Anyone with a knowledge of the history of pulp and popular fiction publishing will know that publishers, particularly small publishers, come and go.
They appear on the scene, often amid a flash of initial excitement and publicity, prosper and become bigger. Or they may do well for a while until economic problems, changes in the publishing industry or the fortunes of the, often few, individuals running them, cause them to falter and close shop. The latter was the unfortunately fate of 280 Steps, the publisher of my second novel, Gunshine State, and the work of many other fine crime writers.
I don’t want to dwell on the reasons behind 280 Steps closure, which took effect at the end of April, except to say that when I signed with them in 2015, they appeared to be very going concern. They had a good business model, had their publicity act together, produced terrific cover art, and where putting together an excellent roster of existing and up and coming crime writers I was happy to number among.
The upshot of the 280 Steps closure is that, for the time being, Gunshine State will no longer be available to purchase either digitally or in hard copy. I say ‘for the time being’ because Gunshine State will be re-released in February 2018 by the US crime publisher Down and Out Books.
Obviously, I’m disappointed about the demise of 280 Steps. Gunshine State was being positively reviewed and selling well. It had even garnered me my first good newspaper and magazine reviews. And, hell, am I going to miss that wonderful, ever catching, Darwyn Cooke-Parkeresque cover 280 did for the book.
I am also disappointed for all the other great writers they published and wish all of them the best of luck finding new homes for their wares.
But I’m thrilled about the new deal with Down and Out. I’ve been admiring their work for a while now and have heard nothing but positive reports from those authors who are published by them. I’ve also met the publisher, Eric Campbell, and have been very impressed by him.
I’ll be hitting you with more details in the lead-up the re-release of Gunshine State. In the meantime, to those of you who read, reviewed and helped publicise Gunshine State, my profound thanks.
If you have read the book and liked it, please consider leaving me a review on Goodreads or Amazon. Australian folks, in particular, are not in the habit of doing this and don’t realise how helpful this can be.
If you don’t have the book and would like to get a hard copy, $A25 plus postage will get you one. Leave me a message below or drop me a line at andrewnette<at>gmail<dot>com
That’s all for now. I have a sequel to write.
