Guest Post and Giveaway with P.I. Barrington

What a better way to celebrate such a book other then to do a Guest Post and Giveaway.  There will be 1 copy of the trilogy Future Imperfect by P.I. Barrington given away on Bewitching books. 

You will receive a pdf of the three books.

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Small Publishers: What They Can Do for You.

By P.I. Barrington

While the debate over traditional publishers versus ebook and smaller publishers rages on and on, I thought I'd take a moment to talk about those smaller publishers and why I advocate them for new authors. I recently wrote a post regarding the basic, obvious mistakes authors continue to make even with the agents and editors telling them exactly what mistakes to avoid. That sparked a discussion about submitting to smaller presses and what they can do for authors.

Smaller publishers can help authors in a number of ways. Firstly they introduce you to being contracted as an author for your work; you receive (usually) a written contract sent to you via snail mail which you look over and sign (two copies-one for you & one for the publisher so that everyone is on the same page) and then return the publisher's copy to them and keep one for yourself. Make sure that you KEEP that copy forever in a place you can easily pull it out if needed. Once you have signed that contract, you are legally bound to produce or supply a manuscript (named in the contract) to that publisher.

After you've experienced that and supplied your manuscript to the editor, unless it's already done and on their desk, you will be asked to fill out the "cover art input sheet" that will go to the cover artist who will design your book cover. This is where you can really get hands-on with your artwork and cover artist. It also may sound terrifically fun it can throw you for a loop when you try to describe your novel in terms of theme, blurbs, major plot points or incidents as well as detailing what your main characters look like right down to their weight. I've never finished one in a single sitting and so far have never met an author who did so you're not alone. The best advice I can give you is think of your story in the most simple terms rather than long explanations that will eventually trip themselves and everyone else. But there is a saving grace at this point. You must fill out a CAIS; everyone has to since your cover artist may not (gasp!) have read your book and is going on what you fill out and/or the editor has given her or him. There's no other way and you cannot get out of it which is the next thing your publisher can do: force you to simplify and define your work in creative terms.

They teach you to learn the editing process. That includes, grammar, re-writes, revision on the whole, continuity and cohesiveness. You're going to have to do this at any publisher, regardless of size, and this is an intimate way of learning that is gentle. It teaches you to be open to suggestions and corrections and should make you an even better writer.

You are also expected to do your own promotion many times and this is invaluable learning about how to get publicity much of the time free. Chances are this is one of the times you will learn how to present yourself and your work in a professional manner. Guest posts on blogs, interviews, getting reviews are only a few of the ways you can promote your work and you should be the most tireless support of it.

You learn about royalties. This is probably the most often and emotional discussion that authors have with themselves and others. You'll see how royalties work with a small publisher which is pretty much a preview of how royalties work for the majors. Royalties can be anything from miniscule to middling to enormous (rare but possible) and I think despite all the advice given to new authors about ditching those dreams of immediate riches, many new authors still dream of it, this leads to an aversion to smaller publishers. Keep this in mind: You have to crawl before you can walk and walk before you can run. The smaller press teaches you to crawl and then walk.

Last, smaller presses give you credence. You are a published author with a copyright to your work and an ISBN number officially recognizing it. Agents and publishers want someone who can stick it out through all of the above and have a viable book at the end. If you've gotten this far with a small publisher, it tells them you are committed, open to help and suggestion, and easy and professional to work with.

If you still want to try for a major publisher, go ahead and good luck. But one of the best things a smaller press and or publisher can teach you is professionalism and that is a treasure in the publishing universe. In fact it is truly one of the riches that authors should dream about.