Montana Book Festival 2017

With the New York Publishing scene in upheaval and revision and with the growth of independent presses, writers have many more options than in the days when the Big Five ruled the publishing world. 

But where to start? With fiction and nonfiction, is it best to try the traditional route, finding agent and then letting the agent do the work of selling? Or should the intrepid writer set forth with query letter and sample pages and work directly with smaller publishers? Poets have long been published by smaller presses, but is publishing a chapbook a good idea? Many writers wonder about working directly with Amazon, either with their publishing arm Little A or their digital rights group. 

The members of this panel have a wide and varied background, published by many smaller publishers (indie and academic) as well as the “big five.” As poets, nonfiction writers, and novelists, we can offer a wide perspective on how to position yourself with a smaller press. 

With detailed handouts (including lists of indie publishers, web sites to find such, and how to’s in terms of working with small publishers), we will provide a working model that participants can emulate. 

For the panel, we will first talk about our roads to publication, focusing on the decisions we made that led to our recent books. We will introduce themselves and our recent books—and the stories that led to them. 

During these discussions and in a following Q and A we will cover the following ground: 
1) Why a smaller press? 
2) Money? Can you make any with a smaller press? 
3) Other types of remuneration (maybe even emotional) from small presses. 
4) Did we try for a New York publisher? 
5) Did we try for an agent? 
6) Will an agent work with a smaller press? 
7) What are the pros of working with a smaller press? 
8) What are the cons? 
9) If we could do it all over again, what different choices would we make? 
10) Tips on what to do leading up to and then after publication with a small press.