Some say I’ve been causing waves since I built this ship. Well, I suppose a ship that never leaves harbor, doesn’t displace at least a few good-sized waves, isn’t seaworthy after all, is it?
What can you expect if you’ve got Port Yonder in your sights? Once you send an equery, and we request chapters (generally one or two a month), we may ask to see the entire manuscript (only a handful a year). Let’s say, by chance, we offer you a contract (which again, is even harder to come by now than a year ago due to the fact that we don’t ever want to have to release an author again),
… then you can expect:
- That we saw the potential for awards written all over it – this is the big thing for 2012 and beyond
- Several rounds of edits – during this process we expect the author to be malleable; we will not work with difficult authors
- Availability – we are here for you during the entire process, me (the primary editor), the second editor working with your project, your copyeditor, & book designer, all of us; though we may not return an email immediately, depending on our schedules, you will hear back from us in an appropriate amount of time; I welcome phone calls to discuss especially sensitive issues
- Openness and honesty – tell us what you’re thinking, all of it; we will certainly listen, and are more than open to changing our minds on an issue, if it serves to better the book, in our opinion. On the other side of the coin, we may hold firm, gently overrule the suggestion, simply because we’ve likely been in the business a bit longer and may have a better view of what will work and what won’t. What this boils down to is a trust issue; you need to grow to trust us, and we promise not to take your trust lightly
- Weeks or months of waiting – we consistently have several projects in the works; at times, your project will sit in limbo, waiting its turn
- A cover we both agree to – if one of our designers isn’t hitting the mark for what’s best for your book, we’ll use another, and another, until we find the perfect cover; in the end, the publisher (me) will have the final say, but I’m really quite easy to work with, regardless of what you may have come to believe
- Text formatting that will please you – Anna is best with interior design
- If your book will benefit from sketches, they will be top-notch – again, Anna O’Brien is a very good illustrator
Re: Professionalism – my hobby horse. I find this term thrown around far too frequently, and most often among certain groups … those who produce less than stellar quality products. It’s as if in using the word, it becomes fact, which of course is ridiculous. Professionalism has virtually nothing to do with “industry speak” and virtually everything to do with results. We will never substitute what some call professionalism for what we deem to be an exemplary book. Hang professionalism, if need be. We’re only and ever interested in getting the best books out that we can.
Re: the results - We shoot at what we’re aiming for – the highest industry awards and reviews we can rightfully claim. If a book isn’t at that stage, we will not, not, not, rush it out to please an author, to appease those who have been waiting for the book “forever,” who try their hardest to nudge us into putting their book at the front of the line. It’s ready when it’s ready.
And if an author still has us in their sights even through our purposefully difficult guidelines and hard-speak then you’re halfway there. There are literally dozens of other small indie publishers out there who will likely love your book, maybe even a much larger press, though we may not. Please seek them out first; don’t waste your time with us unless you’re committed to seeing your book on top of the heap and you’ll work hard to get it there.
Having said that, we’re looking for nothing for our Christian imprints for 2012-2013. Our needs? Mainstream speculative fiction, mainstream contemporary poetry, mainstream creative nonfiction. Take a look at our main page here, upper right hand corner, for more.
In closing, I value our authors. I value our potential authors. You are the reason we exist. We want to make you successful.
Keeping you informed,
~Chila Woychik,
Port Yonder Press, Managing Editor
Thanks for answering Miss Chila!
As to me asking questions that take a lot to answer, those are generally the ones most worth answering and learning from. 0:) And besides, you made the mistake of answering them once. 
You’re posts aren’t only interesting (and fun) to read (even if I disagree with a couple things) but you have a lot of knowledge and wisdom to glean from, and you allow it! 
So thanks for answering and aiding in my learning experience. 
Thanks, Nate. Very kind of you to say so. Keep on keepin’ on!
