All right, I've had a chance to get back from vacation and unpack and get back into life (well, almost). And first among my many chores is to make a proper announcement that Cogwheel Press recently acquired English language publishing rights to Discovering Ren. In the words of Dr. Seuss, this is really big news, and that's why I'm bothering telling you so.
The world of publishing is in upheaval, I'm told, just as the recording industry went through a period of change nearly ten years ago. As I understand it, what's happening is that the twentieth century model is rapidly disintegrating as media distribution channels proliferate, and some new and interesting stuff is being built. Cogwheel Press is exactly one of those interesting new enterprises - small, targeted at specific markets, with low overhead and DIY distribution and marketing. In other words, niche audiences who might like a particular sub-sub-genre - oh, say, dark urban fantasy with a Christian worldview (wink) - will have access to good quality fiction at prices they're willing to pay. Under the "old" model (which really isn't that old, maybe 60 or 70 years at most) they'd get nothing. Zip. Nada. Why? Because a book that this audience would read and enjoy won't sell a guaranteed 10,000 copies, and the "traditional" publishers can't afford to take a chance on it.
Once upon a time, a small press meant "small time." Something to be not proud of. And that's really weird, because nobody today would say that Charles Dickens, for example, is a small-time author. The immortal Mr. Dickens published his own books in his own magazines, created for expressly that purpose. A few years back, someone who emulated his business model would be looked down upon. Today, we'd say he was entrepreneurial.
How times change. I'm really excited to be part of the new/old publishing model. Please do go check out the other titles Cogwheel has to offer, and happy reading!
The world of publishing is in upheaval, I'm told, just as the recording industry went through a period of change nearly ten years ago. As I understand it, what's happening is that the twentieth century model is rapidly disintegrating as media distribution channels proliferate, and some new and interesting stuff is being built. Cogwheel Press is exactly one of those interesting new enterprises - small, targeted at specific markets, with low overhead and DIY distribution and marketing. In other words, niche audiences who might like a particular sub-sub-genre - oh, say, dark urban fantasy with a Christian worldview (wink) - will have access to good quality fiction at prices they're willing to pay. Under the "old" model (which really isn't that old, maybe 60 or 70 years at most) they'd get nothing. Zip. Nada. Why? Because a book that this audience would read and enjoy won't sell a guaranteed 10,000 copies, and the "traditional" publishers can't afford to take a chance on it.
Once upon a time, a small press meant "small time." Something to be not proud of. And that's really weird, because nobody today would say that Charles Dickens, for example, is a small-time author. The immortal Mr. Dickens published his own books in his own magazines, created for expressly that purpose. A few years back, someone who emulated his business model would be looked down upon. Today, we'd say he was entrepreneurial.
How times change. I'm really excited to be part of the new/old publishing model. Please do go check out the other titles Cogwheel has to offer, and happy reading!
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