Tuesday, February 8, 2011

Authors Aren't Horses

As wonderful and graceful a creature as a horse may be, I still object to comparing any of my colleagues to an equine.

I'm referring of course to the common practice of labelling a publisher's authors as their "stable". Well, don't let me catch you calling my people that! They ain't horses.

What are they then?
They're a team.

Never have I been so aware of that as in these past couple of weeks, where we've had so much cooking behind the scenes. We've got our people proofing and editing each other's manuscripts all over the show. We've got a new marketing plan in the works. I've been delegating like mad to get on top of the schedule I've aimed at for the time ahead: four books in four months, and a load of prep to be completed by the end of February.

We've got all kinds in our team. Some are the editing type, while others are more the gungho marketers and salespeople, or artists, or image consultants. Yet we are all writers, no matter what else we put our hand to, and this is what unites us in a common cause.

We've added about five people to the team this month: three authors, an artist and an editor, for a total of twenty or so, with varying levels of contribution, and everything they do is valuable.

Twenty! How the blazes did I get twenty wonderful individuals to throw their lot in with me, even just for a time? I really have no idea, but I'm incredibly grateful for every one of them.

Thanks, guys. Here's to you.


 (and of course those not pictured, too!)

Wednesday, February 2, 2011

Splashdown Newsletter 2

Kia Ora! Welcome to the February newsletter from Splashdown Books. Boy, have we got a lot of news for you this month! I can’t wait to tell you all about it!


CONTRACT NEWS

I’m very happy to announce that Splashdown has added three more authors to the team in the last month!

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R.L. Copple writes classic fantasy in the tradition of Tolkien and Lewis. Follow the journeys of a ring with healing powers, and the courageous travellers called to wear it.
We’ll be re-releasing two of Rick’s previously published titles in the Reality series: Reality’s Dawn (expanded version of the novella Infinite Realities) and Reality’s Ascent (formerly Transforming Realities).  A third book, never before released—Reality's Glory—will be published at a later date.

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Travis Perry and co-author Mike Lynch have created a wonderful romp through the genres we all love in The Crystal Portal, where a time-travelling warrior elf together with a robot from the future and a boy from 1st-century Nazareth fight an evil warlord in an alternate world.

Look for Reality’s Dawn to release in March, The Crystal Portal in April, and Reality’s Ascent in May. In June we’ve got another surprise coming...


NEW IMPRINT
Splashdown has located a number of fresh new manuscripts that fall on the darker side of speculative fiction. So we’ve decided to give them an imprint all their own: Splashdown Darkwater, the world’s only imprint created solely for supernatural and paranormal tales with a Christian worldview.
We have already signed at least one author and novel for this imprint—but I can’t tell you about that just yet! Watch this space!
Splashdown Darkwater...Dare to go deeper. Launching in June.


Podcast Interview
I recently enjoyed an hour’s discussion with the guys at Flying Island Press, on publishing and many related topics. Have a listen at http://bit.ly/gJTj34.

Come visit...
Pre-orders are now available for Reality’s Dawn. Come on over and make sure you get in on the first opportunity!

Take care...and thank you for coming along for the ride!

Grace

Don't forget to visit our partner in science fiction and fantasy soundtracks:
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