San Antonio writers launch new kind of publishing house
Add Axios as your preferred source to
see more of our stories on Google.
From left: Jayne and Christopher Bodmann, B.J. Bell and Joseph Guyer, founders of Inbound Books. Photo: Courtesy of Inbound Books
A new publishing house based in San Antonio is taking a unique approach to give lesser-known authors a platform for success.
Why it matters: Major publishers often focus limited resources on big-name writers, leaving others to face fewer options to promote their work — or to self-publish and do it all themselves, Christopher Bodmann, co-founder of Inbound Books, tells Axios.
- The result is what Bodmann calls a lot of gatekeeping in the publishing industry.
What they're saying: "We designed Inbound Books to really address all of that," Bodmann says. "We're going to treat each book like it has the best chance in the world to become the next fire book."
How it works: Inbound Books is a co-op that makes its authors stakeholders in the press. That means they can help other writers prepare for a book launch, and then share in the profits. The more they contribute, the more they earn.
- The publisher also provides authors with a marketing plan and a toolkit on social media, events, media interviews, podcast appearances and long-term promotion.
- That differentiates Inbound Books from other publishers, which sometimes leave marketing to the authors to figure out — or don't market smaller releases much at all, Bodmann says.
The latest: The press is accepting submissions now, a process that will look similar to that of other publishers. Three out of four of the founders have to agree to publish it. Authors will see a typical royalty model, but with a higher percentage of sales going back to the writer.
- They hope to publish authors from San Antonio and beyond.
State of play: Bodmann, a middle-grade author based in San Antonio, teamed up with three other area writers to establish Inbound Books: his wife Jayne Bodmann, B.J. Bell and Joseph Guyer.
Zoom in: The press' first release, "Karma Ledger," is by Bell. It's a cyberpunk thriller about a hacker who risks everything to try to change a medical system.
- It's slated for release Oct. 23 and can be found wherever books are sold.
- Christopher Bodmann says local bookstores are a big part of their strategy. They plan for releases to be sold there as well as at Barnes & Noble and Amazon.
The big picture: The publishing industry has seen a resurgence of small, independent presses and authors self-publishing. While that can be a good thing, releases can also get lost.
- Bodmann says that combination left an opening for Inbound Books to do something different.
The bottom line: "One of our hopes is that we will be able to find books that maybe a traditional publisher wouldn't want to publish for some reason," Bodmann says.