Small Press Month and Read an E-Book Week

I’m a fan of small presses. I have one novel published and a second scheduled for publication by a small independent publisher. Most of my book editing clients either self-publish or are published by independent publishers. According to statistics quoted on Parapublishing, there are 6 large publishers (in New York), 3-400 medium-sized publishers, and 86,000 small/self-publishers.

The month of March is Small Press Month to celebrate the writing published by those 86,000 independent publishers.

Small Press Month, now in its 12th year, is a nationwide promotion highlighting the valuable work produced by independent publishers. An annual celebration of the independent spirit of small publishers, Small Press Month is an effort to showcase the diverse, unique, and often most significant voices being published today. This year’s slogan is Celebrate Great Writing.

If you usually read books only from the six major publishers (which have a number of  subsidiary companies and imprints), you might try reading a few independently published books this month to discover new authors with unique voices.

Of course, I can make a few biased recommendations. The following list includes books I have written or edited that are published by independent publishers.

• As Shadows Fall by Grace Anne Schaefer, published by GASLight Publishing
• The New Day Dawns by Grace Anne Schaefer, published by GASLight Publishing
• On the Wings of the Wind: A Journey to Faith by Patricia Eytcheson Taylor and The Reverend Doctor James C. Taylor, published by LangMarc Publishing
• Patchwork Trail (children’s book) by Janet Kaderli, published by GASLight Publishing
• Some Monument to Last: Memoir of TV Journalist James Muñoz with Family Poems and Letters by James Michael Doughty, published by Doughty Enterprises (print book scheduled for release in May; pre-order the print book now and receive a free e-book immediately)
• Spring House by David Bowles, published by Plum Creek Press
• Stroke of Luck by yours truly, published by GASLight Publishing
• Uncle Big Bud: A Family’s Journey from Slavery to Self-Determination by James E. Williams, published by HenryRetta’s Publishing (release date later this month)

Most of these books are also available as e-books, and my novel is available only as an e-book. March 2-8 was Read an E-Book Week. I failed to recognize it since I didn’t have Internet access last week. But if you didn’t read an e-book last week, it’s not too late.

BEEN READING eBOOKS TOO LONG? appeared in the ParaThoughts section of a recent issue of Dan Poynter’s newsletter.

My speaking travels average some 6,000 miles each week…. Traveling as light as possible, I do not carry printed books.

…I was home for a couple of weeks. I had a couple of mass-market paperback that I wanted to read. They were not available as eBook editions so I decided to read myself to sleep with one of them.

How awkward! With the printed book, you have to turn on the (bright) light….

Holding a printed book (pBook) is awkward. It take two hands.

Poynter describes other advantages of e-books: no need for a bookmark, lower cost, ability to adjust the type size, built-in dictionary, the convenience of being able to download books from anywhere in the world, and the ease of disposal without impacting the environment. He concludes:

Electronic books are a far superior platform to dead-tree books for numerous reasons. But let’s be practical. After trying both—extensively, I prefer to annoy electrons than cut down trees. This is not just an environmental concern, it is a practical reading decision.

I love eBooks.

I love e-books, too, and I love books from small presses.

Related Posts:
E-Books, Parts 1-4