Blog

Finally they say the proof has gone out for Bare Bone #5. My fingers are crossed that Kevin won’t find anything wrong with it and we’ll be able to put in an order for the books soon. John will be attending the Associated Writing Programs conference this week in Chicago. He’ll be showing the RDSP…

posted by rdsp I invested the better part of a week on the Associated Writing Programs annual conference, held this year in Chicago. How did it go? Let’s say Chi-Town was good to the Raw Dog. I met many other publishers, editors, and authors, plus a slew of the professors and graduate students who embody…

I just found out that my article on Gypsy magic is going to published in Dark Realms issue #14. It’s been a bit of a wait but I’m really psyched that it’s going to see print after all. Also we’ll have plenty of Dark Realms magazines with us to sell at WHC and a cool…

posted by rdsp Now that you are armed with a handy-dandy press release, it’s time to put it to use. Your promo package will include the following: —press release —product, often with a sticker reading PROMOTIONAL COPY and including publisher info and release date —something extra that stands out, such as bookmarks or a catalog…

Well, I thought that last review for 100 Jolts was good but this one has them all beat. Trevor Dodge’s review has it all; a great take on Mike’s book, some very flattering comments on RDSP and all the hard boiled eggs and hot sauce you could possibly eat. Something must be going right because…

I’ve been working hard on a trifold ‘catalog’ of RDSP titles for John to take with him to the AWP conference in March. For whatever reason I really dreaded trying to do a catalog. There’s only about 8 or so titles to include so it only takes up one sheet but it just seemed so…

posted by rdsp As writers we should all be able to type out a great press release in no time flat. Right? Okay, so maybe it’s not the most fun in the world, but that doesn’t mean it isn’t exciting. What’s the difference, you ask? Fun = setting your own schedule, discovering the fate of…

February sales continue to be fairly good so that is heartening. It seems that everything we did to promote 15 Serial Killers way back when may finally be paying off. It’s hard to get used to the lag between promo work and and sales but since recent efforts have been concentrated on Sickcurrent sales must…

Only big wigs need business cards, right? Don’t you only give them out at boardroom meetings? Don’t they have to be super-expensive in order to be of any use? As authors and editors business cards are as important for us as any other professionals. You can (and should!) give them out anywhere, anytime, because they…

To tell the truth I haven’t been feeling well for a little over a week now. It’s really cut down on my productivity for everything from RDSP work to house work. I finally heard back from reallyscary.com and they are interested in doing some reviews of RDSP titles and featuring some of our authors. I’ve…

When we started RDSP we decided not to do any more chapbooks because anything we wanted to publish could be done in book format as an anthology. But there was one lingering project we could only do in chapbook format. It can’t be done through our book printer because the artwork is too detailed. Psych…

I was happy to see our first e-book sale came through and it was for 15 Serial Killers. The ebook version hasn’t been out that long. The jury is still out on ebooks for me. It’s my impression that most people prefer physical books but a story collection like 15 Serial Killers is the ideal…

Did some correspondence with authors and sent out some postcards about our books and other promo materials this weekend. One thing we’ve been working on is getting blurbs for A Dirge for the Temporal. I don’t know what it is but it’s like pulling teeth for me to ask strangers for the favor of a…

Last night John read poetry in an event sponsored by Tin Lustre Mobile at Arlington County Central library. Star and Andrew did an excellent job organizing the event and choosing the readers. It was a great experience, we met a lot of talented poets and got the chance to show off some RDSP wares. There’s…

I don’t know this for a fact but it seems to me that most people successful in the arts usually get there from sheer staying power. It’s nearly impossible to sprint to recognition and success. It’s always a marathon so it would be wise to pace yourself. All the emerging writers I come across, the…

The proof for 100 Jolts came in the mail yesterday and it is electrifying. I couldn’t believe how great the colors came out. Seeing an actual book in print is so much different than dealing with the manuscript. The book is impossible to put down. Every time you open it up a story catches your…

It looks like Sick will be traveling to a few conventions soon. We just sent C.J. Henderson a bunch of copies to take with him to a con that he is attending this weekend and then he’s got a few more lined up for February. Efrem Emerson is going all out for RDSP at his…

Sick is now available on Amazon.com! I’m always relieved once the book gets onto the website because it can be such a struggle with Amazon but it’s the place most people seem to like to buy their books. Now anybody can go rate and review it. Plus I hope to get some people to recommend…

I sent off the files to the printer for 100 Jolts today. That is always so nerve-wracking, putting together the final file and praying that nothing will go wrong. We shall soon see when the proof copy arrives. I also managed to get some more info up about A Dirge for the Temporal. The hard…

posted by rdsp One of the most overlooked areas in book publishing is promotion. While all companies will engage in some level of promotion, few—if any—have the resources, time, and staff available to capitalize on every possible promo opportunity for each book. Even the large publishing houses fall into this category; the promo reps are…

Wow, I’m really glad to see so many authors getting involved in promoting Sick. Between J.M. Heluk, Scott Carr, James Chambers, Kevin Donihe, A.D. Dawson, Ron Malfi, Efrem Emerson and Brutal Dreamer the word is really getting out there. Every time I turn around someone’s doing something else, giving out flyers, posting on message boards,…

Well Sick didn’t make it onto the Shocklines bestseller list this week but then again I see that it is out of stock so all the copies they had have sold! That’s even better than being on the list because they’ve order another bunch of books from us. Also Sick is now listed at Barnes…

Anyone who’s met me knows that I’m a goal oriented person. It’s all about completing the task. That’s why promotions can be so overwhelming to me. Promoting books is endless. You can never complete the task. Lately I’ve been a bit panicked about the promo end of things. Are we doing enough? Is the money…

Ok, I have to admit I stole that title from an email Mike Arnzen sent. It’s a great title! It turns out Mike managed to get a quote from Tom Monteleone for 100 Jolts. Check it out… “Simply stated, there’s nothing like this collection of ultra-short fiction. Arnzen continually impressed me with his punchy narrative…

I’ve been meaning to mention that Darren and I have finished the editing on A Dirge for the Temporal and I’ve started on the layout of the book. I’m trying to do a story or two per night. I had already set up a template with all the font properties for the story titles and…