The Dun Emer Press in 1903 with Elizabeth Yeats working the hand press

Small press is a term often used to describe publishers with annual sales below a certain level. Commonly, in the United States, this is set at $50 million, after returns and discounts^{[citation needed]}. Small presses are also defined as those that publish an average of fewer than 10 titles per year,^[1] though there are a few who manage to do more.

The terms "small press", "indie publisher", and "independent press" are often used interchangeably, with "independent press" defined as publishers that are not part of large conglomerates or multinational corporations. Defined this way, these presses make up approximately half of the market share of the book publishing industry.^[2] Many small presses rely on specialization in genre fiction, poetry, or limited-edition books or magazines, but there are also thousands that focus on niche non-fiction markets.

What small presses are not[link]

Small presses should not be confused with "vanity presses". Vanity or subsidy presses usually require payment by authors, or a minimum purchase of copies. Small presses make their profits by selling books to consumers, rather than selling services to authors or selling a small number of copies to the author's friends.

Small presses should not be confused with printers. Small presses are publishers, which means that they engage in a book selection process, along with editing, marketing and distribution. Small presses also enter into a contract with the author, often paying royalties for being allowed to sell the book. Publishers own the copies they have printed, but usually do not own the copyright to the book itself. In contrast, printers merely print a book, and sometimes offer limited distribution if they are a POD printing press. Printers have a very low selectivity. They will accept nearly anyone who can pay the cost of printing. They rarely offer editing or marketing. Printers do not own the copies that are printed, and they do not pay royalties.

Book packagers combine aspects of small presses and printers, but they are technically neither small presses nor printers.

The majority of small presses are independent or indie publishers, this means that they are separate from the handful of major publishing house conglomerates, such as Random House or Hachette. The term 'indie publisher' should not be confused with 'self publisher', which is where the author publishes only their own books.

Characteristics of small presses[link]

Since the profit margins for small presses can be narrow, many are driven by other motives, including the desire to help disseminate literature with only a small likely market. Small presses tend to fill the niches that larger publishers neglect. They can focus on regional titles, narrow specializations and niche genres. They can also make up for commercial clout by creating a reputation for academic knowledge, vigorously pursuing prestigious literature prizes and spending more effort nurturing the careers of new authors.^[3] At its most minimal, small press production consists of chapbooks. This role can now be taken on by desktop publishing and Web sites. This still leaves a continuum of small press publishing: from specialist periodicals, short runs or print-to-order of low-demand books, to fine art books and limited editions of collectors' items printed to high standards.

History[link]

Small presses became distinguishable from jobbing printers at some time towards the end of the nineteenth century. The roots lie with the Arts and Crafts Movement, particularly the Kelmscott Press. The use of small letterpress machines by amateur printers increased proportionately to the mechanization of commercial printing. Later, the advance of practical lithography made small press publication much easier.

A recent burgeoning of small presses has been caused by the introduction of digital printing, especially print on demand technology. Combined with Internet based marketing, digital typesetting, design tools with the rise of eBooks, the new printing technologies have lowered the economic barriers to entry, allowing many new niches to be served, and many new publishers to enter the industry.

Micro-presses[link]

There is now also a distinction made between small presses and micro-presses. A micro-press can be defined as a publisher that produces chapbooks and other small books on a very small scale (e.g. 50 copies of one book per year). It can also be defined in terms of revenue. Micro-presses often are run as a hobby or part-time job because of their low profits. They may not produce enough profit to support their owners.^[2]

In Canada, these are considered Small Press publishers but the standard Small Press book run is accepted at 300 copies of a Chapbook and 500 or more copies of a Spine Bound book. In doing this, Small Press publishers are eligible for Grants from the Ontario Arts Council and the Canada Council.

See also[link]

• Amateur press association
• Association of Little Presses
• Bill Bird
• Author John Reed on the small press
• British small press comics
• Fanzine
• List of literary magazines
• List of small presses
• Literary presses
• Mimeo Revolution
• Private press
• Small magazine/little magazine
• Small Press Distribution

Footnotes[link]

References[link]

• Brewer, Robert; Joanna Masterson (2006). 2007 Writer's Market. Cincinnati, Ohio: Writer's Digest Books. ISBN 1-58297-427-6. 

