#pitmad or mad pit?

The other day I said, "What the hey?" and tossed a few twitter pitches up for Of The Dark on #pitmad.

One of my tweets got ignored. The other one got four favourites, every single one of them from small press.

This was a mild surprise, as I was primarily trawling for agents.  Still, a nibble is a nibble and worth consideration.

I'd never heard of the four small presses who favourited me, so I was up for some research. After all, I've learned that one does not toss one's mss out into the waters willy-nilly. Who knows what will bite you?

One publisher was moved to the bottom of the pile because I didn't like the look of their covers. The other three I'm researching and considering. I might pitch them all, or I might not pitch any of them.

That's right. I might not pitch any of them. After the favourites rolled in and I discovered they were small press (not agents), I couldn't help but compare them to the small press I'm currently with. They're pretty good. Granted, they only handle the one genre, and I'm branching out.

My small press has treated me well and professionally. I'm quite pleased. Maybe a little spoiled. Because of this, my research into these interested small presses involves comparing them to my experiences and expectations.

What do their covers look like? Do their current books intrigue me? Would I want to read any of them? Prededitors say anything about this publisher? Does their web page focus more on selling books or wooing authors? Any talk about them (good/bad/ugly)? Do their authors speak well of them? What's their marketing like? How well are their authors selling? What royalty percentage do they pay? Any advances? eBook only or eBook and print? Distribution? T&C's or contracts available for perusal?

Also, I've recently gone hybrid. And there's another thing to consider/compare. How do these small presses stack up against my indie publishing experience?

If I was a debut author, I'd be all over that like a baby on ice cream. But I'm not.

For my career at this stage, a publisher has got to give me added dimension to my career. They need to be able to provide something that I either don't have, or can't get easily.

So yeah. That's a lot to ask of a small press. But hey, they just might be able to do that.

Thus, the research. If I'm gonna throw my hat into their pond, I want to know what the water is gonna do to it.

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Her Grace has been reading too much of the Shark.