If you have a manuscript is it better to get an agent and try to entice the big guys first, and then try the little fish? Or is it better to go straight for the small press and hope for the best?
In your opinion, does being published with an independent publishing house enhance an authors street cred, or just make you think they couldn't hack it in the big time? From a publishing standpoint does a CV of small press novels make you look more or less successful to the larger publishers?
Have you ever purchased a small press book? If so, was the quality of the writing any better or worse than a writer from the big leagues? Was the quality of the book as a material good any better or worse than a product of the professional publisher?
In general: what are your thoughts on publishing with a small or independent publishing house?
Ayden Bennett
i self-published because im shy he he :)
Benjamin Turner
In the case of translated literature even quite celebrated authors are often on small publishers. Don't really know how it is with originals, but I don't think I have ever given any thought to who the publisher is when deciding whether to read a book.
Lucas Reyes
I really wish you'd inverted that image horizontally. It's... It's driving me nuts, man.
Nolan Parker
Why?
Wyatt Brown
The hat, man. The party hat!
Angel Butler
Unless you are an indigenous lesbian living in the far northwest, or a good rat fresh off making up (i.e plagiarizing) your life story, you're fucked with just about any publisher. Amazon self publishing is the only way to go for "the rest of us."
>celebrate diversity
Ethan White
this must be why I browse and browse barnes and noble and can't find any books by white men, I even check amazon but none have been published this year :(
Jaxon Hill
The book industry is a giant fucking SJW mess. This is a byproduct of the fact that only women read books in our modern society. Men are too busy fucking paying for everyone else's way.
>t. Depressed male author all liquored up
Eli Bell
I think you might be exaggerating.
Charles Wilson
>doesnt even realize the other poster was being sarcastic
go to sleep
Nicholas Wood
this one hasn't been half bad, heavyhanded at times but good caliber
Julian Rodriguez
I work for a publication that regularly reviews books, and I can tell you that unless you are publishing with a good, legitimate press, then your book is going into the trash. I don't know how it works elsewhere, but I imagine it isn't that different.
Adrian Reyes
>Have you ever purchased a small press book? Yes
>was the quality of the writing any better or worse than a writer from the big leagues? I'll have to admit it was generally worst... actually I was checking my would-be competition so I was kind of glad they weren't as good as the big shots, the one thing that I think suffered the most was the lack of a good editor, the books were full of mistakes that you can't see in your own writing and need someone else to point out.
>Was the quality of the book as a material good any better or worse than a product of the professional publisher? It was worse but I'm no collector, whenever I move out I leave behind my old books anyway.
Chase Gomez
Interesting. Thanks for the feedback. Based on that experience, would you dip into the small press pool again?
Robert Robinson
I know a lot of lazy men
Julian Hill
>unless you are publishing with a good, legitimate press, then your book is going into the trash So the literati for whom you work would not even consider independent press to have merit - an idea they're so comfortable with that they dismiss those authors without review? I think that says more about your employer than it does about the publishers.
Easton Reyes
there's probably lots of independent presses they consider, they don't consider Johnny Doe's furry romance from Amazon Kindle Press or whatever
Brayden Lewis
That's right, friend. Legitimacy, prestige, a proven record - these are worthless parameters imposed by gatekeepers for the comfort of the indolent literati. A manuscript from the publisher of Auden and Woolf, or Beckett and Sartre, or Foucalt and Pessoa? No thank you, I'd rather go through thousands of shoeboxes full of legal pads sent by the world's best self-published authors.
Jacob Foster
Always do an agent. Even the worthwhile little fish don't end up publishing much that just comes from the slushpile. Once you have an agent they'd more than likely start big and go smaller from there, and there really is no sense in starting small because you could fuck yourself out of a bigger book deal than you thought you could get just because you have low self-esteem or something.
>street cred It depends on what circles you move in. Normies will think you're shit because they won't recognize the press who published you, amongst other writers it would be related to the quality of the small press. ie Having a book published by Graywolf is more prestigious than having it published by a small press like the one bought. Also going with Graywolf wouldn't feel like you gave up, you definitely get a better relationship with the small press than you would with a big one, and they're willing to publish more experimental work (sometimes). >CV of small press novels make you more or less successful While it's definitely related to the quality of press, it does come across as a good thing to a bigger publisher. Seeing small press books on your CV means that you're already valued by a competitor, plus you have the advantage or disadvantage of bringing and existing (or non-existing) fanbase with you. If they're actual good books that aren't shit, you'll be gold.
Jordan Morgan
>have you ever pruchased Yeah, several. The quality varied a lot from press to press. Some I felt were similar quality writing-wise to what you would get from a big publisher, some I think were far inferior, and some I think a big publisher wouldn't do but was still good. As far as quality of materials, I've only had a couple that ended up being shittier books than big publishers, and those were also the worst written books with editorial issues and such. Really, just read a couple books from each small press you'd consider, there's no other good way to discern the quality. Even if you go the agent route (which you should), you should read them to know where you'd draw the line of where the press gets too shitty for your book.
Matthew Rivera
Don't most published authors say to just self-publish it? Are they lying to thin out the competition, or really believe that shit?
Kevin Collins
Is it better or worse to self-publish vs small-press publish?
