A guest post:
A few years back I wrote a Facebook post complaining about trying to fix some problems with my formatting on Amazon. I had another author tell me there were some issues, and I couldn’t figure out what was wrong.
To be honest, I’m surprised – with my technical talents – that I was even able to get my book uploaded on Amazon. So trying to fix a formatting problem wasn’t going to happen. Thankfully, now I have found a wonderful formatter who I pay to do this!!
However, two years ago I was still struggling to do it by myself. In true Facebook fashion, I had lots of sympathy from authors who’ve been in the same boat. Yet, only one person offered to help. It was Jo from Inknbean Press. She said she was in the office and was formatting some of their author’s books and offered to format mine.
My novel is self published and I’m not their author. I was stunned, to say the least, at her generosity. I had recently been working with a small, new publisher for my Death By Broken Heart novella and it ended badly. To have someone offer their time to help me, restored my faith in publishers.
I sent my novel to her and she formatted it. That started a great friendship over the next year. So when it came time to look for a publisher for my new mystery, I sent it to Jo. But, it took a long time for them to get back to me. They were backed up at the time. Sadly, I decided to look around elsewhere. Since I kept going back and forth on the idea of just doing it myself, I held off for several months. When I finally decided that I needed a publisher and started shopping it around, Jo noticed my post and said they were interested if I hadn’t found someone already.
I had one other small press I was looking at, but the fact that Jo is so helpful and understanding, plus I had lots of great comments from their authors. Since I was already FB friends with many of them, I asked around and got wonderful testimonies. I knew this press would work with me and not force their ideas on me.
I even had leeway with covers. If I didn’t like the cover they did I could pay for my own. Since I used a friend for my other three books I figured I’d take this option. My cover was one of the things the other press and I couldn’t come to agreement on.
Now, some people will look at the name, sales record, marketing plan, or financial gain when choosing their publishing. For me the most important thing is trust, understanding, and feeling like I’m part of the family. That is exactly what I got with Inknbean Press!!
Don’t get me wrong, I did check out other author’s book sales, look at their covers, and ask lots of questions. Although I want to be treated fairly, I also realize this is a business. Make sure that when looking for a publisher they can balance the business with the personal.
Kriss Morton Writer, Designer, Blogger, Publicist, Reviewer, Chaos Creationist, Alaskan, Cabin Goddess…
cabingoddess.com | thefinishingfairies.com
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