A former client of mine has successfully published a book. He collaborated on the idea with another writer/researcher, they formed a company and produced the book. Their first print run of 2,500 copies was sold out before it was printed. Their second print run is scheduled for September and I bet they have to schedule a third before the end of the year.

Many other independent publishers (like those at the Baynet/Valleynet meetings), would hand over their first-born children to in order to sell 2,500 copies ever. So what did he do right?

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This is a follow-up to my previous post  about the two, quasi-local, small-publisher groups whose meetings I occasionally attend.

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I attended a Baynet meeting this weekend. Among other things, I discovered yet another slimy truth in this whole small pub business. One woman introduced herself as a copyeditor/proofreader/content editor. Great! Service people are always welcome. Then she revealed that she’d worked on a number of books from various people in the room, unbeknownst to them. Apparently, she’s a behind-the-scenes editor, an outsource editor. She gets trickle-down work from other editors.

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I’ve enjoyed Alan Canton’s articles since I discovered them almost a year ago. However, I just now discovered he also has a blog. If you want to read more about the small press industry by someone with many more axes to grind than I, (and more experience as well), you’ll enjoy his articles and blog. Not to give the impression that he’s a bitter man. He isn’t. His opinions are very practical and grounded. I can relate to that viewpoint.

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The world of self-publishing/small presses is a whole universe unto itself. This makes finding information very easy (except, of course, the exact information I want). There are all sorts of groups, including a couple lively Yahoo! Groups and a very experienced discussion list I subscribe to. I don’t post, I just lurk.

There are also live groups one can attend or join. Two are available to me in my general area. I’ll call them Baynet and Valleynet. I’ve gone to a few meetings of Baynet and one meeting of Valleynet. My general impression of both groups is one of the blind leading the lame. (I also attended one meeting of a local writer’s group. The people were very nice but it was all fiction and poetry, all tending towards sci-fi or fantasy. Only one person had had anything published and she wrote articles for animal magazines.)

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