Inkonoclast - Business

Inkonoclast’s beliefs about poetry publishing

Few readers will buy a book of poetry unless the poet is already known to them by reputation, publicity, or personal encounter (such as at a poetry reading).
Some very good poets cannot find a trade or university publisher, especially if their style is not currently fashionable.
Without celebrity status or extensive marketing, the only person who can sell a poetry book is the poet herself or himself. The only place in the known cosmos where people line up to buy poetry books is a poetry reading, after people in the audience have heard and enjoyed the poet in person. The audience’s enthusiasm is at its height then, and probably wanes when people go home.
While trade publishers are consolidating into monster transnational corporations, at the other end of the size scale, niche publishing can thrive by solving the problems left behind by big publishers.
New technology and new attitudes make some alternative publishing models very attractive.
Most “publishers” offering alternatives to traditional trade publishing have no quality control standard over which manuscripts are accepted (other than whether the writer’s check bounces). Many keep the copyright. Many demand that they control sales, even copies for the writer. Many promise marketing that never happens or does not work. Many do not provide real books to the writer.

The economics of Inkonoclast

Modern printing and binding technology allows books to be produced at reasonable cost. For example, a writer using Inkonoclast can receive 500 copies of a perfect-bound book of poetry (just like those on bookstore shelves priced at $12-$15) for about $7.00 a copy, at the time this is written. For writers who need to recoup their costs, the significant price differential between cost and list price allows recovery of all of the costs by selling only a portion of the books at or near list price. Offering a book at a discount to the printed list price is a wonderful incentive, as is the author's autograph or inscription.

What Inkonoclast will do

Exercise a legitimate manuscript selection process to assure that we only accept and spend our energies on high quality poetry that deserves to be published. We will have a legitimate editorial board, not a sales staff. We do not have the time, inclination, or need to produce a lot of titles.
Prepare the manuscript in our signature format.
Arrange for ISBN and Library of Congress numbers for all full books.
Help the writer work with the printer and binder.
Provide general sales support tips for pricing, arranging and performing poetry readings, conducting back-of-the-room sales, deciding whether to send review copies, sending review copies strategically, dealing with local bookstores, and getting publicity from local media.
Maintain a web site that refers potential buyers (at the writer's option) to the writer directly, Amazon.com and/or other sellers, or to Inkonoclast's catalog page.
Apply for copyright (if the author wishes) in our name, in turn assigning all copyright to the author. Alternatively the writer can apply for copyright directly in her or his own name.

What the writer will do

Affirm that the poetry is his or her original work, and that the writer holds the copyright (or copyright permission if poems have been previously published).
Include an acknowledgments page that identifies any prior publications in journals, anthologies, on-line, or elsewhere. The writer is responsible for observing all prior contractual arrangements (e.g. some journals and grant-making organizations require, and most deserve, acknowledgment of their role).
Approve the manuscript after Inkonoclast has formatted it, and before it is sent to the printer.
Accept entrepreneurial responsibility. The writer will provide Inkonoclast with a hold-harmless agreement, so that the writer is responsible for any disputes involving copyright, originality, printing and binding, shipping, etc.
Pay Inkonoclast an editorial fee for its work on the book.
Pay the printer and binder directly.
Provide five copies of the book free to Inkonoclast, for free distribution or sale.

Which writers should send manuscripts?

Poets writing in modes that are hard to get published by trade or university publishers: formal poetry, long poems, haiku, epigrams, etc.
Poets who enjoy performance (public readings, poetry slams, etc.) and want to use these opportunities to offer books.
Young faculty who cannot wait to be discovered by Knopf or the University of Pittsburgh Press, because their careers require legitimate creative writing publications sooner, not later or never.
Poets with an entrepreneurial streak, who like the idea of poetry as enterprise, and who have confidence in their own work’s appeal.

Inkonoclast LLC, 730 37th Ave, San Francisco, CA 94121