publishers for stuff other than stories/poems?

[Torrias]

A relative of mine would like to publish a Christian-themed word-puzzle book. Can anyone recommend any good, honest, fair publishers (including companies that help with self-publishing) that might take such a submission and get it into bookstores without involving agents and all sorts of mess? I looked at one that presented itself and ran into a red flag that niggled at the back of my mind; I could really use some leads/pointers for where to start looking for others

[Kristen]

There's not easy way to get into bookstores. They pretty much only want to deal with the major players. Any small press or book producer can sell your book online, but to get into bookstores you'd need a distributor. There's a list of them at ibpa-online.org -- Resources > Distributors & Wholesalers. But even the distributor can't guarantee placement, only availability. In other words, the bookstore buyers have to be willing to stock the book.And they just don't like taking risks on products from indie publishers.

[Torrias]

The one I looked into offered several packages of services, including varying degrees of perks that would at least make bookstores slightly more likely to consider the risk (such as a guarantee of buying back unsold books). I was just asking if anyone had any experience with such a company/service, to be able to say "I loved working with these people," "My cousin had a really good experience with these guys," "This company went above the call of duty when we encountered XYZ difficulty," or some such. Since there are a million of them out there and I can't thoroughly research every one and know how reliable/fair they are in practice. I can at least start with checking out the sites of the ones on the list you pointed me to, that might have an interest in that kind of puzzle book, to see what they say and how they strike me. Thanks.

[Kessie]

A word-puzzle book? That's an odd one. You might try a website like this one: www.pw.org/small_presses

There's bajillions of small presses that publish things like puzzles or cookbooks or things like that. Bookstores are becoming a lost cause these days--you need to look for the presses that market and have connections to sellers and things. Also that they've been around a while. Look them up on Amazon and check out their wares.

Heck, you might have some local presses you could get in contact with, depending on where you live. Here in Phoenix, there's some small presses geared toward mysteries and memoirs. The sort of thing the local snowbirds write. :-)

[tris]

Just be sure you stay away from Publish America. It's a complete rip-off joint and somehow keeps slipping through the cracks for new authors.

[Kristen]

Pardon me while I go into "writing coach" mode.

You're looking to publish a puzzle book.
You want bookstore distribution.
You're willing to self-publish.

The number of publishers who handle puzzle books is pretty small. I have to say I've never met one at a writers' conference, and there are none listed in the Christian Writers market Guide. Have you looked at Writers Market? www.writersmarket.com/ I don't remember whether they list puzzle book publishers or not. You might have to look to The National Puzzler's League for guidance. www.puzzlers.org/dokuwiki/doku.php?id=. A good first stop is to visit a bookstore and see who's publishing the puzzle books that are there.

I have to point out that self-publishing and bookstore distribution are almost always mutually exclusive. And getting published by a true publisher that has bookstore distribution almost always involves agents and that whole mess. The only way to not involve an agent is to meet an editor at a conference, or to look for publishers who accept unsolicited submissions (check the publishers' websites for submission guidelines).

I wish I could be more encouraging, but my job isn't to spread fairy dust and rainbows, it's to help writers navigate this crazy business.

First thing to understand is that any company you pay to produce your book is not a publisher. It's a producer (or author services firm, although they like to call themselves publishers and presses). A true publisher bears the cost of production. So if you're willing to pay a company to produce your book, you are self-publishing. That's great. I'm very much in favor of self-publishing. Many of my clients are self-published. All I'm saying is that self-published books have a really, really hard time getting into brick and mortar stores, and that includes books from production firms.

The problem is that bookstores only trust the major publishers. They don't want to take on products from book producers, because let's face it, book producers will ship anything by anyone who pays the bill. Some such firms, like WestBow or Creation House, do some screening, but most don't.

The bookstore buyers don't have time to examine every book to determine whether it's quality or not, so they only accept books from the major publishing houses. Whether that actually results in high-quality books on the shelves is subject to debate.

I would advise you to carefully consider what's more important to you: Bookstore distribution, or self-publishing. If the former, then you need to prepare for a long haul that's going to involve a lot of market research to find the right publisher for you.

[Torrias]

Heh, didn't realize how long it had been since I'd checked back in here, with how busy things have been. This is some great information and resources to look into--we'll start on that once the distraction of my first kid's first birthday is past :-D Thanks a bunch all around.