Liza Elliott of Red Camel Press

Liza Elliott of Red Camel Press

You could say that author Liza Elliott thinks like a rock star.

“Just like a musician can set up their own production company to write, produce, and sell their music, I thought, why not authors,” Elliott says. And two years ago she started Red Camel Press, a small publishing house based in Birmingham, Ala.

“Movie stars set up their own production companies to write, direct, and star in, too,” Elliot says. “Since the technology has developed where writers can use print-on-demand printing and/or  electronic book formats, it seemed worth a try.”

Elliott says she had already had a positive experience being published by an independent press, HOPE Publishing House, and this further encouraged her to start Red Camel Press.

“Working with a small press means there are less layers of bureaucracy,” Elliott says.  “The writer works with one or two persons at most and all contracts and details are done via email and is very straightforward.”

The first book published by Red Camel Press was Elliott’s mystery novel, 30-A Supper Club.  “This was the book Red Camel Press used to learn the trade,” she says.

The second was a coffee table book by John Lonergan, an artist from Pell City, Ala.  John Lonergan Painter is biographical and features images of Lonergan’s paintings. This fall Red Camel Press will publish a cookbook that coincides with 30-A Supper Club.

Red Camel Press has plans to publish a number of other titles in the future including works of fiction, non-fiction, and more picture books.

Red Camel Press is not a vanity press.  Authors must send queries and Elliott makes it clear that only works with excellent writing, good character development, and interesting plots are considered.

“Because it is so small, very few books are selected because there has to be a ready market for the story,” Elliott explains.  “For a writer whose work is chosen, in addition to publication, they will get a press packet in electronic format they can use for marketing and an initial press release to relevant media.”

Writers working with Red Camel Press will be responsible for doing the bulk of their own marketing, but Elliott says that’s the case with nearly any publishing company.

“Large publishing companies do very little marketing of books of new authors. They concentrate on their big, best selling authors, or celebrity authors,” she says.  “Small presses simply don’t have the budget to do marketing. So authors must engage in this. The only way to sell books is to do marketing.”

Cross-posted at See Jane Write Magazine.