Choosing a Publishing House for the Unagented
Currently I do not have a literary agent, although I will be seeking one in the future. I am traditionally published with a small press that does not require one. While it doesn’t offer an advance, I do receive 50% net profits. Contrary to the popular belief that net profits raise a red flag, you do want net profits with a small press, and you can find out why here. I STRONGLY encourage you to read that article.
50% net profits basically means that, for example, if I were to sell 1,000 books every month (online with e-book), I could make about that much money (publisher and I split what is left over), which is more than someone with a much larger press would make on gross profits (online). Most small presses typically sell online only, although a few can get a small percentage of their books in stores—but this is rare.
It is not any easier to get accepted by a small press. It’s just as difficult as other presses and should be. It shows the publisher cares about the quality of a book.
Don’t expect explosive sales with a small press but do expect to sell. Lower your expectations, but you should not have to severely lower them. A good small press will get sales for your book and will help you grow your career. This is because small presses simply don’t have the budget of the larger presses, so exposure is more minimal. But you can still do well with one. About 1,200 sales of your book within the first year is considered good—for a small press.
Small presses do exist for a reason. You can use these as a last resort to medium presses or offshoots of larger presses that don’t require agents, but small presses exist to take, I suppose, edgier content that you don’t commonly find among mainstream publishers—hardcore erotica and new adult, for example. I chose a small press for When Stars Die because I knew the darkness would have to be watered down to fit more mainstream tastes—not to mention my book would get looked at as NA, even thought it is not. My book is also paranormal, and it is a genre larger publishers are a little resistant to accept now. There are books edgier than mine in the YA market, but they are few and are left at the mercy of an editor to decide whether or not it’s dark enough or too dark. It’s a rare editor willing to allow the darkness to stay, but I notice books like these don’t do too well with mainstream publishing like they would with a small press. Fault Line is one book I can think of (a book I loved) that is with a big press, but if you look at its rankings, they’re hardly anything to cheer about. Rankings aren’t always accurate, but they can still give you a glimpse. Rankings like that are slightly acceptable with a small press but not so with a larger press.
I find an agent unnecessary for small presses. This is a personal opinion of mine. A VERY personal opinion. If you have a literary agent, your agent should use small presses as a last resort, especially if you are against the idea of self-publishing because you don’t think you’ll do so well alone. The reason I say this is because oftentimes small presses don’t provide advances, so you will be splitting your profits among your publisher and agent, so there is less money for you than if you had gone in without an agent. And sometimes they do provide advances, but they are small, so your advance will be even smaller if you have to split it with your agent. Spencer Hill Press started out with 200 dollar advances. I don’t know if they’ve increased the pay, but I know one literary agent who immediately went to them right off the bat for her clients. Granted, she was new at the time; however, she is no longer an agent. If the press is reputable and the contracts author friendly, you have no reason to fear signing on without an agent, unless that small press is not taking unsolicited manuscripts at the time. In this case, you should move on to another press that is taking unsolicited manuscripts. But, again, if you have an agent, that agent should be using small presses as a LAST RESORT. That agent shouldn’t be trying small presses immediately. It is my opinion that if you’re seeking an agent, it is because you want to be published by a large press that offers some great terms and a sizable advance so that way you’re not being shortchanged of money that is rightfully yours. Net profits for a small press exist to make up for an advance. (This is assuming that your book does well to make up for that advance, and it should, probably within its first year, because even with a large press, you won’t receive your entire advance upfront.) So why would you want to share those profits with an agent, unless you absolutely have to as a last resort?
So when choosing a publishing house that is outside of the Big 5 or a house connected with one of the Big 5, what are you supposed to do? How do you know which house is going to treat your book well, and how do you know which house is going to destroy your book?
