When I first started self-publishing my novels with Cobalt City Blues and Greetings from Buena Rosa, it was a little home enterprise. It was a way to make my novels available to friends and family in an easy-to-read format. If other people wanted to read them, that was fine by me. For those purposes, Lulu.com was an excellent resource.
Even as the Cobalt Universe and it’s readership grew, Lulu continued to keep pace. I’ve been with them for years, and it has been a really good relationship. That said, there are changes in the wind — not from Lulu, but from me.
I’m taking the next step, and with a pair of talented friends, we’re turning my little niche project into a full small press — Timid Pirate Publishing. As well as being the home for the Cobalt Universe stories already written, we’re committed to doing a new anthology every year. The next, Cobalt City Timeslip is due out in October. Starting next year, we’ll also be looking to publish one other book. Not sure what that’s going to be yet. The creative direction of Timid Pirate is to focus on fun speculative fiction that’s a little beyond the fringe.
This led to a lot of looking at process and the practical business side of the model. And for us, there was another publishing option that worked a bit better for us.
The short of this, my existing Lulu store will be shut down by the end of May, and the books put into hibernation. We’ll be making all of them available again soon. I’m hoping to have them live again by September if not sooner. The two Gato Loco/de la Vega mysteries will be getting new editions, with new edits, and a new cover for one of them. The two Protectorate novels will be relatively unchanged, as they went through a new edition revision recently.
Until the end of May, the links on my site will take you right to the Lulu store. If you want a piece of history, by all means do some shopping.
These are exciting times. Timid Pirate Publishing is set to take sail. Welcome aboard!
Tales from the Ragged Edge 