As a direct result of the upheaval in today’s book publishing industry, the new reality of Small Publishers is here to stay. The benefit is that authors have a lot more choice in who publishes their work; on the other hand not every publisher is appropriate for any given author. It may take a little more work to research who is the right publishing firm to bring your work to fruition. More selection equals more choice, which leads to differentiation among the plethora of publishing options.

When searching for a publishing company, authors must now ask themselves who is best suited to edit my work— what are the skills or knowledge that the publisher brings? What is their previous experience? Are they competent in editing skills of grammar and readability; are they detail-oriented? How familiar are they with my specific subject matter? Theologians often refer to the Bible; if I use Biblical languages, does the publisher have the requisite understanding to edit this material?

While small publishers do not have the clout of the large houses, do they make up for that with personal attention and an expertise in the new methods of Internet marketing? Market dynamics these days make global marketing affordable, word-of-mouth indispensable, while older methods of marketing are cost-prohibitive to providing affordable texts.
Robert Lee Brewer, editor of Writer’s Market, has written a helpful article entitled The Pros and Cons of Publishing With a Small Publisher. And if you have a great book and believe that it would be valuable to Christendom, see what we can provide, and contact Lectio Publishing.