... Allan Gilbreath from Kerlak Publishing on speculative fiction and publishing in the US

Being a small publisher seems to be a real (ad)venture. If so, Allan Gilbreath is on a longterm-adventure. He is the founder of Kerlak Publishing, a small publisher in the US, actively supporting several cons in his "private identity", writes himself in a group of authors called "Hellions" ...

 

Zauberspiegel: Allan, i have learned about Allan Gillbreath the publisher through an interview on FateRadio. You were talking about "How to get published" ... who is Allan Gillbreath and why is he qualified to talk about this subject?
Allan Gilbreath: Allan Gilbreath has been a senior member of Kerlak Publishing for over ten years and has served on hundreds of panels across the country on writing and publishing. He has seen the publishing business change dramatically over the last few years. He began with traditional publishing and has see the rise of digital presses and print on demand technologies. He embraced the Internet early in its commercial beginings. Now, he is working on the conversion of traditional books to the new eBook formats.

Zauberspiegel: So, now that we met - who is Allan Gilbreath and what is Kerlak Publishing?
Allan Gilbreath: Here is my offical bio:
Allen Gilbreath ... denies that he was raised by wolves, but still enjoys quiet moonlit evenings. He is an accomplished skeptic, cook, gardener, computer geek, martial artist, and avid student of arcane knowledge. Allan is also a nationally recognized and award-winning author, publisher, speaker, and instructor. He has appeared on television, stage, radio, web/podcast, and tours the country in live appearances. He enjoys serving on convention panels and can cover a wide range of topics from the serious to the outrageous. In his adult vampire novels, Galen and Dark Chances, he links sensual fantasy with danger and predation to excellent effect. His exceptional use of plot tension between the various characters sets a wonderful stage for the little details that bring it all to life. Allan's Jack Lago supernatural mysteries are known for their attention to detail and suspense. His short stories have appeared in numerous anthologies and his collection, Allan Gilbreath: A Short Story Collection.
Personally, I am just a person who loves storytelling. There is nothing quite like keeping an audience entertained. It doesn't matter if you are telling spooky stories or explaining how the computer does something, the look of wonder in the audience's eyes is fabulous. While, you may not get to see a reader enjoying your work, you do get to meet your fans at signings and conventions. It is very gratifying to talk with them about their likes and dislikes. I always try to ask the fans what they would like to see next because they do know what they want.
In my everyday life, I love to cook and take care of my garden. When I get tired of sitting at the keyboard, I can wander out to the backyard and pick a quick snack of fresh blueberries or blackberries and relax.
I also have a lot of unique friends that are always ready to explain to me how dark matter really works or just go hang out and have lunch.
Kerlak Publishing is a growing speculative publishing company that features many amazingly talented writers and publications.

Zauberspiegel: Why did you establish Kerlak Publishing? Aren't there already enough publishers in the US-market?
Allan Gilbreath: There are thousands of publishers in the US with more opening every day. Most publishers are single topic publishers, for example, they may only publish one magazine or only deal with one narrow topic. Happily, there have been incredible advances in computer and printing technologies over the last fifteen years that have made the publishing business much more small business friendly. With the new digital presses, a publisher can print small batches of books and be much more adaptable to market changes than in the past.
Sadly, the same wonderful technologies that are helping the smaller companies have also opened the door to just about anyone who wants to get something into print. Regardless of content or quality, tens of thousands of new publications are flooding into the market place. Now, with new electronic book readers, even more content is on the way with no interest in ever being printed on paper.
While writing should be about telling a story and doing it as well as you can, publishing is a business. It is a business that is all about making money. As everyone knows, one run-a-way hit book can mean millions of dollars. Add in a television show or big movie deal and the money can run into the hundreds of millions of dollars.
The reality of publishing is quite different. Most books will be lucky to ever sell a thousand copies and that is if it was well done. There are only so many slots at the top. There are only so many writers that will ever be best sellers. This doesn't mean that there aren't plenty of talented writers available. The truth is that there are a lot of very talented writers that are all willing to do what it takes to make their work a success.
Kerlak Publishing was established to explore the options available in this rapidly changing market place. As a small company with a lot of technical and computer experience, Kerlak Publishing has been able to grow while so many other publishing companies have closed.

