I have mentioned Water Dragon Publishing a lot, but I’m not sure that I have dedicated time to really introduce you to them.

The dry stuff would be to say, Water Dragon Publishing is small and independent, an imprint of Paper Angel, and focuses on fantasy and science fiction. Other imprints under Paper Angel have other focuses, with a potential new imprint coming soon which focuses on horror.

If not for Water Dragon Publishing, The Repossessed Ghost wouldn’t be out in the world. I am grateful, and I want to talk about Water Dragon a little bit more, to go beyond the dry stuff and reveal what it’s like being an author working with them.

I do not have experience with other publishing companies, big or small, but I know a lot of authors and have heard their stories. I’m not going to name names, but I have one author friend that had two of their series dumped by a major publishing company, before either series could be completed. Another author that has been a mentor to me has talked about struggles with their publisher, as one of their books came out around September 11th, and even though all book sales were impacted during that time, the publisher still dealt with the author as though it was somehow their fault that the book didn’t sell as well as projected. And still another close friend of mine partnered up with a publisher, and wound up having to buy back the rights to their stories when the publisher failed to promote their books in any meaningful way.

I went into my relationship with Water Dragon knowing all of these stories, and I sort of held back my hopes and expectations.

Instead of adding to the list of nightmare experiences, I found a community. I found a group of writers that are supportive, knowledgeable, and passionate about holding each other up. This was a lot like when I found the WriteFightGifClub. When you join a group of writers like this, you find shelter and support in the storm. There will always be uncertainty in publishing, and drama, and troubles, but a group like this offers hope and assistance when you need it.

Steven Radecki is the managing editor, and he wears a lot of hats. One of those is Small Publishing in a Big Universe, which is both a podcast and a marketplace for independent authors. We had a whole extra table in the dealer’s room at Baycon dedicated to the marketplace, where non-Water Dragon authors could sell their books at the con. We also interviewed authors at the con live and made them part of the podcast, and posted information on their books at the marketplace website. This might seem like a wild tangent; it isn’t, because this is all still part of what Water Dragon is and does. It’s not just a philosophy to help other writers, but a call to action.

I’m not sure what’s going on with the big publishers right now. Last I heard, there was some turmoil and a lot of layoffs, especially around genre fiction. There is a lot of uncertainty everywhere. Maybe it will mean more opportunities for smaller, independent publishers like Water Dragon.

To pull back from the shilling, let’s talk a little about the downsides of Water Dragon Publishing, which mostly amount to being small and independent. There is always too much to do and not enough people to do those things. Printing is outsourced, as you can imagine, and there is some kind of delay with the printing of hard covers for The Repossessed Ghost, so many of the pre-orders are unfulfilled. The prints are beautiful, but a couple of my friends and coworkers are getting antsy. These aren’t really criticisms of Water Dragon specifically, but more reflections of the publishing business on the whole.

If it’s not clear already, I like working with Water Dragon. I want to submit more stories and continue working with Steven and the other authors. There is a shared world project that I want to dip a toe into. Maybe I’ll even see if there are other ways in which I can volunteer and help.

If there’s anything I’ve left out, or if you have any questions, please let me know! And to cap this off, let me tell you about this:

You can read more about the details here. It’s 12 stories for around $20, and it helps SFWA, which does not suck.