BOOK NEWS
Bleeding Heart Publications To Launch on November 30, 2014; Hosts Open Submissions for Fiction and Creative Non-Fiction
New Southeast Asia-Based, English-Language Publishing House Seeks to Balance Traditional Writer-Friendly Values with 21st Century Technologies
Bangkok, Thailand – October 22, 2014 – Bleeding Heart Publications, a new literary publishing house looking for “new voices” in full-length and short creative non-fiction and fiction, is launching in the United States and globally from its home base in Southeast Asia on November 30, 2014.
A small, dedicated group of British and American ex-patriots – led by co-founders Gordon Ross, director, and Cali Dawson, managing director – have four books scheduled for publication in all formats in 2015 and are aggressively seeking manuscripts and short stories from new and previously published authors.
Bleeding Heart Publications also will publish Transfusion, a twice-yearly literary journal featuring short stories of 5,000 words or less. The company is registered in Singapore with editorial offices in Bangkok, Thailand.
“There are so many gifted writers out there today who cannot get a publishing deal, ” says Gordon Ross, a Scottish businessman and entrepreneur who has lived and worked in Asia since 2008 and is the director of Bleeding Heart Publications. “The business model has changed for the major publishing houses. They are far less inclined to take a chance on an up-and-coming writer these days, no matter how promising.
“Their focus is on established, best-selling authors and that’s where they are putting their marketing money. Also, self-publishing is exploding in the States, but many creative writers simply cannot afford it, and even if they could, they would face built-in reviewer bias against self-published fiction.
“We are offering a different approach. We are a traditional, ‘old school’ publisher that values and supports and nurtures good writers while taking full advantages of modern technologies and marketing platforms. We also believe there is great opportunity for success in the mid-range, for authors who can sell between 10 and 40 thousand books. Another thing that sets us apart - we’re not going to be shy about using state-of-the-art advertising and marketing and PR to promote our authors and books.”
Cali Dawson, who grew up in the Midwest and is an author herself, co-founded Bleeding Heart Publications with Ross in 2013 and is the company’s managing director. “Many people are intrigued by the idea of having an English-language press in Thailand – and may be a little skeptical,” she says.
“Certainly the Internet and social media have opened the door for a more global publishing industry, and made it easier for small independent presses like ours to flourish, but I don’t think New York and London are in any danger of losing their leadership status in the publishing world.
“What has changed, though, is how many writers are being treated by the big corporate publishing entities. It’s not pretty. I’m a writer and I get it. New writers want publishers and editors who understand that they’ve poured their hearts and souls into their work, who care about them personally, who can offer editorial guidance and are transparent about the business side of publishing. That’s who we are at Bleeding Heart. We’re very hands on with our writers. We like being in the trenches with them.”
Bleeding Heart Publication will publish its first book, The Job Pirate by Brandon Christopher, on February 19, 2015
Christopher has published more than a dozen short stories and essays in magazines, literary journals, websites and anthologies. In 2007, he published his first autobiographical book, Dirty Little Altar Boy, through Ghost Pants Press. He is also a writer and producer of several documentaries and TV biographies, including: Just for the Record -- The Rolling Stones, the highly acclaimed 16-hour documentary The Definitive Elvis, and The 50 Worst Movies Ever Made.
The Legacy of Lost Things, a novel by Aida Zilelian, will be the second book released by Bleeding Heart Publications. It is scheduled for publication on March 3, 2015.
Zilelian is a New York City writer and English teacher. She has been published in more than 25 literary journals and several anthologies. She also is the curator of Boundless Tales, a reading series in Queens, New York. She is currently writing a collection of short stories. The Legacy of Lost Things is her first published novel and it is the recipient of the 2014 Tololyan Literary Award.
Bleeding Heart Publications is partnering with Greenleaf Books in Austin, Texas, to provide book and cover design, production and distribution services, and marketing across all formats and platforms in the U.S.
For more information about Bleeding Heart Publications, its authors and submission policies, please visit the website. For media inquiries or to arrange an interview with BHP’s principals or authors, contact Scott Busby at The Busby Group or call 310.475.2914.
