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Mary Rosenblum
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Hello all.
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Mary Rosenblum
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Welcome to our Tuesday
Lunchbox Forum. :-)
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Mary Rosenblum
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We're talking about new
publishing options today.
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Mary Rosenblum
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I chose the topic today
because the subject came up on panels I was on at the last two writers'
conferences I attended
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Mary Rosenblum
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A lot of folk don't really
understand what is happening in the publishing world today
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Mary Rosenblum
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and that makes for
disappointments if nothing else, and leaves you vulnerable to scams.
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Mary Rosenblum
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And believe me, scams abound.
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Mary Rosenblum
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But even if you encounter only
honest publishers, understanding how the publishing world works will help
you make choices that suit YOUR goals.
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Mary Rosenblum
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What is happening right now is
that the big traditional (NY) publishers are finding their profit margins
diminishing.
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Mary Rosenblum
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Much of this is due to bad
business management in my opinion (and in the opinion of many others in the
business), but be that as it may
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Mary Rosenblum
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it means that big publishers
can afford to take fewer and fewer 'risks' with their publications.
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Mary Rosenblum
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So increasingly they are
retreating to celebrity and established 'big names' and the occsional new
writer
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Mary Rosenblum
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that the marketing department
believes will be a new blockbuster.
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Mary Rosenblum
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Because of tax changes, they
no longer maintain a midlist like they did. It is in their financial
interests to get a book out of print as quickly as they can do it
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Mary Rosenblum
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even if the book is still
selling.
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Mary Rosenblum
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This all means that the 'NY'
publishing options are shrinking fast and this trend is only going to
increase as the price of paper and oil goes up.
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Mary Rosenblum
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So what is happening now is
that new publishers are moving in to fill that void.
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Mary Rosenblum
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New TYPES of publishers are
moving in to fill that void.
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Mary Rosenblum
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People spend fewer evenings at
home sitting in the living room with a good book.
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Mary Rosenblum
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People tend to like smaller
'bites' of entertainment, they want it 'on the go'.
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Mary Rosenblum
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They are turning to the
internet for information and purchases.
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Mary Rosenblum
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So where before, if you were
not on the shelves at Barnes and Noble you were up the creek in terms of
sales, that is changing.
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Mary Rosenblum
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Now the smaller publishers who
do not distribute to B & N are not taking an equal share of the market.
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Mary Rosenblum
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Far from it, yet.
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Mary Rosenblum
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The bookstores...the big
chains mostly...still own most of the market share.
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Mary Rosenblum
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But I am always looking down
the road and I don't think that will be nearly so true five years and
certainly ten years from now.
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Mary Rosenblum
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New types of publishers have
also come online.
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Mary Rosenblum
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Podcasting is a new kid on the
block and one that may well become the Next Big Thing
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Mary Rosenblum
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combining the growing
popularity of books on tape for the commuters with the increasing
popularity of the iPod and its siblings.
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Mary Rosenblum
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A few podcast publishers have
already sprung up, and some writers I know plan to sell their backlist as podcasts,
reading their books aloud.
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Mary Rosenblum
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That's the newest innovation.
But like Print on Demand technology, it's cheap and simple to create a podcast.
So it's likely to proliferate more rapidly than books on tape have done.
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Mary Rosenblum
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Meanwhile, the small
publishers, using Print on Demand technology are proliferating daily.
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Mary Rosenblum
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As are the ebook publishers,
offering books either as downloads in PDF format or on CD.
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Mary Rosenblum
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While hand held readers
haven't yet caught on, many people are reading on their Palm Pilots and
other hand held info devices.
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Mary Rosenblum
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The problem these days is that
all these publishers have created a sea of small press books, and sadly, a
lot of them are genuinely awful.
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Mary Rosenblum
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There's a reason for that.
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Mary Rosenblum
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You have two ways to make
money publishing books.
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Mary Rosenblum
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One is through quantity sales.
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Mary Rosenblum
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People like the authors you publish,
they buy their books, and tell their friends to buy those books. The
publisher sells a lot, the publisher makes money, the author makes money
from royalties.
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Mary Rosenblum
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That's the traditional model.
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Mary Rosenblum
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BUT....
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Mary Rosenblum
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that is not the ONLY way to
make money from publishing.
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Mary Rosenblum
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You have quantity publishing
as opposed to quantity sales.
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Mary Rosenblum
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(These are my own terms I'm
making up here, they haven't cropped up in the general vocabulary yet).
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Mary Rosenblum
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What the quantity publishers
do is to sell about 3 copies of 95% of their huge inventory.
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Mary Rosenblum
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This is the amazon.com
model...it's how amazon.com makes a profit.
