How did you go about starting up Snowbooks? Why did you choose to
go into publishing?
I had a high-flying, well-paid, glam city job which I hated. When I first met my husband-to-be I told him all about my lofty-yet-highly-theoretical escape plans, as you do over a glass of wine. Instead of saying 'oh, yeah, I know, my job sucks too,' and moving on, he said 'well why don't you move in with me, sell your house, resign and start this business? It sounds awesome, you sound awesome and I'll support you all the way.' And do you know what, reader? He did.
I wanted to start a publishing company, with my best pal Rob, because it was the antithesis of everything that my previous career stood for. I had a vision of getting to retirement age, and looking back on a lifetime of powerpoint slides and budget meetings. Creating books is the opposite of that. When I pop my clogs, there'll be a stash of wonderful books forever to be found in the British Library that wouldn't exist without Snowbooks. I consider that worthwhile.
What's been the highlight of your time running the company (so far)?
Winning our first industry award, the Small Publisher of the Year Nibbie, in 2006. That was very special.
How have you coped when things have been more difficult than you expected?
Through obsessive list making. I find that anything is manageable if it's on a list, with a plan, and everyone knows what's going on.
Do you get tonnes of manuscripts sent to you all the time?
Yup. Relatively few publishers accept unsolicited manuscripts nowadays, and limit their intake to mss chosen by selected agents. Snowbooks, and several other indie publishers, do, however, so we get quite a few. We only accept email submissions (although occasionally people still send in their typewritten, double spaced work. We don't read those submissions, because even if it's the best book in the world ever, working with an author who doesn't have a modern computer or email account - and they do exist - is too difficult. I've done it, and it ain't pretty.)
What's the worst manuscript you've ever been sent?
'The Imp of Lust' was quite a bad one. Various Christian-message novels come a close second. Anything with an elf *and* an orc in the first para (I love SF/Fantasy, but not the LOTR-rip off kind).
Without a boss, how do you keep yourself motivated when there's loads to do?
Ha, I'd never thought of it like that. Being without a boss is the most liberating, wonderful sensation and I never tire of it. As I say, I'm a list girl, and use rememberthemilk.com to keep track of every last thing I have to do. What pops up on my daily list gets done - simple as that - and if I run out of time, it pops up the next day. I like lists.
What sort of things do you do, on an average day?
Respond to email interviews; do a handful of cover designs for other publishers (we offer this service, as well as some geeky XML services, under our SnowAngels banner); pay bills; make sure our distributor is doing everything they have to be; respond to 50-odd emails; read submissions. Today my list tells me that I have to send AIs to our lovely sales team; arrange a meeting with one of our authors to sign 500 copies of his slipcase edition; do the Barclaycard bank rec; change a bunch of direct debits from an old to a new account; send off three double taxation treaty forms to the authorities to avoid paying tax on rights income; start to prep the marketing materials for the Frankfurt book fair in October; maintain the royalties database; get a new tax disc for the car (not strictly a publishing related task, but I also put my personal stuff on my lists because otherwise they never get done); finalise the full cover for the paperback edition of The Affinity Bridge due out in September. And have a midwife appointment.
What's it like being pregnant? Do people let you go in front of them in the toilet queue? Do you always get a seat on the train?
I am a hermit whenever possible, so I've been avoiding going anywhere. When I have, about half the time people have offered me a seat. It's nice, and friendly. I did jump up the other day and offer my seat to an old lady who looked a bit doddery, forgetting I was pregnant, and then glared daggers at the person who I will call a youth on the seat opposite me who should have stood up instead.
Are you going to keep coming in but hide your baby in a drawer like
Carol from the Brittas Empire?
I'd forgotten about that! Thankfully I mainly work from home, and I plan to use one of those hippyish slings until my back gives out. I can't afford any childcare, so this baby will be with me when I work. It'll be cool - he'll be typesetting by 3. V handy.
What advice would you give to other women who hope to run their
own businesses? What should they expect?
Lawks. Same as the advice I'd give men. Work bloody hard, and be prepared to spend 10% of your time on the fun things, and 90% on admin, VAT returns, planning, budgeting, managing cash flow, P11ds, and database maintenance. Being a freak, I happen to enjoy those businessy things anyway - but I'm reminded of a lady I bought a cake from once, who'd set up her own cake making business because she loved to bake, but who now baked less than ever. Running a small business requires you to be more professional, more organised, more flexible than in a large business - and there's no handy infrastructure to run payroll for you, or make sure the bills are paid.
How does Snowbooks handle changes in the industry - has the
internet put pressure on print publishing?
I wish the industry was going through more changes, not fewer. As many print books are being produced as ever. There's no one online service that threatens to close down b&m bookstores, yet. Online marketing works only modestly, usually because it's rather unimaginative, or drowned out by the millions of other things you can do online rather than read a publishers' marketing spiel. I wish high quality self-publishing would become more widespread - the balance of power is too heavily weighted in favour of the publisher at the moment, and we could see a burst of new authorial output if they learned how to do it themselves. There are some excellent tools becoming available - I hope people take advantage of them.
Is this your dream job, or are you ever tempted by other things?
Yes, it is. No, never. I'm ruined for life - I can never work for anyone again. This freedom is too delicious, and I can't think of another job where I get to combine complete creative freedom with the enjoyment I get from running the business side of things.
What's next for Snowbooks?
More of the same, I hope. More discoveries on the slush pile of new authors. More relationship building with authors and retailers. A continuation of the work life balance we have now. I'm ambitious for more success, but I don't want to change how we work. For the first time ever, I get to be proud of my work - I don't want that to change.
Emma Barnes is MD of Snowbooks. You can view the Snowblog here!
