In a previous blog on Writers & Artists, I explored small press publishing and looked at the immediate impact that the pandemic was having on the sector. In the run up to this year's States of Independence Festival, a one-day book festival celebrating the indie presses, I asked author Rebecca Burns to share her experience of working with the small presses and how it has helped shape her writing career. Here's Rebecca's story, in her own words:
As a writer of short stories and novels, I’ve always been published by small presses. Small presses gave me my first chance, helped me hone my writing, and provided the first home for my words. I’ll always be grateful. Working with small presses has also given me a unique perspective on how they operate and pull off miracles on tiny budgets.
My new book, Kezia and Rosie, will be published by Dahlia Books. Dahlia is a press operating in the East Midlands – a small press with a big punch. Led by the powerhouse known as Farhana Shaikh, they are well-known on the publishing circuit. They run creative writing workshops, offer mentoring opportunities to writers just starting their careers, and publish beautiful, evocative books. They also run the Leicester Writes Short Story Competition, which I’ve had the privilege of chairing for the past three years. They find writers, nurture them, encourage them, and give them the best of opportunities.
But how do you find your small press? In the first days of sending my writing out into the world, I approached the task like many other new writers – I did my research. I read the Writers’ and Artists’ Yearbook, spent hours looking up small presses taking on authors online, and found as much information as I could. I then started submitting my work and kept my fingers crossed. Like most writers, I received lots of standard rejections, some interest, and a couple of contracts. Ultimately I signed up to join the small presses that made me feel they valued my work and took a real interest in it.
I don’t have experience of working with one of the larger "Big 5" publishers, but my time with small presses has given me insight into how writers can be fully engaged with the publishing processes. With Dahlia Books, and with Odyssey Books and Next Chapter who published my earlier work, I was consulted in the editing process, the reviews, the drafting, and asked for input and lots of involvement in promoting the finished product. While marketing one’s work may not be everyone’s cup of tea, I enjoy it, and jumping into this with both feet is a way of helping your book to rise to the surface. So many books are published each year – you have to do your bit to bring your words to readers’ attention.
A particular aspect that I’ve appreciated in working with the small presses publishing my work is the way an editor will really dig into the meaning of your book. They will interrogate your characters, pull at threads in the narrative that need further refinement, and celebrate with you when a story starts to sing. Dahlia Books has done that with Kezia and Rosie over the past year when the book was being made ready to send out into the wild. And it does feel like that – almost every writer will tell you that releasing your words, the black and white text that has lain close to your heart, is terrifying. Exhilarating, yes, but toe-curlingly frightening. What if readers don’t like it? What if the reviews are rubbish? What if, what if… Dahlia Books have tried to head off the anxiety felt by this jelly-like writer by being endlessly encouraging and believing in the work.
And, I suppose like all other writers, the most fun has been consulting on the book cover. It’s so important to get this right. Dahlia, Next Chapter, and Odyssey have produced some sublime covers for my books. I adore the cover that Dahlia created for Kezia and Rosie. I think it captures the spirit of the book perfectly – two young girls, casually affectionate, wearing the rough-and-tumble clothes children wear when they are about to get into mischief. If I didn’t like the cover, Dahlia would have changed it – but I did. I loved it. Sobbed a bit.
I’ll always sing the praises of small presses. They take a leap of faith with their writers. Their budgets are miniscule but their reach is huge. And I just hope, one day, I can repay their trust by publishing a book that knocks everyone’s socks off and brings all the deserved attention to their doors.
Rebecca Burns is an award-winning writer of short stories. Her story collections, Catching the Barramundi (2012) and The Settling Earth (2014) were both longlisted for the Edge Hill Short Story Award. Her debut novel, The Bishop’s Girl, was published by Odyssey Books in September 2016, followed by a third short story collection, Artefacts and Other Stories (2017), a sequel novel to The Settling Earth, called Beyond the Bay, was published in 2018. Her first novella, Quilaq, was published by Next Chapter in 2020. Visit her website or follow her on Twitter at @Bekki66 and on Facebook at Rebecca Burns.
Kezia and Rosie by Rebecca Burns and published by Dahlia Books launches at States of Independence Festival on Saturday 26 March 2022.
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