Our Interview with Jessica James, Independent Press Co-Owner and Novelist

Ever since Novel Journey’s interview with Maggie Anton who opened her own independent press, published her first novel, and went on to sign a multi book contract with Penguin, I’ve taken a special interest to those who take the independent route.

For my Saturday post, I’m pleased to present Jessica James an historical novelist who is co-owner of Patriot Press.




What book or project are you on to tell us about?

My debut book “Shades of Gray: A Novel of the Civil War in Virginia” which was just released this year by a company I partially own, Patriot Press.

Tell us about your journey to publication.

My journey to publication was a long one. Shades of Gray does not fit the industry model for a number of reasons, which I quickly discovered when I sent it to agents. For one thing, it is too long (at 532 pages). Secondly, it is a romance in which two people fall in love, (not into bed).
However, I would say the main thing that led me to the independent publishing route was a critical look at the numbers and the advantages. Authors spend months, and in my case, years, working on a book. In return, they receive a rather small percentage of the book’s profits, and can only hope that a publisher believes in the book enough to actually promote it. Additionally, when a large publisher picks up a book, all control is out of the author’s hands as far as cover design, sales price, publicity, deadlines, etc.

I came to the conclusion that I did not want a large publishing house as much as I wanted to have control over my project.

What mistakes have you made during the process of starting an independent press?

Wow. Let me just say, “if I knew then what I know now.” There is just so much to learn. I would say the biggest mistake I made was not understanding the importance of early reviews from the “big 5.” I would have worked harder to get them if I had known.

Also I did not realize how high the deck is stacked against small publishers—though even if I had know, that would never have stopped me from trying. It just makes the satisfaction of success all that much better.

What is the best thing you did?

I will name two things I did right that may help others who want to take this route. First, I sent my manuscript out to people in the Civil War community early (six to eight months before publication) so that I had some good cover blurbs and reviews before the book actually came out. This helped a lot since I didn’t have publishing industry reviews.

Another thing I did right was to initiate a cross marketing plan with Virginia equine artist Kristen Queen. She has produced a print depicting my main character’s horse “Justus,” and now has a whole line of Justus tee shirts, coffee mugs and tote bags. This marketing effort did not cost any money and has led to increased exposure to a group that I would otherwise not have the time to reach.

What surprised you the most?

That’s easy. I was very surprised at how friendly and helpful other authors and independent presses are. What a great group of people!

If you were to start over right now, knowing everything you learned, what would you do differently?

First, I would start eighteen months ahead of time instead of twelve to get the basics laid out (I thought twelve months was plenty of time). Also, I would have my second novel completed. It is started, but nowhere near the finished stage. I hear from readers all the time asking when it is coming out.

What’s the goal of the press? Are you taking submissions, and if so, what are you looking for?

The goal of Patriot Press is to release quality fiction and non-fiction that relates to the values and traditions this country was built upon.

In addition to “Shades of Gray,” we released a non-fiction Civil War book in April called “The Southern Cross: A Civil War Devotional” by Virginia historian Michael Aubrecht.
We are not actively seeking submissions at this time due to the overwhelming work it takes to market two books, but may start looking again in 2009 for a suitable manuscript.

What’s the best advice you’ve heard on writing/publication?

Just write. That’s all it really comes down to—putting words on paper. When you’re “not in the mood” you only have to remember those two words. Just write.

What is the worst piece of writing advice you’ve heard?

I can’t really say any advice I’ve heard is “bad” because it might be good for someone else. For instance, some people tell you it’s imperative to write outlines or write a certain number of words/pages per day. These writing rules have never worked for me, but they obviously work for some people.

What is something you wish you’d known earlier that might have saved you some time/frustration in the publishing business?

When I think of saving time and frustration, I think of all the computer skills I have
s-l-o-w-l-y learned over the past two years. Perhaps if I had been born 10 years later, I would have those skills automatically like so many of the young people today seem to. Conquering the Internet and learning how to create web pages is a must.

What are a few of your favorite books?

“The Killer Angels” by Michael Shaara comes to mind because it really heightened my interest in the Civil War, and “Northwest Passage” by Kenneth Roberts for the incredible historical detail. Most of the books on my “keeper” shelf are obscure novels from the 18th and 19th centuries that I wouldn’t part with for the world.

What piece of writing have you done that you’re particularly proud of and why?

I would have to say “Shades of Gray” because of the amount of research I did for historical accuracy and the time I spent in trying to get the 19th century dialogue to sound authentic, yet not be too hard for a modern reader to read. I just found out the research has paid off, because I’ve been asked to review the dialogue in a manuscript for the pilot of a Civil War HBO mini-series.

Can you give us a view into a typical day of your writing life?

When I decided I was really going to jump in and do this, I quit my newspaper editing job of 18 years, but kept a part-time job at a local theatre to pay the bills. When not working, I tried to be on my computer by 6 a.m. and off of it by 8 or 9 p.m. I took short breaks of course, but for the most part was either writing, editing, re-reading or researching—seven days a week. Some days it took me four hours to write one paragraph, and other days I wrote 15 or 20 pages. My best writing time is early morning. My brain pretty much stops functioning by 8 or 9 p.m.

How have you handled publicity and marketing? Any advice in this area?
I have a journalism/public relations background, so writing press releases is one of the easiest marketing avenues for me. In July, I had five book signings and won a Gold Medal for Best Regional Fiction in the Indie Awards contest, so it’s been a busier-than-usual press release month. I aim, though, for at least one per month.

Also, I have found that postcards rather than bookmarks have been a great benefit to me. Besides the fact that you can get more information on them than a bookmark, I use them as kind of an icebreaker to get into a store. Rather than going in and trying to push my book, I ask them to put postcards on their counter. This usually leads to a conversation about the book – and, surprisingly, has resulted in quite a few sales.

Perhaps the most important marketing avenue these days is the Internet, which is something I am still trying to conquer. There is so much to do between running a web site, blogging and joining social sites. It’s a real balance of trying to figure out what is working and what is not.

Parting words?

Independent publishing is a great way to keep control over the product that you’ve toiled over—but it is definitely a lot of work. I think it’s a great avenue for those writers who have a book that does not fit a specific genre or can be marketed to a very targeted niche. There is a lot of satisfaction in taking your “baby” to the next level and watching it succeed.