The more I tour, clearer that two things become--First, as a writer, I have more impact upon people and readers than I thought possible. It takes a stretch to understand that in the small press world, the people who encounter you are often a self-selecting readership, and are so grateful when they connect with a story, poem or book. It's humbling to get feedback from across the country. I am so grateful. Thank you.
The second truth that has become more evident is even more important. One reader. Seriously--ONE reader who blogs or posts, or spreads the word to others about a book impacts an entire press. Small press world is not like Random House, where readers are thought of statistically. I track myself. AJ at Trans-Genre tracks everything. Tom Leger at Topside, ditto. If you like something and tell people about it, it matters.
I think that this is one of the less-publicized, but extremely important functions of small presses. They not only give power to writers. They also give power to readers. Say a book sells 500 copies. Seriously--that's not a bad run at all. If one person blogs about it, and 8 people buy it for a reading group, or a teacher orders 25 copies for a class, that is a major major impact. As for that blogger--of course sie will be noticed, and perhaps sie may even get a review copy of the next book later.
Active readers, active writers, active publishers and editors all involved and engaged and enthusiastic. Darned good world, dontcha think?
