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| Billie Johnson |
Today my guest is publisher Billie Johnson. Find out what she has to say about the advantages of serious writers publishing with a small press.
Just Like Random House, Only Smaller…..NOT!
Setting aside the obvious elements of authors and books, there are few similarities between indie presses and the biggies. I think authors would be better served if they mastered these distinctions. Like many relationships, a successful author/publisher relationship hinges on managing expectations.
We’ve all seen the fact lists contrasting large and small publishers, so let’s focus on what I see as the primary one…duration. Perhaps there is an inverse relationship to the size of the house and the length of time your title will be its focus….the bigger the house, the shorter the time your title has to make its mark?
At Oak Tree Press, we plan for a year of active promotion, whereas major publishers compress this into a short few weeks. Plus, we expect the author to be a vital part of the process. Our goal is to separate the career writer from the hobbyist, identify those with a long-range vision of their book-business path, then support them in our system.
Our guidelines outline OTP’s posture on authors and promotion, and advise that the query cover the high points. We check an author’s visibility on the Internet, the social networking sites. Is there a blog? Contributions to someone else’s blog? A website? A newsletter?
This is all vitally important to us because, if we go forward together, OTP will be putting its resources into the production and distribution of the title. And if we pick wrong, there are no deep corporate pockets to pick up the shortfall. A Random House editor once told me they expect to go big on one out of ten titles, so they accept the nine lackluster ones. That doesn’t work for OTP, and I suspect, not for most indies. Survival means a much better ratio than that.
Hmmm….Maybe there is an inverse relationship for margin of error as well!!
Plus, with a smaller publisher, authors get much more personal attention. We also get more say in the overall look and feel of the final book. (I asked Billie to completely redo the cover for my book, "Ghost Writer," and she didn't even blink. the new one is perfect!)
We've been published by a couple of small presses, and I wouldn't change a thing. The business model big presses currently use is completely unwieldy and out of date. I think time will prove the indie model to be more flexible and long-lasting in the marketplace.
I was thankful and and honored to have been chosen to launch Mystic Oak, the new imprint from Oak Tree!
Oak Tree publishes my Rocky Bluff P.D. series and I am as happy as I can be. Billie knows exactly what she's doing and I'm happy to be a part of her "family."
You are so right, Lorna. That personal attention is so important, especially to new authors.
I'm looking forward to working with Billie on my upcoing project. Thanks.
Great hearing from Billie, her publishing philosophy, and about Oak Tree Press. I read and follow the work of several of her authors–all good! I love small presses, and Oak Tree is one of the best.
Madeline
I actually think most Big 6 authors would be well-served by practicing the methods you mention here, Billie. It can only help in becoming the one of the ten. Connecting with readers is as much a part of writing a book as, well, writing it.
The longer shelf life at a small press is a real advantage, and there are ways an author with a major house can extend shelf life, too, mainly by investing in his or her career as you describe.
I think that however you publish, it has to be a two way street.
Thanks, everyone, for the kind words! I feel the OTP has been VERY lucky in the authors' department, with people like Marilyn and Lorna and Stephen and more.
And Madeline (don't you love that name…I know I do!), I hope I will be seeing you in Las Vegas!
And thanks, Kathleen, for the opportunity to be 'out there'!
Billie Johnson,
Oak Tree Press
Oak Tree Press published my book last year and what I love is the accessibility. If I have a question, Billie or the staff at OTP respond promptly by email–sometimes late at night on weekends! I had a quick response when my manuscript was submitted whereas a larger publisher took four months to reply. At the big houses an author had to fight through layers of organization to reach a publisher who is often too busy to respond. At OTP I had input on the book title and cover. Sunny Frazier, OTP acquisitions editor, gave me guidance on breaking into social media. Small presses work hard for their authors.
Working with OTP has been fantastic! I learned more about publishing along the road to the release of my archaeological mystery 'American Caliphate' than I did in grad school!
Good, informative blog post, Billie! I love the photo of you.
Sally, that's a good point about accessibility.
Monti
Mary Montague Sikes
And that year of active promotion never actually ends. An author with a smaller press who continues to promote can continue selling older books because if a book is making sales, a smaller press will keep it available.
A smaller press is also more patient when developing a series, knowing that building a series is more like making gumbo than microwaving a bowl of soup, and with each new book published, additional sales of the earlier books will follow.
If the first novel of a planned series doesn't find its audience relatively quickly and hit it big with a traditional publishing house, it's unlikely the rest of the series will ever see the light of day.
