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Dan River Press
Dan River Press was created in 1976 in
Meadows of Dan, Virginia. It has become the fiction and biography arm of the Conservatory
and publishes the ever popular (since 1984) Dan River Anthology (year).
Guidelines For Book Length Submissions: Dan River Press
Don't submit until you have a personal marketing plan.
Tell me how we're going to sell enough books
to make publication possible.
Minimum advance sales (or donation) needed is $3,500.00
No one buys books by unknown authors unless they are known.
Advice for writers who want to be authors
This advice is free, and worth every cent.
Writers who find us often do not realize we are a small press. Or
realizing it, they don’t grasp exactly what it means.
A small press is not simply a commercial press that is small. It is a
different animal. First of all, a little logic: Why is a small press
small? Easy! We can’t sell books in significant quantities. If we
could, we’d quickly grow large and have expensive secretaries and
receptionists to keep you from ever reaching anyone with authority to
say YES. There are plenty of excellent books out there we can acquire
for a song and a promise. I’m not speaking just of us. This is
true of all small presses. Most small presses do not gross as much as
the salaries of you and your spouse combined.
Why should you bother with the small press? That’s easy. Because
you can’t get anyone in the big press to even read your ms. Oh I
know what is “taught and preached” by everyone from Writer’s Digest to New York University.
If you can just get good enough, you’ve got a chance. After all,
that’s what keeps their cash flow coming the right way. (in
instead of out) If you’ll just get good enough, you’ll make
it.
They preach it so they can sell it.
It’s bunk. Being “good enough” has little to do with
anything. If you’re some famous or infamous person with a story
to tell and can only write at a junior high level, don’t worry
about it. For a relative pittance we can have your ms. edited to
acceptable standards. If you can’t even write that well,
we’ll send an editor to your door and he’ll write it as you
dictate.
Logic: There are so many famous and infamous people around with
fascinating stories to tell, why should any commercial press work with
an unknown? They don’t. Oh sure, I’ve heard of John
Grisham. Have you ever heard of luck? It is a fact that more people in
the U.S.A. were struck by lightning last year than got first novels
published by the commercial press. And no one tried to get struck by
lightning. It costs at least $100,000 (more like a million, actually)
to promote a book. For the average small press that’s probably
about five year’s income. Publishers do not promote books.
They find someone well known and capitalize on that. For example,
do you think it would be difficult to publish a book by Elizabeth
Smart, or the woman (Casey) to tell her story of the
disappearance of her little daughter?
So what to do? First of all, don’t believe me. Remember John
Grisham? Remember luck? The nice thing about lady luck is that she
plays no favorites. It can happen to you. Submit to anyone who offers a
chance; submit until you are devoid of hope. Then turn to the small
press as a last resort. Even if you’re not very good you can
probably find a small press to publish you (though not here). Even if
you’re terrible you can find a small press to help you get your
book into print, if not by publishing you, by helping you publish by
serving as your printer, consultant, whatever else you need, all for a
specific fee (Even here.).
Of course you can also subsidy publish, but you shouldn’t. Two
reasons. 1) It isn’t going to work. If a subsidy house could sell
your book, they wouldn’t need a subsidy. 2) They publish so much
stuff that is terrible, that the occasional good book they do is
terrible by association. When you subsidy publish you pass the buck on
marketing to an entity who has no real interest in marketing you
(they’ve already made their profit on your subsidy fee), and they
don’t know how, lacking both connections and clout.
There is only one person in the world that has any interest (or
incentive to) in marketing your work. That’s you! (If you can
find someone else, have him/her do it.) Passing the buck guarantees
failure.
On the other hand, if you’ll spend 15% as much time marketing and
planning as you do writing you can bring out a new book every three
years at a profit. It isn’t easy, if it were, people would be
lined up at your door to do it for you. Anyone smart enough to write a
good book is smart enough to develop a marketing plan to the level it
takes to break-even. It just takes planning and creativity, and
on-going two sales a week.
Every commercial activity requires three things. 1) Product 2)
Manufacturing 3) Marketing. Fail at either and the activity fails. The
small press can handle # 2, can offer a little (very little) help with
#3 and sometimes some significant help on #1. When you’ve given
up on the commercial and the possibility of lightning striking, come to
us. If you’re willing to work, we offer hope.
