adventures in self-publishing
I was moving some books around on my shelf and realized I have now published just as many books via self-publishing as I did traditional publishing. Slightly more if you count the e-book version of LITTLE APOCALYPSE that never came into being because the press closed as we were in the final layout stages. The last traditionally published book was SALVAGE, which came out in that weirdness of covid lockdown summer, and actually managed to sell quite well compared to my previous Black Lawrence title published in 2016 (though not as well as GIRL SHOW did way back in 2014.) Part of it may have been that I doubled down on promo since there was no possibilities of release parties and readings and such to move copies.
After 2020, I felt a shift in my relationship toward po-biz and publishing, as well as a general backlog and build-up of unpublished work. In those intervening years, I've had fairly long routines of writing poems daily (or at least fragments) By the time 2021 had rolled around, was sitting on three full-length manuscripts that I genuinely had no idea what to do with. I submitted at least two of them during reading periods for my current press, but nothing was picked up those go-rounds. I am not really a contest person, especially if they have high entrance fees and the idea of finding an forging another relationship with an indie seemed an up-hill climb. And no one publisher could possibly take on as many books as I had stuffed away in my hard drive.
I have always been in favor of self-publishing in general, coming as I do from zine culture, tiny micropresses, and open-mic reading communities and all the places I spent my early days of being a poet. I had always hesitated on larger books, believing that the financial commitments and design acumen needed, as well as the marketing machine to get books in hands, was a bit too large an endeavor. Sure I could layout a chapbook or a zine--they were small and bite-size and I could print them on my studio printer. I could promote my work, but presses have actual staff in many cases that knew far better than I the logistics of marketing, promotion, distribution, etc. Admittedly, I had a background of almost two decades in publication design, so it was much easier for me to make that step.
With POD, the finances were not too terrible (I actually paid entirely for that first book with some proceeds from a Poetry Foundation zoom reading I did right before I released it.) With each new book, I've gotten down the layouts and specs a little more, meaning less proofs to purchase and a faster design process (I've even tried POD out on a couple chaps that had special design details I couldn't muster with my studio set-up like landscaped orientation. I've also done some hardback journals I designed from the ground up. Each new title of my own is less of an ordeal productions while (though I think all poets, whether we traditionally or self-issue, still have to navigate promotion.) The last few self-published titles have outsold the traditionally published ones in the first couple months anyway (at least the ones that send stats and royalty statements or even still exist as publishers. ) And with some older titles being retired at the decade mark and going out of print, its nice to be able to have a little more control over the long-term viability and availability.)
I also realized that the book above, GRANATA, is turning a whole year old this week...yet another great reason to self-publish..I cannot imagine finding a traditional small publisher who would do full-color artwork inside and its so important to this particular project....there is something very satisfying about having a close hand on the book from beginning to end...
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