10 Questions to Ask a Publisher

How to find your fit & manage expectations

In the spirit of anticipating AWP and other new-year writerly goals, here are some writer questions for publishers that you may not have considered—from one humble publisher to you, dear reader-writer. Whether you ask them directly or just consider them when scoping out a press, I hope it helps you think about the practical as well as the aesthetic or other qualities you might find important to the process. As I always try to remind people, publishers are not interchangeable—experiences can vary widely, and the press you choose to bring your work into the world can make a big difference in how it’s developed, how it finds readers, and how it may potentially shape other future aspects of your career. By learning as much as you can about what to expect and what matters to you and your publishing goals, you can be more empowered to make good choices and find the right fit for you and your books.

While I originally conceived of these questions as a guide for considering a prospective publisher before you submit or sign a contract, they can also work in strengthening relationships between writers and their current publishers as you work together to bring your work into the world.

1. How would my book fit into your wider catalog and the vision/priorities for your press? Considering this part of the publication process reflects an awareness on the author’s part that their book is a piece of a larger literary community and helps crystallize how a publisher will approach multiple aspects of the book’s development—how they’ll frame marketing materials, which books they’ll juxtapose yours alongside, what kind of publicity strategy they’ll build, etc. Taking this mindset simultaneously shows a broader respect for a publisher’s role and helps give you a sense of whether your visions/values align.

2. How do you handle fulfillment, and how quickly do orders ship? If you manage fulfillment, what materials do you use? If a press takes weeks to ship your order, consider how important that is to you. I personally find it off-putting that a lot of smaller household presses use that status as an excuse to be slow with packing orders, but maybe that’s just me. If your books may get bottlenecked in delays from a distributor, learn how that may affect its availability. Perhaps even more important, it’s good to know how they’re shipping books. Just one of many reasons Amazon is terrible for books: their shipping materials almost seem specifically intended to harm books in transit. Unfortunately, some small presses aren’t much better—big loose envelopes with books flopping around inside. I don’t think this should be an area for cutting corners, especially if the corners of your book are at stake (see what I did there?). Respect the value of the work, artistically and as a physical object. (Perhaps more of this commentary comes down to personal preference, but it’s still worth thinking about)

3. What kind of wholesale discounts do you offer for retailers? This question is primarily relevant with smaller presses that may not have as wide a distribution network (publishers with formal distribution are more likely to operate under standard terms). They sometimes reduce these discounts with the idea that it helps compensate for lower sales, though in reality it can make sales even more difficult by de-incentivizing potential retailers trying to make the most of already-slim profit margins. Many pragmatic factors go into the salability of a book beyond its artistic merit.

4. What kind of bookstore outreach/strategy would fit my book? I wrote about this more extensively in a recent subscriber exclusive, but one thing I want to stress here is thinking seriously about how your publisher actually produces/distributes your books. If Amazon/KDP is their primary model, for example, it may be more difficult to work with bookstores. Ingram is a necessity in most cases. On the other hand, not every bookstore will be a good fit for your book, and that’s okay. Don’t take for granted that your book belongs in any or every indie bookstore; some books fit that market (and specific stores) better than others. Be willing to consider this reality from a place of humility and self-awareness.

5. How do you approach cover design? It can be common for small presses to approach this part of the process more collaboratively than bigger presses. However, make sure you understand the expectations so that you don’t overstep a boundary or get too focused on the personal aspects of the process. Trust your publisher’s judgment in what will best convey the book’s content and align with their overall aesthetic/vision. And make sure you know enough about that beforehand so you feel comfortable with a potentially similar look for your own book baby.

6. What is your review/publicity strategy? Phew—I wish I could tell you; thanks for asking. It’s wild out there! Sometimes books that get ten positive reviews in relevant outlets get fewer sales than books with almost no coverage. There are a lot of variables involved with this process, of course, but it’s worth reading up on what industry experts are saying about the current state of publicity and what may possibly get you the best results. I’m a fan of the Substack

   Publishing Confidential
   , for example.

   1. Another big part of this piece of the puzzle involves making sure you and your publisher are on the same page about things like paid reviews. We at Belle Point feel pretty strongly about avoiding them. There are a lot of reasons for this that I won’t get into here, but you might be interested in this overview by Jane Friedman. If you think it will be important to you to have this option for your own book, clarify this before signing.

7. What kinds of publisher expenses go into the development of my book? Contrary to popular belief, publishers do not sit on piles of money—at least not the ones running a press out of their houses, but probably not most of them regardless of size. It can be informative to learn how much expense goes into the process and, again, can reassure you that the publisher is invested in the project, even if it may not always be immediately visible.

8. How could I most effectively support promotion efforts for my book? Always good to be on the same page with every aspect of book development. It’s also helpful on both sides to understand the partnership at work in the publishing (and publicity) process, especially for small presses that often lean more on authors to support this piece of the project.

9. Which events do you think would be a good fit for my book? How do you approach events? It seems as though it can be taken for granted in the “lore” that small presses tend to do little-to-nothing on this front. To be honest, some days I can understand why, but it’s also perhaps not entirely fair. For those who are more proactive on the events side, be honest with your publisher (and yourself) about your comfort levels and ability to commit or follow through on making them happen. If you’re expecting a book tour, for example, and your publisher doesn’t tend to focus on those, that’s useful information. If you want to do festivals, get all that information together and keep up with those deadlines (or communicate about those things with your publisher). So much work goes into an already-overloaded job when managing the moving pieces of an event, and they often don’t have a clear return in the ways that you may imagine. But if it’s important to you to have this part of the book experience, get a sense of what’s realistic and plan to do your part to help make it happen.

10. How are you working toward financial stability/sustainability? I would say “ensure,” but that’s increasingly difficult these days. The way this question is phrased is a little forward, maybe, but there can be ways to get a sense of this beyond asking it directly. The function of such a question is to determine how likely it is your book will stay in print (or even, with some smaller presses unfortunately, end up launching in the first place). I also think it’s important to be aware of whether a press is consciously thinking of this aspect of running of a business (or if they, in fact, see it as a business). Some signs to look for: how they’re marketing their books, how easy it is to buy them, how they’re diversifying income streams, any sense of sales numbers or other data they may share, etc.

Hopefully this gives both writers and publishers a few ideas to consider in how they can strengthen their relationships and better understand each other’s perspectives/needs in this wide world of small press publishing. Stick around and get more posts like this by subscribing below.