Great article. I think you really nailed the advantages and disadvantages of both the Big 5 and Small Press World.
I don't have an agent and I'm not actively looking for one, so Big 5 is closed to me. Both my books (including "Social Distancing" which was reviewed on this site) were published by tiny lit presses. The sort that have no marketing muscle, and only a handful of employees. But they do respect your work, and won't mess with it too much before they release it to the world. They're happy to put your quirky little book out there, usually only a few months after they accept it.
Meanwhile, I've heard horror stories about the way Big 5 publishers bend, fold, spindle and mutilate the MS they deal with ("get rid of this character entirely," "cut 200 pages," "rewrite the ending so that the hero dies in a car crash"). There's also the irony that publishers are chasing the latest trends, but they won't bring out your book for 2 more years, by which time new trends have arisen.
This doesn't mean that small press horror stories don't happen. They do; I've read some of them. The publishing world is creative in the many ways it screws authors. It's really a case of "pick your poison."
"The publishing world is creative in the many ways it screws authors" -- ain't that the truth! I've been hearing from people today with their own stories and it's amazing how many variations there are
Amen. I have experiences with the Big NYC publishers, and you are right. For my latest, I’m trying to find a small press. I’ve pitched about a hundred of them, so far no luck. Could you tell me who the tiny lit presses are you mentioned? You could PM me? Thanks
I'm glad to read more essays that describe the realities of writing and publishing. Thanks for writing it, Tom—and to this piece's editors for getting it out there.
Y'all might be interested in Blake Butler's substack. He has published all along the money-power-scale spectrum, and is trenchant and honest about his varied experiences. I also tried to be as direct as possible with this piece: https://kenbaumann.substack.com/p/break-your-dream
The more of us that are willing to tell it like it is, the more possible it becomes to imagine alternatives.
"Everyone involved in making these small press books is doing so because they are devoted to books. They become evangelists for the work they publish. They are trying to make money, or at least break even, but because profit is not the primary motive, the atmosphere is different at every stage."
--I'm the owner of a small press and this is absolutely right. I've personally had almost no interaction with major presses and lots with small ones, and it always shocks me when I hear the horror stories people have of dealing with the big publishing houses. As for agents... the experience really is quite depressing in most cases. It's a sad state of affairs, which is all the more reason why people should support small presses.
Excellent article. I did look for small presses, and found that depressing, too. Some of them said, "currently closed to new submissions," some said, "our submission window is April 1 to May 15" when it's already August, and many just rejected or didn't answer.
Of course, I have to admit the possibility, however remote it may be, that my books just aren't very good. I went to one writers' group, and one of the writers was so bad that if it weren't rude, I'd have walked out. I think I'm better than that, at least.
As a bit of good karma I've put out: at Google we always got the "new books coming out" brochures from the Big 5, and often I was the sole reason an author got to speak at Google (if no one volunteered to host them, they didn't come). How many of these authors have you even heard of?
Yeah, submission window is unfortunately a thing ("we only accept submissions on March 21 between 3 and 5 pm EST, and they have to be accompanied by a recommendation from your high school English teacher"). Another small press feature is to only accept submissions as part of a contest. Even if they accept submissions year-round, sometimes you have to pay a fee (usually not too steep, but still).
Yeah the submission process is brutal no matter what. I should have included some more in here about the resources that go into managing your own small press submissions-- it's primarily time, but also at least some money, if you're entering contests, etc.
Great article. I think you really nailed the advantages and disadvantages of both the Big 5 and Small Press World.
I don't have an agent and I'm not actively looking for one, so Big 5 is closed to me. Both my books (including "Social Distancing" which was reviewed on this site) were published by tiny lit presses. The sort that have no marketing muscle, and only a handful of employees. But they do respect your work, and won't mess with it too much before they release it to the world. They're happy to put your quirky little book out there, usually only a few months after they accept it.
Meanwhile, I've heard horror stories about the way Big 5 publishers bend, fold, spindle and mutilate the MS they deal with ("get rid of this character entirely," "cut 200 pages," "rewrite the ending so that the hero dies in a car crash"). There's also the irony that publishers are chasing the latest trends, but they won't bring out your book for 2 more years, by which time new trends have arisen.
This doesn't mean that small press horror stories don't happen. They do; I've read some of them. The publishing world is creative in the many ways it screws authors. It's really a case of "pick your poison."
"The publishing world is creative in the many ways it screws authors" -- ain't that the truth! I've been hearing from people today with their own stories and it's amazing how many variations there are
Amen. I have experiences with the Big NYC publishers, and you are right. For my latest, I’m trying to find a small press. I’ve pitched about a hundred of them, so far no luck. Could you tell me who the tiny lit presses are you mentioned? You could PM me? Thanks
I'm glad to read more essays that describe the realities of writing and publishing. Thanks for writing it, Tom—and to this piece's editors for getting it out there.
Y'all might be interested in Blake Butler's substack. He has published all along the money-power-scale spectrum, and is trenchant and honest about his varied experiences. I also tried to be as direct as possible with this piece: https://kenbaumann.substack.com/p/break-your-dream
The more of us that are willing to tell it like it is, the more possible it becomes to imagine alternatives.
Thanks, Ken -- really appreciate you reading. Agree that the best thing we can do is be as transparent as possible as much as possible.
"Everyone involved in making these small press books is doing so because they are devoted to books. They become evangelists for the work they publish. They are trying to make money, or at least break even, but because profit is not the primary motive, the atmosphere is different at every stage."
--I'm the owner of a small press and this is absolutely right. I've personally had almost no interaction with major presses and lots with small ones, and it always shocks me when I hear the horror stories people have of dealing with the big publishing houses. As for agents... the experience really is quite depressing in most cases. It's a sad state of affairs, which is all the more reason why people should support small presses.
Thanks for being out there and doing the work, David. And thanks for reading.
As a vet if indie presses, this speaks straight my heart. It also depresses me
Tom has always been a real one
Hey man, thanks!
Thanks for giving us the real skinny, Tom. It's enormously sobering.
Excellent article. I did look for small presses, and found that depressing, too. Some of them said, "currently closed to new submissions," some said, "our submission window is April 1 to May 15" when it's already August, and many just rejected or didn't answer.
Of course, I have to admit the possibility, however remote it may be, that my books just aren't very good. I went to one writers' group, and one of the writers was so bad that if it weren't rude, I'd have walked out. I think I'm better than that, at least.
As a bit of good karma I've put out: at Google we always got the "new books coming out" brochures from the Big 5, and often I was the sole reason an author got to speak at Google (if no one volunteered to host them, they didn't come). How many of these authors have you even heard of?
https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLBZxlMyKyDtF3baCeEQvRysAC028jicIp
Yeah, submission window is unfortunately a thing ("we only accept submissions on March 21 between 3 and 5 pm EST, and they have to be accompanied by a recommendation from your high school English teacher"). Another small press feature is to only accept submissions as part of a contest. Even if they accept submissions year-round, sometimes you have to pay a fee (usually not too steep, but still).
Thanks. Small presses SOUND great, but the reality is maybe a higher circle of hell, but you're still not out of it.
Yeah the submission process is brutal no matter what. I should have included some more in here about the resources that go into managing your own small press submissions-- it's primarily time, but also at least some money, if you're entering contests, etc.
‘I’m not writing books for people who think like this. I don’t even understand people who think like this.’
Feel this all the time