Publisher’s Minute: April 6, 2018

As a publisher, I am essentially the “midwife” of the book-baby. For most small/indie press owners and operators, this is a fairly clear-cut job description, but when you are also the “midwife of the Dead”, as is my case, the line can get super blurry.

For twenty-four years, Connla has done amazing work at Iaconagraphy under my name; never getting any credit, and essentially living in my shadow. Now his book-baby is alive and well and out there in the world, and it is his book-baby, I’m just the midwife, not the actual parent, and as his publisher, I desperately want him to finally get all the glory. Because let’s face it: he freaking deserves it!

What does it mean to “midwife” a book-baby? Authors have a lot in common with proud parents: they have put their blood, sweat, and tears into the creation of their ultimate book-baby; it is very much a child born of inspiration. Often, it is also a child born of pain, just as in childbirth. The primary difference between labor pains and book-birthing pains is that actual labor doesn’t require going through that pain for a full year or more! The role of the midwife as caregiver in an actual pregnancy and childbirth situation has a shocking-lot in common with the role of a publisher in the birthing of a book-baby:

Midwives’ Model of Care (courtesy of the Midwives Alliance of North America)

• Monitor the physical, psychological, and social well-being of the mother throughout the childbearing cycle.
• Provide the mother with individualized education, counseling, and prenatal care.
• Provide continuous hands-on assistance during labor and delivery, as well as postpartum support.
• Minimize technological interventions.
• Identify and refer women who require obstetrical intervention.

So, how does all of that break down, when it comes to the job of a publisher?

A good publisher sees the author and their book as more than dollar signs. This often gets lost in the shuffle, when dealing with The Big Five, but at a small/indie press, this level of respect for both the author and the book’s well-being should be expected. Most people think of the book-publishing process as something that doesn’t begin until the book is already written, and, yes, often, that is the case. However, once an author has been “picked up” by a press, hopefully that will mean subsequent books will likewise be published via that press, and this is when the publisher’s willingness and ability to monitor the physical, psychological, and social well-being of that author comes into play. It also plays a very important role in the publishing process, as the author faces the masses for the first time, via marketing endeavors, etc. If the author feels physically and mentally exhausted, is unhappy, and feels as if they are persistently being attacked by their would-be readers, without their publisher stepping in to relieve those pressures, then that publisher is doing something wrong!

A good publisher not only counsels their authors throughout the publishing and marketing process, but also educates. Authors like to know why it is taking months to get their book-baby out there, to their readers. They don’t want to be anesthetized by persistent replies of “let us worry about that”, and thus miss the actual “moment of birth”. Authors educated by their publishers ultimately become better writers: they learn how to better hook readers, and actively work their market. They also learn how to better avoid editing fiascoes, which can lead to future books getting out there much faster than their first.

A good publisher provides continuous hands-on assistance throughout the publishing and marketing process, as well as “postpartum” support. Authors should not have to be out there, “beating the pavements”, and defending their own work, all by themselves. Unfortunately, that is the standard model in the majority of the modern publishing world, but it patently should not be. Being picked up by a press, small or otherwise, should mean that there is finally someone who believes in that author’s book-baby as much as they do. Otherwise, why not simply self-publish? If the author is going to have to market all by themselves, and in many cases defend their work all by themselves, they might as well! The modern publishing paradigm goes a little something like this: the publisher takes total control or at least primary control of editing, cover art, and layout of the book (in other words, the packaging), as well as overseeing subsequent printing and distribution, and then says to the author “go forth, and get yourself reading/signing/speaking gigs so we can make money off of all of your hard work.” This leaves authors in the position of “snake oil salesman” of a product that, apart from its central content, has been given a shape which they, themselves, did not create. Think of it this way: imagine an actual midwife knocking the mother out, dressing the baby in clothing of the midwife’s own desire, and then waking the mother up, and handing her the fully dressed baby and saying “this is your baby, now go show it off and help it become socially accepted while wearing those clothes.” What most people don’t realize is that the modern publishing industry’s standard of “postpartum” support involves “if your book doesn’t sell in the ‘clothes’ we’ve put on it, then it will wind up in the shredder”, instead of active participation in that marketing process, after they “dressed the baby”.

A good publisher makes sure the author never needs to go into panic mode; good publishers shoulder the stress, instead of the author having to do it all by themselves. The author has already poured their blood, sweat, and tears into the creation of this book-baby; they shouldn’t have to continue to bleed, sweat, and cry during the publishing and marketing process! Again, if they’re going to have to do that, they might as well self-publish. Most authors know diddly-squat about publishing standards, or marketing, and yet they are expected to know these things, without the publisher ever stepping in to teach or otherwise assist. Ultimately, this literally dooms the book-baby to the shredder, leaving the publisher with empty pockets, and the author with a crushed ego.

A good publisher seeks out authors in need of their services. A quality small/indie press doesn’t simply publish every book that comes onto their desk. Instead, they create a mission statement at the onset of their press, as to who they intend to serve, and how. They then actively court authors who fit the parameters of that mission statement. Here at Iaconagraphy, that generally means authors who cannot carry their own copyrights without some mortal intervention: i.e., dead people. It also includes newbie authors who never dreamed of themselves as writers in the first place and thus require extra care and a whole lot of “hand-holding”.

Now that I have laid out this basic primer of what a publisher should do, as they midwife a book-baby, next week, I’ll talk about how all of this has been applied to my handling of Norse Witch: Reclaiming the Heidhrinn Heart, and its author, Connla Freyjason.