This is my base rationale for why I’ve chosen to utilise POD (Print On Demand) services.
I make no secret that when I began publishing, I never considered the traditional route. Honestly, I like the control and freedom of running a project end-to-end on my timeframe. And I need to understand processes end-to-end as much as possible and practical to do so.
Why print on demand?
Environmental: I don’t have to print more books (and other products) than I need to meet the demand of readers (and merchandise customers).
No stock goes to waste.
Books are shipped direct from printer to customer without the middle person (me) and extra costs.
Practical: As an independent, I don’t have the means to store bulk stock quantities.
Financial: To bulk print is a significant financial outlay avoided with POD.
Surface deductibles from the list price are the print cost plus royalty share shaved off from the distributor. Much more goes into the production of a book than those, of course.
KDP (Kindle Direct Publishing / Amazon) has informed publishers utilising their POD platform for book printing and distribution that print costs are rising from June 2023.
This will directly affect all softcover and hardcover books for publishers and our readers.
Publishers working with the KDP POD service are encouraged to review and amend list prices immediately.
I won’t be increasing list prices until June 7th.
Sorry, it’s outwith the control of us indies.
Thank you all for your continued support, and please continue to support #indepedant writers, artists, editors and businesses.
I’m sweeping the circle. The bones and remnants of word fusions are being expelled to make way for new spells. This collection is set for release in Hogmanay 2022. The preorder is live now.
Digital ARCs will be available well in advance of release, if you are a reviewer who’d love a first look at Clan Witch: Found Shadows, my mailbox is open for enquiries to be added to my priority early reader list.
Clan Witch: Found Shadows, releasing December 31st 2022
Synopsis (subject to tweaking)
Do readers buy poetry from undead poets?
There’s nothing quite like picking the prose and verses of the dead like vultures. There’s freedom in that unpicking, with no one alive to contest, at least not the mind which birthed them.
Sinclair consumes written and spoken as she does in its lyrical form, dressed in music and paint. Dancing to the beat or screaming into the voids of despair. Here, Sinclair presents Clan Witch: Found Shadows, no music, no paint, just words. A mix-tape of drabbles and anarchic free verse poetry..
The writer still lives. Perhaps you’ll read her unruly verse before the witch is dead.
Cover image from Christy Aldridge of Grim Poppy Designs
Talk about curveball 2022! Another year of madness! There were plans. Big beautiful plans! And while those plans still exist, there has been movement because of those unexpected transitions life has her way of throwing. Personally, I’ve had some family upsets which I predominantly have to deal with and process alone (my partner, of course, has supported as much as one can). I’ve angered, been frustrated, hurt, grieved, run myself in circles, hurt some more, and accepted. Because sometimes that’s all we can do. Accept to find crumbs of peace and carry on. It just takes a little time. It’s a process many are familiar with. It’s been heavy.
Following the acceptances of a triple-pronged hit, I’ve another unexpected ‘bump’, who made himself known in a dream. My kids are excited about another sibling to teach and get up to extra mischief with. Since I have complicated pregnancies, and this one has already given us some wobbles, I’m (again) doing everything within my control to keep this little one inside until late 2022, ideally early 2023. My cervix needs a mantra, and this is the last! The instant physical hit means I’ve been heavily fatigued, and as of that wasn’t enough, I’ve been hammered with mine and the kids’ second bout of Covid of 2022. Because I wasn’t wiped enough by the heavy graft underway in my uterus, I am zapped because my lungs are in battle, and my body feels like it’s been used as a punchbag.
Moving in from all of that, onto the writing front update:
My sassy, immensely talented, and inspiring co-author, Ruthann Jagge and I launched our website, BrazenFolkHorror.com, for our upcoming 2022 release, Delevan House and future projects. Ruthann also released her fantastic solo debut novella in January 2022, The New Girls’ Patient; if you haven’t read her, this is an excellent example of her extraordinary work that should be on any horror fan’s reading list.
I’ve still been editing work for other writers and publishers via Word Refinery and also published poet Rafik Romdhani’s collection, The Crash of Verses.
I am working on my degree course too.
The latest developments has zapped my study schedule. I hope to recover enough to make up for that soon. Deadlines are looming! Anthology wise, unlike in the previous two years, I have not responded to any open calls. My dance card has been packed. I have gratefully received several invite opportunities but unfortunately had to decline several. One that I was able to submit a piece to was with KJK Publishing’s The Horror Collection: Nightmare Edition, which has just been released. It’s the biggest collection of the twelve-book series and worth picking up for a good flavour of many popular independent horror authors currently putting our new materiel.
More still to come for 2022, and 2023 is also beginning to fill up with a couple of accepted invites, continued work with my brazen co-author in crime and at least one (hopefully two) solo release(s). One of which will be a collection of poetry and drabbles, Clan Witch: Found Shadows.
It can be picked up from Smashwords at that price between now and December 10th!
I enjoyed writing each of the stories in this book. Each piece is followed by a few words about how it came to be. If you pick it up, I hope it brings you some entertainment!
