A Sip of Claret News
- Claret Press
- Jun 1
- 7 min read
Publishing: The Skinny on the Micro
I genuinely feel as if I’m in a flat-out sprint to improve this little publishing house I’ve set up. The learning curve never seems to flatten out but remains a near vertical climb. It’s exhausting and, to be honest, a little demoralising. I’m always the apprentice and never the journeyman, much less the master.
So imagine my surprise when people ask me to talk to them about how to publish. Sometimes it’s for their own work and/or a little band of friends’. Sometimes, it’s for a charity to bring to life people’s stories, which will then open purses. Sometimes it’s to publish award-winning high-end lit fic, because they can’t find decent stuff at their local bookstore.
I wish I knew, I’ll mutter. If you figure it out, please do let me know.
Nonetheless, I’ll end up spending a morning at a café, buying overpriced coffees and spewing platitudes like a high school convocation speech.
It’s really just an awful lot of hard work.
You’ve got to be passionate about each and every project.
The element of blind luck cannot be overstated.
As we twitch from too much caffeine and as frustration on both sides builds, the tone can get resentful. About a year ago, this dynamic hit an uncomfortable nadir when a nice lady finally snapped, All you entrepreneurs keep your secrets to yourself. I snapped back: There are no secrets.
I can tell this story because I’m pretty sure she doesn’t subscribe to Claret Press and won’t be buying any of the books I publish.
Weeks later I was once again dragged to my local café – where my preferred cuppa had been memorised by the staff – to talk to another nice person. He ran a small lifestyle store cum design studio. In it, he sold a few glossy magazines and was surprised at how well they’d sold. So he then brought in a few glossy books, which he scattered artfully on desks and tables, and was gobsmacked when people bought them. (He was clearly not a reader himself.) A clever man, he decided that he could run his own little publishing company: choose the subjects, take the photos, design the books, occasionally even insert some words. A book or three a year. Could even skip a year if things got too busy in other areas. And it wouldn’t be just for the money. These books would also burnish his legitimacy and showcase his design studio. In the event that his press lost money, it’d be offset against his taxes. I believe in the business argot, this is called closing the circle.
He'd done his research and had a few questions. He pulled out a range of different coloured pens, a small ruler and luxurious creamy paper. He carefully wrote my name, contact details and the date at the top of the paper and, using the ruler, underlined it with another coloured pen. I’m the person who scrawls things on the back of an envelope (my first business plan), uses whatever instrument is at hand whether it’s a pen or a pencil (or a whiteboard marker) and can’t remember the last time she used a ruler of any size to underline anything.
I’m pretty sure he’s also not reading this newsletter or any of the books I publish.
As a third pen got lifted and the questions started, I found myself saying “no” a lot. As in:
No, that form of distribution is only possible if your publishing company has a minimum annual turnover of £50,000.
No, that information is embedded in the metadata.
No, that’s not copyright. I mean, it is, but equally it isn’t.
No, that’s print-on-demand, no, epub technology isn’t there yet, no, no no no no.
He didn’t quite believe that all his information was entirely wrong.
And it wasn’t wrong. It was just wrong for him. His information was appropriate for a small- and medium-sized publisher. Even I’m not a small- or medium-sized publisher because I publish fewer than fifteen titles a year. And he was talking about publishing at a scale smaller than I am. What size is that? Micro?
He wanted to publish professionally at the micro level. Many small entities do: creative writing co-ops or college courses; half a dozen friends who start off publishing for their dyslexic children and end up running a publishing company specialising in neurodivergence; and people like me, a voracious reader who wants fun and intelligent page turners that grapple with our shared reality.
He wanted to know where to go for information appropriate to the micropublisher. There wasn’t any source that I had stumbled across, and goodness knows I had searched for one.
I suddenly realised that I, actually, did know a lot. I can guide and help others. I also realised how I could reduce my consumption of lattes.
Ladies and gentlemen, let me introduce you to Secrets of MicroPublishing. It’s the book I wish I'd had when I started. It’s specifically for micropresses, so if you have a trust fund and can afford to start with a sizeable staff and publish ten to fifteen books, then it’s not for you. But if you’re like me and own little more than a computer, then this book is useful.
