FOREWORD REVIEWS 25th Anniversary: Interview with Founder and Publisher Victoria Sutherland

Foreword Reviews is celebrating its 25th-year anniversary of exclusively reviewing independently published books this year. Foreword was one of the first publications to recognize that indie publishing was about to boom, and they launched in 1998 in order to provide high quality reviews of indie books and promote more diversity in publishing–and they have been innovating in the indie publishing space ever since. 

Today we’re sitting down with founder and publisher Victoria Sutherland to discuss how they’ve seen (and helped lead) the transformation of indie publishing in the past 25 years:

How and why did you begin Foreword Reviews in 1998? What did you see in the (indie) publishing space at that time, and how did you foresee it changing?

I was working at a book packaging company that happened to buy Small Press Magazine, a quarterly literary review publication focused on ….small presses! I was the associate publisher at the time, and the publisher changed editorial direction shortly after he bought it. A couple of editors and I determined the essence of the piece was being lost, and decided to leave and start our own version that closely reflected that original direction. We provided long-form reviews of books from independent publishers, smaller presses that weren’t getting much trade coverage, which may include an author-publisher to university presses—and everyone in between. I could see that this sector of the industry was about to explode and was creating good content, yet the existing trade publications were mostly ignoring them and only covering the top five houses.

What did the first few years of Foreword Reviews look like?

I like to say Foreword is a twenty-year-old startup. Our efforts to publicize, market, and drive sales have been bootstrapped from day one. The book business is very relationship-driven, so it was important to be face to face with our customers as much as possible, with the mailed delivery of a magazine to serve as reminders in between.

In hindsight, trying to introduce a monthly magazine was a mistake that probably delayed our profitability. After a while, I realized the unsustainability and backed down to bi-monthly production. I also worked on developing some other products/services that added revenues to our bottom line without the massive expense of a print journal. Those included an awards program that helped us recognize exceptional books (submission fees), a fee for review service for those publishers who missed our deadlines and were willing to pay for a review, and representation at rights fairs (per title fees).

It took Foreword ten years to reach profitability (no sleep), and another ten years for me to be able to relax about financials (some sleep). The first ten were very rough, the second ten also stressful, but along the way, I knew we had a strong business model in an industry that needed us, so I really never thought about giving up.

Do indie books get the respect they deserve now?

They absolutely do, but the pressure is on for them to be professional in every way: packaging, editing, marketing, distribution, etc. With more book purchases happening online and direct to consumers, author publishers are getting more sales, but significant levels to booksellers and librarians primarily come through distribution channels that make purchasing more streamlined. Now, of course, there are exceptions, i.e. Colleen Hoover!

How do you see the publishing industry changing today? 

So much has happened, and continues to evolve, but here is top of mind ideas indies should stay focused for optimizing growth: rise of self-publishing platforms, continuous changes in book distribution, the increasing role of social media in marketing, more competition, changing reader habits, and the growth of audiobooks. I think indies are only going to expand their numbers, but those who are interested in being more than just a couple hundred copy sales figures have to take “the job” seriously and prioritize the items I noted above.

What role does Foreword Reviews play in the publishing industry today, and why is it important?

Foreword is a discovery tool for the trade and avid readers to find great books from independent presses. Librarians and booksellers are inundated with new books, and curation in the form of reviews is critical to their acquisition processes. In the last couple of years, avid readers found us via our website as indie reviews bubbled to the top in their searches.

What are you most proud of from the past 25 years of publishing Foreword?

The spirit of indies is about exploring personal values, authenticity, and happiness. In that vein, I think the thing I am most proud of is that I was able to run a company and support a small staff of talented individuals who wished to stay in beautiful northern Michigan and pursue a profession that contributes to literary culture.

Where do you want to see Foreword go/grow in the future?

It seems like journals devoted to books are a dying breed, while interest in books and reading continues to grow, as it has for hundreds of years. However, the landscape for presses to get the attention of readers, or shelf space in bookstores and libraries, has become very competitive. 

Independent publishers are not going away, and by collaborating with each other, I think we, and they, stand a better chance of surviving against the bigger houses, and even thriving. I would like to see Foreword drive that community bond through events, expanded coverage online, and raising indie awareness on social media platforms.

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Facebook: @ForewordReviews | Twitter: @ForewordReviews | Instagram: @ForewordReviews

Tags: featured, women writers

Category: On Writing