“So It’s Come To This: A Poetry Chapbook” by Brian James Freeman will be my third Patreon-only chapbook, and it should ship around the end of July.
These Patreon exclusive publications are now labeled “LetterPress Publications [Private Printing]” on the title page and include this notice on the copyright page: “This is a Private Printing by LetterPress Publications for Brian James Freeman’s supporters on Patreon and has not been designated for sale through any retail channels.”
Each chapbook is “housed” in a custom-printed envelope with a fine linen finish and the LetterPress Publications logo printed on it in silver metallic ink. To make these chapbooks a little different from others I’ve seen, the inside-covers will feature some kind of artwork or faux marbling, sort of like illustrated endpapers. Each chapbook is also signed and hand-numbered.
“So It’s Come To This: A Poetry Chapbook” will be my third Patreon-only chapbook. Complete details will be posted here when it’s published in July, although my incredible supporters on Patreon already have a pretty good idea of what they’re getting themselves into! 😉
Here’s the cover artwork:
For those who haven’t heard my spiel before, my first love in life is writing stories, and Patreon allows me to post those stories directly for readers who dig my work, which really is quite awesome.
Because I really like to “make” things, I’ve created different Rewards Levels, for every type of supporter, which you can read all about on the JOIN page. I would love to see you there, if you’re interested. Every little bit helps, and I’m extremely grateful for all of the support I’ve received from readers these past two years. Thank you!
Since October of last year I’ve been putting together plans to do a little more with my personal press, LetterPress Publications, beyond just publishing my own chapbooks and books for my Patreon supporters — although LPP will still do that! — and I want to share some important information with you today since I’ll be making a pretty big announcement for LetterPress Publications tomorrow, May 15.
A LITTLE HISTORY:
I’ve worked at Cemetery Dance Publications full-time since 2002, and I’ll be there for as long as Richard will have me, but something has been missing these past fifteen months.
My wife and I worked together at CD from June 2006 until February of 2018, when she jumped at an opportunity with a company closer to where we actually live that we just couldn’t pass up. (Home is actually 90 minutes from the CD offices — it’s a long commute, and even longer now without my partner in crime!) But with our kids, our future plans, and everything else, this fantastic new job was a no brainer for her.
Yet… no longer working with her to juggle all the books and logistical planning and everything else we face as a team at CD has left a big hole in my day to day work life.
Luckily, unlike a lot of the difficult problems people face in real life, there was an easy solution to this. I like publishing books. She likes publishing books. We even already have a little press all set-up for publishing my rewards for my Patreon supporters, which has been a ton of fun these past two years.
So, starting this month, LetterPress Publications will be branching out from a personal press to an actual small press, publishing deluxe special editions of works by my favorite authors. We’ll be working together again… in the evenings… and on weekends… for one book this year, and then three to four books per year after that, if all goes well.
Although I cannot get into which specific projects just yet (watch LetterPressPublications.com for the big news!), I think you’ll be very pleased with what we have planned.
Maybe even more importantly, if you want to be among the FIRST to be notified about any news and announcements — including of this first book by a New York Times bestselling author who is hugely popular among horror collectors — please go to the LetterPress Publications website and sign-up for our FREE MAILING LIST. Thank you!
WHAT DOES THIS MEAN FOR MY PATRONS ON PATREON:
If you’re concerned about the future of my Patreon page or my writing, please know I’ve been juggling the behind the scenes drudgery for officially launching LetterPress Publications as company that sells products to the public (which includes some extremely mind-numbing stuff with the state and local governments, the IRS, my credit union, my accountant, and my attorney that luckily only needs completed once — I hope!) since October of last year.
So I’ve been pretty busy already, but still getting my Patreon work done for the most part. (The serial novel The Echo of Memory is a bit behind schedule, but that’s because I’m too hard on myself about whether a chapter is ready to post! That said, more chapters are on the way soon.)
More importantly, the actual labor of running LPP is the same kind of tasks I’ve handled day in, day out at Cemetery Dance Publications since 2002, just on a much smaller scale since it’ll only be 1 or 2 books in production at a time.
WHAT DOES THIS MEAN FOR LONELY ROAD BOOKS:
No changes there. That’s still a side project for Richard Chizmar and me, and we’re still working on books for this year and beyond. The Night Eternal by Guillermo del Toro and Chuck Hogan to name one, and a final William Peter Blatty signed Limited Edition to name another.
WHAT DOES THIS MEAN FOR CEMETERY DANCE PUBLICATIONS:
Well, there’s a better than slight chance I’ll get ribbed by Rich, Mindy, Dan, and New Dan for a while. “Oh, there goes Mr. Big Shot Publisher!” That sort of thing.
On the other hand, I can change all of their passwords for the website and the order management software until they stop it, so… 😉
Yeah, this isn’t going to change anything about my work at CD. Everyone there is incredibly supportive of each other’s hobbies, side ventures, creative projects, and the things we do to find personal fulfillment.
If you have any questions or concerns, please always feel free to get in touch! My CD email address remains brianfreeman@cemeterydance.com and my new LLP email address is… well, I don’t know yet. Still working on that, but I’ll post it when I have one!
