The Truth About Small Presses| WritingTips

There's a ton of small presses out there willing to publish your books, but should you let them?
▲My Books: amazon.com/author/travismcbee
▲Goodreads: www.goodreads.com/TravisMcBee
▲My Website: www.TravisMcBee.com
▲Facebook: authortravismcbee
▲Twitter: @travis_mcbee
▲Instagram: @travis_mcbee
▲Snapchat: Travis_McBee
▲www.patreon.com/travismcbee
▲kzbin.info
Music by Joakim Karud soundcloud.com/joakimkarud

[@JoleCannon]

Thank you for this advice. I'm doing self-edits right now. I have 2 beta readers planned (both read Romance, while not specifically mm romance which is what I'm writing, but they know the formula.) One of those is going to do edits as a favor. So, I'm happy about that. The other is going to look at story beats. Does it flow. I will have about 10 other beta readers for sensitivity, plot, general enjoyability, etc. Then I'm going to send it to two well-established indie publishers who specialize in mm romance. If they both reject me, I'll save up to hire an editor, get it edited, get a cover designer and put it on KDP. That's my plan anyway.

[@SirBuffaloKnight]

This is an absolute life saver. Thanks so much, Travis.

[@neloyd]

It's ironic that i'm asking this to you but whatever XDD. I'm getting addicted to writing tips and having someone to tell me how to do things. If i'm going to outline i'm tempted to go search "how to write a good outline", If i'm going to write an action sequence i'm tempted to search "how to write an action sequence", and a big etcetera. That combined with my perfectionism and insecurity it's being a nightmare. How can I start making my own decisions without overthinking this much?

[@pgfinna]

"the onus of marketing is on you" -someone who doesn't want to get paid

[@WilliamAlanWebb]

I must be the exception. So far, my small press has made me successful in a way I could never have achieved on my own. At least, not this early in my career. I count on them as a sounding board and to help me where to go with my work. They also spend a lot of money on helping me market it, and have guided me through the process of marketing. Having said that, I do recognize that the day will come when I might outgrow them.

[@Travismcbee]

+kbwebbventures Sounds like you found a great press. Very few are like that, so give them a big hug.

[@WilliamAlanWebb]

I did get lucky. The first press that offered me a contract wanted me to sign away my soul, and then they went out of business. It's definitely a dog-eat-dog world out there. And you've made some really good points in this video, because small presses are risky in the extreme.

[@kristofferdahl2472]

Good advise, thanks.

[@brian7164]

Travis, have you ever went through a reading rut? If so, what do you do to get yourself out of it? I guess the logical answer is to push and read through it no matter how you feel.

[@brian7164]

I don't know if I'll ever be a writer, not with the way I'm going. I get in my own way too easily resulting in abandoning projects and not getting a story completely finished. I start a project, believe in it, I'm excited about it, I write it, and continue writing it, then I read what I write and I abhor it....then I stop working on it. I don't feel like I'm growing or progressing, rather, regressing. When I was younger, I worked on stories and finished them and though they were bad, I did finish them. But as I get older I quit the story at hand and never get any further. I wonder if I can truly write or if I'm lying to myself, deceiving myself, wanting to believe I can do something and have a talent for it when in actuality I don't. I'm frustrated with myself and I don't know what else to do at this point. I need help, encouragement, words of truth....just SOMETHING!!

[@Phoenix3573]

It seems to me that you're not looking at the big picture. A book undergoes various processes during its development. Most established and famous authors have said that they'd be reduced to a puddle of tears if someone saw their first draft. First draft is simply not about the quality of your writing, it's about getting the story out. Just birth your demon child and worry about how it looks later and in most cases, it will look like almost every newborn - like a potato. Also, keep in mind that if you are able to decide what you wrote isn't good enough, it means you've grown as a writer. No two ways about it. Although sometimes your nerves do get the better of you and you end up criticising a perfectly good piece of work. That has happened to me a lot. But when I look at the same thing the next morning or the next week, it seems okay to me. Bottom line is, don't let the first draft be about quality. You HAVE to get comfortable with bad writing. That's why Stephen King said - Write your first draft with the door closed. It's just you and that manuscript, it's not ready for the world yet. It's not supposed to be.

[@happychaosofthenorth]

Hi Travis, I love your channel and your writing tips! I have a question as I've been struggling with some structure issues in my novel and now I'm stuck. I'm writing a YA paranormal fantasy and have two protagonists. Something major happens to them when they are 10 and it's too much to just be a prologue or refer to in flashbacks or allude to and it's crucial to the overall plot . I was thinking of separating the novel into parts. Part one being when they're children, Part two when they're sixteen. But I've heard in other writing advice channels that it's not a good idea for a first time author to begin a YA novel with adults or kids because starting a novel with the characters outside the age group won't be as marketable so potential publishers won't be interested. I mean, there are books that are like that but they are by more prolific and successful authors so there's less worry with marketing. I'm not sure what to do now. I've considered making the first part it's own novel but it's too dark for middle grade and the characters are too young for YA, toning it down to make it age appropriate would cheapen it and making them older would be problematic as well. Mostly I'm worried that potential publishers would pick it up and assume it's middle grade or potential YA readers would dismiss it as just for kids if I start out with the main characters as children. I may be overthinking it, I don't know. Any ideas on what I could do? I would love to know your thoughts on the subject. Thanks!

[@alexnegri921]

I began a first person short story which spiraled into a novel. The main character was originally going to remain nameless, but I've decided in rewrites to give him a name. How do you introduce the name of a main charterer in a first person POV?

[@JesseWolfboy]

This seems like only an argument between small press vs. self publishing? But what about large presses? What about getting a literary agent? Does anyone ever achieve a #1 NY Times Bestselling novel through self publishing? How do most authors achieve that? Somehow I doubt it's by self publishing or by working through a small press with little distribution or marketing. What is the route to take to get printed books actually into book stores nationwide?

[@QuinnTheChin]

Not sure why, but I cant really play this video. It keeps stopping and loading at ~30 seconds

[@sirBergstrom]

It's important too know its not the same in all cuntries. In Norway you get 10 k in advance if the book is deemed of "sufficent quality" to be bought up by the public library. The small presses cant do that, cause you'l have to print all the Books im advance, if you dont end up getting in they would go broke.

[@snakeofbrass]

thought the title was "the truth about small penises" as i was scrolling through your videos wowee

[@matthewlee7842]

Hey Travis, I'm a newer author and I'm just now publishing my first book serialized on Wattpad. How would you recommend that I market and get my name out there.

[@filipf3841]

Where would you publish short stories? Like would you give them to a magazine or..

[@DpwCreative]

If you had the chance, would you sign with an agent and a major publishing house? Why or why not?

[@food8582]

If I get my book published and it doesn't do well with reviews, am I able to rewrite it and publish it again like a movie remake?

[@cameronshank9257]

Hey Travis, quick publishing question. Do publishers look at the age of the author to determine if they wanted to work with them or not?

[@TheMusicScout]

How about them dawgz? A lot of people are predicting that this year's team is the best in many years and has a good chance of winning the SEC East. What are your thoughts on the matter?

[@peternicks6094]

No one wants to use Twitter apparently. You are trying to get your name out there more on social media by having your KZbinrs tweet at you. Aren't you going against what you said in the video by marketing yourself this way?

[@Amanda-rd8fl]

I get what you are thinking, but there is a big difference between having an author platform and setting up a blog tour.