tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4982013421663058277.post5301289578624180110..comments2023-04-13T05:58:55.491-07:00Comments on Karen the Small Press Librarian: The Business of Micro PressKaren Lillishttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04624398526912042847noreply@blogger.comBlogger5125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4982013421663058277.post-18666763132519069382012-02-07T11:36:06.106-08:002012-02-07T11:36:06.106-08:00Wow, Karen, apparently bloggers are as slow as mol...Wow, Karen, apparently bloggers are as slow as molasses too! Since I wrote my first query in June, I have pretty much hit rock bottom with book sales. The grant apps never worked out, and I have been scraping by doing odd jobs and selling books (went on a 15 day road trip and sold books at 7 readings - averaging around 6-8 books per night). I've started selling my possessions to keep my apartment. In 2012, I plan to publish less books, offer more deals (3 for the price of 2 or 20% off, for example), and am bring my old magazine out of the closet and publishing it as an annual. Just like you mentioned. Also looking into E-Books (tho hard to do for poetry because of the line breaks etc...difficult formatting). And yes, I know that publishing poetry is about the hardest thing to tackle, but that's the way I'm wired.Raindoghttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13141721256665635728noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4982013421663058277.post-65310791596017488042012-02-07T06:23:15.590-08:002012-02-07T06:23:15.590-08:00This is a blog post by writer/publisher Roxanne Ga...This is a blog post by writer/publisher Roxanne Gay called "Lessons I've Learned Starting a Micropress":<br /><a href="http://htmlgiant.com/behind-the-scenes/lessons-ive-learned-starting-a-micropress/" rel="nofollow">http://htmlgiant.com/behind-the-scenes/lessons-ive-learned-starting-a-micropress/</a>Karen Lillishttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04624398526912042847noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4982013421663058277.post-44817753230026859182012-02-07T06:19:13.053-08:002012-02-07T06:19:13.053-08:00@Raindog, I don't have a lot of answers for yo...@Raindog, I don't have a lot of answers for you, but I can tell you what I've heard over and over: "There is no money in small press" and Poetry audiences are historically modest. Doing business in poetry is often a labor of love--trying to figure out how to support the business in order to keep publishing or selling the poetry that sells at a slower pace. In other words, some bookstores feature poetry but know they have to make their bread and butter off of best selling novels or high-end art books in order to keep supporting their poetry section. Or, some poetry-only presses sustain themselves through publishing well-known poetry names along with unknowns. Other publishers have spent years cultivating an audience (by publishing a certain quality and maybe a certain type of writer/writing) in order to get their customers to trust them as a press: "Whatever we put out, you'll like, even if you haven't heard of them." Some publishers start a journal or put out anthologies or samplers in order to help grow that audience. Often people who haven't heard of a press or its authors will take a chance on a journal or anthology and get drwn in that way. Good luck to you!Karen Lillishttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04624398526912042847noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4982013421663058277.post-542903287414085112011-07-08T12:11:12.435-07:002011-07-08T12:11:12.435-07:00I have been running a micro press operation for al...I have been running a micro press operation for almost 18 years now and have had some success with subscriptions, patrons, donations and, recently, presales of a title. Up until the last couple of years I had outside work, but now I'm trying to rely on my press for income. So far, it's mostly miss with the occasional hit. I'd sure like to hear from someone who'd like to point me in a right direction... I'm not a non-profit but I have applied for some grants (waiting stages). These days I have published over 20 titles using POD and have had several titles sell more than 100 copies (still pretty sad, if you ask me), but most of the titles are not selling (mostly poetry). I've been at this a long time, but am open to suggestions.Raindoghttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13141721256665635728noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4982013421663058277.post-41911805754502885192011-06-13T07:29:42.283-07:002011-06-13T07:29:42.283-07:00Weave was lucky enough to get grant funding from T...Weave was lucky enough to get grant funding from The Sprout Fund and that really kicked us off. However, all that money has been spent and we are alive with mostly sales from each issue. We do have a handful of lovely wonderful awesome good-hearted people who donate money and subscribe, but mostly the money comes from sales and me. I'm working on building up a subscriber base. I also want to apply for more grant money, but we need to get nonprofit status, which requires - you guessed it - money! It sometimes gets a little precarious, but we have managed it this way for three years so I'm hopeful that we'll get to a stable place in the next couple of years.Laura the Poethttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06661063308918439389noreply@blogger.com