Although we started releasing books back in March and really didn’t get fully in the swing of things until about June, this company started putting in over 40-hour weeks starting in September of 2024. Because it has been a full year, I wanted to look back and let you know all of the stories that you may not know from these blogs.
This company has grown so significantly in such a short time that I cannot express how impressed I am with everything that has happened. So far, the published authors; Taylor Thornburg, John Biscello and Peter Dellolio have made this such a pleasure for me. And my communications so far with Dianne Reeves Angel and Mykyta Ryzhykh are beginning in such a favourable way.
As a small company there are things to be daunted by. But it is so bizarre because I don’t see it that way at all when I look at this past year and ahead to the future. Each step that I thought to be difficult and caused me to move along with trepidation, I have been so surprised at how amazing it has turned out. The reason for this is maybe because of the nature of why I built this company. The publishing industry has been so down on itself and each other. There has been so much negativity. I knew that in some ways it was organizational issues. Poor planning. Not being able to be malleable. Not building on successes. Refusal to go back to old methods to relearn. I knew that I could build something that had fibre. Something that could clean out the clogged intestines of a bad gut.
The writers that I have signed contracts with have been a blessing. I hear the way John Biscello talks about how his words were represented in his art-style book and it gets me through a lot of days. Taylor Thornburg is helping to build a whole community of writers in Chicago and the amount of events that he has been involved in or has organized is astonishing. It may sound weird but I am so jealous of all of the opportunities that these writers, as well as Peter Dellolio, are working to set up and have already set up for their work. I am jealous because I wish I could be there! I wish I could be in the audience to cheer everyone on!
And all of these works are amazing. I am so proud to release these books. All those mentioned, as well as the books of Dianne Reeves Angel and Mykyta Ryzhykh, which are both forthcoming, blow me away. This is really some of the best writing happening in America and Europe right now. I know there is a very long list of great writers in America and Europe, but all of these writers are on that list.
The submissions continue to come in and I thank everyone from the bottom of my heart for thinking of me and considering Lost Telegram Press for their work. I now have had submissions from 5 different countries. Here is a breakdown of the locations and types of work submitted. The pie chart slices below are in percentages.
Each new issue provides me with an opportunity to improve and become industrious and inventive. The solutions seem to come too quick sometimes that it can be scarily easy.
I am working right now to incorporate two new pieces of equipment that I have been sitting on (figuratively) for some time. One of them is older than me. One is new and is replacing older equipment that has been limiting book thicknesses, weights of paper I can use and my speed of production.
I hoped to do two books this year. I ended up publishing 5 books. Three of those books have e-versions. Two have audio versions. And I also was commissioned to design, print and bind two other books that would have never seen the light of day if not for this company. One is a memoir that is meant to help give hope to people battling cancer and the other is a family genealogy that is helping to archive huge networks of people together. Both are local stories to my city that I am so happy that I could make a reality for the authors. And it was an honour as their stories are unselfish and meant for a larger cause.
If you have read this far, you deserve a treat. Well one last thing that I can boast about is in less than a year we have already sold over 350 books. Over 99% of those are physical books. I knew that there were enough people out there that loved to hold a book in their hands. I wanted to make that special for all of you by adding extras to each book that you do not see in mass market books. And you keep showing me that it is wanted and respected. Thanks everyone!
Happy one-year anniversary, Chris! I am glad to hear you are feeling inspired, grateful, and motivated. It has been a pleasure collaborating with you, and being represented by Lost Telegram.