Small Press vs. The Brass Ring
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Hi, all. I just joined the Horror Writers' Association as a "Supporting Member." In order to become an Affiliate member of the HWA, you have to sell at least one story for a minimum of $25 or 3 poems for $15 (different markets). Now, I can't make $25 in this business (pfft!), which I've accepted. I write for fun and dream about some bigger success, even a sale to vindicate my efforts.

Over on the HWA forum, they seem to turn their noses up at small presses. But the truth is, in 2010 e-books outsold paperbacks and hardcover books combined. The independents seem to be the "new pulps," and some of the smaller presses seem to have a tremendous reputation for putting out great stuff (Chizine Publications, seriously, if you like weird horror, check it out. Will not disappoint)...I think there's enough damned competition for the small press that I can forget anything else, even though I don't want to "devalue" my work, whatever that might mean.

So what's your poison? Are you content to stick with small press and web-based publication, or do you want to try for the biggies?

I write to amuse myself, and I doubt it's going to catch any interest from the heavy-hitters, and forget getting an agent. And I'm considering self-publishing. It's easier than ever, and a lot of writers are going that way because there's a LOT more money to be made if it catches enough attention.  

Thoughts?

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Replies
  • I'm with a small press.  There are many small press and independent authors making great money.  There is one eBook author, with a small press, who made $100,000 in six months. 

  • Kelley, I think 'depending on your goals' is a correct statement. I would love to be published by a traditional publisher even though their royalty rates suck...just because my mother and brother can go to the books store and see my physical book. But there are many authors such as JA Konrath who are not bothered with print books,but make tons of money through e-books. Sometimes even I am confused what my goals are, or should be. As more and more of books come out, and I actually start earning some money, I think I will be better equipped to come up with a plan. But I think the fun is in the journey and not the destination. So far it's a good ride.
  • I think Sabine is right, in that the self-publishers who actually derive an income from their work are very few.  No one can argue that trends and the industry are changing, though fewer strike it with the big houses or make loads going it themselves.  The answers really seem to be somewhere between, depending on your goals.  The good news is that the indie aspects of publishing are wide open to new models and approaches.  I find that very promising.

    I do write to earn something back for it, though I'd really like to create a model that works for me on all levels.  I've worked with big and small presses and there are hoops either way.

  • I'm on Goodreads, and Kindle Horror in Facebook, Smashwords, Bookrix...Name it, I join it as I find it! :)

    Not tons of money, but in all honesty, I see some of the traditional publishers who don't have time to put in the marketing or even the editing for a new writer, and I feel like the Red Hen. You know, I do all the work, then they show up to eat my bread.

    I write it, edit it, package it, market it, and bring in the sales, and you want 99% of the profits? ($0.40 per book is about what a big publisher will pay--and that's on a run of about 5000! This pays back the $2000 advance, and few publishers pay more than that) Or, I can sell a few hundred copies on Smashwords and keep 40-60% of the $0.99 or $2.99 purchase price? As an example: 5000 copies at a purchase price of $1.99 and a 50% royalty =$4975, or twice what a traditional publisher pays. So I only have to sell half the books to make the same money...If it doesn't sell, I don't have to pay anyone back, either. I have done the math :).

    And there are the stupidly lucky ones who sell many thousands of copies (on the back of a blog or some kind of notoriety, and by virtue of Amazon stats), so there are numbers out there. More plausible, it seems, than anything a traditional publisher does.

    I checked out Uncial Press. While I'm not sure what I write is quite what they're looking for, it looks like a good outfit if I ever write anything suitable for them. Thanks for the link! :)

  • Hi. I have been published with Uncial Press, and they publish e-books only. So far it has been a great experience. For some sub-genres of books, and books with smaller word counts, it's better to stick to smaller presses or even to self-publish. Bigger publishers tend to reject 99% of the manuscripts, not only if the writing is bad, but also if it doesn't fit in their marketing plan, if the genre is wrong, if the writer is unknown, if the word count is low...I think self-publishing has revolutionised the publishing industry. 

     

    I don't think, however, that self-published writers makes tons of money. You can count those who do on your fingers. For every one self-published writer who sells thousands of e-books in a month, there are at least ten who sell less than one copy per month. But that's always the case. Some do well, some don't. As long as you understand the business and have realistic expectations, self-publishing is a viable choice. If you are thinking of self-publishing, I would recommend you join goodreads and read the author discussions, you will find many who are struggling to sell books and get reviews. It will give you a good idea of whether you want to do this or not.