Interview Question 7: What
advice do you have for women who are in the process of starting a press, or
hope to start one in the future?
Kristy Bowen (Dancing Girl Press): I think starting small is key. We’ve grown a lot in the past 9 years, but in the beginning, it was important to keep things manageable (both time-wise and financially). Writers and other creative types are often overstretched as it is between day jobs and teaching gigs and being students themselves. Starting small lets you see what works and then you can build from there. I’ve gone from putting out 4 or 5 books / year and investing a couple hours a week to putting out nearly a book a week (sometimes more) and spending about 6 hours per day working on press stuff.) It can be a small thing or a big thing, but you have to get started and build on momentum. It’ll be whatever you make it.
Kristy Bowen (Dancing Girl Press): I think starting small is key. We’ve grown a lot in the past 9 years, but in the beginning, it was important to keep things manageable (both time-wise and financially). Writers and other creative types are often overstretched as it is between day jobs and teaching gigs and being students themselves. Starting small lets you see what works and then you can build from there. I’ve gone from putting out 4 or 5 books / year and investing a couple hours a week to putting out nearly a book a week (sometimes more) and spending about 6 hours per day working on press stuff.) It can be a small thing or a big thing, but you have to get started and build on momentum. It’ll be whatever you make it.
* * *
S. Whitney Holmes (Switchback Books): Think
ahead. Do you see yourself still doing this in five years? In ten years? What
is your vision for the eventual outcome of the endeavor? Set the scale of what
you’re starting to your level of commitment. No one is entirely altruistic; we
all get involved in publishing to serve ourselves in some way. But I think when
we’re talking about publishing full-length collections, we have to consider the
future of the press, because book publication does affect peoples’ lives. It’s
a requirement for tenure, and those who are kind enough to entrust you with
their work should be assured that your press isn’t going to collapse a year
later when they’re in front of the tenure board. There are lots of other ways
not tied to academia in which book publication affects peoples’ lives. If you
don’t see yourself doing this for a long time or finding the smart people
you’ll need to keep it going for the long haul, I’d say you should do something
smaller in scale. If you wanna go big, go big, but make sure you’ve got the
infrastructure to support that goal.
* * *
Gina Abelkop (Birds of Lace Press): Start
wherever you can. If you have access to the internet make a literary journal on
tumblr or blogspot or wordpress. Talk to your friends and their friends and
publish writing you love and are challenged by; a chain of people and events
will always lead you to more work you love, especially if you’re conducting
communications through the internet. Photocopy poems and staple them together,
do research to find out which copyshop in your town is cheapest, or if you can
photocopy somewhere for free. Hustle (in the friendly way) your friends and
loved ones and fascinating/talented acquaintances. Read lots of literary
journals/go to readings and find out whose writing you love; if they are alive
get into contact with them and publish them. Read reviews of books and
chapbooks and purchase them so you can support a press in action and get a feel
for what’s being published/what still needs to be published. Be an unabashed
fangirl: Rebecca Brown sent me new work for the third issue of Finery, a
handmade zine, and she is a totally legit, serious writer of some of my
favorite books ever; I just asked her to contribute after a reading and she
totally did. Dancing Girl Press and Switchback (obviously, because I love both
presses and have admired/read their books for years) gave great advice. Start
small and see what happens. Email people who’ve started presses you love and
ask how they did it. Be brave and excited and creative in your definition of
publishing.
* * *
Lisa Marie Basile (Patasola Press): Start
small, as Kristy said. Even I got over my head. Know what you want, and if
you’re unsure, just read everything you can get your hands on. Get a group of
supporters together, even if it’s a poet-friend who can donate an hour of time,
when you need it. Don’t be afraid to ask for help. Go to literary readings,
encourage people, support people, be thankful, be humble. Build a social media
presence, take part in it. Don’t give up. Apologize if you’ve made mistakes.
Know that you will make mistakes and you will grow. Be unabashedly proud of
everything you do. Know that you can only do so much, but what you do is to be
done with love and time and attention. Remember your mission. Grow with it, and
change it when it needs to change. Remember what inspired you in the first
place when you’re tired. Remember it’s all for love and the promotion of
something way bigger than yourself. Literature and people’s lives.
* * *
Erin Elizabeth Smith (Sundress
Publications): Be fearless.
Solicit people you love despite how famous or unfamous they are. Don't stress about image too much. If you publish good shit, people will come
back. Don't ever be intimidated. Don't ever let people you don't know make you
doubt your decisions. Be respectful but speak your mind. Have fun with it.
* * *
T.A.
Noonan (Sundress Publications): Other thoughts? Well, it’s important to not be
afraid to make mistakes along the way, but don’t let them pile up. Deal with
them. Work with your authors; maintain an open line of communication. Network.
Seriously, if you like what another press, author, artist, etc. is doing, get
in touch and make those connections. As you grow, be idealistic but realistic.
Dream big, but do what it takes to realize those big dreams. Otherwise, you’ll
just disappoint yourself.
By the way, I want to point out that I wish I had had even half of this advice early on.
* * *
Kristina Marie Darling
(Noctuary Press): Start by
supporting other people. Volunteer as an
assistant editor or a reader, review books, guest edit magazines. This will help you learn the publishing
landscape before you dive into starting a press of your own. You'll also learn practical skills that
you'll need later on down the road, like copyediting, how to use Wordpress and
Blogger, etc. Perhaps more importantly,
supporting others will help you build relationships with people in the literary
community. These more experienced
writers and editors can give you advice, support, and resources when it comes
time to start your own press. Be sure to stop by for the last installment of the Women Publishers' Roundtable, which will include a discussion of future projects from these excellent presses!
I'm planning on starting a small press and am so grateful to everyone involved in this roundtable. Very helpful information.
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