I often find something in Nathan Bransford’s blogs. He’s a smart guy. His April 6 column asked: Who Should Have the ‘Indie’ Label: Self Publishers or Small Presses?
I bristle when someone refers to my project as self-publishing because although this is a project I have published, it is not self-publishing. Weighed Words won’t publish my novel or yours. The same goes for your chapbook and mine.
Weighed Words has a specific mission to publish mixed-genre anthologies of smart, compelling writing that speaks to the reader in a genuine voice.
“Read not to contradict and confute . . . but to weigh and consider.” —Francis Bacon
We seek to publish writing that make readers think, that leads them to weigh and consider the words long after the book is closed.
Also, Weighed Words is an imprint of Hourglass Books, which has published three anthologies of short stories (Falling Backwards: Stories of Fathers and Daughters, The Long Meanwhile: Stories of Arrival and Departure, and Peculiar Pilgrims: Stories from the Left Hand of God).
Nathan says, “Independent publishers outside of the Big Six, like Soho and Algonquin, have been known as ‘Indie’ publishers for a long time. The authors who are (traditionally) published by them wear their Indie cred with pride.”
Weighed Words might be too new to have enough cred to be considered an indie. But we’re on the right track. From what I’ve heard from contributing writers, they are proud to be in Solace in So Many Words.
I like to think that Weighed Words is a micropublisher. Like a microbrewer. Maybe one day Weighed Words will qualify as an indie. A label is just a label. I’ll focus on the product for now.
If you are a writer considering self-publishing, you should read Nathan’s “You Tell Me: Would You Consider Self-Publishing?’ and “Should You Self-Publish? Ten Questions to Ask Yourself”
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