You need a plan. Start with a mailing list on pressure sensitive labels
of everyone who knows your name. Go to bookstores in your town and
convince a few to stock a few books (on consignment if necessary).
Haunt all librarians you can, arrange readings and signings anywhere
you can. (They work!) Find unusual places to sell your books,
including, but not limited to places where you’re a good
customer. Home shows, Fairs, Book fairs, Church bazaars, flea markets.
One author sold 400 of his books in his brother's auto repair shop in
his first year. They're still selling there, with people now coming in
to buy the book that don't need auto repair. I know another author who
sells 15,000 copies of his books per year at county fairs, and they're
not even very good. But he's making good money and having a ball doing
it. Hard? You bet! Everything worthwhile is.
Bookstores: Every wanna-be author imagins his/her book on every bookstore shelf.
It ain't gonna happen.
Few small press books make it into bookstores.
Why? Bookstores demand huge discounts, then want 90 to 180 days to pay
(if they bother to pay at all), then they want to return any books that
did not sell, usually in un-saleable condition. In other words, they
want us to stock their shelves for them. Free! We're not big enough.
But take heart! Only about half the books sold
in the U.S.A. are sold in bookstores and a full 70% of us have not even
been in a bookstore in the past five years. Message? Find another way.
Just how many books have to sell before a small press can break even on
you? Depends on many things. Expensive small poetry books printed in
quality paperback with full color cover with accompanying CD? Perhaps
as few as 15-20. A 200 page novel. Maybe 200 or so. Not all that
impossible.
So if you want to submit here, forget the query letter Writer’s Digest“teaches.”
(no one reads most of them anyway) Remember, Writer's Digesty has a
vested interest in your continued failure. If you succeed
you don’t need them. Tell me how big your mailing list is, how
many readings you can do. How many books you’ve arranged to place
in bookstores. Do you know you can arrange readings/signings in just
about any bookstore in January and February? (even the chains) Are
there any reviews you’ve got commitments on (your local papers
are the first place to start – and remember this; reviews aren’t any good unless the review tells where locally your book can be bought.
In fact, if it doesn’t contain that data, the paper probably
isn’t going to run it.) Available from the author and Amazon.com
won't do you any good. Do you have a list of librarians in your
state/city/area of influence? What is library policy regarding
“favorite son/daughter” authors in your town/county/state?
How many librarians have you spoken with about your book? Map out your
plan. If it sounds like it’s got a chance, I’ll request the
manuscript with hopes for acceptance.
I don’t pretend to speak for all small presses. Just myself. I do
know that almost all small pressmen/women I talk to suggest the same
thing. Those that don’t, and try to act just like a large press
usually don’t last long. (I've been at it 38 years and counting.)
If you're willing to accept the premis of self-help, and you've given
up on luck (never give up on luck, she doesn't discriminate, but act as
though you have) we might be your answer.
Bob Olmsted, president
Conservatory of American Letters.
Fall, 2008
As always, we suggest writers read our books to determine if Dan
River Press is an appropriate place for your work.
We offer royalties of 10% of the
amount we receive on the first 2,500 copies, 15% of the amount we
receive on all additional copies. Royalties are paid each March for the
prior year, or on request. Quality book production is in hardcover and
paperback with a guarantee of in-print status for two full years
and as long thereafter as our sales total only $200 annually.
Discounts:
Everyone gets the same discount: Paperbacks: 1-4 copies none;
5-24 copies, 2% X number of books ordered. (10 books X 2%=20%); 25 or
more copies 50%. 1,000 or more copies 70%. Hardcovers are usually
produced in extremely limited numbers. Multiple copy discounts on
hardcover books: 1-4 copies none. 5-13 copies 2% per book 13-149 copies
25%, 150+ copies 40%.
Send #10 self addressed stamped
envelope for return of materials and additional #10 SASEs for answers
to questions, confirmation, and so forth.
Do not submit electronically or by e-mail. Do not
submit with disk. If we accept, we will ask for a disk, but we don't want one with
the first read. Simultaneous submissions are not encouraged, but they are not
forbidden. Because we are a conservatory, (and published = conserved), we don't
consider previously published work.
Dan River Press considers work from all. Membership in the
Conservatory is not required. If accepted, however, membership will be required over the
life of the publication. Members always receive preference when all else is equal, as we
seek to support those who support us.
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