Date: Fri, 27 Apr 2007 15:13:29 -0400 (EDT)
From: dicconf <dicconf at radix.net>
To: WSFA members <WSFAlist at KeithLynch.net>
Subject: [WSFA] Re: But Tell Us What  You Know...
Reply-To: WSFA members <WSFAlist at KeithLynch.net>

On Thu, 26 Apr 2007, swstiles at comcast.net wrote:

> I haven't been paying attention to the book publishing scene
> in the past many years, but while I was at RavenCon last
> weekend I noticed there were nothing *but* small press books
> on display in the dealers' room. Just *who* are the major
> small press (if that isn't an oxymoron) publishers these
> days? And is this a viable alternative for writers, if not
> as profitable as the major players, or just a step above the
> vanity press?

As I understand it:
When the big publishers went to the big-box attitude, and
began to dump the middle line that had been selling steadily
but not blockbuster level, the small press was the only place
to go.

There are some very good small presses.  It's viable if you
are willing to do some of your own promotion, and they seem
to make a good product.  NESFA for instance is technically
a small press, I believe.

> There seems to have been an explosion in this area, but I
> haven't been paying attention (I get the feeling that the
> small press *comics* are a debt creating, semi-prozine
> proposition).

Publishing your own comics was a losing game for years,
but in many cases it was the only way to go.  However, now
that web comics are so popular, if you can publish your
comic on the web and then put it into print, it can be
successful - you have a pre-sold audience who know where
to order.  Girl Genius has gone that route, and I think
it may become standard.

The weblog promotion route has worked outside SF and
comics extremely well.  Check out Stephanie Pearl-McPhee's
"Yarn Harlot" blog for a prime example: hundreds of comments,
and thousand of books pre-ordered for her fifth book.

=Tamar