What Would Your Ideal Publishing Company Look Like?

The Perfect Publisher

I can theorize about a fair publishing deal until the cows come home, but it makes far more sense to ask writers. I'm going to suggest some guidelines to take into account before you e-mail me, and I'll post any reasonable responses during this construction phase right on this web page. Tell me whether you want me to include your name. Once the site is stable and I've decided whether or not to commit to launching a new publishing company with science fiction anthologies, it may make sense to convert this page to an ongoing discussion of how we can work together - or IF we should.

Guidelines for telling me about your perfect publisher.

1) Your perfect publisher has to be one who can earn a living publishing your works. Not a charitable institution who purchases everything you write with a smile and doesn't worry about the bottom line.

2) Your perfect publisher has obey the laws of the United States of America, pay taxes, not publish infringing works, libel, defamation, etc...

3) Be realistic. There won't be a million dollar launch, a twenty year window to reach profitability, parties with fashion models dressed in futuristic costumes.

4) Don't wave your hands. There's no point in telling me a lot of twaddle if you can't connect the dots.

5) Think like a contract lawyer. The contract that manages the rights to the intellectual property (your stories) is at the foundation of every publishing company. All assumptions must be built on the rights given the publisher, even when they are non-exclusive.

6) Talk dollars and cents. We can both talk about fair deals, and even percentage splits without really understanding each other unless there a dollar figures associates. What do you expect to see up front for a story in an anthology? Fifty dollars? Five Hundred? A bottle of scotch send by FedX? How any copies do you think an anthology will sell?

7) It's OK to know more than me. I've never published science fiction. I've written a few stories, only one of which was published by somebody other than myself, but I have plenty of nonfiction and Internet publishing experience.

Drop me an e-mail if you want to help shape what might be.

Posted June 3rd, 2007 by Morris