Sunday, April 23, 2017

Farewell is such sweet sorrow...

January 2009 marked the beginning of Penumbra Publishing as a royalty-paying independent small publisher offering genre fiction to readers in ebook and print format. Our services to authors included editing, cover art, ISBNs, and online distribution at major retailers in exchange for 50% net royalties.

Over the next seven years, Penumbra Publishing produced over 75 titles and served over 30 authors. It was a roller-coaster learning curve for us and our authors to meet the demands of independent publishing. (And by 'independent' we mean 'not the big-six' or 'big-five' top NYC publishers - the list keeps changing depending on mergers and buyouts.) Sometimes our results were mixed - good and not-so-good - but we persevered in our efforts and remain proud to this day of our joint accomplishments. Many readers are still able to enjoy the work of authors that might never have been published otherwise.

In January 2016 we as a company made the difficult decision to cease active publishing due to staffing, revenue, and personal issues that made ceasing operations the most prudent choice.

For some time, our Twitter account has been virtually inactive, and our Facebook account remains somewhat static. This blog will remain active for legacy purposes, and new posts will be few and far between. Our website, http//:www.penumbrapublishing.com, still being modified, will remain live for the purpose of showcasing affiliate/former authors' work free of charge.

Today, self-publishing has become a mainstream online service that nearly anyone can enjoy with varying levels of success - 'success' meaning many things to many different people. Selling millions of units of a title or merely getting the darn book published - and all levels in between - may be counted as 'success' for an author. We applaud all independent authors struggling to succeed in telling their stories and urge anyone with a story worthy of telling to do their very best to share it with others. After all, isn't that what storytelling is all about?

And so it is with a heart both heavy and glad that we bid good-bye to all our authors and readers and followers. We'll miss the excitement of new work and personal interaction and finished results that made our publishing experience a blast. We wish all of you the very best.

-PENUMBRA PUBLISHING