This one is from Erica:

At Dragon*Con 2009 in Atlanta I was speaking with you brielfy about your latest book was picked up by a new publisher. Are you excited about that? Is it nerve wracking to be starting someplace different?

Great question, and thanks for dropping by at Dragon*Con, Erica.  Yes, I am very excited, and it was very different.  Dragon Moon Press is my new publisher, and they are great people.  I would highly recommend them to any writer trying to break into small press.  They are professional and friendly, and their contracts are both “sane” and can be negotiated (to a point).

Nerve wracking?  Actually, working with DMP was a very good experience.  My editor, Gabrielle Harbowy, was great to work with… we went through so many versions of the manuscript, I felt like we were sitting across a table from one another.  One thing you do not get with the large presses is that kind of one-on-one with your editor… and you don’t get a lot of say as to what changes are made, unless you are a big name.

What you will not get from DMP, or any good press, large or small, is told that your work is “perfect”.  If you hear that, someone is blowing sunshine up your skirt just to make you feel good, or, more likely, to get something out of you…  Always watch out for a press that is “too good to be true”… it probably is…

The nerve wracking part, as has always been the case, is marketing.  Few publishers, large or small, are puttin much money or effort into marketing nowadays.  They simply can’t afford it.  Large presses put all their effort into their next hope for a bestseller, which only stands to reason, because that is where the money is, and small presses simply can’t afford a full time marketing employee.  If you are anyone exept one of the big name authors, you can expect to do a lot of your own marketing…  this is a struggle, and is the epitome of a one legged man in a butt-kicking contest.

So, if you’re asking yourself why it takes so long to get that next book out, it’s becasue yours truly is busy getting reviews, entering contests, networking, talking to independent booksellers and working the web…  That’s the hard part…

Thanks for the question, Erica!