Stephen Morris, writer and publisher at the Public Press, gave a presentation last night at the Northshire Bookstore about book publishing. Having worked as both a writer and as a publisher, making every mistake in the book as he says, Stephen has really become quite an expert on the business.
If anything, Stephen gave many of those present a reality check into the publishing world. Even after publishing several fairly successful books and working through a very prominent literary agent, Stephen found that one can hardly live off the royalties of a book deal. In addition, he shared just how hard it is to find an agent or a publisher as a new writer. His company, the Public Press, provides an alternative format that is fairly cost effective and enables new authors to launch from a fairly good position. I took notes on the meeting and hope to share some additional tips in the near future. One tip that I need to share off the bat is that Stephen said he prefers to work with independent book stores who will rarely ever return purchased books. Unfortunately Borders and Barnes & Noble are known to ship back unsold books.
Ed Cyzewski: Author // Contemplative 