Now It's Official

It's a bit of a sad post today, because the email has finally been sent out, and I can finally talk about something I've been wanting to share for a long while now.

Renaissance Press, the local Canadian publisher that has published all of my traditionally published books, is shutting its doors.

As a member of the board, I have known for a while now. Sorry for not telling you sooner. I couldn't until they made it official. Also as a member of the board, I was told this was happening. I had no input in this decision. Granted, had I, I'm not certain that I would decide differently. My natural inclination is to fight for it, but I'm not sure this was a fight that could be won. Still, receiving the news was a punch in the guts.

I'm so sorry to all the writers who put their faith in us. We really were very honoured to be able to publish your books, extremely proud of everything we've done to date, and we really wanted it to work out. It was not an easy decision, I'm sure, to close doors.

There's a lot to do to prepare for the closure. My position on the board amounted to volunteering time for data entry (I've just had the sudden dread realisation that I promised a thing, and still haven't done it. Oh no. I need to get on that - don't worry, it's internal. Outwardly affects nothing), and the occasional week of marketing. I don't expect to be wildly involved now.

This was particularly hard because I did have a book in the works with Renaissance. And I was really excited about it. The Lioness of Shara Mountain has been a favourite to write for a bit now. I love the story. I love the world. I adore the characters. It was a West meets East fantasy story, centred on the incredibly powerful (and entirely platonic) love between the two main characters - a subject near and dear to my heart.

It was originally supposed to have been published February of this year. It was pushed a year, and scheduled for February of next year. Now, it won't be published at all. Not by Renaissance, in any case.

So... what happens to this book, and my other Renaissance titles?

Well, rights will automatically revert to me January of next year, as Renaissance is taking the rest of this year to make sure everything is in order and done properly. Until they close then, they will be selling off their current stock; unless the authors request their rights before January and either buy their printed books or have them pulped.

Honestly, I really wish I had the funds to buy my own books back immediately, but I don't. So my plan is to let Renaissance sell as many of those books as they can. I'll buy as many copies of the books as I can (which won't be many) then, to offer for sale as I transition my titles from Renaissance to my own imprint, Overdue Books.

This includes The Lioness of Shara Mountain. I will not be seeking another publisher for that book. Or any of my future titles, to be frank.

It might just be my current mood - sad, frustrated, jaded - but I'm tired of the fight to be published. I don't really want the acknowledgement of the big five (or is it four now... I can't keep track of the mergers). What I want is for my readers to enjoy my work, and to have enough readers to make a comfortable living with my work.

Of course, without the backing of a publisher, getting into book shops is going to be very difficult. This will reduce my discoverability, and my visibility. This will, in turn, make it exponentially more difficult to earn that living. I know this.

Right now, I don't care. I'm quite done with the whole scene. Utterly spent.

I've never done things the easy way. Hell, my university degree was not something that was offered, technically. I had to basically make it up, and, so long as I met certain criteria, the university stamped their approval and I was off, making my own way through academia. Despite the struggle it was, going to university full time for a degree that technically didn't exist, and working nearly as much so I could afford to live while doing so, I am very grateful to have had that opportunity. And I'm am so grateful for the professors (especially Professors Kilmurray and Birt) who saw my enthusiasm for the material and helped me along the way.

I will do the same with publishing. I'd rather not. I'd adore the easier ride with folks who already have their feet in the door, easy access to book shops and in-house editors and marketing departments. But it's not to be, I guess.

Fine.

I'll fight my way up the mountain, then.

I know it's going to be a slog. I know that it's very likely that I'll never get there. But I'm going to try anyway.

Here's hoping my contrarian, stubborn, spiteful nature works in my favour for once.

I will be publishing The Lioness of Shara Mountain myself, with a projected publication date still being February of next year. I will also be republishing each of the books currently published by Renaissance Press. I will attempt to buy some of the stock before the year is out, so there will be copies available as I prep the books for their second edition publishing. I'm not sure I'll be able to buy many of them.

In the meantime, if you want to get your hands of copies of these books while they're available, you can find the purchase links here:

Human
Daughters of Britain
Skylark

​Well, I'm feeling a bit drained, and sad... and cranky... so I'm going to leave it here for now.

I hope you're all well, and I'll see you on the other side of this, hopefully not too frazzled and exhausted.

Slán go foill!