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#HistFicThursdays - Fan Fiction?

 The other day at Crowvus HQ, we were discussing our favourite Jane Austen novels. Amazingly, for saying there were four of us with a positive opinion, each person had a different favourite. Jane Austen's books, of course, are not historical fiction, but books written contemporaneously to what is now an historical era. But! All the multitude of spinoffs which her books have invoked are historical fiction.  Pride and Prejudice  is not my favourite Austen story, nor my second or third, but I absolutely love the series Lost in Austen . People hear the phrase "fan fiction" and immediately think lesser of it, but this is a little unfair. Fan fiction is not a new thing, it is how folk stories grew into legends, adventures becoming more daring with every telling. But what has changed is the way in which these stories are retold and the care which is now (quite rightly!) taken to preserve and protect the rights of the original author. In the case of Lost in Austen , this is not t...
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Positively Weekend! 5 Things I Love About Indie Publishing

It's Saturday! And, it's not just any Saturday for me, today is the first day of the October holidays! Bear with me while I calm down a little...

Right, I'm back. So...every Saturday, I will be posting a "Positively Weekend" blog, sharing the positive sides of publishing and writing. I'm also doing a Harsh Truth Thursday which does the opposite! Because, yes, there are both sides to the publishing coin.

So today, to kick off the weekend, I'm sharing the 5 things I love most about indie publishing. Indie publishing is a publishing company that is smaller than the big-wigs of the industry. They use their company funds to publish books, and don't expect any money from the author. However, they don't always pay an advance.

Crowvus is an independent publisher. We are a very small publishing company which is growing every year. Initially, there was a strange wibbly line between whether we classed as an indie publisher or self-publisher, but the more we do, the greater income we receive, and the less of our own money we spend.

So...5 things I love about indie publishing:

1) It's personal!

As with most smaller companies, they make their image as a friendly, personal business. The company is not just the books and the office, it is the people. The people are the most important, and individuality is encouraged. In such a creative industry, this encouragement is paramount to the company's image and success.

2) More creative input

Working in an indie publishing company offers something new every week. There is always something different to try, or learn. For me, this usually involves a lot of design input on Adobe, but I also help with formatting some of the books, and marketing for certain books. Each member of our team is creative and we all have our special strengths. Being part of such a small team for such an ambitious business means that there is ample opportunity to flex our creative muscles.
The tight budget on many of our new releases means a lot of the design is done in-house. This also provides plenty of opportunity for creativity. I love it!




3) No two weeks are the same

There's always something different to do, whether that is sewing merchandise, designing postcards, writing a catalogue, designing covers, promotional pictures, researching more printing options. Oh my goodness...when I sit back and think of how much different jobs there are, it seems crazy! There is never any opportunity to get lethargic or bored. It is such a stimulating business!

4) Flexible hours

This one is probably unique to Crowvus, or other micro-publishers, but the flexible nature of our business is vitally important. I have another job, and often catch up with Crowvus admin and tasks in the evening and at the weekends. I'm only able to do this because I enjoy it so much!

5) Networking with like-minded readers

Again, this is something that is important to larger publishers too, but I actually really love connecting with individual readers on Social Media and at events. I've started to use Twitter a lot more now events are just not possible anymore, and I love how I've got to know people I've never met - just because we share a love of books!

So, there are my top 5 things I love about indie publishing. I love how Crowvus is going from strength to strength, but it is backbreaking work sometimes. Little things make it all worthwhile so please do leave a comment, or check out our website where you will be invited to subscribe to our mailing list. We post content out every Sunday evening, and you get sneak peeks and special material just for our loyal followers.

Have a lovely weekend, and I'll post more weekend positivity next Saturday!

Pictures
Photo by Pixabay from Pexels
Photo by Polina Zimmerman from Pexels

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