Indie Publisher Notes: Building Up MYTHIC

Back again with another installment of Indie Publisher Notes. If you didn't catch it, I wanted to let everyone know that the ninth issue of MYTHIC: A Quarterly Science Fiction & Fantasy Magazine is available. Issue #9 is available in print and eBook editions. You can snag your e-copy from our Payhip store right now and look at some of our other offerings while you're there. It's also on Amazon in print and eBook editions.

On the heels of this release, I've already put together Issue #10, the Spring 2019 issue, and have found a great selection of stories by talented writers. This one will likely be published late next month. I've managed to get caught up, finally! I'm already collecting stories for Issue #11 which will release in the summer.

In the midst of all this editor/publisher activity with MYTHIC, the magazine and I were mentioned in a recent blog post from author John Michael Greer. He has two blogs, actually. His post, titled "Dinosaurs and Mammals in Publishing," is actually a great write up of one dichotomy in the publishing industry right now. Mr. Greer has my eternal thanks for his support and his partnership. He remains the most frequently published author released by Founders House Publishing and I always count my lucky stars that I get the chance to work with him.

Yet, there are so many other writers to thank for their contributions to MYTHIC and to the books I've published through Founders House. I am grateful to work with each and every one of you.

MYTHIC continues to grow and I'm always looking for ways to promote it and connect with a broader and bigger readership. My two priorities for the magazine remain to 1.) provide professional level compensation; and 2) build our foundation of readership and subscribers.

One of the benefits of Greer's post was that I added returning/new subscribers and patrons this month. The work continues though. When you get subscribers you have to find ways to keep them. Sometimes, they just fall off because they don't realize their subscription is over. I am always trying to reconnect or reengage with subscribers to see if they would like to come back aboard.

There are other avenues I've not tried yet to see if it would help me obtain the funding. One is, of course, advertising. So far, I've promoted Founders House books for the most part, with a few other anthologies mentioned in the book reviews that appeared from time to time. I may try advertising. (I'd love feedback from you, dear readers, on that.)

Stay tuned for next week's Indie Publisher Notes. Thanks for reading.

Indie Publisher Notes: Wearer of Many Hats

When you operate your own publishing company you really are wearing many hats. You have to be nimble in your thinking and you have to learn to strike a balance with the time you have available so that each hat gets worn long enough to do all of the necessary work that is on the schedule. In truth, time is not often kind--especially when you're not able to put in at least a full 40 hours on the work of publishing and editing. (I'm lucky to get 20.)

To switch the analogy to another familiar cliché. You do have to get rather skilled at juggling. For me that's been quite a task at times. As the sole 'man behind the curtain' I'm the guy pushing all the buttons and pulling all the levers the majority of the time. If I'm not designing and formatting the books, I'm processing the direct sales we receive. If you write Founders House Publishing, I'm the one most likely to answer all of the customer and author e-mails. I'm spending time on the never-ending task of improving the website. Some days, I'm just trying to find smart ways to promote all of our current titles or I'm considering new projects to development. Or I'm hauling books or magazines to the post office to ship.

Indie Publisher Notes: Intro and Recent Releases

Introduction

Hello everyone. With my decision to re-introduce the Free Fiction Friday feature to the blog to do more to highlight my fiction writing, I starting thinking about writing a regular post about some of the work I'm doing as an independent publisher. Founders House Publishing, which I operate mostly on my own, is just one of the major things in my orbit. The related project, MYTHIC: A Quarterly Science Fiction & Fantasy Magazine, is another. Then there is my own fiction writing, which not only feeds into the other two but reaches beyond it at times. Needless to say, having all of that going on, plus the regular job I do to make my personal ends meet, and other responsibilities is challenging. 

These posts will be primarily titled: Indie Publisher Notes. Each one that appears will touch on some aspect of the independent publishing business and my company's latest projects. My hope is that it will give everyone a glimpse 'behind the curtain' to see some of the work I am doing. Founders House is coming up on its tenth anniversary of operations later this year and I'm trying to take everything to a whole new level.