A Self-Published Author’s Paradise: Why Portland is the Perfect Place for Our Literary Agency
When the four founders of Hellebore decided that we wanted to start our own agency, we went through a million ideas together of what this agency would do, what it would look like, and who we would work with. The biggest decision that we made was to not move to New York as we did not want to work in an oversaturated market. As we were deciding what our company was going to be, operating in Portland, Oregon was our best, and only, choice. Here is why:
Portland is home to so many creative spaces that are hosted by wonderful people who own small businesses. If you have read our previous blogs, you’ll know that the city caters to its independent businesses in the book world by putting on festivals or dedicating days or even weeks to them. Portland Book Week, Independent Bookstore Day, the Book Crawl, and even the Portland Book Festival, which draws crowds from all over the region, are just a few.
Many of the bookstores here in the city put on their own events to highlight the authors that they carry in stores, and we’ve been to a few of them. From Gresham, to St. Johns, to downtown—we even made a stop in Vancouver, WA to check everyone out. We love getting out and not only supporting our local businesses, but also meeting new authors and speaking with event coordinators or store owners about the books being showcased. All of these opportunities are not just for us at Hellebore to use for our business, but also for you, the author, to tap into the community for your own work.
A lot of the independent bookstores here offer shelf space to self-published or indie-published authors. So many of the owners want to highlight local writers and stories, but they won’t do it for free and there are rules. They offer the space up on a consignment basis, and some stores even ask that you stock your books with a supplier such as Ingram for easier ordering. Recently, I did a little research to find out who was providing room for local authors. Here is my list:
(Special mention to my local Barnes and Noble, where I recently discovered a signed edition of a local author on the shelves.)
Portland is a wonderful city in so many ways, but for the purposes of our business, we could not ask for a better place. If you’re a local, self-published author who has been looking for places to stock their book, this list is for you! We may even find it. ✿