Writers, beware of the internet
By Bob Jones
A new survey of 1500 US writers has discovered what is most likely to distract them from writing their novel.
The survey has been launched before Nanowrimo – November writing month – to help inspire hundreds of thousands of Americans who are preparing to write 50,000 words of a novel in 30 days.
The survey undertaken for Stop Procrastinating, the productivity application, discovered a range of domestic and life issues that distracted the most creative amongst us from fulfilling their dreams and finishing their novel.
Respondents to the survey said the following distracted them most from writing: sex; dating sites; tiredness; staying late at work; pizza and ice cream; their partner distracting them by offering them a drink, turning on the TV or chatting; pets jumping on their lap or turning off the computer; and a family argument. Digital distractions such as emails, social media and the internet were also most likely to prevent them from writing.
Some respondents even claimed envy of the success of other writers stopped them having the motivation to continue writing.
Broken down the survey still found that the internet was the biggest single distraction during the actual process of writing. 52% of writers claimed to have turned to browsing the internet for inspiration only to be lose hours reading articles or watching YouTube videos.
Most interesting is what they were viewing. Most writers didn’t turn to the great works for inspiration, but were more likely to watch YouTube videos of comedy acts or cats and other animals doing funny things. 45% of those who said they were distracted by the internet from writing said they had watched a funny animal video at least once to help get them through a creative block; 15% said they were distracted by a dating site; another 5% said wouldn't admit to what they browsed.
Yet 7% of respondents claimed real life animals posed a risk to undermining their writing achievements. Cats jumping on their owners lap for affection was the biggest culprit, while others claimed their dog had pulled the lead from the computer in the middle of crafting the perfect sentence
17% of people claimed they often ate their reward for finishing writing, such as pizza and ice cream, before they’d reached their writing goal for the day
14% said that their partner has distracted them by suggesting watching the next episode of a box set for a ‘creative break’, while others came into their room with a welcoming drink and chatted for more than half an hour before leaving. 4% of respondents has said that rather than get back to writing they had had sex with their partner. One admitted this was because she thought she was ovulating, the others said they just wanted to have sex.
22% said that they were too tired to write either from work or partying too hard. While 32% said they often couldn’t write because they had stayed too late at work and didn’t have time.
Will Little, creator of stopprocrastinatingapp.com, said: “Nanowrimo is a great celebration of writing, but sometimes even with the best of intentions writers become distracted.
“The grip of creativity to write is tenuous, it seems, prone to slip in the face of the slightest distraction. The smallest gestures such as a warming cup of coffee from a partner, or a cat jumping up for a stroke, or the distant sound of their favorite TV program starting can be all it takes to have the writer running from the computer and away from the creative urge,” he said.
“But often the distraction is staring them in the face. The writer’s tool, the computer, is part of an interconnected planet that exists, it seems, to distract and toy with our concentration. It can take only seconds from typing a lyrical sentence to answering an email or watching a funny animal video on YouTube, and the creative moment is lost,” he said.
“Sometimes all it takes is for the writer to set down their goals – how many words they want to write and how long it will take them. Goal setting is hard wired into our brains and when we set them we are more likely to achieve our objectives.
“But sometimes writers need that extra push - to turn off the internet completely or at least filter out social media or the most distracting websites. Barring the offer of a hot drink from their partner or the sound of padded feet, they should then be set up to create their masterpiece.”
About Stop Procrastinating:
Stop Procrastinating is an internet blocking and productivity application. It is compatible with Mac OS and Windows. It allows users the option to block the internet for a period of time in two ways, depending on how much self discipline they have.
Option 1 allows users to block the internet for a set amount of time, but they can get back online if they reboot their computer.
Option 2 allows users to block the internet for a set amount of time, but prevents access to the internet even if they restart their computer. They have to wait until their chosen time is up to reconnect.
Option 3 allows users to input into a black list specific websites they wish to block, such as Facebook or Twitter, and to stay connected to the internet.
Stop Procrastinating also gives users the option to write down their works goals before disconnecting from the internet. Research has shown this to be a powerful aid to motivation. It also allows users to chart their progress over time, which helps them see how much more work they are getting done.