Best,
Brian
P.S. Here’s the LetterPress Publications Logo, just so something shows up on social media when I share this. 😉
Just a reminder that anyone who wants to qualify for the next exclusive signed Limited Edition chapbook I’m publishing for my Patreon supporters just needs to sign-up for Level 2 or above by the end of the month!
This chapbook is going to be a bit of a surprise and different from the previous ones, and I don’t want to ruin the fun by saying too much, but I just have to show off the cover artwork because I love it so much:
More updates to follow soon, along with more free chapters of my serial novel, The Echo of Memory.
Shipping early next month to qualifying Patreon supporters is the hand-bound Patreon Stories: Volume One Lettered Edition, and I’m really pleased with how it turned out! These are hand-bound in real leather and my binder used imported hand-marbled endpapers, etc, to take them to the next level. Here are some photos I took real quick yesterday:
I’m still working hard on improving my “product” photography skills, which have always been lacking, and here are a few shots of the new chapbook I published for my supporters over on Patreon. Not bad, but there are some things I want to try differently for the next one!
Good news about the “An Unusual Proposition For a Mountain Man” chapbook I’m publishing next month for my supporters over on Patreon:
I’ve sent the final files to the printer, so I should have the actual chapbooks in about two weeks!
Because there were a few extra blank pages at the end, I included an “alternate ending” for the story. It’s a small change that is also kind of a big change in terms of how you might interpret the preceding events.
My first readers were torn over the possible endings, so I thought it would be fun to include both of them for your perusal. Future printings of the story will only have one ending, although I cannot say for sure yet which one since I have no clue which one I like better.
More news soon… Thank you again for all of your support!
“An Unusual Proposition For a Mountain Man” is the second chapbook I’m printing exclusively for my Patreon supporters, and Glenn Chadbourne contributed five interior pieces of artwork to make the chapbook extra special. This reward will ship to all supporters who are on Level Two or above as of January 31, 2019, so now is the perfect time to sign-up if you’re interested in what I’m doing over on Patreon!
About the Chapbook: When he heard the polite knock on the cabin’s wooden door, Buddy “Bud” Williams was certain another pretty face had arrived to represent the developer who wanted his land to build a neighborhood of godawful McMansions.
Bud was right on one of those counts, but very very wrong about the other. The person at his door came with a life-changing offer, but the life that would be changed the most was not Bud’s… it was his son’s life, probably the only person Bud actually cared about.
What will Bud do when it’s time to make the most important decision of his life, and what will the true consequences of that decision be?A
I have big plans for 2019 and 2020 for my Patreon supporters, and one of projects I’ve been working on is a serialized novel that will run for most of 2019.
I’ll be posting one chapter each week from The Echo of Memory, which is a heavily revised version of my first published novel. In 2004, the book was published as Black Fire by James Kidman. There was a paperback edition from Leisure and a signed Limited Edition hardcover from Cemetery Dance Publications, but I’m restoring my preferred title and my real name for all future editions.
I’ll be working through the revisions as I post the chapters, but the first 100 pages have already seen a ton of fine tuning and some serious excising of unnecessary material.
Yep, this is one of those very rare “Author’s Preferred Editions” where stuff is being CUT out instead of crammed back in, and you won’t miss the things I’m editing out. They were the product of a first novelist’s insecurities about readers and the publishing world in general. This is a book where “less is more” should have been the mantra.
I’ll have some more news to share soon — including what I’m working on in 2019 to lay the groundwork for an extremely ambitious project for my Patreon supporters in 2020 — and I thank everyone again for all of your support!
A few readers who asked for more information about supporting my Patreon account also suggested I might want to post my current publication plans for 2019, and I’m happy to provide this list for reference! Some of these pub dates are outside my control, of course, but right now I’m hoping we’ll see most of these next year:
The Echo of Memory — a novel (and I have some big news to share very soon!) The Zombie Who Cried Human — hardcover editions are headed to the printer this month, so they should be out by spring Weak and Wounded — expanded trade paperback and eBook editions More Than Midnight — expanded trade paperback and eBook editions Dreamlike States — expanded trade paperback and eBook editions Lost and Lonely — expanded trade paperback and eBook editions Reading Stephen King — trade paperback and eBook editions Detours — trade paperback and eBook editions Walking With Ghosts — low print run “heavily illustrated” US Limited Edition hardcover Walking With Ghosts — trade paperback and eBook edition Killer Crimes — an anthology co-edited with Richard Chizmar Halloween Carnival — the omnibus Limited Edition hardcover (600+ pages!) Dark Screams: Volume One Omnibus — Limited Edition hardcover, co-edited with Richard Chizmar
* Plus several more foreign editions, but I’m not sure the exact plans for those yet.
Dates unknown but already in the works, so hopefully 2020: Untitled Anthology — an anthology of circus and carnival stories with an amazing line-up The Suicide Diary — a novel The Slow Zombie and the Fast Zombie — a new children’s book illustrated by Glenn Chadbourne Blue November Storms — an Omnibus Edition with never before published material including the original unpublished novelette and artwork from an abandoned graphic novel adaptation
