Let's talk about something I learned the hard way: publishing isn't a race.
Back when I ran my first press, I was that person who kept hitting the elevator's "close door" button thinking it would make things go faster. I knew good editing takes time - I preached it to authors! - but behind the scenes, I was rushing to get books out the door. Why? Because I wanted our authors to see their books in print. I wanted to prove we could do this. I wanted everyone to be happy.
You can probably guess where this is going.
Our first book went out with a few small errors that still make me wince when I think about them. Not the end of the world, but definitely not what our author deserved. Each of those little mistakes taught me something I should've already known: There's no fast-forward button for good publishing.
Look, I get it. When you've written something amazing, waiting is torture. When someone trusts you with their book, you want to show them they made the right choice. The publishing world runs on dreams and trust, and it's so tempting to rush toward making those dreams come true.
Trust me, I know this feeling from both sides. Years ago, I got a story published and said yes to every single change the editor suggested. Not because I agreed with the changes, but because holy crap, someone wanted to publish my work! The published version is fine, but it doesn't feel entirely like mine anymore. Every time I read it, I think about how I should've spoken up about changes that didn't feel right.
That's why at Apep Press, we're doing things differently. We're building everything around one simple idea: let's take our time and get it right. This means:
Being realistic about how long good editing takes (hint: longer than you think)
Having actual conversations about editorial suggestions
Making sure authors know it's okay to disagree with changes
Understanding that "let me think about that" is a perfectly good response
Remembering that sometimes the best thing we can say is "this isn't ready yet"
Here's the thing about quality in publishing: it's not just about catching typos or fixing grammar (though that stuff matters!). It's about making sure that when a book finally hits shelves, everyone involved can point to it and say "Yeah, that's exactly what we wanted to create."
Will this mean we publish fewer books than other presses? Probably. Will our editing process take longer? Sometimes, yeah. But I'd rather put out fewer books we're all proud of than rush something that's not quite there.
Because at the end of the day, your book deserves better than "not quite there." And we've got time to get it right.
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