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Mary Rosenblum
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BUT...in this model the author
does not make much money at all. Royalties on three copies of a book, even
good royalties, won't even buy you lunch at MickyD's.
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Mary Rosenblum
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Nor will publication with
these houses earn you a reputation as a 'writer' among publishers, other
writers, and most of the reading public.
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Mary Rosenblum
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Why can't your book
proliferate and sell thousands of copies?
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Mary Rosenblum
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While it can...anything is
possible...it is not likely.
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Mary Rosenblum
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For one thing, these quantity
publishers will publish anything that is even remotely readable. Quality is
not an issue and very few books are rejected.
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Mary Rosenblum
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So a reader picks up a book or
two by this publisher and says 'no more'.
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geezer
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How many books must be sold to
cover just the publisher’s costs?
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Mary Rosenblum
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Apparently very few.
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Mary Rosenblum
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Print on Demand technology is
very cheap. I've listened to a couple of interviews and talks...
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Mary Rosenblum
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with professionals in the
quantity publishing trade..including an exec from amazon.com.
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Mary Rosenblum
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Apparently if they can sell under
ten copies -- WELL under ten copies -- of 95% of their inventory they come
out ahead.
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Mary Rosenblum
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The larger your inventory the
larger your profit. Do you see why the quantity publishers will publish
anything?
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Mary Rosenblum
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How many copies will your
family and friends buy?
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Mary Rosenblum
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If you sell only one other
copy, the publisher will probably do fine.
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Mary Rosenblum
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And then of course, let us not
forget the subsidy presses.
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Mary Rosenblum
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These are publishers who
charge a fee to publish your book.
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Mary Rosenblum
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They do not edit, they do not
turn anyone away.
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Mary Rosenblum
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Some of these, alas,
masquerade as 'real' publishers, and claim that the 'fee' they charge is
standard practice in the publishing world.
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Mary Rosenblum
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A student of mine just queried
me about one of these houses yesterday.
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jackie7777
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So true. I just received my
manuscript back from a lawyer. This publishing group (agents) werecharged
with fraud. I was not a victim because I paid them no money to publish my
piece. But in the letter the lawyer stated that they were sending all
manuscripts back to their rightful owners. I did not feel this was a
reputable set of agents that wanted for each
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Mary Rosenblum
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Want to send the rest of your
comment, jackie?
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Mary Rosenblum
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And alas, this is very common.
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Mary Rosenblum
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The 'bogus agent' scams are
legion.
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jackie7777
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I was just going to say that I
felt uneasy about this group and didn't send money in the first place.
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Mary Rosenblum
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You were very wise, jackie.
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Mary Rosenblum
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Always check out any publisher
or agent or anyone else who offers you a service with Preditors and Editors
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Mary Rosenblum
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http://www.anotherealm.com/prededitors/
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Mary Rosenblum
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An excellent 'agent tutorial'
can be found on the Association of Author's Representatives webpage: http://www.aar-online.org/index.html
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Mary Rosenblum
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Remember...more than anywhere
else...if it seems to good to be true IT IS.
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Mary Rosenblum
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Now, don't confuse Print on
Demand technology (it's a form of small batch publishing) with publishers.
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geezer
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Do the smaller traditional
publishing houses keep a book in print longer than the big houses do?
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Mary Rosenblum
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They do indeed, geeze. That is
one of the benefits of publishing with a small press publisher.
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Mary Rosenblum
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You have more control over
your cover, too.
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Mary Rosenblum
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The issue with small press is
how do you choose?
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Mary Rosenblum
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How do you know which small
presses are good and which are not?
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Mary Rosenblum
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And does it matter to you?
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Mary Rosenblum
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This is where goals come in.
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Mary Rosenblum
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Ask yourself VERY seriously
'what are my goals'?
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Mary Rosenblum
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If your goal is to 'be
published', then you'll find many publishers that will publish your book
for a very small set up fee, whether they call themselves a subsidy press
or pretend to be legit.
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Mary Rosenblum
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Just be a wise consumer and
look at what they produce.
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Mary Rosenblum
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Some of the publishers produce
nice books and others produce very shoddy products that fall apart very
quickly.
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Mary Rosenblum
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If you want a career as a
writer...that is you want reviews, critical attention, and hopefuly a
reasonable amount of income...
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Mary Rosenblum
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the top line small presses are
an okay place to start if you can't get in with a NY house, but you need to
do your homework.
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Mary Rosenblum
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Some small presses have
excellent reputations and are often reviewed by well known critics.
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Mary Rosenblum
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The best way to learn their
names is to visit independent bookstores and talk to the owners.
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Mary Rosenblum
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They will probably know the
good publishers in their field.
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Mary Rosenblum
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Some authors do move from
small press to New York. A couple of friends of mine in the SF field have made
that leap lately.
