Search out bull, grab horns

While submissions have continued to come in over the last few months, it's fair to say that it's been more of a trickle than a torrent, which is natural for a relatively unknown indie publisher just starting out on the road to mega-seller-dom. And of those that are coming in, non-fiction is edging fiction, which makes it even tougher to unearth that bit of fiction magic we're searching for to launch that side of Nemesis.

A few weeks back, I decided to take the bull by the old horns. If the projects won't come to us, I mused, then we'll go and find the projects. So I started watching and listening to what was being said by those I knew on blogs, forums, facebook, twitter - you name it, I was getting the skeet.

As of tonight, I have two projects that I'm interested in - one fiction, one non-fiction. The writer behind the fiction idea knows of my interest, and we're hoping to catch up in the coming weeks to discuss how things might move forward.

With the non-fiction project, the writer has no idea that I'm interested. In fact, he might not even know there is a project in the first place, as I'm considering proposing something to him - he might already have this in hand, in which case I'll bow out gracefully, but I've a feeling he will be interested.

Of course, it's far too early to say whether either of these projects will come to fruition. A few things need to happen; first, we need to be sure the projects are a good fit for us; second, the writer has to be sure we're the right people for them to work with; and, third, we've got to be sure (or as sure as we can be) that these projects are marketable. There are plenty of other considerations, but take one of those three out of the equation and the end result is the project won't go ahead, at least not with us as publisher.

When the website finally launches, and our name starts to get out there, then I'd expect submissions to increase gradually. But for now, I'm buzzing with the possibilities being conjured by keeping an open mind, digging around and being prepared to think outside the box, and I hate that bloody phrase. But in these two instances, it fits perfectly.

I'll reveal more if/when these ideas start to form into some kind of shape. Until then, if you'd be so kind, please keep your fingers crossed that they do...

The advancing army of ebooks

As a small publisher, just starting out on the road to bestsellerdom and Booker award dinners (because that's what it's all about, right?), one of the most important issues to address is the rise of the ebook.

I say rise, because even if the ebook's percentage of today's market today is relatively minor - research stats vary, but it's only a few per cent, if that - you can rest assured that the number is rising, and isn't likely to fall away any time soon.

Eighteen months ago, I shook my head and smiled mockingly when someone suggested I might want to buy an ebook reader and give them a whirl. No chance, says I. I'm a traditional kinda guy, and I know what I like and I like what I know.

Earlier today I was reading Peter Cox's column in The Bookseller, where he talks about the pricing of ebooks and the recent standoff between Amazon and Macmillan. As interesting as the column is, it was the comments it attracted that caught my interest. There are still those within the industry, or commentating on the industry, who continue to dismiss ebooks out of hand. It's their opinion, of course. But, having delved into the ebook phenomenen since I somewhat harshly dismissed them, I now find it hard to believe anyone connected with publishing can brush the ebook off like an irritating sprinkle of dandruff on the shoulder of their pristine suit.

We may still be a long way off the rule of the ebook, but today's younger generation will only further embrace them.

Pricing remains the key to ebooks. Sure, the technology needs to improve (and come down in cost, which it surely will), as does the quality and quantity of titles available as ebooks. But to my mind, if ebooks are pitched at the right level - be it by the publisher or the 'bookseller' - then the market will sit up and take note.

What is that price? If a new paperback costs £7.99, what would we pay for the same title as an ebook? £3.00? £3.50? Lower than a three...? I don't know, but everyone has a level at which they will be persuaded.

There are markets that Nemesis can look to tap into with ebooks. There are communities of Manx across the globe, throughout America, South Africa, Dubai, New Zealand and Australia. Having written a couple of books, I know the difficulty of selling to these communities when it costs so much to ship the book over, particularly if it's a somewhat weighty tome.

Ebooks could just be the answer. In fact, they are the answer; we just need to persuade our fine, upstanding potential customers around the globe that that is the case.

And so the research continues. Has anyone tried an ebook reader? How did you find the reading experience? What price would persuade you to ditch the hard copy and go with the ebook? And surely there are some authors, your favourites, for whom you'd be happy to fork out for the hard copy, regardless of how cheap the ebook might be...?

Thanks for reading
JohnQ

Down, down, you bring me down...

Trying to get a small indie publishing house off the ground in today's publishing climate often feels like hurtling headlong in a burning car with no brakes towards the edge of the Abyss. And I don't just mean a long drop, I mean The Abyss. You know, demons and stuff.

There's so much doom and gloom around. Whether it's traditionalists panicking about the appearance of the army of ebooks cresting the top of the mountain, supported by legions of Kindles and iPads, the Google book settlement and what it means for authors, book stores struggling to turn a profit or large publishing houses shedding jobs quicker than James Patterson churns out books, I often wonder if we're not completely off our rockers to be getting ourselves into this, if indeed we know what this is.

Yet I can't help but feel we're at the start of someting, if not beautiful, then bloody exciting. Sure, it's a period of uncertainty for the publishing industry; and those who claim to know how things will pan out over the next five to ten are speculators at best, deluded at worst. But it is reassuring when respected voices such as agents Peter Cox, with this column in The Bookseller, and Nathan Bransford, with this blog post, say it how I see it.

