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Some of you may know that I previously interned and later worked as a marketing manager for a small press publisher. My opinion is my own. I have not been involved with a small press publisher since 2018, so the landscape may have changed. However, I think my experience is still relevant.
You might be interested in the personalized attention your manuscript will receive from a small press publisher. Conversely, you might have concerns about whether a small press can make your manuscript successful. In this article, I will give you some tips on what to look out for in a small press publisher.
Do they have a marketing team?
Your book cannot sell well if no one knows it exists. When you are looking into submitting to a small press, you should look closely at their marketing team. Are they professional? Are they experienced? Are the books that are currently with the publisher having high sales, winning awards, or getting reviews?
Are they asking you for money?
The number one way to spot if a publishing company is legit or not is if they ask you for money. A real publisher will never ask for you to fund your book. You are not responsible for paying the editors, cover designers, or the marketing team. If your publisher says otherwise, it’s time to look elsewhere.
Note: you may be asked to pay your own way to events such as book fairs and signings. This will probably depend on how big the publisher is.
What happens to the rights to your work if they shut down?
Before you sign a contract with a publishing company, you need to look closely at the contract. Are they asking you to sign over the rights to your manuscript forever even if they close? Will they make you purchase the manuscript back if they shut down?
Legitimate publishers do this all the time, but small press publishers also close all the time. So, if you have a manuscript that you want to maintain the rights to forever, then you need to read the fine print and make sure you can get the rights back after they are no longer publishing it. Otherwise, you might tie your manuscript to a sinking ship without realizing it.
Do they share your vision?
Before you commit your manuscript to the publishing company, you should make sure that you share the same vision about your book as the editor. It can be devastating for some authors to have their works changed drastically in the editing stage. These changes usually make the book better. However, if you don’t trust your editor to make those decisions then you shouldn’t sign with them.
I hope these tips help you in your search for the perfect publisher for your book. I personally love small press publishers and I hope to work with one again in the future. But it’s always important to do your research before you sign your book baby over to anyone.
If you’re interested in reading my latest book baby, you can purchase Leslie Kim #102 here!
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