In Issue 67, we ran a piece about the micro-press movement. Here are some tips from some of the people we spoke to for those who might be interested in starting a tiny press for themselves!
Intertidal Zones from JackPine Press, designed by Lisa Johnson
You don’t have to be perfect.
So you’re making small runs of books and you’re staying up all night lining up every stitch and stencil. And that’s great! But you’ll burn out soon.
“I’ve had to let go a certain amount of my perfectionism,” says Stephanie Anderson of Projective Industries, a chapbook press from New Jersey. “You can still produce beautiful objects without worrying is it off an 8th of an inch or not.”
Collaborate.
Collaboration isn’t just the sum of your resources, few as they may be — its a process of amplifying and reimagining your reach and your community.
“I have to tell you how important it has been to collaborate with other non profits and arts groups in saskatchewan and in Saskatoon in particular,” says Lisa Johnson of JackPine Press, describing their collaborations with the ongoing spoken word series, Tonight It’s Poetry, and the youth writing workshops at Sage Hill. “It allows us to do things we couldn’t do on our own.”
Working with your friends and other presses, as well as bringing in new people to your project, can have a radical impact on your vision for the project. Marthe Reed, of Black Radish books, describes how bringing in a new member, j/j hastain, expanding outreach, and cultivating friendships and mentors has lifted them up. “Creatively, following our combined senses of what is exciting, interesting, and boundary-bending in the work which has come into the press has been a tremendous experience,” explains Reed. “We are a heterogeneous group and that makes for a rich catalog.”
And remember, collaborating is a great way to get to know people! Jen Tynes, of Horse Less Press, admits that this was part of the reason she started a micro-press. “My initial motivation was pretty selfish,” she remembers. “I was in graduate school and pretty shy, and having a means of publishing writers I loved gave me a good excuse to talk to them”
Be patient, and be nice.
When everybody involved is doing micro-press stuff and writing stuff as a hobby, it’s essential to have patience with your collaborators. Life and work gets in the way sometimes, and many folks are learning as they go — that’s part of what makes it fun!
“After having been on both sides , I have a lot of empathy for all of the stressfulness, holdups and slowdown stuff that can happen,” says Sara Woods, who has published books with micro-presses as well as run Love Symbol press and Red Lightbulbs Magazine. “I like the idea of living in a world where everyone cuts each other slack.”
On the topic of cutting each other a bit of slack, Lisa Johnson from JackPine Press emphasizes that even when being firm about design decisions, it’s important to “learn how to work with people who are giving you their baby.” Be gentle!