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Who Are "The Rest of Us" in Publishing?

Independent Publishing Start-Ups are Geared for Success

by Jim Barnes

Now it appears that the “bigger is better” trend has played out and we’ve entered a period of resurgence for the independent. According to “The Rest of Us,” a study released by Publishers Marketing Association and Book Industry Study Group, a large growth spurt of newly established independent publishers has occurred all over North America, at the rate of about 5,000 per year for the past four years. The study concludes that “…independent and smaller publishers are more important to the publishing industry than ever before.” This is a very healthy sign that there are still many who wish to publish what they want, the way they want -- and not play by corporate publishing’s rules.

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One such upstart is Medallion Press, owned and operated by novelist Helen A. Rosburg, heiress to the Wrigley fortune. Well-known in the romance novel circuit, Rosburg and her staff mean to shake things up and try as many new things as they can -- beginning with a commitment to be more author-centered. Rosburg, the author, has spent enough time around publishing houses to know about the frustrating issues authors face when they sign with a large royalty publisher.

“I want Medallion Press to be writer-friendly. For years I’ve heard horror stories from successful writers who produce a book that doesn’t ‘fit,’ and they have nowhere to go with it,” she says. “I wanted to start a house that works closely with authors, listens to them, and takes them through the publishing process instead of shutting them out for six months to a year until their book is out. You might say I wanted to create a welcoming environment for all those talented people who like to ‘color outside the lines.’”

That is why on October 16, 2003, Rosburg’s announcement of the launch of Medallion Press at the Romantic Times Convention in Kansas City received an enthusiastic ovation. As President and CEO, Rosburg will have her hands full. Not only will she be running the company, she will continue to write her own novels.

But what about all the new, unknown, “coloring book-challenged” authors? Medallion vice president Leslie Burbank, herself a published author and cover model, is also very familiar with the way authors are treated in the bigger houses. “Often times, while a book has merit, traditional houses won’t publish it if it doesn’t fall into a particular time slot or subject,” says Burbank. “When they deviate from the ‘norm,’ they don’t get published. Medallion is looking for these gems of fiction.”

Medallion Press may be the escape outlet these deviant authors have been looking for. In fact, some leading authors like Nan Ryan and Heather Graham will soon publish some of their work with the company. Ryan and Graham, along with all the other talented writers who have come on board, will be granted input on cover design, titles, and marketing support. In return, authors will be expected to be active participants in the marketing of their titles.

The Chicago-based company plans to produce 24 titles per year, including one illustrated hardcover book of “adult fairy tales” that will combine provocative stories with beautiful illustrations.

Born into the affluent Wrigley family, Helen Rosburg’s own love of writing began back when she wrote her first book in grade school. Helen eventually went to business school and began writing more and more. She started selling short stories such as “I Was A Teen-Aged Heroin Addict” and “My Boyfriend Wanted to Sell My Baby” to romance magazines, and sold her first novel, Call of the Trumpet, in 1997.

Why does Rosburg think she can run a publishing company?

“To me, it’s a little like getting elected President. You have a pretty good idea what’s going on, you have background experience, and for the things you’re not sure about, you have a Cabinet.”

“When Leslie Burbank and I met and got to know each other, we brainstormed about what an ideal publishing house would be like. We agreed that as much as authors want to make money in the form of big advances, they also want their books to sell. They want to be part of their book’s entire life span, not just at the time of its creation. If Medallion can continue to foster this type of environment, we may find our authors will want to stay with us. However, if they choose to ‘leave the nest,’ we will be happy for them and the cycle will start again with new talent.”

“In ten years I see Medallion as a rock in the industry, solid and grounded. I also want to maintain our founding principles, being a house that takes writers with different ideas and grooming them and maintaining a good relationship with them.”

Will Rosburg have time to write her own books?

“Of course I intend to write. Although I have less time now, I am still obsessed. My characters won’t leave me alone just because I have something else to do.” Another upstart that seems intent on operating outside the lines is FictionSpin Publishing of southern California.

Company president Alan Powers says FictionSpin was founded “to bring quality fiction to the public,” and is dedicated to publishing books that have “a fast paced narrative, quality writing and cinematic potential.”

Note the combination of “cinematic potential” and the southern California location: it turns out most FictionSpin authors are also screenwriters.

“FictionSpin only publishes books with strong film potential,” says Powers. “We’ve been fortunate to find writers who are good novelists as well as good screenwriters. We anticipate the books propelling the movies and the movies, in turn, propelling the books.”

For example, two of the novels in FictionSpin’s 2003 catalog are part of the ongoing Harry Fox detective series – the “Detective to the Stars” – set in Los Angeles. Time Out For Murder is a detective-thriller dealing with the highly charged international cat and mouse of bio-weapons. Lips Are For Lying, another in the Harry Fox series, is a murder-mystery with the porn world as its backdrop. The Ademian Line is a science-fiction novel with a unique take on the world situation and how the human race got here and where we are headed.

