A new indy publishing company is doing things differently in the search for new writing talent.
époque press is very new. They only opened for business a couple of weeks ago, but clearly a lot of hard work has gone into to building a company capable of seeking out and publishing new literary talent.
Great writing is at the heart of everything they do. Most publishers and agents ask to see the first three chapters. époque press want the entire manuscript because “if we like what we receive we will want to keep on reading.”
Their very first publication will be out in early 2018 and is a novella rather than a novel. That wasn’t part of a master plan: when the two men behind the company fell in love with the writing and the story, length was very much a secondary consideration. But I’m getting ahead of myself. More on El Hacho later. Right now meet Sean Campbell and Chris Rowland, the époque guys.
As this is a blog for writers, my first question has to be what are you looking for?
New and strong voices, works which are imbued with a strong sense of character or place and works which make us think about what it means to be alive today. The writing will be bold and not shy away from its subject matter.
Any particular genre?
We are looking for literary fiction – novels or collections of short stories. There is quite a blurring of lines between genres and we wouldn’t want to miss out on any gems because we have been too restrictive up front.
Are you paying writers or do they pay you?
We are not a vanity publisher. We believe in bringing work to the market in a manner which is equitable to the author.
Our ethos is that if a publisher believes strongly enough in the work then there is no reason why they wouldn’t invest in it. Our contracts will be based on a percentage of the retail sale price. As a minimum we will be in line with market rate
Why do you want to be publishers?
We are passionate about great literature. Our presence will contribute to more writers who deserve to be published getting their work out there. We’ve watched a number of smaller independent publishers champion great new work such as Galley Begger Press, Tramp Press and Salt Publishing and been inspired by what they are doing. We don’t see ourselves being in competition, but as joining the Indie Publishing family, broadening the options for authors who are seeking publication.
How do you see the first year?
We are looking to publish four to five titles. We want to make sure we can build a relationship with our authors and work together through every stage of the publishing lifecycle to bring their work to the public in a high quality manner. We are also very passionate about upholding the very best in design standards and we want to make sure the author is actively involved in this process. By being very focused on a small number of titles in our first year we hope to demonstrate our commitment and dedication to our autho
We are going to learn a lot during our first 12 months and we will adapt and improve as we move forward.
How can a writer submit?
Prospective authors can submit to us electronically at submissions@epoquepress.com and in the subject header state ‘General Submissions’, the title of their work and their name. The full manuscript of their work should be attached in either MS word or PDF format. Full details are on our website http://www.epoquepress.com
And now a bit about your very first publication
El Hacho by Luis Carrasco will be out early 2018.
It has its own bold style of writing with a strong narrative voice. Set in the stark beauty of the Andalucían mountains, it tells the story of Curro, an olive farmer determined to honour his family tradition in the face of drought, deluge and the lucrative temptations of a rapidly modernising Spain.
Read more about époque press on their website.
2 comments on “A new indy publishing company is doing things differently in the search for new writing talent.”
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BRIDGET WHELAN writer 
Thank you for this post, Bridget. It is great to know about a new publishing company.
You are very welcome – I really enjoyed meeting Sean and Chris and listening to their plans. It’s a start-up so the future is uncertain but I’ve known Sean for 10 years and can vouch for his integrity. He and Chris seem to have a pretty realistic view of publishing.
(So sorry it’s taken me 10 days to reply – have no idea why it’s taken so long for your comment to come up on my radar….slinks away muttering it’s all wordpress’ fault, can’t be mine…)