Small Presses: Things are Changing

And Why You Should Care

Dear Writer,

You write for many reasons — because you are moved; because you are compelled; because it helps you figure things out; because it makes you feel like you’re contributing to a larger conversation. As a small press publisher, we publish for exactly the same reasons, and often have similar goals to author’s goals - getting their books out into the world and finding them a larger audience, for example. As an author, it’s important to understand the changing landscape, pressures, and realities of small presses, so you can pitch your manuscripts more effectively, negotiate contracts more effectively, and take actions that ensure your book will be successful. Here are three changes that will definitely affect publishers — and by extension authors — in 2026.

Tariffs

Yes, tariffs have invaded every corner of American business, including publishing, increasing costs of these items and others:

• Paper

  Most paper is produced in Canada, and subject to tarriffs. Ingram and other printers are increasing costs to print books in 2026 because paper is more expensive.

• Shipping

  Because of tariffs, shipping costs to foreign markets has ballooned. I recently paid more to ship a book to Spain than the book’s retail cost.

• Foreign Printing

  Trio House Press doesn’t print any of our books in China or India, but many publishers do print in those countries. Coffee table books, blank journals, and other art books are mostly printed in these countries. It used to be cheaper to do so, but tariffs have increased costs to print abroad exponentially, in turn increasing book costs from publisher to consumer.

Contracting Distribution System

The major distribution company that served libraries, Baker and Taylor, folded this year. One of the major distribution companies that served bookstores, Small Press Distribution, ceased operations suddenly a couple of years ago, costing many publishers thousands of dollars in lost inventory. Consortium, a formerly independent distributor, was acquired by Ingram and greatly reduced its roster of presses.

In order to get books to bookstores, presses need a distributor. Amazon and Ingram keep growing, while alternatives keep folding or are bought out. This means presses find their costs jacked up, with few alternatives, since bookstores mainly buy through the larger distributors. This should matter to authors, because distributors take a cut of every book sold, and when they increase this percentage, that means there is less of a percentage available to pay author royalties and to compensate the publisher.

Alternative distribution systems are being launched and explored, such as Asterism, and several small distributors continue to operate independent of Ingram and Amazon. However, the corporatizing of distribution has had a negative effect on profit margins.

So, why should this matter to authors? It will explain why, when you negotiate a contract, royalty amounts might be lower than you expect, or why your book is priced at a higher price point than it would have been in 2025. Discuss these options with your publisher. If you want your book to be inexpensive, you will likely need to lower your royalty rate so that your publisher can make a profit.

Book Sales

Literary genres, most often published by small presses, are not the top selling books at bookstores. Go into any local bookstore, and you’ll see the books that sell displayed prominently — romantasy, fantasy, science fiction, and a large array of children’s books. Of course, there are creative nonfiction outliers that sell thousands of copies, like Robin Wall Kimmerer’s Braiding Sweetgrass, but it is extremely rare for a poetry book to sell more than 1,000 copies unless it was written by a celebrity like Matthew McConaughey (again, not published by a small press) or an established poet with a large following, like Diane Seuss. In fact, more than 90% of books do not sell even 1000 copies.

Small publishers go into a book deal knowing this, but it’s important that the author knows this, too, and is prepared to do what it takes to sell books. If you watch Shark Tank, you know that one of the questions the sharks often ask is “What is the customer acquisition cost?” While publishers would probably have a hard time putting an exact number to that question, since all books are different, an author can think of that question in terms of hours spent in the six months before and after the book is published. Hours spent by the author pursuing sales of the book, in addition to the marketing provided by the publisher, is what will increase sales in this era of corporate distribution and high production costs. The best use of your time as an author during this time is:

• Setting up local readings with established authors

• Proposing sessions at national, regional, and local festivals and conferences, again collaborating with other authors when possible

• Setting up a newsletter (Substack is a great way to do that)

• Elevating other authors, books, and work on social media and tagging those people (it’s how you get followers). Only post about yourself every fourth or fifth post (that’s how you keep followers).

• Visiting local bookstores, leaving copies of your book and a press release with ordering information for the book buyer (be sure to mention you’re not self-published - they aren’t usually fans of self-published books).

• Networking with people who could generate bulk orders, including book clubs and college professors who may want to adopt your book (give them a PDF copy for review).

• Find out how to request your book be added to your local libraries, and offer to teach a class for free at the library or lead a book club discussion there.

Books are still a vital part of the American landscape, despite pressures on the publishing system that is changing the ways publishers approach making and selling books. In the end, as a writer, the best thing you can do is support the ecosystem that supports you. Buy books produced by small presses. Tell people about these books, whether it’s a two-line Amazon review, a Goodreads review, or a full-blown review in a literary magazine. Subscribe to the publications that elevate literature, like Poets and Writers Magazine, The Writer’s Chronicle, and Publisher’s Weekly. And keep writing. The world needs your words.

With gratitude,

Kris