We’re less than a month into the new year, and 2017 is already shaping up to be an even more significant leap forward for my writing career than the admittedly stellar 2016 was.
If you’ve been following this blog or my social media accounts, then you’ve probably come across hints of a major milestone in my publishing journey. Today I can confirm that I have begun work on a new novel for the relatively new but highly esteemed small publisher Castalia House.
There have been a lot of questions about my collaboration with CH, so I’ll address the most common queries here.
Did you submit this book to Castalia House because you got tired of publishing yourself?
No. In fact, I didn’t submit a manuscript at all. CH lead editor Vox Day approached me with an offer to work on this project, and I gladly accepted.
Does working with CH mean you’re no longer indie?
I’ve never been a pure indie author. My first pro work was published in Sci Phi Journal. Then I wrote another short for them and had a third appear in Forbidden Thoughts. It’s more accurate to call me a hybrid author. That’s always been the case, and it hasn’t changed.
Will you no longer advocate for self-publishing?
Self-publishing is an ideology for some people. It never has been for me. I self-published my first three novels based on the strictly mercenary calculation that self-pub was the best way to reach an audience and GET PAID!
The results proved that self-publishing the Soul Cycle was the right move. I’m still convinced it’s the right move, and moreover, Vox concurs.
As for which publishing options I advocate, recent events in the industry have changed the game:
- Traditional New York publishing is dying even faster than anyone predicted. Don’t believe me? Read my fellow Dragon winner and CH author Nick Cole’s sad account of his recent visit to B&N.
- Conversely, Amazon has gained a majority of print and eBook markets.
- The SDL himself hints that a major player is poised to challenge Amazon on their own turf.
- Meanwhile, CH’s number of titles rose from 37 in 2015 to 65 in 2016, and its sales grew by 54%–all while sales at the Big Five are falling.
Congrats, Brian!
CH has continued to pump out great stuff. Here's a bright future for you!
And a bright future for the readers. Thank you, sir!
Great news. Voted for you for the Dragon, and I enjoy much of CH's stuff. Vox is Making SF Great Again.
If this is an unhelpful question, please redact it. I've made it as vague as I can but it might still be too explicit.
Do you expect to publish this book around the last half of March 2017?
-Holmwood
Thanks for the literal and figurative votes of confidence!
No, the book won't be released until after March.
Hey Brian, congratulations on the new gig! We're looking forward to it!
Thanks. I'm striving to hold up my end of the bargain.
Congrats, Brian. My calculations are similar: find a win-win for me and whomever I work with. Castalia reached out to me and made me a good offer. Moreover, no agent, no need for one. This is the new model of unfettering authors who've been virtual slaves to the traditional monopolies. We have nothing to lose but our chains.
Thank you, sir. Again, I'm honored that my work will appear under the same imprint as yours. Couldn't agree more about the state of publishing.
Think I've an idea what your CH project is. If I'm right, that's pretty exciting. Not going to openly speculate, as I don't want to ruin the shock to f770.
Your professional discretion is appreciated.