Matt Buchman Science Fiction / Fantasy / Bicyclist

email the author at: mbuchman at lookatusgo.com

Matt Buchman released two novels with a Northwest publishing house. The house has since folded, but the two books live on in the used market. Due to the modern tracking of sales by author name, these sales have been forever linked in the computers with this author name. Therefore, the Matt Buchman name has been retired.

Look for future SF/F works under "Matthew Barash."

A word on working with a small press. There are advantages and disadvantages as there are in every publishing relationship. With a small press, there may be little or no advance and a less than incredible print run. 996 books sold in a single year out of a print run of 2,000 made me the press' #1 release in 1998. One the other hand, it is a training ground like few others. In a small press, every book is critical to the press' success. A good editor will spend an immense amount of one-on-one time with each author and every book doing their best to guide it toward success. The press I was associated with also taught writing workshops allowing me to hone and later teach hardwon craft skills.

Once the book is printed, a small press is extremely interested in marketing and promoting the book in the public eye. And while there may be no direct marketing funds, as is common for small authors at large presses as well, there is still a wealth of energy and industry contacts. I was given the opportunity to speak in front of dozens and dozens of groups from a packed session at the RWA (Romance Writer's of America) National Conference to book clubs to the two cashiers at an otherwise empty store and everything in-between. The empty bookstore was due to a last-minute addition of one more night on a Garth Brooks concert tour in the venue next door. I also once presented a reading/workshop opposite Pen and Teller on the same floor of a Barnes and Noble; local had one schedule, national another. I'm pleased to say that my audience of a dozen, all strangers, held fast and stayed for the whole presentation, leaning in to hear over the laughter from the crowds across the store.

Working with a small press can be an opportunity to receive immediate feedback on a scene-by-scene, character-by-character basis, a wonderful education. It can be an oppotunity to learn about book editing, production, and marketing in a very hands-on fashion.  It served me well, though I moved on. The press did not survive more than a few years longer as is the cruel fate of so many of the small houses. I cannot help but be thankful for the knowledge and the start I received there.