Over the next week or so, I plan, hell or high water, to get all responses out for books from last sumner's open reading period and all the delayed titles from late 2023 out into the world. It's been rough balancing the work, mostly since one factor (how quickly I move through the already-accepted books) determines how many I will actually be able to fit in this year at the end. Add in in unruly freelance work obligations (which can sometmes be more intense than when I had a full-time job, just for shorter periods) and some books that required a little extra work in terms of formatting to get print-ready and this year has been enormously slow moving in terms of the publication schedule and manuscript reading. With the upcoming crunch of new work coming in after June 1st for 2025, I at least want to get the submission box cleared completely.
Making decisions from among almost 500 manuscripts can be tough. Some are immediate "no"s, of course, but others move past the initial quick skim through onto the more detailed second round read through. This year, I had around 120 that I nudged into the second round, perhaps more than most years. While normally I would have stressed myself out trying to get responses out before the end of the year, I decided to be kinder to myself by allowing simultaneous subs and taking a bit longer. So much of the past year has been restoring boundaries when it comes to certain things and being gentler on myself, even taking breaks (gasp!) during the holidays and intermittently. Not running full throttle one thing to the next. Being more intentional in where I put my energies.
Somehow, I realized the other day that this year is an anniversary of sorts, it being 20 years ago this November that the first DGP chapbook came into the world. The late and amazing Adrianne Marcus, who I had been publishing in wicked alice from early on, asked me if I knew of anywhere she could submit a chapbook she was finishing up. That spring, I had been slumming over in the Fiction writing department (at that time separate from the English/poetry department,) in a great Small Press publishing class. I did not go into the semester planning to start a press, but somehow came out of it that way. The goal that spring was to publish a print annual of the online zine, as well as a chapbook of my own (I had recently had the first accepted, but it was going to be a couple years til publication and I wanted something to sell or give away at readings.) When I made those two things happen courtesy of a cheap home printer, some Paper Source cardstock and some staples, it occurred to me that I could do this thing.
So when Adrianne asked the question I was ready with an answer. That book came out in November of 2004. It was slow going at first, with less than a dozen submissions that first year we were open in summer of 2005. Mostly, in those days before social media, I posted to a lot of list-servs and email groups populated with women writers. Starting a press in the middle of my MFA program all the while working 40 hours a week, may have been a stupid thing, but it did not feel that way. I muddled through the next few years and then grew it a bit more after I graduated, moved into the Fine Arts and such.
Along the way I've gotten a chance to publish so many amazing writers, some of whom have released multiple books in the series. Others that have remained friends in real or online life. There have been years that were very productive, and others, where things have been much slower due to things like pandemics and personal losses and just general chaos.
Today, I found myself ridiculously excited over the books I am saying "yes" to for the upcoming slate. I also have about a dozen late books from 2023 that I can't wait to get out into the world, so keep an eye on the shop for those. In shop news in general, I also have a new batch of notebooks coming later this week...I am hoping, now that I have more dedicated time for blogging daily to offer monthly updates here on new titles and newsy bits., so more soon...
