Welcome Jude Pittman from Books We Love Publishing

Thank you so much for being here, Jude.

1: First, I’ve discovered most publishers are also

authors. Are you?  

Yes I am.  I write mysteries and paranormal romance.

2: When did you start your publishing company?

Books We Love Ltd. incorporated in 2010, however, the predecessor to Books We Love, an author promotion group entitled Books We Love promotion, actually started in 1998.

3: What inspired you to start your own publishing company?

My introduction to online publishing came in the early 90s, and it didn’t take me long to discover there was very limited, if any, support given to eBook authors by either small press publishers or the industry in general.  Since I had a fair amount of experience with online groups like the original Time Warner and other Compuserve authors forums, as well as a stint as an editor of the Open Directory, I formed an author promotion group with a focus on group promotion to give us more exposure than any of us could gain on our own.  In the mid-2000s many small press houses began folding and by 2009 a great many of my co-authors and myself were looking for what we referred to as an “author-centric” publishing house.

4: What makes your publishing company different than others?

First, we do not “mass recruit” authors.  We focus on quality over quantity, and we’re very particular about the books we publish.  Our primary criteria are experience and knowledge of the industry.  Our authors need to have a history in publishing together with the experience required to be part of a quality-focused publishing house like Books We Love.  We pay higher royalties, offer a lot more promotion, and much more author support than most small press publishers.  We also expect a high degree of professionalism from our authors and we only work with authors who can meet those expectations.

5: What do you like the most about running your own publishing company? What do you like least?

Being able to publish some of the most fantastic books being offered in the marketplace and knowing that the author is going to get a fair share of the proceeds from those published books is what I like the most.

Having very little time left over for my own writing is what I like the least.

6: Tell us about your company, what type of stories are you looking for? How to submit, what length stories, and where can we find the submission guidelines?

Our company publishes genre fiction in most categories.  We do not have an “open” submission policy.  Most of our new authors are recommended by existing authors, and we do not provide submission guidelines because each offer of interest is geared towards a specific candidate referred by one of our existing authors.  When we do have an interest in an author we want the entire manuscript. We seldom bother with query letters and synopsis. We are a different kind of publishing company.

7: Tell us about your authors.

All of our authors are experienced professionals. Many of them have previously been published by large houses, and have opted for the smaller, more author focused and individualistic environment of a medium-sized publisher like Books We Love.  Of course, as far as we’re concerned, we have the most talented authors in the publishing industry.

8: How do you decide to accept or reject a manuscript?

Based on the quality of the work, the experience of the author, and the recommendations of our existing authors.

9: Do you have any tips for aspiring authors?

Before you attempt to publish a book, make sure you have thoroughly mastered the basics of your craft.  Don’t just toss your book out there and see if a publisher is interested.  Perfect it first, then seek out beta-readers, critique groups, and anyone you can find to give you an honest and thorough evaluation of your work.  I remember my first novel.  I revised it 6 times before it was accepted for publication and then revised it two more to the publisher’s specification.  Publishing takes, time, patience, hard work, dedication and a passion for writing that goes far beyond the possibility of any financial reward.

10: I know you’re extremely busy, but we all need to relax sometimes. What do you for fun and relaxation?

I bowl twice a week and my husband and I enjoy long walks.  We also enjoy short getaways that allow us to leave technology behind and explore our country and our neighboring countries.  We’re Canadian, but we’ve thoroughly enjoyed our visits both to the USA and Mexico.

11: Where can we find your website? Blog?

Books We Love is at :  http://bookswelove.net or www.bookswelove.com

Our Insider Blog, written by all of our authors and unique in that our blog is not a promotion vehicles, it is a calendar of fascinating stories and articles written by our extremely talented authors.

http://bwlauthors.blogspot.ca/

12: What’s the one thing you’d most like people to know about you?

That I respect and value hard work and commitment.

13: Is there anything else you’d like us to know about you or your publishing company?

That we have wonderful books written by very talented authors. We have a Bargain Store right on our website where smart purchasers can purchase the books in any format they choose at greatly discounted prices.  Books We Love also has a contest running right now where entrants can win their choice of one of three eBook readers.  Visit our main page, click the contest button and get your entry in there before the end of October.

Thank you for taking time out of your busy schedule to answer these questions. You can find Jude's books at Books We Love