Publisher’s Minute: April 20, 2018

“If you’re going to release this as the 25th Anniversary Edition of Carnavale, you’d better bring it, and this doesn’t bring it….” These were the immortal words of my editor, Frances, following the first read-through of The Definitive Edition of Carnavale, which I published as an ebook back in 2012, and that I had planned to use as the base for the 25th Anniversary print edition, which I had hoped to release in June, 2018. While those are words no author ever wants to hear from their editor, I appreciated her candor, because I am also this book’s publisher.

Of course, hearing those words on the “Eve of Publication”, as it were–here, in April, staring down the barrel of the deadline date in June–more or less sent me into crisis mode, both as author and publisher. So, yeah, there’s that….

It also got me thinking about quality control guidelines for Iaconagraphy Press, as well as refining our mission statement.

Let’s start with that mission statement:

Iaconagraphy Press is an independent publisher of Pagan and Spiritual non-fiction books, as well as fiction works which reflect those themes. While our focus is primarily on Norse Traditional and Welsh-inspired Paths, we pride ourselves on our authors’ ability to surprise the reader with what they find discussed upon the pages of our books. We are dedicated to producing books which will inspire you to “think outside the box”, challenge the spiritual status quo, and perhaps take the time to “walk a mile in someone else’s shoes”. We strive to produce books which are as visually appealing, as they are thought-provoking: books which you would be as proud to put on display, as you would be to read.

The real test of a mission statement for a small press is whether or not it provides a consistent rubric for our editors to use when having to make decisions about whether or not to actually publish a work. In other words, is it an effective yard stick for that level of initial quality control? Regardless of whether or not a manuscript contains actual “good” writing and content, if that content does not meet the criteria listed in a small press/indie publisher’s mission statement, then it shouldn’t be actively published and subsequently promoted by said small press/indie publisher.

Our current mission statement clearly states that we publish Pagan and Spiritual non-fiction books, and fiction books which reflect those themes. It further refines the parameters of what we mean by “Pagan and Spiritual” as primarily books with a Norse Traditional or Welsh-inspired focus. So if a book is outside those parameters, would we still publish it? No, probably not. If it’s outside those further refined parameters of Norse Traditional or Welsh-inspired focus, would we still publish it? Maybe. That decision would largely depend on how much myself and our other editor actually know about that particular field of focus, with the bottom line being that if we are not familiar enough with that focus to do a good job on the book, we would need to send its author on to someone else who is better-equipped. The other part of that maybe would depend on whether or not the book puts forth principles that we actually agree with and work to promote here at Iaconagraphy Press. So maybe it’s time that I add something about promoting social justice issues to our mission statement….

Our current mission statement also acts as a consistent rubric for our editors (and especially myself, as Editor-in-Chief) in stating that we will only publish books that meet the following criteria:

• Books that surprise the reader (in a good way, of course!).
• Books that inspire people to “think outside the box”.
• Books that challenge the spiritual status quo.
• Books that encourage the reader to empathize: in other words, “walk a mile in someone else’s shoes”.

All of those parts of our mission statement tell our editors what we will and will not publish, while also telling readers who might decide to buy our books what they can expect from those books. In other words, they act as quality control on both ends of the spectrum, assuring that our editors only select “the good stuff”, and providing value to the would-be reader: “Oh, you’re looking for this type of book? We have exactly what you’re looking for!”

The next part of our mission statement tells both authors and readers what they can expect to “get out of the deal” of working not only with us, but also for us, or shopping with us:

• Books that are visually appealing.
• Books that are thought-provoking.
• Books that you would be proud of: whether having written it yourself (as the author), or whether reading and/or displaying that book.

These three things govern quality control in the layout, editing, and marketing phases here at Iaconagraphy Press. If a book winds up looking like crap, that’s entirely on us, not the author! If we can’t get people’s wheels turning before they even buy the book in the first place, based on our complete understanding of the book and its content, that’s also entirely on us, not the author!

So, our better-refined mission statement should go a little something like this (and will be subsequently updated on the Iaconagraphy Press page, as of today):

Iaconagraphy Press is an independent publisher of Pagan and Spiritual non-fiction books, as well as fiction works which reflect those themes. While our focus is primarily on Norse Traditional and Welsh-inspired Paths, we pride ourselves on our authors’ ability to surprise the reader with what they find discussed upon the pages of our books. We are dedicated to producing books which will promote social justice, inspire you to “think outside the box”, challenge the spiritual status quo, and perhaps take the time to “walk a mile in someone else’s shoes”. We strive to produce books which are as visually appealing, as they are thought-provoking: books which you would be as proud to put on display, as you would be to read.

So, given my present predicament with Carnavale, what other quality control guidelines do we have in place here at Iaconagraphy Press, beyond that initial consistent rubric that’s in our mission statement?

• Is it written by someone who would qualify as having an expert opinion? What are those qualifications? (This is especially important when it comes to non-fiction books.)
• Is the content fresh and up-to-date, or is it profoundly dated?
• Where applicable, does the content have accurate and effective citation and referencing? (In other words: does this non-fiction piece provide a bibliography to back up and/or support this author’s research, or are we just taking all of this stuff “on faith”?)
• Has this author’s body of work consistently proven a reputation for quality, accuracy, and the other rubrics set forth in our mission statement? (When dealing with first-time authors, this would mean looking at that author’s previous work on a blog, for example. Other things we might look at would include, but not be limited to, that person’s reputation as a chef/cook [when publishing a cookbook], priest/priestess, or typical feedback received on social media [within groups, on pages, etc.] or within recognized and respected organizations; awards they have previously won, etc.)
• Is the content well-written and easy to read and/or comprehend? (A manuscript fraught with grammar issues, horrible spelling, etc., is probably automatically going to be passed over.)
• Is the book going to be an acceptable length? (Unless it is a book intended specifically for children, it should at least crack the 120 page mark. Industry standard is to measure manuscripts by word count; this is profoundly confusing for most people outside the industry, and especially new authors, which is why I list this in terms of page-length, rather than word count. Note: a book is rarely the same page-length in typical 8 1/2 x 11 manuscript format as it is in trim format; generally speaking, books are longer in trim format.)

In my next blog post, I’ll put all of this together and apply it directly to Carnavale, because I firmly believe that if I plan to publish my own books on my imprint, there needs to be total transparency in that process!