The book-to-film deal has long been the Holy Grail of the independent author and publisher, largely because there is so much money involved. For example, Americans spent $500 million at movie theaters over the Christmas and New Years weekends of 2003, watching movies like Cold Mountain, which began as an independently published book that sold to Hollywood for over $1 million. Studios typically pay $150K and up for film rights to a novel -– even one that hasn't sold a million copies and won the National Book Award, as Cold Mountain did in 1997.

Besides being Hollywood-oriented, FictionSpin is not shying away from hot-button topics. Soon to published is BioHazard Red, a science-thriller that was rejected by several publishers for being too controversial. The novel deals with the origin of a worldwide virus epidemic that has killed millions of people.

“It is difficult for a new publisher to find review space in newsprint or on TV when competing with the major houses,” says Powers. “So, something more was needed. That is why FictionSpin publishes books that are not only good reads, but also have the ingredients to make mainstream popular movies and/or television miniseries. There is already a screenplay of The Ademian Line and one is being written now under the auspices of FictionSpin for Time Out For Murder. The screenplay of BioHazard Red was also recently completed.”

“When the films are announced and a buzz sets in, it is our belief that the bias a small publishing house such as our own might experience will change. And this will benefit other independent publishers.”

That doesn’t mean Powers thinks FictionSpin can abandon quality writing.

“We still believe that it ultimately comes down to what is on the page. It makes no difference whether it is published by a large or small house. When a breakthrough novel catches the attention of the media, it will be good for all independent publishers.”

“Reading is the greatest stimulant –- the greatest aphrodisiac -- to the imagination. The reader has a one to one relationship with the creative process and the author. Unlike music, reading stimulates the intellect as well as the emotion. We at FictionSpin like to think of it as ‘entertaining your brain.’”

“Movies are communal, as are the theater, ballet and opera. Only the printed word on a page, telling a story, can supply the fullest reward possible. Flights of fancy, delving the depths of emotional catharsis, shedding tears of joy and sadness, and recording the events and history of the human species can only be done to its fullest through books and reading.”

“Hopefully, even among today’s young people, when video games have run their course and special effects are no longer awesome, we’ll see a resurgence of books and reading. When people want to spend quality time in the comfort of their homes, the beach, waiting for a bus or airplane, or while riding on the train or subway –- only a book, pulled out of a briefcase, pocket or purse, can provide the soul with comfort, magic and wonder and provide escape from the tedium of everyday life.” Chicago, L.A… Now, what about New York?

Vernacular Press is a New York publishing company -– but not a typical one...

Vernacular’s launch title, Anthropology of an American Girl, has gotten rave reviews as a work of literature, and also as a work of art. The advance galleys, hand-crafted and beautifully packaged, caused quite a stir and have become quite collectible.

“We shipped about 400 galleys and letter-pressed press kits with handwritten notes as a means of introduction to Vernacular,” says James Benard, company president, whose wife Hilary T. Hamann is the author of Anthropology of an American Girl. “I think everyone was grateful to receive something of such incredible beauty on their desks. Of course, the inside of the book is even more beautiful than the outside, but we know that first impressions matter. The advance copy has such a strong brand identity, that we had to make the first edition black, just to distinguish it from the galley.”

Headquartered in the city's Soho district, Vernacular shares space with sister company Match Fine Print, a six year-old print design and production firm -- also owned and operated by Benard -- that produces printed matter for some of the world's finest luxury and advertising companies.

With an established reputation for the design and manufacture of premium printed pieces, Vernacular has chosen to make books that are collectibles. “It’s a business model which looks to the future,” says Benard. “Our plan is to begin by making a few books a year which will have the hallmark of superior content and flawless production quality, and which may be developed as ancillary products. We will most certainly make a name for ourselves, one book at a time.”

“We are not so naive to think that we can start out by competing with Simon and Schuster and Random House on their terms,” says Benard. “We are experts at taking a small project very seriously and investing in it with the fullest extent of our artistic and intellectual resources. Maybe we won’t saturate the market, but who’s to say that the saturation model of publishing is sustainable, or preferable, or that it leads to quality literature?”

Benard says the publishing project represents a huge investment of finance and staff, and involved years of research, data collection, and project development. As many businesses do, he had to devote other sources of revenue to get the new division started, but feels it will soon sustain itself. Vernacular has already been inundated with requests for packaging, cover design, and web advertising based on their book site and their interactive ad on Gawker.com.

“Hopefully, publishing will be more welcoming to independents,” he says. “Just as the film industry opened up and became healthier overall, and changes in the music industry will undoubtedly lead to new opportunities for artists and businesses, I think there are new worlds to explore in publishing.”

“Personally, I would love for publishing to move back towards insurgency, towards ideas that are fresh, brave and immediate, towards material that at once has the feeling of being timely, but is produced in such a way as to make it classic. As the world turns increasingly virtual, we see books as a necessary and substantive alternative. We look forward to making books which are integral parts of people’s home libraries.”

Benard and Hamann are quite in tune with the book consumers of tomorrow –- they have three children of their own. They feel that kids are smarter than adults give them credit for, and that young readers will usually meet and surpass high standards set for them.

“We guide our kids’ reading and film viewing, and we work on having a climate of interaction and participation in our house. We read and view together, and understand that families need help making more sophisticated choices. That’s why our next release will be about exactly that -— families and choices.”