I share the mistakes I made (which seemed entirely reasonable at the time) so you don’t do the same entirely reasonable thing. I explain how I’ve grown my press, bit by bit, as I get foreign language agents, learn about Python and other accounting toys, and manage authors, book fairs and marketing. I explain terminology, formats and legalese. I base it in a philosophy of excellence, as the publisher themself so defines it.
My hope is that with this slender guide, other micropresses can become more successful, more quickly. I am not really worried that these other micropresses will drive me out of business. It is my belief that streaming and gaming and social media are our real competition – not each other.
Other micro publishers have endorsed it. My intern has endorsed it. She says it’s funny (as in amusing, not as in odd). And if there are any questions I haven’t dealt with and you want to know more, I drink a skinny decaf latte with an extra shot of decaf. And you’re buying.
AVAILABLE NOW FOR SALE AS A PAPERBACK OR EBOOK:
We are delighted to announce that a guide on how to set up and grow your own publishing house, Secrets of Micropublishing, is coming out this summer! Written by our very own award-winning yet pragmatic and honest publisher, Katie Isbester, this book is perfect for those looking to launch a micropress or learn more about micropublishing. Katie is available for interviews, social media Q&A, podcasts or just a conversation.
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Micropublishing is neither fish nor fowl. It falls between self-publishing and small (but larger) indies.
Micros might only publish a few books a year but they operate with their own logic, have distinct goals, and use tools different from either small presses or self-publishers. As such, a micropublisher struggles to get appropriate information.
This book is unique in that it lays out what a micropress is, how it differs from either the self-publisher or the larger indie press, and how it can best operate. It is a friendly and personal guide, honest about mistakes to avoid and yet highly informed and experienced.
An excellent guide for those who want to professionalise their publishing, for businesses which want to use micropublishing to grow organically, for colleges and creative writing co-ops that want to share their works more widely, and for those who want to start their own micropress.
AVAILABLE FOR PRE-ORDER NOW:
Secrets of MicroPublishing Extract
In case we haven't convinced you to pre-order Secrets of MicroPublishing yet, here's an excerpt from the book that is bound to do so!
Follow the link to the extract:
AVAILABLE PAPERBACK AND EBOOK FOR PRE-ORDER NOW:
If you're looking for a great summer read, look no further! As a thank you to our older subscribers for your loyalty, and a gift to our new ones, we are giving away free e-copies of our upcoming release House of the Judas Goat by Douglas Kruger!
If you're interested in receiving this free eBook, please drop us an email at contact@claretpress.com, specifying if you'd like the PDF or epub version.
This offer is only available for the months of June and July and August, and can only be attained through this method.
House of the Judas Goat won't officially be out until September 2025, and while leaving an honest review and/or rating is by no means a requirement, we would greatly appreciate it if you took the time to do so at any retailer website or on Goodreads!
Excerpt from House of the Judas Goat
If we haven't convinced you to request your free eBook of House of the Judas Goat by Douglas Kruger already, here's an excerpt from the book that is bound to do so!
To read the excerpt, click on the link below:
Email contact@claretpress.com for your free eBook now.
We are delighted to announce that Mark Blackburn, author of Final Approach, will be joining us for our next livestream of Ask the Author.
Mark is an evocative author who approached the confusing issue of a larger-than-life yet bully of a father in unique way. Unable to engage directly with the man, he found refuge in plane spotting. This book is a gentle exploration of love and distance, dislike and engagement, family and acceptance.
Join the free conversation on Tuesday 9th June 2025, 7pm-8pm, on the Claret Press YouTube Live channel.
The link to watch the livestream on YouTube is below:
Join two of our authors, Pen Farthing and Mark Blackburn, in conversation, at the Sturminster Newton Literary Festival, on June 7th, 7pm.
Taking place at The Exchange, Dorset, the two Claret Press authors will be discussing the topic of Flights to Freedom. Don't miss your chance to talk to them in person!
For more information and to book your ticket, click the link below:
OPEN TO SUBMISSIONS
Are you, or someone you know, a writer looking to get published?
Do you have a polished draft prepared?
If the answer is yes, we are delighted to announce we will be open to submissions this July and August!
For more information on what we're looking for and our submission guidelines, please follow the link below:
"It's a crapshoot, publishing."
- Robert Gottlieb, American writer and editor
