Not starting a micropress
I'm not opening a print shop, I'm not buying a secondhand bookshop, and I'm certainly not starting a micropress.
But I have been reading a lot about them and collecting a bunch of links.
This is not a new compulsion. Every so often I think about this. How much fun it would be to proofread and format books all day. Or, after the day, because this is more a hobby or side project.
Definitely less fun is that you must have to do sales. Ugh. Marketing. Vile.
Publishing is notoriously hard to get into, to work in, never mind as an author. At least when I was at uni it rested on your ability to do several years of unpaid internships in London and an uncle or at least family friend high up in a publishing house. So without riches of both wealth and cultural capital, that's a no. So I understand why presses need to exist outside of that, both for people who believe in books and the people who want to write them. (Overlap: significant.)
At least fifty per cent of why I won't be starting a micropress is postage - between the astronomical prices, Brexit, tariffs, and so much other stuff I know nothing about.
Also a question I keep coming back to, the fine line between micropresses and self publishing. Are micropresses preferable to some people because it's just that little more support? See also zines, literary journals, web fiction, and so on.
If I were going to start a micropress I think it would be a little less serious than a lot I've seen. Pulpy adventures, cheap old Penguin style, mass market paperbacks, weird and wonderful novellas, spinoff zines, serialised novels. A site to sell on, distribution from my spare room, the aforementioned proofing and formatting, going to book fairs, a book club, a community, maybe a subscriber club or crowdfunding down the line.
Some micropresses offer ebooks but I've not seen any that are ebook only, which would certainly fix the monstrous worldwide shipping problems, if be a little bit less satisfying. I'm a big believer in ebooks but I know a lot of people want the book-in-the-hand feel. Producing a beautiful object and keeping print alive are worthy ambitions.
This seems like something a collective or co-operative would be great at. Get a bunch of people with a similar vibe, split the upfront costs, pool talents and resources, support each other.
Anyway. Support a micropress!
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