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Topic: What would your perfect Small Press publisher do? (Read 2353 times)
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Antmusic
Dead By Dawn
Posts: 3249
Horror Enthusiast
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My perfect publisher would offer and have the following (I may add to this later as I think of things):
1) Signed limited edition hardcovers of 100 - 300 copies or based on preorder amounts.
2) Great cover art by talented artists (internal art is a plus too).
3) Well made hardcovers that are not "perfect bound" books in disguise (if glue is the only thing holding the book together, it isn't going to last…and is basically a paperback with hard covers at way too premium of a cost). If one pays for a hardcover, one expects it to be bound as a hardcover should be bound.
4) Good paper stock… not newsprint or thin and easily ripped cheap stuff.
5) Coupons and deals once in awhile for the readers on a budget but still want your books.
6) Always $40 or less for all books… Preferably in the $20 - $35 range. This might be unrealistic, but I can dream.
7) Free shipping on all pre-orders. A great incentive to entice pre-ordering. Especially when it costs 10% - 20% of the book's cost to have it shipped to you. In other words: Shipping costs… suck.
8 ) Reduced shipping when ordering multiple in-stock books is a must.
9) Be honest and forthright on all dates (shipping dates, contest end dates, etc), and keep us up to date in the process…. Maybe even have a scale… I want to see things like, "We are expecting this book to be out during October 2010," or, "This book will be in next week, get your pre-orders in now and save on shipping!" I don't care if the book is announced a year before it will come out… I just want to know when it is expected to come out… in an ACCURATE prediction. If the date changes, tell us!
10) Have interesting contests.
11) Update your website often, and keep it accurate… there are a lot of poooooor websites out there because the shop owners probably think their books speak for themselves. FIRST, your website is going to tell customers what you are about. Keep it clean, accurate, and easy to navigate. Think of every page as if someone who has never had a Small Press book before is reading your site for the first time. They are learning to trust your product. HINT: Misspellings and errors will not make a good first impression.
12) If you mess up, tell the customers.
13) Be honest. These are the years of easy communication and easy information via the internet. If you lie, people are going to find out.
14) Be courteous and friendly. If someone writes you an email asking about anything… write them back. If you can't answer their particular question, tell them that. Great Customer service will get you everywhere.
15) Have darn good Proofreaders. Errors really suck and pull me out of the story. Multiple errors may make my trust for a company go way down.
16) Have fun and be fun.
Other Info:
I don't really care about slipcovers or traycases… keep those for your lettered books. I don't really care for the over sized coffee table books (they just cost too much and are very heavy to read… they do work for art-filled books, but that is it). Plus, oversized books are hard to fit into most bookshelves. 5.5"x7.75" to 9" x 11" is big enough for all regular books. On the other hand, tiny books kind of suck too. Especially if you are paying a premium price of $35 - $100 and expect a regular sized hardcover book. Plus, a Mass Market Paperback (around 4.5 x 7… or less) sized hardcover is a big disappointment for me.
Dust Jackets, I like them, but I have also seen some nice jacket-less books recently. If you go jacket-free, make your cover unique.
More double novellas would be nice (either as flip-books or just two-in-one)… so we readers get more bangs for our bucks… or scares for our wares… Getting a 60-100 page book for $35 - $40 is kind of disappointing even if it is a great read.
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RonClinton
Four Movie Freak
Posts: 424
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You're not alone, Cutter. I don't do paid pre-orders, either, with the *very rare* exception (like the PS edition of Joe Hill's upcoming HORNS). I do reservations through Camelot or HorrorMall or wait 'til they inevitably hit eBay...but money doesn't leave my pocket until book is ready to ship.
My system must be working...I've only been burnt twice, once by a bookseller fifteen years ago or so, Black Orchid Books, who took my money but didn't send the book, and by Shocklines, who promised an exclusive chapbook with my order of THE GIRLS IN THE BASMEMENT AND OTHER STORIES (R. Garton), but it was never produced. The latter I count as a very minor cost of doing business in the sometimes unreliable small press and hold no hard feelings toward Matt; the former still pisses me off, but I understand they're now out of business so I guess karma does get around eventually. But caution has prevented me from being burnt by a publisher.
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« Last Edit: January 12, 2010, 03:37:34 PM by RonClinton »
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- it's just the increasing trend of the format that bugs me. 