Zauberspiegel: What is the difference between the books you publish and other mainstream-publishers?
Allan Gilbreath: The only difference between our books and that of the giant publishers is the question "what if". As a speculative publisher you are looking for writers with promise, talent, and drive. Since the opportunities with the giants in New York are so few, writers that don't quite fit the mold perfectly are most likely never going to get that shot. With a speculative publisher, a writer and their work will have more time to find their audience. So the questions will go a bit like this – "What if this book can find its way into the proper fan base in a year?" What if this writer can get to right conventions and meet the right fan base?"
A speculative publisher is not always looking for the same thing as everyone else. They are looking for works that may be a little different or for a writer with a different point of view. Fans get tired of the same old thing again and again. Everyone is looking for something just a little different.

Zauberspiegel: Here in Germany we experience at least two different types of publishers: The ones who work "traditional" with buying publishing rights from the author, paying for ISBN etc. And we have the ones called "Zuschussverlag" - Vanity Publishing or Self Service Publishing - where you actually pay for your book. What is the situation like in the US?
Allan Gilbreath: It is much the same in the US. There are the giant publishing companies that pay advances and only deal with agents. The fastest growing part of the book business is made up of the niche, small, and speculative publishing companies. These companies are taking chances and bringing a lot of new writers to the attention of the public.
Another growing part of the industry is now self publishing. There are hundreds of services and printers that will print your book for you. The upside is that you can complete control of your project. The problem is that you are doing it all yourself, all by yourself.
Then there are the vanity publishing services. You are paying them to provide the services and you are taking all the risks.
The most recent twist on all this is that the major providers of eBook readers now allow anyone to epublish their work. There are services already in business to sell the service of converting your document to an eBook.
While this is all very exciting, if you choose to self or vanity publish you are doing it alone. The terrible truth is that most works need at least copy editing or other services. Most self and vanity published works will not do well in the open marketplace. There are always exceptions, but very few.

Zauberspiegel: You mentioned the goal or aim of Kerlak. How does a small publisher with a traditional way of publishing survive in the shark business of publishing?
Allan Gilbreath: You survive in the business by being able to adjust to what the marketplace demands. People want something new to read. Small publishers are taking chances and bringing new writers to the marketplace.
As the technologies change, small publishers are able to react and adapt. If a new type of eBook appeared on the shelves tomorrow, small publishers will be the quickest to provide content.
You also survive in this business by going where the fans are. Kerlak Publishing attends ten to twenty conventions a year. Advertising can get very expensive very quickly, so making sure you are finding your fans is critical.

Zauberspiegel: How does a small publisher keep up to date on the new and upcoming trends? Or don't you care about them?
Allan Gilbreath: Keeping up with a trend like who is the hottest movie star doesn't matter to small publishers. Producing good works that hold up over time is far more important.
Keeping up with trends like the best digital presses, fastest distribution methods, and the latest eBook readers is absolutely critical to your survival.

Zauberspiegel: In order to survive, I assume as a small publisher you can't afford to be wrong with a decision on a single book. How do you decide whether a book is promising?
Allan Gilbreath: As a small publisher, every book doesn't have to be a big hit. Every book has to have a good shelf life and staying power. If a giant publisher takes a chance on a new writer, they are going to invest in the production of the book, its distribution, and advertising. The problem is that no one has ever heard of that writer and therefore the book doesn't sell well in the first six to twelve weeks. Since the bookstores have a lot of other books waiting to take its place, it gets pulled and sent back to the publisher. The sad part is that some people may have bought and read the book. By the time they tell their friends that this is a pretty good book, it is off the shelves.
What if the publisher wasn't in a huge hurry to pump out the next book and gave the writer and the book a little time to find its market. While the book may never be a big hit, what if it sells nicely over a couple of years. This is one of the advantages of a small publisher.
How do we know a book can be a hit or have a good shelf life? If you can lose yourself in the story, it has promise. I love to hear people tell me that they don't normally read that type of story, but they really liked this one. That tells me that the genre didn't matter. What mattered was the story and how it let the reader forget the outside world for a little while. I really like it when a copy editor tells me that they are taking too long to edit because they keep reading the story instead of looking for typos. If that story can capture a jaded reader like that, it has promise.

