Well hello all,
This is all a bit odd, truth be told; I've been thinking about and talking about ASP for so long, I had presumed it was all just another one of my fantastical pipe dreams. Two years on and here we are. It stemmed from my own struggles to get published, I have an epic novel which no matter how you cut it, is a big ask for a publisher to take on, from an unknown, untested author. Even though it's a damn good story, but then I'm biased. There's always self-publishing, but even though there are multiple outlets for this these days, I can't say my experience of them was good. The major marketers of these outlets make a killing off the hard work of authors, whether good or bad. So I thought the best thing to do was set up a small print, find those struggling authors, poets and artists and see if I could give them a helping hand, help them navigate the dubious waters of the publishing world and prove to other larger publishers that these people are worth giving them a shot. I can understand their trepidation, they potentially have a lot more to lose than a small press.
So, our focus will be on talent from Wales, a local press for local people, so to speak, but that doesn't preclude talent from further afield. If you can wow us, then we will be more than happy to present you on our pages, in our journal and/or publish your book.
I am both excited by this venture and just a little bit nervous, because at the end of the day other people are putting themselves into our hands to present them to the world. That's quite a privilege and a challenge. Every writer, poet and artist puts a bit of themselves into the work they produce, they are exposing their inner soul for scrutiny by strangers, so when you view the work that we publish here please remember this and be kind, we're a sensitive breed. We're hardened to rejection, we have to develop a tough skin for constructive criticism, but can be stung by harsh or insensitive criticism.
We here at ASP are aware of this, so when you submit and when/if we reject your piece(s), just remember it's not you specifically we're rejecting; it's just that your piece(s) didn't fit the bill at the time. We'll always be happy to see you submit again and, on occasion, we may pass comment on your work, although this will be dependent upon how busy we are here.
We look forward to seeing your work, good luck and maybe we'll see you in our inaugural issue due out in October.
Cheers,
Dogs (Editor in Chief).
