FATES ON FIRE PUBLISHING: UPDATE #1

Howdy and I hope all is well with you. I honestly cannot believe that Summer has arrived, along with its attendant heat, crowds and, as is de rigueur, raging wildfires. It seems only yesterday that I announced that Fates on Fire was transitioning to a publishing company when, in fact, it was the day before last Halloween.

While it’s been decidedly muted here with respect to activity, it’s been anything but in the offline world getting things up and running for the new venture. That said, I wanted to give you all an update on where things are as of the moment and, equally important, what excitement lies ahead. So, without further ado, let’s dive right in.

ALL THINGS CURRENT

When I made the decision to start a publishing company, I was keenly aware I would have my work cut out for me. In the October announcement, I stated that I expected it to take about 6 months from January to get everything solidified and up and running. In reflection, that was a relatively accurate guesstimate. As per usual, life occurred which knocked my timeline somewhat akimbo, particularly with some family health issues that required my attention and focus.

Irrespective of all that, earnest progress has been made. On the business side, the LLC has been created, new website re-brand & themes are nearly finalized, social media accounts have been created, and we locked-down our mission/business description. I’ve also finalized the initial 2-year publishing schedule as well as securing proofreaders, a cover designer, and identified our printing partner. So, nearly all of the “business-y” stuff is about complete.

Fates on Fire is an independent publishing LLC dedicated to facilitating writers, and other artists, to bring new forms of beauty to life.

OKAY, BUT WHAT ABOUT THE ART?

Regular readers are, likely, aware of the Rock ‘N’ Roll Zero series here on the website, and the book, formally titled, “Rock ‘N’ Roll Zero: My Magical Life in the Margins of Music” has actually been completed for nearly a year. It only needs 3^rd party proofing and formatting and it’s ready to rock (pun intended).

Earlier this year, I started writing an epistolary novel called, “Post-Punk Road Show” which is also completed. Like “RNR0,” it only requires proofing and formatting.

I have recently finished the outline for the 3^rd Fates on Fire release, “Vancouver Blown Fuse.” As I don’t expect to publish this book until late 2026, I’ll probably begin writing it later this Winter, at the earliest.

So that’s the status of the art – 2 books done, 1 in the works. I feel exceptionally good about where things are right now.

THE COMMERCE OF ART

I’ve spent the last couple of years meeting and befriending all manner of “bookish people.” From independent and traditionally published writers, to owners of publishing houses big and small, printers, agents and the like. It’s been a phenomenal experience and I’ve learned so much and have cultivated a new gang of cool kids (aka book nerds).

Admittedly, at first, I was more than a bit trepidatious about just hauling-off and starting a publishing company, but I quickly began to get considerably more comfortable upon learning this one thing. And that thing is? The publishing business is, essentially, analogous to the music business. The key difference being that there are, generally, much smarter people and considerably fewer flakes in the book industry.

Having worked at both independent and major label record companies as well as being a lifelong musician having co-managed all aspects of my bands, I found both the fundamental activities and skills to be wholly transferable.

As an artist, it’s very fun and rewarding to create a piece of art (usually). Regular readers know that my two modes are music and writing, so once there’s some form of inspiration, it’s not particularly difficult to write a song, an essay, a book. In addition, I can create from start to finish by myself and it costs me virtually nothing to do so.

However, taking that precious piece of art and professionally packaging it for a salable retail product is an entirely different story. I’ve done it with my music and, as part of a company, the music of others, but never with my writing.

Last year I read an amazing book called, “The Art of Asking” by the renown musician, Amanda Palmer, which won the 2023 Fates on Fire Book Award for Non-Fiction. While there’s quite a bit going on in the text, the overarching argument Palmer makes is, “To Just Ask” and then cites a career’s worth of positive benefits from doing just that.

I took this advice throughout the initial months of this year and reached-out to my cadre of “bookish people” to let them know what I was doing and just, quite simply, asked for their help. To say I was astounded by the response is a colossal understatement. Every single person I asked provided help, guidance, consult, suggestions and all the rest. Profoundly staggering. Even people I had never met took time to share lessons learned and otherwise point me in the right direction.

The culmination of all of this was the realization that, like music, you can’t just release a book into the ether and hope for the best. As I already knew, one needs a well-devised and even better executed marketing plan predicated on identifying one’s audience and building relationships & community among them. As we all know, this is primarily done online and, most often, via social media. While I am a not insignificant owner of Meta, as an example, I am, to date, an intentional social media non-participant. So there’s that.

Secondly, some of the most successful independent authors I know, all used crowdfunding to get their book projects going, specifically the Kickstarter platform. It allowed them to cover some, if not all, of the initial costs of creating a book such as editing, proofreading, cover design, art assets, formatting, ISBN/bar-code, and, of course printing.

So the idea here is to try to get one’s self into the black before doing a retail launch. It also affords the creator an opportunity to give initial backers unique items, be those limited editions or cover art, free ebook versions, and other “stretch goal rewards” that are exclusive to the campaign as a way to thank them.

The great news here is that I have been active on Kickstarter for over 10 years and know it exceedingly well. Although I have been only a backer, I definitely know how it works and how a killer campaign is created, launched and managed. So there’s that.

I’m David Sedaris meets David Bowie with a sprinkling of Sid Vicious on top.

Me, when pressed by 2 author friends to describe my writing

WHAT’S NEXT?

As you have likely surmised, reader dearest, knowing all the above, I need to give myself some runway to ramp-up the marketing and get connected with my potential audience in a meaningful way.

Fortunately, I know the places on the inter-webs to reach them as I do frequently check-out the sundry groups, forums, websites, etc. In addition, I attend a number of large music festivals & pop-culture conventions each year with upwards of fifty-thousand people, many of whom may be interested in my art.

That said, my goal is for Fates on Fire to launch its first book, “Post-Punk Road Show” via Kickstarter, in March of 2025. Along with this, I am also offering a very special, incredibly unique, hyper-limited “Rock ‘N’ Roll Zero” book teaser which will blow minds.

Subsequent to this, I plan to release the “RNR0” book in October 2025, also via Kickstarter. Retail physical and ebook releases will follow, approximately, 6-months following the delivery of the books to initial backers. As previously mentioned, “Vancouver Blown Fuse” will release sometime in late 2026.

Last, you will start to see some changes on FatesOnFire.com as I tweak things a bit to reflect the new direction as a publishing concern. Honestly, I’m uncertain what to do with the near 100 articles posted here. Remove them altogether? Keep them available in a “blog” section of the site? I don’t know yet and would certainly value your thoughts and feedback.

I NEED YOUR HELP!

In continuing the spirit of “The Art of Asking,” I am, right here and right now asking for your help. While I have pretty much all the cogs in the machine primed and ready, there is one thing I need and do not have. That is a GRAPHIC DESIGNER. I am looking for someone to partner with to help create the “Rock ‘N’ Roll Zero” logo as well as help with designing related art assets such as the Kickstarter campaign page, maybe a few illustrations in the books themselves, design for shirts, bookmarks, pins and the like.

So if you, or anyone, you know might be interested, please do get in touch. My budget is minuscule, but they would also get credit in a legitimate retail released book. Hit me up at contact@fatesonfire.com.

That all I have for the moment. I’ll plan to post another update in the Fall. In the meantime, keep reading and have a glorious Summer!