Zauberspiegel: What, to your opinion, are the trends in speculative fiction for the next years - at least in the US?
Allan Gilbreath: Due to the movies and television, vampires and zombies are staying strong for a while. Steampunk, Dustpunk, and Dieselpunk are going to stay strong. More writers are getting the hang of writing about the 19th century technologies and then adding the "punk" twist to it. I am hearing from more and more fans that they are looking for good solid standard science fiction. The true key to all speculative fiction regardless of genre is that it needs to be character driven. No matter how clever your world is or your gadget is described, if the reader doesn't care about your character, your book isn't going to make it.

Zauberspiegel: There is Allan Gibreath the publisher and Allan Gibreath the author. How much do they have in common and what is the difference between the two?
Allan Gilbreath: Allan Gilbreath the writer gets to do most of the cool stuff. I get to go to conventions, hang out with other writers on panels, meet with fans, tell lots of bad jokes, and in general have a good time. While writing, I am surrounded by notes and whiteboards as I solve crimes, investigate black holes, travel through time, or just plain sit at the keyboard and find out what happens after I ask the infamous question "what if".
Allan Gilbreath the publisher still gets have some fun, but there are meetings to hold, stories to evaluate, accounting to review, forecasts to make, dealer tables to sell books from, new writers to meet, and in general just plain go to work.
The best part of being a publisher is finding a new talent and helping it develop. There is nothing quite like looking a want-to-be published writer in the eye and telling that you have accepted their story. You are going to grant them the status of being really published. If you have dreamed of the day you would see your work in print, as a publisher, I get to make that dream come true.
The worst part of being a publisher is being a publisher today. So many people think that they don't need any advice or guidance and they can always just do it themselves. The Internet and printing technologies are indeed a double-edged sword.

Zauberspiegel: Assuming I would want to publish with you. Why would you pick my story?
Allan Gilbreath: If I am the one picking the stories, is your story visual? What do I mean by that? Does your work use the words "was" and "were" a lot. If so, you will not be selected. We all have to use those words, but in a story they don't convey a visual.
Bob was walking down the street slowly.
That line tells you nothing. There is no emotion or imagery.
Bob limped painfully down the street.
You may not know the whole story yet, but it paints a much more vivid picture. I should be able to see your words like a movie in my head. Not so much that you describe every tiny little detail, don't tell me about the details, show them to me.
My other big sticking point is whether or not I care about at least one character in the story. Even if your story is technically correct from every angle, if I can't feel something for someone it isn't going to get picked. Getting your reader to care about a character can be as simple as giving them a tiny flaw. A scar, nervous tic, odd trait, or anything that makes them more like a real person will go a long way towards making me care.
In short, if you can show me your story in moving colour - I am going to pick it.

Zauberspiegel: I have a final question: Now, if I would want to get to know Kerlak ... What book would I have to read to get a good impression?
Allan Gilbreath: I would have to show you two books. The first book is Dreams of Stream. It is an anthology of short stories of any genre with the Steampunk era at its core. The featured writers do a fantastic job of transporting the reader back in time and making them want to stay.
The second book is Lawyers in Hell. The book is a shared universe anthology where the writers must carve out their niche in a world they didn't create but must use to the best of their creative ability.
Both books are excellent examples of taking a reader on an extraordinary journey rich with visual imagery and memorable characters.