Science Fiction for May 2010
By Henry Leon Lazarus
Fantasy and Science Fiction publishers come in
many sizes, ranging from the large with multiple releases every month released
to all the book stores, to the small (print-on-demand) publishers
with only a few titles a year and limited release. Before print-on-demand
technology was available, a friend of mine, George Scithers, published
a book every year or so, paying for hard cover printing up front. A legitimate
publisher, like Wolfsinger Publications, which is publishing my novel next
month, or a major one like Tor and Eos, pays an advance based on estimated
earnings and does the editing, layout, advertising, etc. Quality can be
as good, or better, in the small press output mainly because each editor
has a unique view to what they purchase. One of the Hugo nominees below
is from a small press.