In reply to Cynthia, lol, we want it fast and now because we just spent ALL that time on it and publishing it is obviously the easy part! We want our books in our hands, our trophies, to show the world. We want it fast and now because we don’t know any better. Our book just took awhile to create and edit, and we know it’s simply perfect. ALL the publisher has to do is slap a cover on it and send it through their printing machine. No time whatsoever! *hrumph* (lol, all in sarcasm, of course. I know there’s a ton to it but I won’t go into detail. When I first finished my book I thought it was really good and thought publishing would only take a couple weeks at most…obviously the cover had to be just right. It didn’t take much research and a couple rejection letters-they write them so nice!
-to figure things out. Oh, then the real feedback was another thing. lol)
LOL too! Yes, Nathanael, you hit the nail on the head. I’ve experienced that same way of thinking in other types of publishing also, such as newspaper. “Just push a button” and the article or advertising should pop into place, edited and formatted or designed like a dream…
Patience is a virtue, isn’t it? I have wondered if authors who expect a book to be produced and published quickly would also want their automobile or home created that way. Do they want it fast, or do they want it good?
Agreed. There are a few presses (very few, I think) that can do both, but they have paid staff and large distribution channels, the things most micro/small presses can’t afford. To those presses: more power to ‘em! I wish we were one of them, but we’re not.
A press should do the best with what they have and if they truly want to get somewhere re: reputation and monetary remuneration, the pursuit of excellence will have to be a huge part of that.
Thanks, Cynthia!
Why would one consider information a blockade? Knowledge is power on your side! Not to mention you never know when it will come in handy. btw, you’re practically daring people to apply.
I do have one question if you don’t mind answering here, or you can have me shoot you an email and answer that way if you’d prefer (yes, I still want the answer-see second sentence) Why don’t you ever want to release a new author again? What is the experience of that? pros and cons?
As far as me being honest about my likes, dislikes, publishing policies, and even feelings about life, writing, and publishing? Oh, honesty is always scary, Nate. But that’s okay. Everyone’s entitled to think as they wish, and I certainly don’t expect everyone to agree with my way of doing things, just as I may not agree with theirs. I don’t worry about that stuff anymore. Too many really important things to think about.
Re: releasing authors from their contract – For quite awhile I’ve had an interest in and growing proficiency in genres like creative nonfiction and poetry (though admittedly, tastes in poetry vary widely; I’ve come to embrace and appreciate a combination of styles), but less so with fiction. When I read a piece of fiction I enjoy, I can tell you that, and when I read one I don’t enjoy, I can generally tell you why, though I haven’t always been familiar with the specific terminology and the “industry formulas” for fiction.
In the meantime, I contracted several projects at PYP that seemed like a good fit but upon further investigation by my editors (and I), we found the editing process would have taken far too long to get those manuscripts in shape. I didn’t use slush editors for the first 2 years of the business, so I ended up doing it all myself, and made a few mistakes, esp. regarding contracting fiction projects. And with my ramped up goal of seeking out potentially award-winning manuscripts from here on out, I knew I couldn’t settle for less than what my editors and I deemed worthy of that.
The “pros” to releasing an author? We have more time to invest in truly good books.
The “cons” would of course include a very disappointed author, and the general feeling among others, I believe, that we might do that to them. That’s why I stressed our desire to never have to release another author again. When we contract from here on out, my sincere hope is that each and every book will be produced. That’s also the reason we’ll be producing fewer, rather than more, books. The ones we do contract and produce, we want to shine up to a very bright finish, bright enough to catch the attention of reviewers and judges.
Hope that helps,
Chila
P.S. You always ask questions that take a lot to answer!
so you’re tellin’ me there’s a chance!
hey, there’s always a chance, charlie.
thanks for stopping by!
Authors who want to produce a good book should appreciate your directness.
That’s the goal, Cynthia. Of course, appreciation is often a hard thing to come by, especially when they view the information as more of a blockade than an open lane.
Thanks for the comments!
Chila
Well said!!!
Thanks, Jan.