So, some of my friends here in town decided to become a publisher. Accidentally fell into becoming a publisher? Enthusiastically bit off more than they could chew, and then managed to rise to the challenge anyway, and wash, rinse, repeat?

I mean, we already have several small indie presses: Peter and I have Sedgefield Press, Jim Curtis publishes himself and the dinner table anthologies under JLC&A, Cedar has Sanderly Studios, CV Walter has Aphrodite’s Pearl, John Van Stry publishes under his name…

But when LawDog created Raconteur Press, it exploded from a mainly single- or dual-author press like the rest to All The Anthologies. With Jonna who is not a writer, but good at herding creatives, as the manager, Kortnee as editor, Cedar as the in-house illustrator, and LawDog himself as “stands out front and looks pretty.”

I did not join the gleeful madness because I have neither time nor energy, and one of the marks of good friends is they understood, and don’t hold that against me. I, meanwhile, am enthusiastically cheering on their success.

And what a success it is! They’ve been hitting top 10 of the new release charts when books come out, and selling well, expanding their audience with stories that are entertaining from topics like Ghosts of Malta to Moggies In Space to Pinup Noir… it’s not unlike the old pulp magazines, for a new digital age.

Just as awesomely, they’ve been drawing in well-established authors, and publishing lots of first-timers, and people inbetween. Having been in one of the anthologies, I can tell you the contracts are fair, the royalty split transparent, and the terms entirely reasonable. I don’t recommend them because they’re friends, I recommend them despite them being friends, as working with friends can get messy fast. Their contract and execution of same? Won’t harm a friendship.

In the grand tradition of picking a near-impossible goal, formulating a plan, and the going for it as hard as possible… they’ve decided to put out 24 in 24. That is, 24 anthologies in 2024.

If you’ve been looking for an opportunity to hone your craft with shorts? Here it is. Base requirements? On topic, on time, 5-8K words, must be entertaining.

Start here: https://thelawdogfiles.com/