Why I Chose To Publish With A Small Press

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Not so long ago, I blogged about why I chose to be self-published. But as of January of this year, I’ve been moving away from that and have now signed with a small press, GladEye Press. Why did I change? And should you pursue such a deal, too? Read on.…

I spent the better part of ten years trying to pursue the traditional publishing route without success. In a nutshell, it was hard to even get an agent to read sample chapters, much less a publishing house. The road was paved with rejections, being ignored, and unprofessional behavior by agents. But then Amazon made it easy to self-publish, and I eventually went that route. I started self-publishing in 2019 and have felt reasonably successful at it. I’ve published four books that way, as well as several "quick reads" short stories.

The primary benefit of self-publishing is that you have complete control over everything: the creative process, cover design, deadlines, editing. You name it. And the royalty percentage can't be beat.

But there are also downsides. I had to pay for everything up front, including editing and cover art. I had an uphill battle learning how to do my own marketing and promotion. And I had to do all the convincing to get bookstores to carry my books.

Most importantly, I had no in-roads for distributing print books to bookstores.

Established publishing houses still own the majority of distribution. They are pretty much a monopoly, with the “Big 5” publishing houses controlling the vast majority of the publishing industry and revenue. And they do next to nothing for writers who aren’t already well-known. Even if, by some miracle, you manage to get a book deal with one of them, they want to control everything. You have almost no creative control over anything, and they will make demands on what you write and how to write it. They choose the cover. They choose how to market it. And if at any point they decide that your book isn’t what they want to keep printing, they can choose to stop printing it and bury it. It is a corporate world and money is king. Unless you’ve already hit the bestseller lists, you’re opinions don’t matter.

Sure, you can try to dream big if you wish, but I for one don’t want to keep on the road of rejections.

As for the small publishers, though, I kept my options open.

The benefit of a small or hybrid publisher is that you maintain the lion’s share of creative control. But they pay little or no advance on publishing, and they don’t hold much of the market. And most, if not all, of the promotional efforts and marketing still falls on the author. But one big advantage is that they are typically connected to the print distributors and bookstores. And that’s the key!

In my self-publishing journey, I didn’t just want to sell on Amazon or Barnes & Noble online. I wanted my books in bookstores. So I started locally, going to area bookstores, talking to the owners, and asking them to carry my books.

Some of the bookstores refused outright. They only sold books that could be ordered through Ingram. The bought into the idea that a independent author was too much of a risk. It’s a stereotype that continues to push down self-published writers. Yes, there are some indie books I’ve read that had typos or some plot holes, but the vast majority are just as well-written as what comes from the Big 5 publishers, I feel. Yet there was no convincing those stores.

Other stores did work with me, but only one would buy my books outright, and only a couple copies. Most of these stores instead choose to purchase on consignment. But the percentage of what they wanted from the sale varied widely from store to store. Further, some store owners were friendly, others were extremely rude. Some were organized and kept good inventory, others did not. One store owner didn’t even use a computer or email, choosing instead to use index cards, which were badly organized, and we would just wander the shelves to see if any of my copies were still in-store!

I do author table events, and the owners of GladEye Press had a table at some of them. They saw how my readers would visit my table, rave about my books, and purchase more. They heard my pitch to customers, summarizing my books. And they liked what they heard and saw.

So, and miracles would have it, they invited me to join their small press as one of their authors!

I negotiated with them over several sessions, and we came to an agreement. They’re now in the process of republishing my four books, starting with Dragon of the Federation, and will be publishing the sequel, Footman of the Ether, this spring.

What is GladEye Press doing for me, and what might a small press do for you?

• They are in with Ingram for printing and distribution, and pretty much any bookstore in America can order it.
• They have connections with bookstores in the Northwest and belong to publisher organizations.
• They have excellent cover design skills
• They do editing
• They make promotional fliers for me
• They help with marketing
• They do formatting of my books
• They handle publishing my books with different retailers
• They help organize some table events

What are the down sides of going with a small press?

• They have limited staff, which limits how fast they can get things done.
• They are more regional than nationwide
• Many are new to audio books or don’t do them at all (GladEye is making their first)
• They have limited reach with social media
• They take much more of my royalties than self publishing (though not as much as the big publishers would)
• They don’t have a lot of other authors in their stable
• They haven’t been around for as long
• They don’t do much marketing or promotion
• They pay little, if any, advance

I already have a big following on my social media platforms, including Twitter/X and Facebook, a webpage, and this blog. And I have experience doing my own ads and marketing. I’ll keep doing those things.

I still consider this a gamble. I’m basically trading the lion’s share of my royalties for better distribution routes to bookstores. But I’m also saving money by not having to pay for editing and cover art, and I can focus more of my attention on actually writing!

I also know that my efforts haven’t paid off yet by self-publishing. Not enough to make a living at it, anyhow, and I can’t quit my dayjob yet. But I have high hopes that this will be a good and profitable choice.

And, frankly, the folks at GladEye Press have been very friendly team players. I’m looking forward to working with them.

Cheers and happy reading!