TeleRead: Bring the E-Books Home
News & views on e-books, libraries, publishing and related topics
Why I made the leap from print to digital publishing
Wednesday, April 15th, 2009By Holly Schmidt, President, Literary Partners Group
Welcome to our latest contributor, Holly Schmidt, one of the founders of Ravenous Romance! We’re eager to hear from other publishers about the pros and cons of E, as well as other topics, DRM included—whether or not they agree with us. – D.R.
I have spent 15 years in print publishing as an editor and publisher for various non-fiction imprints at large and medium-sized publishing houses.
Two and a half years ago, I started a book packaging company with Allan Penn, an award-winning photographer. We launched with an exclusive contract with Sterling Publishing, which is owned by Barnes and Noble.
About a year ago, our colleague Lori Perkins, who is a New York literary agent with whom we had done some nonfiction business, called me and said, “We need to have lunch next time you’re in New York. I want to start an erotica and romance publishing company.”
It was serendipitous, because Allan and I had been talking for several months about expanding in to the romance genre, which is the largest and most profitable segment of publishing. I said, “Okay, but I have no interest in owning inventory.” I started two imprints for the Quayside Publishing Group before I started my own company, and I knew that without a backlist to provide a secure revenue stream, investing in traditional print publishing was too risky without a large corporate parent.
Birth of Ravenous Romance
We met Lori for lunch in New York, and she explained that she had a stable of talented authors and she wanted to keep them busy as working writers. She was frustrated that her authors could write six books per year, but publishers would only take two. With print publishing in decline, she knew there was an opportunity to fill the gap between the public’s need for good storytelling and the limitations imposed by the market. Over the next few hours, we hatched the idea for Ravenous Romance, which would be an online publisher of e-books and digital audiobooks.
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'Same dark zeal Hammett held for Frisco or Chandler had for Los Angeles.' - Wash. City Paper
Recommended by Washington City Paper and Epublishers Weekly