Holli Castillo
Gumbo Justice, Jambalaya Justice
Thanks to all of you for commenting. There is so much good advice here. I'm about to make my own list.
I love it–just like Random House, only smaller!! (Not!) Now that Bennett Cerf is gone, Random House isn't the only game in town any more. I think small presses that serve vertical markets are going to be the future, just as smaller music promoters that serve vertical markets (classical/Western art music, classic rock, alternative, hip-hop, etc.) have come along to replace the blockbuster labels in the past. And good for us; we're doing things right.
I'm definitely a postgrad in the school of hard knocks, but since winning the 2011 Dark Oak Contest with my novel NICE WORK, I feel I've hit a hundred miles of good road. Our prospects are grand, and social media is the way to get the word out. See you on the book tour!
Denise Weeks, author of NICE WORK, the first Jacquidon Carroll Mystery (also known as Shalanna Collins, YA/fantasy novelist and all-around pundit)
Congratulations on your award! You made some great points here. How many of us remember Bennet Cerf? I know I'm telling my age, but I knew him first as that guy on "What's My Line," before I knew he was a publisher.
Great comments! And Monti, our own Clark Lohr took that picture at LCC. He is a professional photog and he took pictures of the whole conference, the awards banquet and many of the attendees, in addition to lots of pics of OTP people. Everyone was very appreciative. He has a dandy of our Sally with her fellow finalists, too.
And Holli, you are so right, and this is my point, you have to be prepared for a long haul, blend it into your life.
And I hope you have all checked out Bill's book…it is excellent, IMO!
Appreciate your succinct, insightful comments. With your graceful writing style, perhaps you might consider writing an article examining the advantages to an author and what is expected of him/her by indie publishers. The recent "Poets & Writers" magazine details what happens in the daily life of a literary agent and lays out the startling figure that the chances of getting an agent from Folio Literary Management may be one in 11,111. Yikes!
Hi Billie, I love the idea that you are personally involved. It shows that you care and that you believe in your writers.
Thank you. I can't tell you how thrilled I was to be the contest winner and to actually follow the book through its stages of publication. We now have a cover and are very close–I can feel it. WOW!
My dad used to have all these books of collected jokes by Bennett Cerf, and he watched "What's My Line" when I was really little. I didn't remember the show well until they started running it on the Game Show Network in the middle of the night years ago. I think they've stopped running it, but when I watched it, I would always mourn the loss of American intellectuals as celebrities. I mean, Steve Allen, Bennett Cerf, and all the others on the show were really SMART and didn't mind if you knew. Now most celebrities seem really dumb to me. Maybe it's just all that watching of re-runs of "Everyone Loves Raymond," but the ONLY smart sitcom on now is "Big Bang Theory," and even it can be silly. ANYWAY . . . we're old, and I know it, and it's depressing–but in a way it's a relief, because if I do something weird, it will be attributed to my ancientness and not to me being hopeless, as it was when I was young.
Thanks for being my guest, Bille. You have quite a dynamic following.
My Bogey Man series is also published with Oak Tree, and I couldn't be happier. Billie and her staff have been great to work with, and I hope our relationship continues. I much prefer the personalization you receive with a small publisher. Unfortunately for me, I've hit a little speed bump on the book-business path, but hopefully that will change soon.
Thank you so much for taking a chance on me, Billie!
Billie has put the differences squarely in sights. The author working with the small press has more responsibility for promotion and marketing as well as more perks. I can't wait to get started.
I'm very pleased to say I work with Billie and Oak Tree. We are committed to making our authors successful (sometimes I feel like we should be committed to a mental ward, this business is CRAZY!).
Billie thank you for sharing you incite as well as the love for small presses.
Sunny thank you for leading us to this site.
I enjoyed reading all the comments as well as the responses. There's turly a family here, and I love it. Augie
I'm late Lesley, but I had to add my voice to the others who applaud the efforts of OTP and its successful partnership with all of its authors. Oak Tree is the best choice for many authors. I feel like an important person here and not a number.
I'm another Oak Tree author who is mighty proud to be part of the family. Most do not believe me when I say I wouldn't say "yes" to Random House if they called and offered me a contract tomorrow. Doesn't matter what they think. I know who I am, I know what I value, I know what friendship and the support of friends are worth. I love being a writer, and I love being partnered with a right-sized publisher who values the writing art and knows the writing business.
Our profession is wonderful, isn't it?—difficult at time, but always wonderful!