Indie Publishing Companies Help Authors And Readers

By Harriett Crosby


Many believe independent presses or small presses are an interchangeable title for printing various original works, which is often true. Almost one half of all publishers of books and nearly a third of magazines are produced by this type of industry press around the world. They are often referred to as indie publishing companies and they only print limited-edition books, mostly poetry anthologies, genre fiction and niche fiction and non-fiction books of various styles. They could also run small prints of specialty magazines.

An independent press, in order to be eligible for small status, must meet certain criteria. An important one is not to be associated with a larger parent company. Those in charge of the press, either an individual or small group of investors or publishers, make all the decisions regarding where money, time and energy will be spent. Although this is not a new concept, dating back to the late nineteenth century and the Kelmscott Press as the first independent publisher, they got their start through William Morris and the Arts and Crafts Movement. Morris was a writer, artist and textile designer.

Advancements in technology, at first in music and films, are at the forefront of the independent publisher's boom. It wasn't a dramatic change, but over time, it took hold. This allowed writers to guide their books where they felt they would best be spotted by readers.

Benefits to a writer are extensive when using a small press. Not only do the presses post upfront cash for editing and printing, they also handle all publicity and marketing of the finished product. After that, a writer will be free to do what they do best, write.

Reserving an author's tone is paramount in small publisher's transactions. In addition, the author will retain all rights to their book after the small press runs their contracted amount of prints. For example, if an author is approached by another publisher or a film studio, they are able to sign a contract with either as they retain all rights to their material.

Independent publishers are not going to offer the benefits to an author as self-publishing will, the small presses offer so much more. The vanity publisher will request writers to put money up for a set amount of books or purchase so many books from the first run. In contrast, small presses have a much looser contract. They will pay royalties to the author for the use of their book as they do not own the copyright.

The definition of an independent publisher is one which grosses no more than $50 million per year. This amount is after discounts and returns and is on an average of 10 or fewer titles in a year. There are a couple presses that succeed in printing a couple more each year, but that doesn't disqualify them for small press status.

Printing presses will not edit or market a manuscript, they only print it. They are part of a growing print on demand (POD) series of bringing content to the masses. Any content from any writer is eligible for printing. Since there is no editing or sales help, as with indie publishing companies, the independent press is a better option.




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