Huge news. Lots to unpack.
Bear with me, because it all turns out really well.
I'd hoped to announce all of this at the same time, but I can see that it isn't going to be as simple a process as that. I have a huge amount to announce all at once. Later on, as these things unfold, I'll discuss each of these events in turn.
1.) Not long ago, Cohesion Press unexpectedly decided to close shop. Snaked had only been out a couple of months. I'd thought it a little strange that they'd done so little to announce it in advance or promote it afterwards, especially since they had a couple of very good selling "sea creature" books and mine fit right in.
I was asked to keep it quiet at first while they tried to find a buyer.
2.) While all this this waiting period was going on, one of my other publishers, Ragnarok Publications, also announced that they were letting go of all their current and coming books.
This all happened within a week.
This was a bit of a gut wrench. It struck me harder than I thought it would. Tuskers IV had only been out about a month. They hadn't even gotten around to releasing an ebook version.
Ragnarok ran into a little trouble a year ago, and several authors left, but the company was sold and appeared to be solid and most of the authors, including me, stayed put. I was paid what I was owed, as far as I can tell because their record keeping was a little shaky. But I wanted to conclude the "Tuskers" saga and so I stuck with them.
3.) Meanwhile, my original publisher, Books of the Dead, had been quiet for a couple of years. Most of the authors left a year ago, but again, I stayed mostly because I had so many books in the works that I didn't want to have to deal with them too.
Right after Ragnarok's announcement, Cohesion announced that no buyers had come forward and that they were releasing all books.
Through the grapevine, I heard that several publishers were willing to look at books from Ragnarok and Cohesion.
4.) I signed a contract with Crossroad Press for Tuskers I, II, III, and IV and for Snaked. I also offered them my three 80's fantasies, Star Axe, Snowcastles, and Icetowers and they took those too. It turns out they have an expertise in publishing backlists and knew how to scan them.
So right there was a huge bonus for me. I'd intended to self-publish these (I'd purchased the artwork to the original covers to Star Axe and Snowcastles) but the scanning process was much harder than I expected. Plus, with Crossroad there is a good chance that physical copies and audio versions might be done. (That's true of all the books I signed over to them, so that's cool.)
While this was going on, it appears that multiple prospective buyers had popped up for Cohesion. I felt that I'd already promised "Snaked" to Crossroad so told them I'd still be moving, though it would have been nice to have had another publisher. (As a business owner, nothing drives me crazier than someone changing the terms of a deal after they've been agreed upon.)
But I'm only half over.
I decided this would be a good time to move my books from Books of the Dead. Crossroad was willing, but I'd already moved 8 books to them and wondered if maybe I shouldn't spread my books out a little more.
5.) I was able to sell my "Vampire Evolution Trilogy" (Death of an Immortal; Rule of Vampire; and Blood of Gold) to Dragon Moon Press, a small but long-established Canadian publisher.
6.) And it looks like I've also found a home for my "Virginia Reed Adventures" (Led to the Slaughter; The Dead Spend No Gold; and The Darkness You Fear) though since a contract has not yet been signed, I'll hold off announcing where for now. This publisher is also interested in continuing the series, which I'd postponed because BOTD had been MIA. They are very interested in doing audio versions, which is another bonus.
This is fantastic because the Virginia Reed stories are some of my favorites and I really wanted to continue these Weird Westerns.
All three of these publishers seem interested in doing audio versions of the books. All are active in the business and all seem like very good homes, equal to where the books were before.
Net bonus is new life for the books, plus my 80's books published, plus probably more audio versions, plus new avenues to try to sell future books.
So how weird and wonderful is that?
I was able to get the rights to the contents and covers to all these books.
It turns out my original publishers all had strong reputations in the horror publishing community for their content, which is nice to know. (In some ways, they were too successful, reaching for mass distribution which was a huge drag on their cashflow. When I started Pegasus Books I was warned of two potential problems: too little business and, strangely, too much business.)
I think in the future I'll be more encouraged to submit my books to new publishers, where I'd begun to back away.
Last but not least:
Most of these books are or will soon be out of circulation for a little bit, while the changes are being made. If you hurry (Ha) you can probably still buy some of them.
Meanwhile, my self-published books are still on Amazon (Faerie Punk; I Live Among You; Freedy Filkins; Gargoyle Dreams; and Blood of the Succubus). In my humble opinion they are just as good as the traditional published books, so please buy those while we're waiting. (Ha.)
I feel like I fell out of plane and landed in a soft bed of clover.
