The challenges of a marcher lord
Filed under Blog Tours on September 23, 2008
Tagged: Christian Science Fiction and Fantasy blog tour, fantasy fiction, Jeff Gerke, Marcher Lord Press, small press publishers
One of the two internships I served in college was with a small press publisher as an assistant to their Sales & Marketing Director. There were 3 full-time employees, including the president, and a part-time receptionist. They worked out of what could have been an automotive service bay. My duties included making calls to potential reviewers, filing tear sheets (copies of published reviews), and sending out reviewer copies via media mail. I even got to write a couple press releases.
Small press publishers generally serve a niche. This particular publisher’s niche was retro-Americana. The president had a large collection of vintage art from the 40s and 50s. Their initial offerings were compilations of World War II pin-up art. They got creative from there, publishing retro-themed cookbooks and encyclopedic volumes of cover art from the pulp era. While I was there, they hit it big with a history of American candy that got coverage on the Today show, and a book on the history of airlines fashion that they were able to tie-in with the Miramax comedy View from the Top. The place was hopping.
I tried to look up their website as I was writing this article and got an error. An Internet search also proved unfruitful. Such is the life of a small press publisher.
We knew our authors by name and worked with them closely to produce and promote their work. The marketing budget allowed for little more than press releases and phone calls to media contacts, followed by a review copy. The authors were encouraged to pursue whatever avenues where available to them, and were responsible for any expenses incurred. I wasn’t privy to figures for advances and royalty rates, but I’d be surprised if much was offered upfront. The same goes for sales numbers, though I did make a few calls to remainder dealers.
All of this is to say that small press publishers are not the market for everyone. I appreciate Jeff Gerke’s honesty in laying out the pros and the cons of submitting to Marcher Lord Press. Every small press publisher faces challenges, and it’s clear Mr. Gerke knows what he’s facing.
While I can appreciate the emergence of Print-On-Demand as a technology, and agree that there could stand to be some changes to the current model of publishing and bookselling, the combination of small press and POD doesn’t appeal to me as a primary market for fantasy fiction novels. What about you? Would you consider a small press publisher? Does POD equal vanity press in your mind? Do you need to see your book on a store shelf? Is the marketing burden you’d bear worth getting your novel into the hands of a couple hundred readers? Convince me in the comments that the challenges are worth it. Then go check out the other stops on the tour:
- Brandon Barr
- Justin Boyer
- Keanan Brand
- Kathy Brasby
- Jackie Castle
- Valerie Comer
- Karri Compton
- Courtney
- CSFF Blog Tour
- Stacey Dale
- D. G. D. Davidson
- Janey DeMeo
- Jeff Draper
- April Erwin
- Karina Fabian
- Andrea Graham
- Todd Michael Greene
- Katie Hart
- Timothy Hicks
- Joleen Howell
- Jason Joyner
- Kait
- Tina Kulesa
- Mike Lynch
- Terri Main
- Margaret
- Shannon McNear
- Rebecca LuElla Miller
- Nissa
- John W. Otte
- Steve Rice
- Ashley Rutherford
- Hanna Sandvig
- Mirtika or Mir’s Here
- Greg Slade
- James Somers
- Steve Trower
- Speculative Faith
- Jason Waguespac
- Laura Williams
- Timothy Wise
