It’s been a long journey. The most miles I’ve ever hiked in a day is somewhere around twenty. Maybe it was more. I wasn’t counting. I’d been up to the top of Siyeh Pass in Glacier National Park once before and decided I wanted to see both sides.
The original intent was to hike the approach through Preston Park, the side I’d missed on my previous trip. But when I got to the top, I made the decision to descend along the other route toward Saint Mary Lake.
Problem was, my car was parked at the first trailhead, so I’d have to make a loop. This ended up circumnavigating Going-to-the-Sun Mountain and adding many miles to an already arduous hike.
But, as you can see by the view, it was absolutely worth it.
Since 2014 I’ve been pursuing this writing gig all by my lonesome. It’s been a wild ride. All the typical ups and downs of trying to become established in an insanely competitive and over-saturated field.
I’ve written and published eighteen books. Sold about a dozen short stories. Qualified as a member of SFWA. Even contributed to studio productions (more about that later…) By most accounts, it’s a wildly successful run.
But going it alone has been tough.
In all those cases I’ve been the sole responsible party for submissions, editing, managing and paying cover artists, and the all-important advertising and publicity. I never got into this to be a marketer. I got into it to tell stories.
So, when earlier this year, an editor reached out to ask if I’d be interested in joining their publishing efforts, I was intrigued.
Inkubator Books has been on my radar ever since I started the Fort Black Thrillers. They’re an Ireland-based publisher who focuses on the kind of stories I like to tell – raw, gritty, full of action. Their catalog includes some truly talented authors.
When we first spoke, I was pleased to tell them many of their thriller writers were among my advertising comps. (Authors whose Amazon pages I targeted with my advertising to great effect.) Guys like Paul Heatley, Logan Ryles, Ian Loome, and Aiden Bailey. Names that routinely find their way to the top of the bestseller lists.
They’re also the reason I decided to branch out my advertising efforts into the UK and was humbled to find a receptive audience for my Yankee action tales.
More than a publisher, Inkubator is an author-run business seeking to develop writers, not pad a corporate bank account. I can appreciate that. The big trad publishers, in my opinion, have lost their way when it comes to developing and finding new talent. They’re all about keeping “brands” alive (often long after the original author has passed away) and giving platforms to celebrities.
Nothing wrong with that. But I didn’t want to be the post-mortem scribe for some dead literary giant. And I could care less what politician or what Kardashian has a book out now. I just want to practice my craft, preferably in my own name, and see where it takes me.
That’s precisely why I started self-publishing a decade ago. And it’s why I couldn’t think of a better match than Inkubator and their story-centric approach.
The new series is underway. I’m about 7k words in and should be at 10k by the end of business today. Which means I need to get to writing…
As previously mentioned, my presses will be spinning down for a while. I need to draft several books and get acquainted with my new partners’ processes. In the meantime, I’ll keep you posted about updates either here or in the newsletter. There’ll be deals for Fort Black, an upcoming audio release, and plenty of reports from the open road as I head off West to explore.
As always, thanks for reading, and thank you for the continued support of my bad habit of writing fiction. Looking forward to sharing another exciting series with you soon.
Russ
Categories: Author News
RUSS LINTON 
Congratulations. Does this mean Zippy and I are being laid off? (pardon the pleonasm)
Ummm, uh, let’s call it “restructuring.” Yeah, they do have their own editors and likely some rules about sharing pre-print copies. Still early so I don’t know all of their processes. But if there is an ARC team, I’ll make sure you guys are included!