Bear with me, because it all turns out really well.
I'd hoped to announce all of this at the same time, but I can see that it isn't going to be as simple a process as that. I have a huge amount to announce all at once. Later on, as these things unfold, I'll discuss each of these events in turn.
1.) Not long ago, Cohesion Press unexpectedly decided to close shop. Snaked had only been out a couple of months. I'd thought it a little strange that they'd done so little to announce it in advance or promote it afterwards, especially since they had a couple of very good selling "sea creature" books and mine fit right in.
I was asked to keep it quiet at first while they tried to find a buyer.
2.) While all this this waiting period was going on, one of my other publishers, Ragnarok Publications, also announced that they were letting go of all their current and coming books.
This all happened within a week.
This was a bit of a gut wrench. It struck me harder than I thought it would. Tuskers IV had only been out about a month. They hadn't even gotten around to releasing an ebook version.
Ragnarok ran into a little trouble a year ago, and several authors left, but the company was sold and appeared to be solid and most of the authors, including me, stayed put. I was paid what I was owed, as far as I can tell because their record keeping was a little shaky. But I wanted to conclude the "Tuskers" saga and so I stuck with them.
3.) Meanwhile, my original publisher, Books of the Dead, had been quiet for a couple of years. Most of the authors left a year ago, but again, I stayed mostly because I had so many books in the works that I didn't want to have to deal with them too.
Right after Ragnarok's announcement, Cohesion announced that no buyers had come forward and that they were releasing all books.
Through the grapevine, I heard that several publishers were willing to look at books from Ragnarok and Cohesion.
4.) I signed a contract with Crossroad Press for Tuskers I, II, III, and IV and for Snaked. I also offered them my three 80's fantasies, Star Axe, Snowcastles, and Icetowers and they took those too. It turns out they have an expertise in publishing backlists and knew how to scan them.
So right there was a huge bonus for me. I'd intended to self-publish these (I'd purchased the artwork to the original covers to Star Axe and Snowcastles) but the scanning process was much harder than I expected. Plus, with Crossroad there is a good chance that physical copies and audio versions might be done. (That's true of all the books I signed over to them, so that's cool.)
While this was going on, it appears that multiple prospective buyers had popped up for Cohesion. I felt that I'd already promised "Snaked" to Crossroad so told them I'd still be moving, though it would have been nice to have had another publisher. (As a business owner, nothing drives me crazier than someone changing the terms of a deal after they've been agreed upon.)
But I'm only half over.
I decided this would be a good time to move my books from Books of the Dead. Crossroad was willing, but I'd already moved 8 books to them and wondered if maybe I shouldn't spread my books out a little more.
5.) I was able to sell my "Vampire Evolution Trilogy" (Death of an Immortal; Rule of Vampire; and Blood of Gold) to Dragon Moon Press, a small but long-established Canadian publisher.
6.) And it looks like I've also found a home for my "Virginia Reed Adventures" (Led to the Slaughter; The Dead Spend No Gold; and The Darkness You Fear) though since a contract has not yet been signed, I'll hold off announcing where for now. This publisher is also interested in continuing the series, which I'd postponed because BOTD had been MIA. They are very interested in doing audio versions, which is another bonus.
This is fantastic because the Virginia Reed stories are some of my favorites and I really wanted to continue these Weird Westerns.
All three of these publishers seem interested in doing audio versions of the books. All are active in the business and all seem like very good homes, equal to where the books were before.
Net bonus is new life for the books, plus my 80's books published, plus probably more audio versions, plus new avenues to try to sell future books.
So how weird and wonderful is that?
I was able to get the rights to the contents and covers to all these books.
It turns out my original publishers all had strong reputations in the horror publishing community for their content, which is nice to know. (In some ways, they were too successful, reaching for mass distribution which was a huge drag on their cashflow. When I started Pegasus Books I was warned of two potential problems: too little business and, strangely, too much business.)
I think in the future I'll be more encouraged to submit my books to new publishers, where I'd begun to back away.
Last but not least:
Most of these books are or will soon be out of circulation for a little bit, while the changes are being made. If you hurry (Ha) you can probably still buy some of them.
Meanwhile, my self-published books are still on Amazon (Faerie Punk; I Live Among You; Freedy Filkins; Gargoyle Dreams; and Blood of the Succubus). In my humble opinion they are just as good as the traditional published books, so please buy those while we're waiting. (Ha.)
I feel like I fell out of plane and landed in a soft bed of clover.