As a publishing professional, I pride myself on providing a close relationship between author and publisher. I find that carrying the title of “publisher” comes with a certain (and sometimes undeserved) authority and grandiose snobbery that gives me the unpleasant shivers. Publishers would not exist without authors, so who are we to place ourselves above them?
As a small press, I have a unique opportunity to break that mould and give authors a new experience – one that brings them in on every step of their publishing journey and gives them opportunity to input their ideas for their project.
But first; what is a small press? How is it different from the big names you already know? What differentiates it from vanity presses who take advantage of authors?
A small press is exactly what it says on the tin – a publishing company with very few employees. And just because a press is small, doesn’t mean they are independent (meaning they aren’t owned by another, larger, publishing house or company). Indie presses have more freedom to take risks without internal backlash from the higher ups, but don’t have the financial backing to reach new audiences.
Small presses are not self-publishing services (although they may offer them on the side), they are not a vanity press that requires authors to put money forward in order to fund their project, they are not a corporate machine that can push books to every bookshop in the country and arrange multi-week book tours. They are a small group of people who truly love books and want to give authors the best experience possible.
Especially at Barnard Publishing Ltd., my focus is on building partnerships with both authors and other small indie businesses, curating my backlist so readers know exactly what they’re getting with me, and investing in people, not products.
It’s all about setting expectations early – because I believe it is what authors deserve, because I think it’s what the industry should be, and because I can’t afford to disappoint my authors and readers. Besides, everyone gets what they want if we’re all on the same page.
So, you’ve submitted to me: what happens now?
Talking about setting expectations…I’m rubbish at going through submissions. I have a sub-optimal setup right now, but I’m testing out some new software called Siskin Support, built in Glasgow for small and medium presses to help manage their submission list through AI based ranking.
Don’t freak out. I know authors and publishers alike get tetchy when it comes to AI. But after an in-depth discussion with the Siskin team, and doing some live testing with them, I promise that there is nothing generative about their system. The algorithm ranks submissions from 1-5 based on criteria you put in, so you can pick the projects that you’re most likely to take on. There’s also the option to turn off this feature if you want nothing to do with it.
As I said, I’m still testing it out both for me and for them. If you want to submit with me, give it a go and let me know what you think!
Anyway, you’ve submitted; how do I pick which submissions to take on?
Right now, I’m looking for one of three things – a Welsh author, a story based in Wales, or a story influenced by Welsh culture. Of course, there are always exceptions, but that is where my focus is.
It’s difficult to explain how I choose which projects to take on; they just feel right. I’m always drawn to taboo topics, and I love when the plot takes an interesting turn and subverts expectations, but I’ve learnt to trust my gut when something feels worth the time and effort.
I don’t want to get into the nitty gritty too much, but I always warn authors I want to work with that my current timeline is years in advance. I make sure authors aren’t tied to me until we actually begin working on the project, so no contracts are signed and they have the freedom to do whatever they want with their work, because it is still their work.
Whilst we’re on the topic, the contract I hand out has been checked by the Society of Authors to make sure it benefits the author as much as possible. I wrote it, so I know how it works for me. I also make sure they know that if they’re not happy with any aspect of the contract, then we can have a discussion to make sure everyone gets what they want.
Contracts can be pretty scary, but they are there to protect everyone involved, so it’s only fair that all parties have input.
The editing, proofreading, and formatting stages operate in much the same way to each other; I arrange monthly check-ins with the author and whatever editors I have on board to discuss how the current stage is flowing and what the next steps are. We use this opportunity to go over any issues that may have arisen and for me to answer any questions the author may have. My editors are especially good at singing an authors praises (all well deserved!), it’s nice to boost an author up after a gruelling process like editing, especially following years of writing it to begin with.
The goal of these steps is not to transform the text, but to enhance it. My editors and I try our very best to maintain the authors narrative voice as we make suggestions. You would not believe the number of discussions I’ve had with authors over very specific changes that no reader would notice; oh, the curse of being a publisher!
Formatting, typesetting, and cover design – like editing – all have the authors input, but they take a bit of a step back as they’re not doing the bulk of the work. Luckily, these are my favourite steps. Often the author will have an idea about what they want to cover to look like but will not have given any thought to what the page will look like. This is where all these meetings and chats come into play. By now, the author and I have spent 6+ months working on this project together, so I have a good idea of how they want the reader to feel when they read the book. I take that and transform it into a layout with a carefully selected font and specific placements. I reach out to a suitable cover designer (usually someone I’ve worked with before, but I’m always open to new designers!) and we go through the same process again – conveying to the designer exactly what we want from the cover.
Whoever said don’t judge a book by it’s cover was stupid. Please judge our covers.
Once everything comes together, I’ll print multiple proof copies to make sure the author is happy with absolutely every aspect. Ideally, this comes well before we start marketing; this is rarely the case.
Marketing is such a beast when it comes to books because they are a unique product; they’re long-lasting and customers tend to only buy once, but they’re priced so cheaply because the industry has grown to keep things cheap for the Big 5 who can produce a hundred times the number of books than I can. So, small indie presses rely on meticulous marketing to get the book onto shelves. I do feel like there is still an air of “the publisher does all the marketing” in and around the industry, and that is simply not the case any more. Since the inception of the internet and social media (especially social media), readers are more connected to each other and the authors they love. They don’t care about which publisher produced which book, it’s the authors name that carries the selling weight.
So authors, please help us with the marketing!
Small presses have limited budgets, and in order to maintain their ‘traditional publisher’ medal, they need authors to come back in with the marketing. I’m very lucky that all of my authors so far have been excited and invested in the social media marketing – it’s almost like they’re excited about the book they wrote! I make sure that the posts I get from them are as fun as possible and bring their work to life, both for them and for the readers. If the author is having fun, then the readers will have fun. With collaboration, anything is possible.
Authors sell to readers, publishers sell to booksellers.
following the launches and the events and the initial royalties, I always try to keep up with my backlist authors. It gets more difficult as time goes on, but it’s always nice to see them pop up on my feed whenever I’m having a doom scroll (if it’s on the business account, that means it’s work, right?)
So, have I convinced you that small presses are the way to go? I love my small indie business, I’m able to make connections with people who never would have crossed my path otherwise, and I get to read these amazing stories and turn them into a piece of art. AND, I get the see the authors face when they see it for the first time, in all it’s glory.