• Herman, Jeff (2006). Jeff Herman's Guide To Book Publishers, Editors & Literary Agents, 2007: Who they are! What they want! How to win them over!: 17th Edition. Stockbridge, Massachusetts: Three Dog Press. ISBN 0-9772682-1-7. 

Anthony Small
Statistics
Real name	Anthony Small
Nickname(s)	Sugar Ray Clay Jones Jr.
Rated at	Light Middleweight
Nationality	British
Born	(1981-06-20) 20 June 1981 (age 31) London, England
Stance	unorthodox
Boxing record
Total fights	25
Wins	23
Wins by KO	16
Losses	2
Draws	0
No contests	0

Anthony Small (born 20 June 1981 in Lewisham, London England) is a professional boxer who has held both he British and Commonwealth belts at light middleweight. He goes by the alias 'Sugar Ray Clay Jones Jr.' (SRCJJ), in homage to Sugar Ray Robinson, Sugar Ray Leonard, Cassius Clay, and Roy Jones Jr. Small converted to Islam at the age of 24 and is now known as Abdul-Haqq.^[1] He is a follower of Anjem Choudary and a member of Al-Muhajiroun/Islam4UK.^[2]

Boxing career[link]

Early professional career[link]

He turned professional aged 23 in 2004 with a first-round knockout of Lance Hall. He is managed by boxing promoter Frank Warren, who has seen Small to wins over former Ukrainian Light Middleweight Champion Vladimir Borovski and previously unbeaten prospect Prince Arron. He also scored a win for the UK team in The Contender Challenge: UK vs. USA on 30 March 2007, defeating Walter Wright in the first matchup of the tournament by a close split decision. However, his World Title hopes were given a massive dent when he was beaten by a technical knockout in round seven by Bradley Pryce whilst fighting for the Commonwealth Light-Middleweight title.^[3][4]

Small's boxing style is quite unorthodox. He keeps his gloves low, relying on body movement to avoid punches, rather than blocking. Due to his low hand position, he relies mainly on his natural hand speed to surprise his opponents when he punches. Additionally, he shifts from the left-foot-forward orthodox stance to the right-foot-forward southpaw stance throughout the bout.

Route to contention[link]

His first fight back following his defeat by Pryce was on 12 January 2008 for the Southern Area Title Light-Middleweight title when he defeated Mehrdud Takaloo by TKO after 7 rounds.^[5] On 14 June, he made his first defence, beating George Katsimpas by TKO in the 8th, flooring Katsimpas with a bodyshot. He finished a successful year by also defeating ex-contender star Freddy Curiel with a tenth round stoppage as well as former British title challenger Steve Conway.

British and Commonwealth champion[link]

On 18 July 2009, Small fought for and won both the British and Commonwealth champion with an 8th round stoppage of Manchester's Matthew Hall after overwhelming him with a vicious flurry of hooks in the 8th, which forced the referee to stop the contest.^[6] He made his first defence of both titles on 27 November 2009 in a close decision win over Thomas McDonagh over 12 rounds.^[7] Small was criticised for his performance with many believing McDonagh had won. Small chose to give up the Commonwealth title and hold on to the British belt, defending it against mandatory challenger Sam Webb on 26 March 2010, who had also beaten McDonagh on points. The fight, which was also close, went the distance with Webb surviving a nasty cut in the fifth round to claim the judges decision on points handing a second career defeat to Small.^[8]

Protest controversy[link]

Small attracted controversy when he took part in a march in Barking, East London, to protest against the British presence in the war in Afghanistan. Small, a Muslim, had joined with around 50 other demonstrators who called themselves 'Muslims Against Crusades', which is a new front for al-Muhajiroun/Islam4UK, at the march on 15 June 2010.^[9] Placards were waved during the march, aimed at the 1st Battalion Royal Anglian Regiment, saying "British soldiers go to hell" and chants such as "Murderers" and "Baby killers" were chanted by some of the protesters. Small said of the event "I'm a Muslim first and a boxer second...these people are killing my brothers and sisters." He added that "a man is not a man unless he stands up for what he believes in." In April 2011 Small denounced British Boxer Amir Khan as being an apostate and outside the fold of Islam.^[10]

References[link]