Identity Crisis

Experts say that for a small press to succeed it needs to have a distinct identity and cater to a specific niche of customers. That’s why small presses thrive in genre communities like sci-fi, fantasy & horror. Since RDSP is just starting out we are struggling to define our press and reach out to an audience. But lately our little puppy has been showing signs of schizophrenia. One day he’s in a beret, squinting through a monocle and carrying a walking stick, the next day he’s got on his spike collar, sun glasses and leather jacket! (One thing I have noticed though, he seems to have a penchant for black.)

When larger presses feel the pull of multiple personalities they simply start up an imprint. They create a Horror line or a series of Westerns. But we’ve got our hands full promoting RDSP itself. Maybe we’ll have to send the poor pup to a therapist to work out his issues…

The problem is, Raw Dog is just a rebel at heart and always wants to do something different, unique and exciting. He loves working within a genre like Horror where there is a built-in audience, events like conventions happening all the time and tons of excellent writers. But sometimes he feels caged by conventions. People may say to him, ‘Yeah, Dog, that was a bizarre book but where were the blood, the guts, the vampires?’

We want RDSP books to be taken seriously as artistic works, regardless of genre. So we are trying to keep all four paws on the darkly twisting thin line between genre fiction (horror, sci-fi, fantasy) and literary movements of experimental fiction like surrealism and absurdism.

Sometimes I hear that ol’ dog out at the witching hour with the rest of the ghouls and goblins howling at the moon. And other times I hear the weird whining growl he makes in his sleep, twitching in the throes of a bizarre nightmare. But either way, I can tell he’s out there…way out there.

current mood: crazy
current music: “Two Headed Dog (Red Temple Prayer)” by Roky Erickson