Laura-Lee
asked
Werner A. Lind:
Considering that the plot of Lifeblood reads primarily as a Christian vampire story, which is not a usual mix of topics, did that hinder you from getting a publisher? What advice would you give to an author who has such an unusual story that it doesn't fit a regular genre label? How would they find the appropriate publisher? How would one go about self promoting an unusual story?
Werner A. Lind
To take the first question first, it definitely hindered me with Christian publishers, at least those affiliated with the ECPA, because their guidelines prohibit vampire fiction (I didn't know that at the time). All of them rejected the book (and some were quite snarky about it). Even after it was published (by a secular press) the same was true of Christian bookstores. (Secular publishers didn't have a problem with the Christian content, surprisingly!)
If you're a beginning author, have a story that's unusual and outside the usual commercial labels, and don't have an agent (and they're very hard to get, and usually don't want to mess with unusual works) you have two options: self-publish, or apply to small presses. (Nowadays, the big publishing houses accept queries and submissions only from agents, not directly from writers,) Self-publishing wasn't so common early in this century as it is now, so I went the second route.
Small presses don't help much in advertising a book (they can't afford it); but they do handle the cover design, pay for production, and handle distribution. IMO, that makes them preferable to self-publishing. To find one, you can use reference books like The Writer's Market or Novel and Short-Story Writers Market, which your library may have, or search on Google. You'll probably submit to several (or a lot!) before you get accepted. Just keep trying, be patient, and follow all submission directions. (And read the press' guidelines before you try submitting to them!)
If you self-publish (as I did with Lifeblood for a while, after its first publisher went out of business) DON'T sign a contract with any printing service that charges you money for printing. Only sign with one that makes its money from actual sales (and pays YOU money when a book sells). Lulu was the service I used (and their free package will provide a generic cover); but make sure the book is proofread before you submit it, because they can't correct typos after the fact. (To do that, you have to scrap the whole project and start over.)
I'm no expert on book promotion; I may make a dollar or so (or less) in some quarters of the year, and usually nothing! For what it's worth, though, my suggestions would be common sense: offer free copies to libraries, especially your local library, if you can afford it. (My publisher lets me buy copies at a discount.) Be active on Goodreads; don't spam people or groups with promotion for your book, but mention it where it's appropriate. (Many groups have threads or folders where authors can promote their books.) And definitely join the Goodreads Authors Program! Also, when your book is new, local media outlets will consider it news; let your local paper and radio stations know about it. A local home-owned bookstore (or even some chain stores) might be willing to carry your book, if they do that for local authors; but otherwise, don't bother with bookstores. (Small presses can't afford to offer them the same discounts and sweetheart deals they get from Big Publishing, so they're not interested.) Remember, above all, that your best advertising is word of mouth from satisfied readers!
Don't know if these answers are helpful or not, but I hope they are! ;-)
If you're a beginning author, have a story that's unusual and outside the usual commercial labels, and don't have an agent (and they're very hard to get, and usually don't want to mess with unusual works) you have two options: self-publish, or apply to small presses. (Nowadays, the big publishing houses accept queries and submissions only from agents, not directly from writers,) Self-publishing wasn't so common early in this century as it is now, so I went the second route.
Small presses don't help much in advertising a book (they can't afford it); but they do handle the cover design, pay for production, and handle distribution. IMO, that makes them preferable to self-publishing. To find one, you can use reference books like The Writer's Market or Novel and Short-Story Writers Market, which your library may have, or search on Google. You'll probably submit to several (or a lot!) before you get accepted. Just keep trying, be patient, and follow all submission directions. (And read the press' guidelines before you try submitting to them!)
If you self-publish (as I did with Lifeblood for a while, after its first publisher went out of business) DON'T sign a contract with any printing service that charges you money for printing. Only sign with one that makes its money from actual sales (and pays YOU money when a book sells). Lulu was the service I used (and their free package will provide a generic cover); but make sure the book is proofread before you submit it, because they can't correct typos after the fact. (To do that, you have to scrap the whole project and start over.)
I'm no expert on book promotion; I may make a dollar or so (or less) in some quarters of the year, and usually nothing! For what it's worth, though, my suggestions would be common sense: offer free copies to libraries, especially your local library, if you can afford it. (My publisher lets me buy copies at a discount.) Be active on Goodreads; don't spam people or groups with promotion for your book, but mention it where it's appropriate. (Many groups have threads or folders where authors can promote their books.) And definitely join the Goodreads Authors Program! Also, when your book is new, local media outlets will consider it news; let your local paper and radio stations know about it. A local home-owned bookstore (or even some chain stores) might be willing to carry your book, if they do that for local authors; but otherwise, don't bother with bookstores. (Small presses can't afford to offer them the same discounts and sweetheart deals they get from Big Publishing, so they're not interested.) Remember, above all, that your best advertising is word of mouth from satisfied readers!
Don't know if these answers are helpful or not, but I hope they are! ;-)
More Answered Questions
Chris Talbot
asked
Werner A. Lind:
Thank you for your thoughtful analysis of Tawney's Religion and Rise of Capitalism. Any recommendations on further reading that follows the line forward into the values and capitalist economies of the West into the 20th/21st C? From a faraway place I thought a lot about From The Ruins of Empire by Pankaj Mishra while reading this. Thanks and be well! - C
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