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geezer
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Unfortunately, the reviewers
mostly stay away from Christian books
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Mary Rosenblum
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Well, I would assume that you
have reviewers that review for the Christian magazines, geeze.
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Mary Rosenblum
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Not all reviewers review all
genres.
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Mary Rosenblum
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I may get a review for my SF
in the Denver Post, for example, and they may not review the latest
Harlequin romance, never mind that it's a big NY type publisher.
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Mary Rosenblum
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I may not get a review in
another paper that doesn't normally review anything but mainstream and
mystery.
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Mary Rosenblum
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The ebook field is still
small.
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Mary Rosenblum
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It's growing with the growth
of PDAs.
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Mary Rosenblum
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It's hard to say whether it
will end up competing with podcast publishing or not.
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Mary Rosenblum
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Time will tell. :-)
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Mary Rosenblum
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The ebook market and small
press tend to keep your books in print for long periods of time and
potentially forever if you keep selling a few copies.
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Mary Rosenblum
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That is a big plus in terms of
keeping your work available.
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Mary Rosenblum
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BUT it also means you need to
read your contract carefully to make sure that should you chose to remove a
book from that publisher you can do so.
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Mary Rosenblum
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Generally a contract includes
some kind of 'renegotiation clause' that ends the publisher's right to the
work at a certain date with the option of renegotiating the agreement at
that time.
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dim writer
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Is it a good idea to have a
lawyer read the contract Mary?
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Mary Rosenblum
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If you do not completely
without question understand every sentence in the contract then by all
means you certainly should.
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Mary Rosenblum
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Reputable agents will not
generally handle small press or ebook contracts. Since they are only paid a
percentage of your gross income from the work
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Mary Rosenblum
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that percentage can be VERY
small.
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Mary Rosenblum
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And most of the small press
contracts I've seen have been MUCH simpler than NY contracts, but not
always.
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Mary Rosenblum
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I can read basic contractese
pretty well at this point, but I have seen a couple of contracts from
people recently where I really had to translate carefully.
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Mary Rosenblum
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So if you're not entirely
sure, it's worth it to hire an hour of a publishing lawyer's time.
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Mary Rosenblum
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It might cost you a hundred
bucks, but it can save you a huge headache later.
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Mary Rosenblum
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But many contracts are utterly
simple.
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Mary Rosenblum
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The publisher buys the right
to publish this work in this form for this length of time and agrees to pay
you this percent of the cover price.
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Mary Rosenblum
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For each book sold.
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Mary Rosenblum
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Nothing unclear there!
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geezer
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How many books a year can a
publisher produce and still be considered a small press?
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Mary Rosenblum
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I don't think there's an
actual 'cut off number' geeze. But I doubt a small press is going to do as
many as 10,000 copies.
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Mary Rosenblum
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I think most are doing 500
book runs.
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Mary Rosenblum
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If they run out, they can
quickly restock.
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Mary Rosenblum
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Many of the 'order only'
houses are printing as the orders come in and not before.
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geezer
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I should have said titles
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Mary Rosenblum
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Titles have nothing to do with
it geeze.
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Mary Rosenblum
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Many of the 'quantity
publishers' are publishing hundreds of titles per year.
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Mary Rosenblum
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Mostly as those 'print as
orders come in' books.
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jackie7777
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Is there a standard cover price
per book or can you negotiate the price?
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Mary Rosenblum
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Well, you can ask to make it
higher, Jackie, but the publisher is going to want to make the cost of the
book back AND a profit.
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Mary Rosenblum
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Paper publishing has a HIGH
overhead.
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Mary Rosenblum
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Paper has gone steadily up in
price.
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Mary Rosenblum
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Of course, part of your
success with any small publishing venture is how much you promote your own
work and how easily it can be promoted.
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Mary Rosenblum
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Many small press houses ask
you for promotion plans when they accept your submission -- before they
even decide on the book.
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Mary Rosenblum
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Small press publishers are
usually upfront about the fact that they can't afford to publish a book
that won't sell, and if your book has a strong appeal
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Mary Rosenblum
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to a niche market, that will
increase their interest.
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Mary Rosenblum
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Not so the quantity
publishers, of course.
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Mary Rosenblum
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Since they make their money on
selling a very few copies of your book, they don't really have to be
choosy.
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Mary Rosenblum
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And of course many of them
sneak some fees into the works, too.
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Mary Rosenblum
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It is NOT easy to sell to the
high end small presses, but they tend to take more risks than NY can, so if
your book doesn't appeal to the NY publishers
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Mary Rosenblum
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it may well find a home with
the high end small presses.
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Mary Rosenblum
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Poisoned Pen Press...featured
in this week's Newsletter...is one of those well respected small presss.
