A Sad Day When a Publisher Goes Under

Virtual Tales was the publisher of my science fiction novella, The Epsilon Eridani Alternative. I chose them for this one-off project because, even though they were small, they had a good reputation and put out quality products in trade paperback and ebook formats. I was extremely pleased with everyone I worked with there during the process of getting the novella published, and I thought the cover art they produced absolutely rocked!

My good experience with Virtual Tales made it even harder to bear when I heard the sad news that after five years of struggle, with no profits, the board has decided to close the company's doors. I can certainly sympathize with the principal players who want their life back, so they can work on their own writing projects, after toiling for years with no pay. I'm sad to see it happen, nonetheless.

And, in keeping with their solid, ethical reputation, Chairman Dave Law and Director of Marketing & Promotions Sheri Gormley, are trying their best to soften the blow of the closing for their editors, cover artists, authors, and everyone else involved. They've contacted other small presses to arrange for them to accept resumes from staff and manuscripts from authors for consideration. They've provided signed Return of Rights letters and final manuscript files to the authors in a timely manner. They promise to pay royalties on book sales made in the final royalty period, even though they personally are volunteering hours and hours of unpaid labor to close the company gracefully.

All I can say, Dave and Sheri, is that it was a tremendous pleasure working with you both, and I wish you huge success in your writing projects. You are definitely a class act!

And for those of you reading this, The Epsilon Eridani Alternative is currently still available for sale from select on-line vendors in trade paperback. Those few paperbacks could become collector's items in the future--you never know!