Dear Poets,
Should you publish with a small press or self-publish?
Be aware that if you publish with most small presses -- some exceptions might be Greywolf, Copper Canyon, or others -- selling your book will be pretty much up to you. Small presses have no sales staff, and the publisher is busy doing something else to survive, not promoting your book.
Authors have unrealized expectations when it comes selling literary fiction and poetry.
If you main way you will sell your book is by self-promotion, why not then self-publish and make all the profits to be made? With print on demand, it will not cost much. PLUS YOU GET TOTAL CREATIVE CONTROL ON HOW YOUR BOOK AS AN OBJECT WILL LOOK!
The first reason to publish with another is to get some editing, and then the validation that your work is good. Another reason is that you might be a professor and need to get promotions and raises. Self-publishing will not help you there in the English department.
Think about these things. It may be best to self-publish.
Chuck Taylor
