Small is not always beautiful

Very useful post here from Writer Beware about the pros and cons of being published by a small publisher.

Do read the whole post, as it contains wonderful advice, but can I draw your attention especially to these points?

• "Reputable publishers do not advertise for authors on Craigslist or in writers’ forums, or buy ads online or in print, or mass-mail authors out of the blue with invitations to submit."
• "...reputable publisher’s website will be book-focused - it will publicize its authors, and try to attract readers. A questionable publisher’s website will be service-focused - it will promote itself, and try to attract writers."
• "Be wary of any small press whose website contains large amounts of verbiage about how closed-minded the traditional publishing industry is, or tells scary stories ... It may be an author mill trolling for clients, or an amateur endeavor staffed by frustrated authors."

Those points are warnings about disreputable small presses but many other small presses, as the article says, are hugely well-meaning but under-staffed or resourced - though working terrifically hard to overcome that. Be prepared to do much more publicity work yourself if you're with a small press. On the other hand, this means greater control for you. It's tiring but satisfying. And nowadays, believe me, almost all writers have to do masses of publicity anyway.

Anyway, food for thought. The article expresses it all better than I could so please read it!