“Finding the Team That Will Go the Distance”
Dear writer,
I hope you had a great week and gave some thought to your future publishing path! This week, we’re going to take a look at the world of boutique publishing.
A boutique publisher is usually a small house with a targeted genre and audience. The beauty of this publishing option is that boutique publishers often develop a personal relationship with you as they guide you through the nitty gritty of the publishing process and allow you to maintain more creative control. They also often have an audience of their own that your book will appeal to. The drawback is that sometimes that audience is quite narrow, and depending on your contract, you may be a bit limited in what you can do with your book outside the label.
So how can you tell if the benefits outweigh the possible drawbacks for your book? Before we dive in, let’s take a look at a few people who with a small strategic team accomplished great things.
“Boutique Publishing” in History
Katherine Goble Johnson was one of the first African American women to do significant work in NASA. Gifted in mathematics and complex calculations at a young age, Katherine began her career as a mathematician by teaching at a university, but when she heard of the National Advisory Committee of Aeronautics was hiring African women to serve as “computers,” she recognized that this was the niche for her unique skill and gifting. Seizing the opportunity, she worked with excellence an and consistency and became an integral part of the team that sent the first American into space, and she herself was the one to calculate the trajectory of the flight path. As electronic computers came onto the scene, Katherine was often called on to fact check the newfangled machines and ensure their calculations were accurate.
It’s the same with us, writer. Choosing to go with a boutique publisher is often about discerning and honing the one thing you will excel at and the specific niche you need to fill as you work with a small team to help reach your readers. And when your giftings are in the right place, though the reach may feel small, it can have an impact far beyond what you may anticipate. Katherine’s name and work were largely unknown, until recently. But her efforts along with others set the stage for a whole new arena of scientific and cultural advancement.
“Boutique Publishing” in History
The Apostle James is another great example of a man who worked wtih small group of people to target a specific audience. After Jesus’ death, James, the brother of Jesus, became a pillar of the early church in Jerusalem. Feeling a strong call to the Jewish people, he remained and led the elders in Jerusalem all his life. He is even mentioned by Paul as one Paul sought out when he was new to the faith. Though James never traveled the world like Paul and authored only one epistle, his work impacted leaders worldwide and helped set the tone and culture of the faith as we know it, because he knew his specific call and invested all his heart to excel in it.
“Boutique Publishing” in Life
I followed a “boutique publishing” path, working with a small team to serve a specific group, in the season I led my church community. During those few years, I knew my call was to equip and encourage their faith and help unify and spur their growth, and I poured into them specifically and persistently with my whole heart and soul. Though in time, the Lord moved me to a new area of ministry, I was later told by a friend who remained that the work I did with that team had shaped lives that were now having an impact beyond the group itself.
Here’s the thing, writer. Sometimes, it feels like our story is so specific. But there is a something special from the heart of God in the story you send out that gives Him the power to change a life that may change the trajectory of countless other lives for ages to come.
“Boutique Publishing” in Your Life
We can’t always estimate impact by what our eyes see, and that is all the more reason to be faithful to the call God has given us. We never know how He intends to reach others through our words. Let me show you what I mean…
- …so is my word that goes out from my mouth: It will not return to me empty, but will accomplish what I desire and achieve the purpose for which I sent it. – Isaiah 55:11
- Those who sow in tears shall reap with shouts of joy! – Psalm 126:5
- It was revealed to them that they were serving not themselves but you, in the things that have now been announced to you through those who preached the good news to you by the Holy Spirit sent from heaven, things into which angels long to look. – 1 Peter 1:12
- God is not unjust; he will not forget your work and the love you have shown him as you have helped his people and continue to help them. We want each of you to show this same diligence to the very end, so that what you hope for may be fully realized. – Hebrews 6:10-11
You see, writer? The Lord is faithful. If He is leading you to do a specific work for a specific group, He has purposes for it beyond your imagining. He always does exceedingly above and beyond all we could ask or imagine, and He can see the eternal impact your words will make! So if you feel like you story is to make a very specific kine of impact on a unique audience, I encourage you to seek and follow His guidance specifically in the process!
Where to Start with “Boutique Publishing”
Here are a few things to consider if your book might be designed to reach for a specialized audience.
- Know Your Audience. Seek the Lord and spend time digging into your target reader. The more specific your audience, the more that you will want to invest in getting to know them and their needs. Attend their events. Visit places they live and shop and work. Do some research. The more you know about your target readers, the more directly you can speak to their hearts.
- Become Excellent. As you learn the needs of your target market, invest in developing your toolset and skill set to reach them. Research, read books, attend webinars, and practice strengthening your skills and clarifying your unique message to reach them.
- Research Your Options. Working with a publisher is a bit like marriage. It’s good to know who you’ll be in relationship with! Many boutiques will have an application process. Be sure you use this time to ask your questions. A good interview should be a two-way interview! Be sure to continue to seek the Lord and let him confirm His leading as you do!
- Know when to wait. Knowing when to wait is just as important as knowing when to push forward. As you explore different publishing houses, your title may be approved, and yet as you walk through the process, you may realize that the publisher’s goals doesn’t match your heart and message as well you thought. Having the discipline to say “no” when needed can often be just a critical as saying “yes.” Again, be sure to be seeking the Lord and wise counsel throughout the entirety of the process!
Just like Katherine or James or myself, our work with a small team of people involves a lot of back and forth conversation. It requires excellent listening and strategic assertiveness. Remember, a clear vision of the story the Lord’s given you and your “why” for writing is critical in this phase of the writing journey, so that you can identify what changes—though many will likely be uncomfortable—will grow your message versus what changes that will weaken it.
Because here the thing, writer. A partnership is only as good and strong as the strength and clarity of the agreement that forms it. When two people know and understand each other, walking in partnership becomes simple. Just like Katherine grew in partnership with her supervisors as NASA as she explained how segregation was hampering her work—and then saw the leadership remove those hindrances. Just like with James as he worked with Paul to reassure the Jewish believers that Paul had not left the faith as he embraced his new ministry to the gentiles. Even I communicated back and forth with the group I led, challenging them and being challenged by them to grow and stretch into new areas of ministry.
You will need to pursue that same clarity as you explore the world of boutique publishing. Because as you do, just like Katherine and James and me, you never know the ripple effects your faithfulness will have and the ways the Lord will use it to impact people and generations you may never meet. Our God is faithful! And as you trust and follow Him, He will faithfully bring to completion every good work He’s begun in and through you.
#courage #teamwork #EveryWriterWriting
