The business of publishing continues to evolve and new finance models have emerged in recent years. There is a lot of new middle ground between self-publishing – Amazon, Smashwords, Lulu – and the traditional route of finding an agent who sells your work to one of the big commercial trade presses – Penguin Random House, Hatchette Book Group, Harper Collins, Macmillan, and Simon & Schuster. Small and independent presses can’t offer authors large advances or extravagant marketing campaigns, but they do offer many advantages over self-publishing including distribution. Most self-published authors recognize the difficulty of getting their books into retail stores and libraries because they lack access to the distribution systems used by publishers. Finding a good fit with a small publisher who champions your manuscript can be an ideal scenario for authors. Academic presses shouldn’t be overlooked. It might surprise you to discover which university presses today publish commercial nonfiction, memoir, even fiction. Some presses, if they endorse your manuscript editorially, may negotiate with an author for a subsidy to proceed with publication. When an author invests in the initial production costs, it is possible to negotiate a higher copyright royalty rate in lieu of an advance. Subsidy publication is an avenue to explore if the author has the financial resources or can find a benefactor to provide a subsidy for the production expenses of publication. Subsidy publication is a “dirty little secret” in the publishing business. Many traditional publishers don’t want it well known that such business arrangements can…
‘Get Smart’ About the Business of Your Book Distribution is not a dirty word. No one talks about it much in literary circles and it is something you may not have thought much about as an author. Perhaps you are more conscious of its importance when it comes to films and music. Distribution determines what movies appear in which theaters. What selection of music is… [Read More]
Filed Under: Baker & Taylor, book stores, Consortium, Distribution, Ingram, IPG, libraries, NBN, Publishers Group West, sales and marketing
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Query Letters: When to send them and what to write. The single most important key to opening the door to an agent or acquisition editor is your query letter. You will only get a response if your reader is interested in knowing more about your book project. No response is a no. If you don’t receive a reply within a week, move on. Maybe there… [Read More]
Check your facts. You might not be Brian Williams. Maybe you don’t plan to write a memoir about your experience in the war against terrorism, cancer, death, or addiction. If you are a professional writer, you need to know facts still matter. Especially to your readers. If you write nonfiction, your credibility as an author depends on it. Corroborate your facts with additional documentation. Immerse… [Read More]
Writers need nurturing. They need time, space, sunlight, and fresh air. They need quiet. And, once in a while, they even need to eat. Writer’s retreats provide an opportunity to develop your skills, receive feedback if desired, make progress on a particular project, or recharge creative energies. There are many varieties of retreats; natural settings, rustic cabins or artistic colonies, instructional, or isolated. If you… [Read More]
Filed Under: Elsewhere Studios, MacDowell, Martha's Vineyard, Millay, Norman Mailer, Ragdale, Writing Retreats
Now that the new year has begun I have been asked repeatedly whether I’ll lead any winter workshops for writers. Since we live where it’s snowy and cold I’ve decided it’s too difficult for me, and likely for you, too. With all the snow in the past week, I am ready for a road trip. I’m headed to Tampa tomorrow where I’ll offer an intensive… [Read More]