Radclyffe has written 63 novels to date and is the President and publisher of Bold Strokes Books. Needless to say, I was very excited when Radclyffe agreed to do this interview and reveal some of her tips and knowledge about publishing.<\/p>\n
Questions for Radclytffe<\/strong><\/p>\n I began writing lesbian\/sapphic romances in the 1980s, but did not begin publishing until 2000 (Safe Harbor; Above All, Honor; and Love\u2019s Melody Lost were all published in 2001). I enjoyed being part of the publishing process, and after being involved in a number of different publishing models with my own work, enjoying the interactions with readers, and developing relationships with a number of authors who wanted to take their work In a long-term, serious publishing direction, I decided to found Bold Strokes Books in 2004. Since I planned to continue writing and publishing full-time, I retired from surgery simultaneously.<\/p>\n Writing and publishing are two different professions, and both have their challenges. Writing requires not only creativity, but determination and discipline, and the willingness to step back and view one\u2019s work critically. There\u2019s a difference between writing for oneself and writing for an audience. Being a published author is a lifelong endeavor to learn craft and remain relevant to contemporary readers. Being a publisher requires a totally different skill set and focus. A publisher is responsible for building an audience, maximizing sales, and enhancing the craft of the authors whom they represent. This requires knowledge of the marketplace and reader expectations, as well as a solid infrastructure with the editorial, marketing, financial, and educational tools required to achieve those ends.<\/p>\n I considered and discarded a number of names before choosing the company moniker. I thought it represented our desire to move forward into the future and our willingness to change as new challenges arose.<\/p>\n I would not be a publisher if I didn\u2019t take great pleasure in working with authors to help them produce the very best work they can. When I come across any author who is interested in working with us in partnership to achieve that, I am tremendously grateful and gratified.<\/p>\n This is something that we could spend an hour talking about, and I certainly have when giving workshops on how to hone one\u2019s submission. To pick out just a few important points, I would say that in addition to the obvious (present a clean manuscript with a minimum of errors that is written to the best of your ability and<\/em> meets the expectations of the genre in which you are writing), research and choose a publisher with a vision that works for you and that provides you with the editorial, marketing, sales and educational support that you require.<\/p>\n From a professional point of view, not at all. I have been very fortunate to have had careers that have fulfilled me over the course of my life.<\/p>\n I do. I enjoy a wide variety of genres, including romance, mysteries, paranormal, dark fantasies, and science fiction.<\/p>\n I can\u2019t imagine any serious professional who would not want to continue to improve their work and their knowledge.<\/p>\n I\u2019m sure that some sapphic works will be picked up by mainstream publishers and that the audience will expand over time, but I also believe there will always be a place for LGBTQ+-focused publishers who can dedicate all their resources on providing platforms for queer authors to reach our particular audience.<\/p>\n I expect we\u2019ll be doing much the same as we have always done :-). Working to produce entertaining, quality queer fiction and changing with the times to continue to meet author and readers\u2019 needs.<\/p>\n For information about us visit: www.boldstrokesbooks.com<\/strong><\/p>\n <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Radclyffe has written 63 novels to date and is the President and publisher of Bold Strokes Books. Needless to say, I was very excited when Radclyffe agreed to do this interview and reveal some of her tips and knowledge about publishing. Questions for Radclytffe Why did you decide to go into publishing? I began writing […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[3],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-179","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-blog"],"yoast_head":"\n\n
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