Lessons I’ve Learned as an Indie Publisher
Some humble offerings on what can really make you stand out as an author
As an author myself who’s been in the slush pile, gone on submission, been rejected, been ghosted, been accepted and THEN rejected again, and every other variation of that process, I know how stressful things can be from the writing side of things.
Having now been the co-founder of a small indie press for the past two years, I’ve had some experiences that have given me some important perspective.
Some of it is reassuring, some is eye-opening, and some is just worth knowing if you’ve chosen this wonderfully devastating industry.
As a disclaimer up front, Bayou Wolf Press is a SMALL publishing house. We’ve put out three titles so far and we’re aiming to move to three a year moving forward. That being said, we have received a surprising amount of submissions, and being on this side of things has helped me see publishing a bit more clearly.
So without further adieu…the list:
- Sometimes the reason you get rejected is not an issue of quality. We’ve definitely had some books submitted to us that, in my opinion, were not very good, but we’ve also had some books we received and passed on that were, again in my opinion, extremely well-written. The key there is that the entire thing is based on opinion. It is such a subjective business. I can love something that other people wouldn’t look twice at, and vice-versa. There are also times — and these were the really hard ones — when I passed on something because I knew I wasn’t the right editor for it. To take on a project as its editor, you have to be willing to be its die-hard champion. You have to read multiple drafts, invest time and money, advocate to reviewers and readers why THEY should also give this book their time and money, and if you don’t LOVE the book, it’s not something you can take on. I can recognize something is really good while also recognizing that someone else would do a better job helping it become the best version of itself. I know from the writing end of things that you can really doubt yourself when someone passes on your writing, but sometimes — truly — it’s not you, it’s me.
- Spend some time on your query letter. Again, from the writing side of things, I know this can be a really nerve-wracking part of the process, but this is your shot to get someone’s attention. Sometimes the lack of effort that people put into selling themselves in the query letter tells me a lot about the lack of time they’ll put into selling themselves online, trying to reach an audience, connecting with readers, etc. The query doesn’t have to be a masterpiece, but you should show that you know how to succinctly and interestingly describe your book and yourself.
- Personalize your query letter. When you’re sending out 50 queries a day, this can be hard to do, but really, should you be sending out 50 queries a day? Even a quick sentence telling the agent/editor why you’re submitting to them can make a big difference — and this comes from someone who does not receive nearly the kind of email traffic that a big agency or publisher will. An author taking the time to tell me WHY they want to work with me can help me better envision what it will be like working with them.
- Respond to feedback gracefully. I don’t mean that you need to allow someone to tear apart your work, or even that you need to take on every piece of advice that I give. Agents and editors aren’t perfect, omniscient gods who know everything about books, but generally speaking, unless that person is just a real asshole, they’re giving that advice because something in the book isn’t working. They might have pinpointed the wrong thing, but you should take the time to really evaluate the feedback, evaluate the work, and see how it can be made stronger. Please note that publishing/agenting is also a largely underpaid business where individuals are reading in their free time, waking up early, staying up late, etc., and that if they’re giving genuine feedback, it’s because they see potential in your writing.
- If you get a revise and resubmit request, REVISE before you resubmit. Again, in reference to the note above, offering feedback on submissions is not something we’re required to do and it’s something we’re choosing to put our free time into, knowing that you might completely disappear, take your work elsewhere, etc. I’ve had a handful of people reply WAY too quickly after I’ve given notes and resubmit something that’s putting a band-aid on surface-level problems but otherwise not addressing any of the core issues that gave me reservations about publishing the work. And guess what? I didn’t publish the work. From the writing side of things, I know you might be feeling panicked that the agent/publisher will lose interest and that you have to move quickly, but I think most would agree with me (unless they’ve given you a specific timeline) that they’d rather see the revisions done right than done quickly.
- PACING. The biggest thing I’ve noticed, by far, in the submissions we’ve received over the years is the pacing. And I understand, because I also have a problem with pacing. It might be the most difficult thing to learn as a writer, but it’s something you can immediately sniff out as a reader. It doesn’t matter if your favorite established author who sells millions of dollars worth of books writes long books that take their time to get going and meander in the middle, etc. As a debut author, you just can’t do that. It has to be clear to your reader that you know where you’re going and how to get there, or they will lose faith in you — and that includes an agent and a publisher. My advice would be to get someone who isn’t your best friend or your spouse, etc., to read the book and tell you when they start to lose interest so you can figure out ways to tighten the pace and keep your readers invested throughout. The unfortunate truth is that there are so many options out there to read, if you give a reader (or agent/editor) a reason to put the book down, they will. And they probably won’t pick it back up.
- That being said…taste is subjective. Refer back to point number 1. Someone else might love your world-building and detailed history of the main characters’ ancestors before we’re introduced to the conflict of the book. But that person isn’t me. If that is your true vision for the book, you’re welcome to stick to it, but do your research and find an agent/publisher who will take you on, and don’t try to convince me why I’m wrong. It won’t work.
Again, I’m not pretending to be an expert, but from my experience, these are the things that would have been really helpful to know as a writer, from the perspective of a publisher.
We’re very lucky to have some great writers we’re working with, and we have some truly amazing projects coming up. The first is our collaboration with Cassondra Windwalker (@WindwalkerWrite) on her latest novel, Love Like A Cephalopod. For the record, Cassondra did her research when she queried, wrote a strong blurb, worked graciously on edits, and has been absolutely wonderful to work with. We hope you’ll love her novel as much as we do — available on February 15th, pre-order open now!
Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/Love-Like-Cephalopod-Cassondra-Windwalker-ebook/dp/B0BQTDJVM2/
Barnes & Noble: https://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/love-like-a-cephalopod-cassondra-windwalker/1142995737?ean=9781737752561
First chapter preview: https://www.bayouwolfpress.com/elizabeth-s-books-copy
