A Niche Market

I have done a little bit of exploring when it comes to publishing companies. What I have found is that there is no “one” company that I would absolutely “kill” to work for. So, instead of writing about a particular company I think I will write about what kind of company I would like to work for or better yet what kind of company I’d like to help create.

In the spring of 2007 I took a capstone class at Portland State University called, Youth Gender and Sexuality Minorities. I was not new to these topics or the issues that go along with them. I am a gay man myself and so have a certain amount experience and empathy for these issues. Yet, the aspect of this class that I was most taken with were the issues of gender identity. I feel that I am very comfortable in my own gender, but for some reason the issue of gender identity resonated with me a great deal. At the end of the term the instructor asked us all what we would take from the class into our future. After thinking on this a bit my response was—I want to be able to produce books—educational, fiction, poetry, text, manuals, picture books, young adult, etc—which speak to the experience of transsexual and transgendered people, their families, the medical profession, policy makers, and the public in general.

There are several publishers that speak to and print books marketed to the LGBT community, but it seems there is still a lack of books that speak directly to the trans community and individuals. Alyson Books is one of those companies. In the fall of 2007 I took Denis Stovall’s class, Introduction to Publishing. One of the most important aspects of this class is that you and there rest of the members of a small group develop a mock press. One of the first things that must be done is a discussion of what kind of press the group is interested in developing. I saw this as a chance to begin my desire to produce and publishing books for this relatively small and very specific audience. To my surprise my group overwhelmingly supported my idea and so, Open Door Press was conceived. Open Door Books will deliberately help to create and cultivate books and other information which members of the trans community will be able to read about themselves and others like them who much of society is unable to embrace. So, I hope to work for a publishing company like this—or even to create it.

Writer, publisher, writing, publishing

As I quickly approach the end of my time in the publishing program at Portland State University I have just a few more hurdles before I can call myself a graduate. First, I need to pass the two classes that I am taking this term. Second, write a final essay and finally, defend my portfolio in front of my graduate committee. The topic that I have been assigned for my graduate essay is: What can publishing programs do that creative programs can't? Discuss the value to creative writers of an education in publishing.

Like many people who end up in the publishing industry, I am a writer. I discovered the program and was immediately attracted to the idea of going into publishing (or at least studying it) because I believed that as I continue to find myself as a writer it could only benefit me to understand the business of publishing. Like many outside of the publishing industry I didn't know a whole lot about the book biz. The extent of my knowledge began an ended with the notion of an editor. "Of course I would be a great editor," I thought. Yet, I had no real understanding of what that meant. And I certainly had no concept of the process of acquisitions, marketing, design, or publicity.

It is because of the time that I have spent in the publishing program that I now have a real understanding of how the industry works as a whole (at least in theory.) I have a sense of the of publishing history dating back to Gutenberg's printing press in the 13th century. I've learned how t he internet is changing the industry today as much as the printing press did over five hundred years ago. I have learned about the many different stages that go into the publishing of a book and hopefully I have learned how I can better market and present myself and my writing to both publishers and the public at large.

What do you writer's in publishing think?

A Self-Publishing Future?

As I prepare to gradate in March and am putting my portfolio together, I have been doing a little research into short-run, self-publishing options. I found several different options where I may be able to have just a few copies of my portfolio printed without spending a lot of money. The first place that I found that seemed promising was Blurb.com. I was drawn to this site because it offers the chance to use a template to put together a pretty professional portfolio at a decent price. I didn't get to terribly far into the process before realizing the format is too restrictive for my purposes. A little more investigation has lead me to a few other short-run printers that allow the user to upload files to be printed rather that working with templates. Lulu.com is a good example of such a company.
Doing the research for having my portfolio got me to thinking about self-publishing in general. Though in the past, self-published books have gotten a bad rap in the publishing industry it is apparent to me that in the future there will be more and more writers that will choose to self-publish. There are bound to be writers like myself that will complete similar programs of study as offered at Portland State University and Ooligan Press. These writers and others are developing the skills now to self-publish professionally edited, designed, marketed, and hopefully, well-written books. Even those that don't study publishing have more and more resources and opportunities to circumvent the traditional publishing model and present their writing to the world. Paul Young's novel, The Shack, originally self-published has gone on to sell 3.8 million copies.

In addition to writers self-publishing their works, short-run printing makes it possible for the emergence of micro-publishers. Ken Arnold Books is a great example of how individuals or small partnerships can develop and reinvent the publishing business model. Though these examples aren't the norm as of yet, it cannot be denied that the publishing industry is in the process of monumental change. It's exciting and a little frightening to be entering an industry at a time when such transformation and potential for innovation is possible. I look forward to participating in and discovering what the future holds for publishing and self-publishing.