and publishers, think again about the small publishing house. Not all are created equal, certainly, but you might be surprised at the opportunities awaiting if you take a more realistic approach to your project. It’s not unheard of, by the way, for a large house to buy the rights to a small publisher’s book, so if that’s your ultimate goal, this may be the ticket to your destination. Do your homework and ferret out the publisher that will be a perfect match for you.

The copyright of the article Give Small Publishers a Chance in Book Publishing is owned by R.L. Coffield. Permission to republish Give Small Publishers a Chance in print or online must be granted by the author in writing.

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