Professional Independent Publisher (PIP) Certification - PIP

Comment

Comment by Tambra Kendall on May 14, 2011 at 12:49am

Lynda,

I'm not surprised. I have a friend who's sold over 10,000 and she still isn't listed in RWA's Published Author Network because she pubs the books herself.

 

I really hope the certification will catch the attention of these professional writing organizations. It shows we care about the books we publish. I'm thrilled to be a part of this!

 

Hugs, Tambra

Comment by Tambra Kendall on May 14, 2011 at 12:37am

I will tell you in all honesty, Romance Writers of America has always gone with the traditional publishers. Possibly with so many people self-publishing and possibly authors demanding to be represented (just guessing on this aspect) by the organization they pay dues to, it appears RWA is being forced to consider epublishing and self-publishing. If they don't change, I will leave. The fans who buy the books is what is most important, and my writing the best books I can.

 

I had suggested to RWA a few years ago that they should have a tiered membership for published authors, have one criteria for traditional publishers and one (that is fair) for epubs/indie/small press.

 

Basically, I stay with RWA because there really isn't any other focused romance writing organization. I want to taken seriously and being a member of the largest professional writing organization does give a bit of credibility. *sigh*

 

Bradley, you might ask for Allison Kelley at RWA or Ms. Ritter who I think handles the epub stuff.

 

Hugs, Tambra

Comment by Book Garden Publishing on May 12, 2011 at 1:12pm

Lynda,

 I feel that SCBWI does not recognize self-publishers are being published yet and have felt much the same feelings you had. When I ask to have one of my books submitted for a contest they emailed me that I was NOT qualified! BUT they did decide to add my book to the contest.

Jan

Comment by Kathleen Guler on May 12, 2011 at 10:14am

Bradley,

 

You are correct in your assumption, at least regarding RMFW. It is a blanket policy intended to keep out, in their words, poor quality self-published books. They also require a copy of the author's publishing contract as verification that any books in the conference sale are not self-pubbed, or pubbed by a vanity press or a press "too small," as I was told. My attorney says a contract is none of their business, especially for something like a conference sale. I agree.

 

Frankly, I think these organizations are shooting themselves in the foot when they blanket exclude small presses and self-pubbers and don't even remotely consider the author or the book. It's a missed opportunity for all, so I'm glad for this effort to overcome the problem.

 

Kathleen 

 

Comment by Lynda Deniger on May 12, 2011 at 10:01am

I missed the comment about problems with SCBWI. I was interested in that since I went to a local group and felt judged because I was a self-publisher. Once I mentioned that I had sold 3,000 books they changed their tune a little bit, but I haven't gone back. So what did I miss?

 

Comment by Book Garden Publishing on May 12, 2011 at 9:38am

Hi Bradley, Janice, Tambra and Kathleen,

I too have been following this discussion. I have a similar problem with SCBWI as some of you. PIP will be very important for us, I think.

Thanks, Bradley for helping to move the goal post!

Jan

Comment by Janice Hermsen on May 12, 2011 at 9:22am

Thanks for your comments. I hope that the organizations you contact will be forthcoming. For small publishers like us, we could use the input so we can be certain our authors know what they need to do to be competitive and we, as publishers, know what we have to do to meet their criteria.

Comment by Bradley Flora on May 12, 2011 at 5:46am

Kathleen, Tambra, and Janice,

 

I’ve been following all of your posts on this wall over the last week, but this is the first chance I’ve had to respond, so my apologies for the delay and for the necessity of this blanket comment.

To begin, I really appreciate all the anecdotal information about the Romance Writers of America, the Mystery Writers of America, and the Rocky Mountain Fiction Writers conference as the more information and the more perspective that are shared, the better this program can become! Thank you!

 

Right now, we are gearing up for the next round of development of the PIP program, and that means that we (collectively) have the chance to establish exactly what it would mean to be PIP certified.

 

We’re currently considering how the program could have different types of value for 1-title publishers, and publishers with a backlist. Specifically, 1-title publishers are the ones who deal with the stigma the most, and who could most benefit from a program like this that could highlight their worth.

 

The program will only be as valuable as the doors that it opens, and I think that it is fair to say that there would be a great benefit to many publishers if associations like the RWA and MWA had a way to better work with small publishers.

 

We are also evaluating the PIP certifications place within the changing landscape of the publishing industry. I’m taking a very critical look in this regard, and I would love to hear some thoughts on it. What I am specifically asking is, how does the digital revolution in publishing impact a PIP program’s place within the industry?

 

I think the first thing to acknowledge is that all that talk on the blogosphere about ebooks and digital revolution allowing publishers to sell books and circumvent the “Gatekeepers” of the publishing industry is from a very mainstream perspective. The “Gatekeepers” as far as I can tell in those cases, are the big publishing companies that have had control over the traditional publishing industry for quite some time.

 

            In our world, the world of independent publishing, we have our own “Gatekeepers”, the RWA for example. And while the digital revolution has allowed independent publishers to reach their demographic through Amazon and the Internet, I know that there is more to selling a book then just providing a place to buy it.

 

And obviously, the RWA is conscious of these changes and I’m sure that one of their points of concern in regard to small publishers, as they move forward, concerns everyone's credibility.

 

            I believe that the PIP program could be a good fit for the RWA and other writers associations because it would allow them open their doors to small publishers while still vetting them as members.

 

These policies of discrimination based on publisher size and depth of published titles, are shotgun policies designed to keep the more amateur publishers from joining the association.

 

A certification that could help establish a Publisher’s worth and professionalism could be used, in place of these policies, to allow the small press community to receive the support that it needs, while not limiting the activities of these associations.

 

And I admit, I am making some serious assumptions about the motivations behind the RWA, MWA, and RMFW policies. Maybe it has nothing to do with credibility. Maybe it’s overhead or cost or whatever. I don’t know because I have not yet spoken with any representative from those organizations. While I believe my assumptions are sound, I plan to contact these, and other, associations directly to begin a true dialogue with them.

 

Thank you all for helping to lay the groundwork in that regard, and thanks again for sharing your thoughts and stories.

 

Sincerely,

 

Bradley flora

SPANnet.org

p.s. In regard to pricing, it has not yet been determined, but our goal in this regard is for the program to be self sustaining, while also still being affordable for the publisher involved.

Comment by Kathleen Guler on May 7, 2011 at 7:26am

For book awards, check the submission requirements of the award you would like to submit to. Some only accept from publishers, some don't care one way or the other. Colorado Book Award will accept nominations from the author, pub, or anyone else. They do not take ebooks (yet). I nominated my last book, A Land Beyond Ravens, myself, just on a lark, and lo and behold it won its category!

 

I said in my last post about RMFW that self-pubbing didn't come up in the issue, but if it had, that would also have prevented the books from being sold at their conference.

 

Cheers,

Kathleen

Comment by Tambra Kendall on May 6, 2011 at 5:39pm

Forgot to ask: What is the cost for Publisher Cert going to be? I'm on a fixed income and I'm just starting out with my company.

 

Thanks!

Tambra

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