how do publishers succeed? - Interview with Tiny Fox Press

​Since its establishment in 2016, Tiny Fox Press has received high accolades from a range of industry sites, trade reviews, other authors, and readers. Galen Surlak-Ramsey, Editor-in-Chief of Tiny Fox Press, shares his insights about the publishing industry.

About Tiny Fox Press
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Tiny Fox Press was founded in August of 2016, and opened its doors to submissions Jan 1, 2018. We generally only look to sign on one to three new authors per year so we can devote our full energy to each project. Thus far, our press has been named one of the top small presses operating and our books across the board have received high accolades from a range of industry sites, trade reviews, other authors, and of course, our readers.
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Most of our books are intended for adult audiences, with exceptions of course for YA. If someone likes the genres we focus on (see below), their likely in our target. We’re mainly aimed at those who are interested in commercial fiction, sci-fi fantasy, historical with a military bend, or those who like humorous tales in general.

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Publishing Process
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How does Tiny Fox Press’ editorial team decide which manuscripts to publish?

First and foremost, the book has to be well written and at the same time, it has to be something that we’re after (this is both in terms of general genres and things we think will sell).

We do get submissions for genres we don’t take on, and those are auto passes. And then sometimes we like the idea, but when we do our homework, we’re unsure if the market will buy it. And as nice as it would be to publish every great story, in the end, we’re in it to turn a profit.

After a submission has been pitched to us and we like the concept, we’ll check out the first 10 pages to get a feel for the writing like most places do, and then ask for the full manuscript if we want to keep going.
For the story to work at that point, it needs to be structured well, have great characters, a plot that works, hit the right expectations for the genre or subgenre, and have a wonderful voice.
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What we want to see is in our submission guidelines. This isn’t meant to sound short, but our manuscript wish list changes from time to time in terms of what we’re looking for, story wise. Also, checking out our subs page will definitely help any author avoid potential automatic rejections such as querying with a genre we don’t take or sending in a bunch of attachments (we never open these).

How does Tiny Fox Press market its products to its target audience?

If we’re talking about marketing to those who don’t know us, yet, we try to gain maximum exposure with trade reviewers, bloggers, podcasts, social media, etc. for a book as it nears its publication date and afterward. We also try and target our audience through focused ads looking at specific audiences. This is in addition to our authors looking to reach out and make contacts as well. We’re always looking for new options, channels, and methods in this ever-changing digital world.

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Overcoming Challenges of the Publishing Process
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What challenges did Tiny Fox Press face during the COVID-19 outbreak, and how did it overcome them?

Total sales and ad costs for online (CPM) fluctuated a lot more than we usually saw over the past years, which meant we had to keep a close eye on those and adjust accordingly. But we also faced a lot of delays when it came to printing times, which meant our usual production schedule had to account for that as well. Last, our authors working on future titles certainly had COVID issues to deal with in their daily lives, which disrupted progress on the texts in question.

What are the main challenges that Tiny Fox Press’ editorial team experiences?

We’ve started to put books on audio and have found great narrators to help us do so. By the end of this year, we’ll have a total of three of our books available as audio, and they’ll only go up from there.
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We also utilize a number of tools to help us find trends in the market and hopefully make a prediction on where it will be in six to twelve months, so that when we take a project on now and it launches a year later, it’s in a great position to do well.

How do they overcome these challenges?

Research on market trends and where we think it’ll go certainly plays a huge role in this. All things being equal, if one book seems like it would sell like hotcakes and the other wouldn’t, we have to go with the first.
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We use software such as KDP rocket and helium 10 to help get a feel for what's going on out there, especially with Amazon as we do a number of sales there that can translate to sales elsewhere, too. And yes, simply chatting with others in the industry is certainly beneficial as they talk about what they feel is rising and falling in terms of popularity.

Getting to know the author helps as well, and the more we do this, the more streamlined we’ve got the process down. We're not big enough for a dedicated team, so we all have to pitch in.

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Industry Trends
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What prominent opportunities can Tiny Fox Press observe in the publishing industry?

Anyone can make a mark at this point. Between technology and the rise of small presses and indie authors, if you’ve got a book you want to get out to the masses, you can.

E-books have obviously changed a lot in the industry, and most people and publishing houses have them as a staple format. Audio is definitely on the rise as well, and will continue to grow. We drive a lot and its quite fun to listen to a well-narrated audio book.
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Last, there are always new genres that are turning hot, as well as forgotten genres that have been cold for a while that are heating back up. Staying on those is quite exciting.

How can Tiny Fox Press utilize these opportunities to remain competitive?

We’ve started to put books on audio and have found great narrators to help us do so. By the end of this year, we’ll have a total of three of our books available as audio, and they’ll only go up from there.
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We also utilize a number of tools to help us find trends in the market and hopefully make a prediction on where it will be in six to twelve months, so that when we take a project on now and it launches a year later, it’s in a great position to do well.

How does Tiny Fox Press intend to grow its business?

We’ve been growing by simply putting out the best books we can in the genres we like, and doing everything to see them launch and sell well.
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We continually strive to reach out to media sites for more exposure, keep our fans engaged with content in our newsletters and social media platforms, and support our authors in every way possible. All this together seems to work.

Does Tiny Fox Press intend to collaborate with international partners in the future?

We’d love to collaborate with anyone and everyone if our interests line up. Our goals would certainly be to come to some sort of relationship that is mutually beneficial to both of us.
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We don't currently engage in any partnerships at this time, but we'd certainly consider projects on a case by case basis.

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