A Small Press Offered to Publish My Book. I Turned Them Down.

This morning I sent an email to a small press publisher. They had accepted my novel manuscript, Falling Sky, a dystopian novel that I wrote during the first six weeks of quarantine back in the spring. In short, my email said, “I don’t think we are a right fit. I am going to have to decline your offer for publication.”

The story of how I came to this decision isn’t about running down the press. I have every reason to believe that they are legit, so I’m not going to name them. They have their approach to publishing authors, and it seems to work for them. It’s just not for me, and I think it’s important for writers to listen to their gut reaction… even if that means turning down an offer for publication.

I just want to write a little bit here, maybe for ultimate closure, why I came to this decision and what the red flags were for me.

When I started the process of seeking a publisher, I started with agents. After 60 or so, I didn’t have one request to see the entire manuscript. That didn’t surprise me. I think I might forever be a small press guy, and that’s fine.

So then, I started the process of submitting to small presses. I’ve had a handful of rejections from a few small presses, but I have about 15 that I haven’t heard back from.

Then, in September, I had an acceptance for publication (from the press I allude to above). When I checked my records, I noticed that I’d only sent them the first chapter. They also sent me a questionnaire regarding my feelings about their editorial process. Basically, through their questionnaire, it sounded like I was giving up most editorial control (“We might even ask you to cut entire chapters or subplots. Are you okay with that?”). The questionnaire also made it clear that I would have very little input on the cover.

I followed up with the press to say I was excited that my first chapter was so intriguing that they wanted to offer me publication… sight unseen basically. I also said that this made me uncomfortable, especially given their editorial approach. The editor assured me that they needed that kind of strong wording in the questionnaire because of difficult authors they’d worked with in the past (and that I don’t doubt. Authors can be a pain in the ass, I’m sure.) He said the actual process involves much more give and take (though that’s not the case with covers).

I followed up by saying that regardless, I would be much more comfortable if they read the entire manuscript. I sold it as an olly olly oxen free for both of us. After all, they might read it and say, “Ooh, this isn’t what we hoped it would be.”

Thankfully, the editor agreed to reading the entire manuscript.

Fast forward five weeks. I heard back from them. They’d read the entire manuscript, and they still wanted to publish. That was soon followed by an email containing a contract.

One red flag for me was that I never got truly excited over either email acceptance.

Let me be clear… nowhere in the contract did it say anything about me assuming some of the publishing costs or paying for any kind of services. Like I said, the press is legit, just not for me.

For a small press, the contract was pretty standard. No huge red flags. They did have one caveat about if, after the editing process began, I decided to pull out, I would owe the press $250 for editing services. That kind of makes sense. After all, an author could take the highly edited (and most likely improved manuscript) and then approach a bigger press. I understand their need to cover their work input (and the editor did tell me that they did have a number of authors do just that to them… get their book edited, and then pulled it. So, yeah, authors can be shitty people, like anyone.)

I did have to follow up with the publisher to ask about some missing information. I saw nothing in the contract about payment. There was language about royalties. (I would get 35% of net sales on print and 50% of net sales on ebooks). Fairly standard (maybe a touch low on print?) But, as far as anything right out of the gate, there was nothing about any kind of payment (by which I simply mean complimentary copies of the book). I also wanted to know about any discounts to the author if he (me) should want to purchase copies from the press to sell face-to-face to friends, family, and at readings/book signings.

The publisher followed up with me 48 hours later (This was an issue for me, too… there was always a substantial lag time between my sent emails and their responses). In the response, he said that the author usually gets 5 to 10 complimentary copies (which is fairly standard). But, for me at least… why “usually”? why “5 to 10”? and why isn’t any of this spelled out in the contract?

As to the question about the author purchasing discounted author copies, I was told that it would depend on the price of the book, but copies were usually $3 to $5 less for the author than the cover price.

But, why again “usually”? And, why not just spell out a percentage? Then the cover price doesn’t matter. Most small presses offer discounted author copies at 40% off the cover price. Why not just stipulate that in the contract? Honestly, most of my “profits” from a small press book come from my ability to purchase discounted copies and to sell them at readings/signings. 

Just as an example, my most recent royalty check (after a year’s worth of sales for my novel Detroit Muscle) came to just over $35. I was happy to cash the check. But, that amount was tiny compared to what I was able to make selling copies at book signings, etc.

Working through a small press, the author discount on additional copies is a big deal. I just feel that should be spelled out explicitly in the contract, and it wasn’t.

Finally, because I had ordered one of their books from their catalog, I was able to see the quality of their work. The structural quality was great. Nice spine. Solid book. The cover art/design, though? Absolutely not for me. And, looking through their catalog… well, I just couldn’t jive with their overall cover aesthetic. As an author with a book out from a small press, just like with most other arrangements, a great deal of marketing falls on the author. I couldn’t imagine myself trying to market a book with a cover that I wasn’t excited about. The inside was no better. I felt the font was way too small. It looked like an effort to cram a large book into fewer pages… at the expense of the reader’s pleasure. (Another good reason, besides supporting small presses, to purchase a copy from their catalog while submitting.)

They have their aesthetic, and that’s fine… but, at fifty years old with more than half a dozen books out from small presses, I knew their aesthetic wasn’t for me.

I am absolutely stoked about the cover that Whistling Shade Press designed for my recently released short story collection, The Neighborhood Division. And, that cover came about through a healthy back and forth between the publisher and myself. I was heavily involved in the process, and Joel, Whistling Shade’s main dude, wasn’t going to move forward until I was excited about the cover.

That’s the kind of arrangement I want with a small press publisher.

So, with multiple red flags waving in my face, and a gut feeling of “signing that contract would be a mistake”… I sent my email of decline this morning.

What am I feeling right now, two hours later? 

Relief.

I am sitting here typing this with little feeling of regret. A younger version of myself probably would have proceeded because “It’s an offer of publication!” But, as they say, this isn’t my first rodeo.

Authors need to learn to trust their gut instincts. They need to forecast that the upcoming arrangement (be it through a large press, small press, or even through self-publishing) will be right for them. I did the tough forecasting, and it just wasn’t for me.

So, now, I wait for the other presses to get back to me. Maybe they will all be rejections. That’s fine. I still don’t see myself regretting this decision. I’d rather not have publication than have a book that I can’t get behind.

In previous posts, I’ve stated the various reasons that I won’t self-publish. If Falling Sky doesn’t get accepted somewhere that gets me excited… oh well.

If you find my blog posts instructive or illuminating, please consider purchasing a copy of my new book of short stories, The Neighborhood Division.

From the Publisher (preferred): here

From Amazon: here

Book Trailer: here