Part II of the interview is here.
Today is Part III
E. M. LaBonte's Realms of a Fantastical Mind has more on publishers today in Part 3 of Terri's fantastic interview.
More from Terri:
I
am thrilled to be here today to talk about navigating the Good, the Bad, and
the Ugly of publishing. Many, many wonderful people helped me on my road to
publication—sharing information, resources, and their experience—and I jumped
at the chance to do the same when Emily and Dean offered me the opportunity.
With
so many indie presses, conflicting information, and scam artists out there, Dean
and Emily asked me to stop by and talk about what I learned while I was
searching for a publisher and why I made the decision to work with a small
press with a questionable (internet) reputation.
I've
heard that small presses don't give marketing support/that authors have to do
all their own marketing. Is that true?
It’s impossible to make sweeping statements about “traditional
publishing” or “self-publishing” as a whole—“traditional publishing means book
store placement” or “small presses don’t pay advances.” Publishing houses—and
when you self-publish YOU, the author, are the publishing house and need to
think of yourself as such—are all as different as individual people. Just as
you can’t say “all Asian people” or “all Italian cuisine,” you can’t make
broad, stereotypical statements about different publishing models. Evaluate
every opportunity—every agent, every publisher—individually.
Now,
having said that, it’s time for some painful truths about the publishing world. A
contract with a large publishing house doesn’t guarantee your book will ever
end up in print and definitely doesn’t guarantee that it’ll end up on bookstore
shelves (for two (of many) such tales of woe check out here and here). Publishers
evaluate the books and authors in their lists as individually as authors should
be evaluating publishing houses. Or, to say it another way: not every book
is going to be a breakaway best seller. And until you reach Stephen King or
J.K. Rowling status, you aren’t going to have the undivided attention of a big
publishing house’s publicist—the publicist will be working on multiple authors’
books at any given time—and, unless the publisher thinks your book is the next
big thing, you are only going to get some minimal marketing support. Lissa
Warren’s “The Savvy Author’s Guide to Book Marketing” provides a fabulous
insider’s view of how marketing and publicity work at large publishers. I
suggest that every author read that book before they send out a single query
letter to ensure realistic expectations.
The
truth of the matter is that regardless of publisher’s size, the author will
have to do some degree of marketing his- or herself. This is where knowing your
goals, your values, and being able to evaluate individual opportunities is
critical. Know up front what you are and are not willing to do to promote your
book. There’s a pretty standard list of things to be done to promote a book—interviews,
blog tours, press releases, giveaways; look at the list and for every
publishing opportunity you are considering figure out which of the items they
will cover and which you will be expected to cover. And then decide if that’s a
good deal for you or not.
One
of the reasons I chose Eternal Press is that they do have a dedicated marketing
person who writes press releases, submits books for reviews, monitors social
media for mentions of EP’s books, and helps coordinates interviews and blog
tours. Does that mean I won’t have to do any of those things? Absolutely not!
But the same would hold true for a large publishing house as well.
Biography:
Terri Bruce has been
making up adventure stories for as long as she can remember and won her first
writing award when she was twelve. Like Anne Shirley, she prefers to make
people cry rather than laugh, but is happy if she can do either. She produces
fantasy and adventure stories from a haunted house in New England where she
lives with her husband and three cats. Her
first novel, HEREAFTER—a contemporary fantasy about a woman’s search for
redemption in the afterlife—will be released by Eternal Press later this year.
Visit her on the web at www.terribruce.net.
Connect with Terri:
Website/Blog:
http://www.terribruce.net
Goodreads
Profile: http://www.goodreads.com/user/show/8244272-terri-bruce
Facebook
Profile: http://www.facebook.com/#!/profile.php?id=100003716022408
HEREAFTER
Thirty-six year old Irene Dunphy didn't plan on dying any
time soon, but that’s exactly what happens when she makes the mistake of
getting behind the wheel after a night of bar-hopping with friends. She finds
herself stranded on Earth as a ghost, where food has no taste, the alcohol doesn’t
get you drunk, and the only person who can see her is a fourteen year old
boy-genius who can see dead people, thanks to a book he found in his school
library. This sounds suspiciously like hell to Irene, so she prepares to strike
out for the Great Beyond. The problem is, while this side has exorcism, ghost
repellents, and soul devouring demons, the other side has three-headed hell
hounds, final judgment, and eternal torment. If only there was a third option…
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