The Small Press Operating Manual: Business of Publishing Other People's Books

You know how to publish a book. Nobody told you how to run a press. There's no shortage of advice about writing, marketing and cover design. There's almost nothing about what happens when you start publishing other people: the contracts, the royalty runs, the money that isn't yours, and the difficult conversations nobody warns you about. Graeme Reynolds has run Horrific Tales Publishing since 2011. Across fifteen years and a couple of hundred thousand copies sold, he learned most of this the expensive way. This book is what he wishes someone had handed him at the start. Inside you'll find: - Contracts explained in plain English - rights, terms, reversion, and the difference between net receipts and RRP that catches out almost every new publisher- How to work with authors, including what to do when delivery, quality or conduct goes wrong- A royalty process that works - how to read the statements, what to record, and how to calculate what you actually owe- The money chapter nobody writes, with real figures from a real press rather than vague encouragement- Marketing and launch strategy that separates durable principles from tactics with a two-year shelf life- An annual operating rhythm that turns all of it into a schedule instead of a series of crisesWritten for the small press publisher drowning in admin, and for the self-published author expanding into publishing other people. Practical, opinionated, and honest about what the numbers actually look like. Includes free downloadable templates and checklists.