Cynics will say it's a natural reaction from agents - to try and put a positive spin on events, given that they make their living by representing authors, and trying to find The Next Big Name, and a positive, optimistic unpublished writer will (generally) produce a better manuscript than one who's depressed because they think the world that they so desperately want to conquer is crumbling before their eyes.

I don't know Nathan, but I do know Peter through Litopia, and I don't believe he's bigging the future of publishing up because, well, it's his job. The impression I get is one of true excitement, and Peter is doing everything he can, both for his authors and the members of Litopia, to be at the cutting edge of publishing. It's a similar emotion that radiates from Nathan's blog; these guys love publishing, writing and, yes, even unpublished authors.

And that enthusiam is infectious. I feel sorry for anyone who can't share in it.

For us at Nemesis, one of the most important tasks we face over the coming few months is to learn everything there is to know about ebooks, and look to position ourselves to exploit the market, where possible. There are niche markets - such as the overseas Manx - where we know ebooks will likely present a more financially attractive proposition than a hard copy, which is handicapped by delivery costs to the US and elsewhere.

Now, if I could figure out how to bottle the enthusiasm emanating from these agents, we'd be quids in.

Till next time
JQ

Quirky by name, quirky by nature

Someone asked me the other day why, given our surname, we hadn’t gone for a name like 'Quirk Publishing', or 'Quirk Books'. We did think about it. But there were two problems.

First, we didn’t want it to appear that this was a self-publishing venture to get my work into print. It most certainly isn't, but folk often put two and two together and make whatever damn number suits their theory.

The second reason is that there is already a successful independent publisher going by the name Quirk Books, who up until recently dealt mainly with non-fiction. I've been following their adventures for the last couple of years and they hit the big time earlier this year with a novel, Pride and Prejudice and Zombies.

There are 600,000 copies of P&P&Z in circulation, and the follow-up has been announced - Sense and Sensibility and Sea Monsters. Makes sense, I guess. The cross between period drama and zombies caught the imagination of both readers and the publishing world and the chaps at Quirk Books pounced on the publicity generated, and good luck to them.

Was P&P&Z merely a gimmick of an idea? Or is there something more substantial beyond the concept? I can't say, as I've not read the book yet. But it has worked, that's for sure, and it's a soaring success story that gives hope to a small publishing house trying to find its wings.

On another note, a quick word of thanks to everyone who has wished us well with Nemesis. There are exciting times ahead, and we're glad you're along for the ride.

And on yet another note, talking of success stories, Our Kid seems to have suddenly become obsessed with Harry Potter. He's six, and was hooked on the first movie from the age of two, but fell out of love with young Harry when he discovered 601 on the Sky remote and Power Rangers: Jungle Fury and Ben 10 soon ruled.

But he now has Harry Potter tapes on what appears to be a continual loop in his bedroom and has started to ask to see the films again. I even found him watching Philosopher's Stone earlier while wearing his glasses. We usually have to glue his glasses to his face to keep them on.*

What's more, he actually seems to know what is going on now. We have a few of the books, so that's the next step. You have another fan, JK.

Till next time.

(* A slight use of poetic licence here. Of course we don't glue his glasses to his face. That would be cruel. We just nail them on)

Adventures in publishing. Warts and all

Welcome, one and all, to the blog of Nemesis Publishing.

We’re about to set off on a long (and, frankly, petrifying) journey into the world of books, as we try to get a small publishing house off the ground and fight for a seat at what appears to be an already crowded dinner table of crazed zombies ripping each other’s heads off in search of the tastiest morsel of flesh.

But we want in there.

We want to get a foot on that first rung of the ladder. And keep climbing. And we want you along for the ride.

We’ll be updating this blog regularly – daily, when feasible – and it will be a warts and all look at how the business develops. Your input is welcome; if there’s anything you want to ask about Nemesis, or publishing in general, leave a comment and we’ll endeavour to answer. If you have an idea for a blog topic, let us know.

Right, let’s rewind a little.

Nemesis began to take shape a couple of years back, when we had the idea of providing a platform for Isle of Man fiction writers. The plan was to publish a regular anthology, in typical paperback format, featuring long ‘short stories’ – 5,000 words or so, give or take the odd thousand.

And thus, Vertigo was born. The concept was simple – hard-edged, gritty and dark stories, in any genre, from crime to kitchen-sink drama to fantasy. We got the publicity machine rolling and the submissions started coming in.

Now here we are, in July 2009, with the first edition of Vertigo set to be in shops for Christmas this year, and a second in the pipeline.

But we’re not stopping there.

We have several non-fiction projects in the pipeline, and, through word of mouth, some full-length fiction manuscripts have been turning up on our doorstep and in our inbox.

We won’t be flooding the market with half-baked ideas in order to make a quick buck. We aim to start slowly, a book or two for the first couple of years, and build from there.

Our website is being developed, under the care of the crack web team at Isle of Man Advertising & PR, and until that is up and running, submissions can be sent to us at nemesispublishing(at)gmail.com – for fiction, a cover letter, one-page synopsis, first three chapters, Times New Roman and double-spaced. You know the drill.

What else?

You can follow Nemesis on facebook here

You can follow this blog on facebook here

You can follow us on twitter here

And that's about it for now, folks. Thanks for reading. We hope you stick around and enjoy the ride.

Cheers
Emma and John Quirk