Self-Published L.A. Author Launches Literary Collective

By Wendy Werris -- Publishers Weekly, 9/3/2009 8:39:00 AM

With self-publishing gaining both recognition and credibility in recent months, Backwords Books, in Los Angeles,  has taken the first steps toward creating a literary component to the model by enlisting seven authors to include their books on its Web site and bring more awareness to the unfolding technologies in the field.
Backwords founder Henry Baum is a novelist whose books have been published traditionally—with Soft Skull and Canongate, among others—and self-published. His last book, North of Sunset, was listed as the #1 self-published novel in Entertainment Weekly in 2006. Other Backwords authors include Bonnie Kozek (Threshold), Andrew Kent (Spam & Eggs: A Johnny Denovo Mystery) and Christopher Meeks (The Brightest Moon of the Century).

“Self-published literary authors no longer need to go it alone,” Baum said, noting that self-publishing sites that charge listing fees, such as Publetariat.com and Indiereader.com, tend more toward commercial book offerings. “Backwords isn’t a subscription model; there’s no charge to writers. Our first goal is to further the awareness and cause of self-publishing, which I’ve become a pretty staunch advocate for.” Although the writers in the Backwords collective uses different services to print their books (Lulu, Lightning Source and iUniverse), Baum stresses the inherent support system and power in numbers found in his publishing program.

Backwords authors make group decisions on which writers will be part of the group and market themselves collectively. The Web site features online promotions for each of the authors in the form of coordinated blog tours, which get messages out on many blogs in a short period of time; links to their individual Web sites; and a blog where new posts are left daily. Each book is linked to Amazon as its purchasing source, although Baum hopes that as the site attracts more media attention the indie bookselling community will begin stocking Backwords’ authors as well. “Our goal is to get into the bookstores,” he said.

Meeks’s book is now sold in a number of B&N locations. He worked directly with Diane Simowski in the chain’s small press department to find out the criteria for self-published titles. “I was able to meet their 40% discount returnable requirement because I used Ingram’s Lightning Source.”

Baum is convinced that literary self-publishing will eventually achieve the same sales results as those of traditional presses. “The vetting system is out of whack in the publishing industry,” said Baum, who also runs the online Self-Publishing Review. “It’s literary writers who are having a tougher time of it in today’s climate, not just reaching an audience, but getting published in the first place. With Backwords, the hook is the writing itself. That’s our strength.”