A Work in Progress

Panel: Gary K. Wolfe (M), Michael Underwood, Darlene Marshall, Neil Clarke

I actually found this a really good session. There was far less "gloom and doom" than I expected.

My Notes

• "My theory is that all presses are small presses now."
• Many "small presses" seem to be imprints of larger publishers
• Small presses tend to lack marketing support over big publishers
• Small enough to be coherent and have a clear thrust to their efforts
• Small presses are more willing to take a chance
• Are more adaptable; they have to be
• Can actually make money on an edition of 2000 copies--something large publishers can't do
• Short story collections have pretty much disappeared from the large presses
• A great way to break into the market with niche material
• Your career as a writer is not placed on a gamble on your first/one book
• Allows writers to develop
• Are not viable if you need the large advances to make a writing as a writer
• The future of the small press is flourishing is the second decade of the 21st century
• Because of the ease of self-publishing, it can be hard to get rights to back lists for some authors
• Not doing ebooks as a large part of your distribution is a huge mistake
• Angry Robot provide a DRM-free ebook version when you buy a print copy
• Lots of small presses don't survive for a lot of reasons
• Too much success can kill a small press
• Be careful and be bold
• Idealism can be fatal for a small press (without a clear marketing plan)
• What is your contingency plan?
• Presses are more competing with movies and TV than with each other
• Small presses are opportunities for novellas that are vanishing everywhere else
• Most small presses lose a large percentage of their money to distributors
• Subterranean and Arkham House have a strategy of doing a print run--and then not reprinting, creating an instant collectors market
• We'll probably see a different kind of distribution with the changes in POD technology, particularly internationally (reduces shipping and tariff costs)
• Presence of the printed book in a book store is still an advertisement
• Within 10, 20 years, digital versions will be the preferred form
• What will be the future of printed books outside of collector editions?
• The returns model can kill a small press
• The future of B&N could have a profound impact on the future distribution for the small press
• Why do YA books seem to be selling more in print than digitally? (Probably because a lot of those sales are sales to adults)
• Is it because the printed versions are so widely available?
• What about the social element of sharing books?
• Digital books with audio books built into it
• The bar of entry to get into all forms of publishing is getting lower and lower
• It's no accident that romance and erotica has exploded since the creation of readers
• Reviewers can forget that they have digital books vs. printed books sitting on your desk
• Nothing is yet out there electronically that displays and sells books better than a physical bookshelf
• Again, rent is what kills small, niche bookstores
• Finding a new author on Amazon is like finding a needle in a haystack
• The problem with marketing is that if someone finds something that works, it no longer does because then everyone does it
• The coherence of a small press creates a strong curation
• Find your tribe and market to them
• There are a lot of different business models
• Self-promotion is huge toward success