The final release from KJK in 2021 is out now and is available in eBook, paperback and hardback editions. It is the perfect read for fans of short horror fiction for the festive season, with a fantastic mix of holiday-themed indie horror from some of the best word weavers on the scene.
The book has been received well by readers and reviewers so far — a huge thanks to each and every one of you who have supported the new release from the indie horror community! If you haven’t picked it up yet — when you do, we hope you love the stories selected to inject a bit of horror into your holidays!
From the back of the book;
There’s no better way to celebrate the end of the year than with a seasonal mixtape with The Best of Indie Horror: Christmas Edition! Whether you love it or loathe it, Christmas brings out the best and worst in many people the world over — thus, lighting a fire in the bellies of storytellers who wish to strike warm fuzzies or tantalising terror in reader’s hearts. You won’t find the warm fuzzy feeling here; that’s not what we do!
This anthology will dance readers through an array of styles and horror sub-genres, including bizzaro through the looking glass of unique Christmas ornaments; such treats always come with a price. Discover the dark secrets between the Claus’ and Krampus that you’ll never forget. There’s a touch of sci-fi when a lone worker discovers a hidden department in a derelict store. There are family horror tales of obsessive tradition, reunion, and mayhem. This edition promises something festive to satisfy a cornucopia of horror pallets.
Summer Solstice Book launch! My solo collection of 9 short stories,Murmur: Collected Horror — the paperback and hardback are available now, the eBook lands tomorrow, 21st June! For an indie, I am generally pretty reserved about sharing and shouting about my work. It is a form of absolute introvert torture but I’m trying to work through that — it’s a slow process! Some of the contents have been published previously, these are spliced with a few never been printed pieces. Writers are often asked where ideas come from or what prompted a story, so each piece in the collection is followed by a few brief words about that. This little personal touch has been received positively by my pre-readers — I hope you enjoy that little insight too. I would love to share a read from the collection in the coming weeks. So, if you read it and have a favourite story — let me know in a review and/or by dropping me a message here, on Facebook or Instagram and I’ll pick the reader’s favourite to share! In time I would love to build on my ARC (Advanced Reader Copy) team for future releases, who would receive a free ARC of my books to read and review before public release. If you read and enjoy my work and this is of interest to you — please drop me a message. I want to hear from you!
My next (tentatively planned) solo release will be that of my debut novel, working title, Backyard Asylum, this may very well change. I’ve been swamped with other projects this year, so it hasn’t had as much attention as I’d hoped by this point. Projects with deadlines have taken president over the novel, but I hope to delve back into this come Autumn and at least have a completed first draft by the end of the year. Genre wise, it’s working out to be a blend of horror sub-genres, with definite elements of psychological and extreme. The working title may suggest the Asylum being a main (trope) feature but it is merely a backdrop at certain points within the story.
That’s a wrap for just now, if you pick up Murmur, I truly hope you are entertained! Thank you for reading and supporting this wee Scottish indie writer!
KJK Publishing is the company behind Amazon best-selling horror anthology collections such as ‘100 Word Horrors’ and ‘The Horror Collection’.
Owner and Author, Kevin J. Kennedy, recently invited me on-board as Editor of KJK’s successful ‘The Horror Collection’ series! As a fan of these collections, I couldn’t say no — delighted to be part of Kennedy’s team.
These books are a great pick up for fans of the genre, or as an introduction to the many flavours of global indie horror. Hosting a hugely diverse selection of horror voices across the spectrum of the genre, these books are a great way to find a new author or stir your appetite for a sub-genre you maybe wouldn’t have picked up otherwise. Connecting readers to emerging and seasoned voices in indie horror, THC books should be on your books to read — if you haven’t already that is. With eight books in the series so far, book nine is due for release this month, and the next two are in progress — including a special ‘Extreme Edition’, it’s fair to say KJK Publishing has started 2021 sprinting with all manner of sharp objects straight at your eyeballs!
The newest book in the series — ‘The Horror Collection: Yellow Edition’ features stories from; JC Michael, Kyle M. Scott, Lex H. Jones, Mike Duke, Sarah Tantlinger and Zoltan Komor. This lot promise spine-tingling, haunting chills, and a good heap of ‘What the fuck did I just read?’ bizarro. Love it! All wrapped in the signature THC cover created by Michael Bray.
Its predecessors can be purchased individually or as a set. All of these books are also available to read free to Amazon Kindle Unlimited subscribers.
Next in the series will be ‘The Horror Collection: Ruby Edition’ and ‘The Horror Collection: Extreme Edition’. Invited Authors have been propositioned, and submissions are rolling in! This is going to be lots of bloody fun!
As ever, shares and reviews are massively important in this crazy game, especially to indie writers and publishers. Please, if you take the time to read — leaving an honest review on your preferred platform is appreciated by ourselves and other readers. We love to hear what readers think — Thank you! Happy reading!
Clan Witch & Word Refinery 