Say hello to Hammer & Birch
Hello, friends. I wanted to take a moment to introduce you to our new publishing company, Hammer & Birch. We formed it to address my own needs as a writer, but also to test cool new avenues to get in touch with readers. This blog was the first step in this process. H&B is the next.
The name Hammer & Birch alludes to a Scandinavian myth about the origin of the Northern Lights: long, long ago, the blow of a hammer against a strip of birchbark sparked the fire that eventually reached into the sky to become the aurora. I hope that this publishing company will follow a similar path…a lot of hard work plus a spark of fire to create something special.
Publishing with Hammer & Birch means that I can truly participate in every step of creating a book: from writing the first dreamy draft notes to the final product, complete with beautiful formatting and cover images. I have control over the process and can make sure everything detail is given proper attention…with the help of other great people, of course.
For now, only my own work will be available. I'll be putting out fantasy fiction, with a heavy emphasis on fairy tale and folkloric styles. My fairy tale retellings are all separate stories, but they are connected through the the world of the Nine Kingdoms. As I write more, the world will come to life. In 2012, titles will include:
Ashes, Ashes, a short story based on Cinderella
The Way through the Woods, a collection of four fairy tale retellings (including Ashes, Ashes)
The Verse, a piece of flash fiction that explores the allure of magic in a young boy's life
Still in the works is another collection of four more fairy tales set in the Nine Kingdoms due out later this year. Getting a little away from the fairy tale realm, I'm also working on a longer "novel-in-stories", which swaps princesses for bloodthirsty monsters, but still revolves around a dark forest teeming with rumor and myth.
As I continue to work on both writing and publishing, I will also continue to look for inspiration from other independent-minded outfits. It's probably no coincidence that the illustrators and editors I've worked with so far have all decided that freelancing is a worthy path. Working with them has also had the advantage of being a business arrangement between equals. I'm a professional paying another for a service. There are no bosses, departmental meetings, or TPS reports to deal with, and that's been marvelous. I also look to other businesses for inspiration and ideas, like independent bookstores (who might know a thing or or two about bonding with readers), and even indie bands and record companies, who know how to build an audience (and understand that any ounce of glamour is counterweighted by a metric crap-ton of hard work).
Hammer & Birch isn't really self-publishing. Or isn't just. In the future, Hammer & Birch will publish titles by other authors. No matter what, we will continue to adhere to the same standards we set now: well-designed, independently produced books from authors, illustrators, and editors with a personal commitment to doing things the right way.
So, welcome to Hammer & Birch: an independent publisher, dedicated to bringing fine digital books directly to readers. By selling directly to those who read our books, we're hoping to create a community of people who love the type of books that Hammer & Birch offers. Feedback and sharing are encouraged. Thanks for coming along for the ride.