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Mary Rosenblum
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They publish mystery, their
authors have garnered a few prestigious awards
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Mary Rosenblum
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and their books do get
reviewed by the big reviewers.
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Mary Rosenblum
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Darkside Press and Fairwood
Press in SF are two others.
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Mary Rosenblum
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But there are many.
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Mary Rosenblum
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Again, a saavy independent
bookstore owner will be your best guide here.
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Mary Rosenblum
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Well, we're nearly out of
time. Any questions about all this? :-)
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Mary Rosenblum
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Let's see if I can think of
some other good small presses.
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Mary Rosenblum
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Wheatland Press.
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Mary Rosenblum
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Greywolf (mainstream and
literary)
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dim writer
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How do your rights work with PODCast?
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Mary Rosenblum
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Ah! They're different. Someone
told me what they were selling at the last writers conference...
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Mary Rosenblum
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and I don't recall now. It's a
broadcast right, rather than the type of literary right we deal with with
print publishers.
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Mary Rosenblum
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I'll do a forum on podcast
publishers later on, when I've done more research here.
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speckledorf
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Tony at Wolfmont is very
picky...and he has that imprint Honey Locust Press for "more family
friendly" writing.
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Mary Rosenblum
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Yes, I'd say Tony is a very
reputable small press. That's Wolfmont publishing.
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katnj
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Tenspeed Press?
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Mary Rosenblum
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Kat, that name is familiar. I
think they're one of the well respected mainstreams, but I can't remember.
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Mary Rosenblum
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Just check any publisher with
that preditor and editor website.
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Mary Rosenblum
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http://www.anotherealm.com/prededitors/
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bruce
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What do they expect to see in my
promotion plans.?
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Mary Rosenblum
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THey'll want to know how you
plan to promote it, and where it might sell best, bruce.
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Mary Rosenblum
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For example, maybe you wrote a
mystery featuring a garden store owner as the amateur sleuth.
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Mary Rosenblum
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Garden stores and gardening
clubs might be particularly interested.
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Mary Rosenblum
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You might get it reviewed in
garden magazines that don't usually review fiction but would review this
since it's of interest to their readers.
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Mary Rosenblum
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That sort of thing.
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Mary Rosenblum
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You might suggest that you'll
take the book around to garden centers and the like in your area.
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Mary Rosenblum
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Here's what preditors has to
say about Tenspeed Press:
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Mary Rosenblum
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Tenspeed Press: publishes
"an eclectic selection of cutting-edge guides to life and bona-fide
groundbreakers—from cookbooks to career guides."
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bruce
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So they are looking for
effective creative salesmanship...
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Mary Rosenblum
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Yes, bruce.
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Mary Rosenblum
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The small press publisher
expects you to take an active role in selling your book.
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Mary Rosenblum
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They don't have the huge
distribution that the NY publishers have.
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Mary Rosenblum
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So they need to be more
effective and less 'scattershot'.
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janecj333
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Mary, why do publishers need or
expect these suggestions for marketing?
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Mary Rosenblum
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Because the NY publishers will
put the books into every B&N, Crown, Borders, and big independent in
the country.
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Mary Rosenblum
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LOTS of exposure.
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Mary Rosenblum
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The small press can't do that.
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Mary Rosenblum
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They need to appeal more
specifically to potential readers.
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Mary Rosenblum
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It wouldn't be a bad idea if
NY did likewise!
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Mary Rosenblum
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And not all small press
publishers will ask for marketing suggestions.
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Mary Rosenblum
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But they WILL keep the
marketability of your book in mind.
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Mary Rosenblum
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Well, this has been a fun
chat, and I hope it gave you clearer sense of the new, expanding publishing
universe.
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Mary Rosenblum
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I'll post the transcripts in
the usual place.
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Mary Rosenblum
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Writing Craft: Forum
Transcripts.
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janecj333
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I suppose if the author were a
garden store owner or amateur sleuth, that would give his/her book some
cachet with a publisher.
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Mary Rosenblum
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For that gardening mystery?
Sure it would. Your own expertise always adds to the saleability of your
book.
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Mary Rosenblum
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For any publisher.
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Mary Rosenblum
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But it's not the only thing
they look at.. :-) Quality come first. (Unless it's a quantity publisher)
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dim writer
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Are Books promoted at confrences?
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Mary Rosenblum
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Sure. You speak on panels and
make a good impression, you take your books to booksellers at the
conference and ask them to sell for you on consignment (if they don't
already have them in stock).
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Mary Rosenblum
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Booksellers tend to make sure
they have the books of conference guests in stock already. :-)
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Mary Rosenblum
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(Why do you think we GO there
in the first place? :-) To meet fans and sell books!)
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Mary Rosenblum
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Thanks for coming all and have
a great day!
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