Very excited for my friend and Retreat West colleague, Louise Walters, that she has launched her own independent press and is now open for submissions for the first novel she will be publishing. So I invited her to tell us all about it…
Louise, congratulations on the launch of Louise Walters Books! Can you tell us what inspired you to start your own boutique indie press?
I really enjoyed the process of self-publishing my second novel earlier this year and I have been thinking about publishing other writers for a year or two. I love the whole process, and I’m bringing out my third novel under my own imprint as a practice run. I’d much rather make my rookie errors on my own novel rather than somebody else’s…
How do you plan to make your imprint stand out from the crowd?
This will be so tough. I think all I can do is work hard, make sure my books are outstandingly well written and well edited, and try to build up a reputation for quality. It will be hard work and possibly I’m being a little naive, but that is what I’m aiming for.
What kind of novels are you looking for to launch the new venture?
My number one requirement will be the quality of the writing. Everything else is secondary to that. I’m looking for great stories and great characters. Genre-wise, more or less anything goes, although I’m not into fantasy, so I am unlikely to publish it. However, a beautifully written novel with fantasy elements will be of interest to me. Likewise psychological thrillers… most of them leave me cold, to be honest. But again, a brilliantly written psych thriller that goes easy on the cliches would be something I’d like to see.
I’m going to take my time in finding the best book I can to kick off my list (other than my own “guinea-pig” novel). I can’t wait to read a submission and say to myself: This is the one. I will know it when I see it.
Why should authors choose to publish their work with you?
Well, that’s quite a difficult question. I can’t offer advances; my print book royalties are on a par with everybody else’s (maybe a little more generous than some); I’m tiny and will have to work extremely hard to get my books into shops; nobody has heard of Louise Walters Books! That’s the bad news.
The good news is my e-book royalties are more generous than most; I will pay my authors four times a year instead of the more usual twice; I will offer a personal, careful publication experience and will do my absolute best to make each book I take on the best it can be. I won’t be bringing out many books, so each one I work on will get a great deal of attention. I’ll keep all my authors well informed about the publication process. I aim to prepare very clear royalty statements detailing all sales; and I hope my contracts will be fair. All in all I aim to do everything well. That’s all I can do!
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Thanks for coming and telling us all about it, Louise. Best of luck and look forward to reading the first novel you publish.
If you’d like to submit to Louise Walters Books you can find all the info on how to do so here.