Richard McGowan's Blog: Smashed-Rat-On-Press - Posts Tagged "edification"
More Recent Offerings From SROP
Well... Summer is upon some of us, and winter upon others. In beautiful Santa Banana, it's mid-Eternal Spring. That means, it's time to read. It's always time to read. That's why we're announcing new and upcoming publications.
Santa Banana's only native press is squealingly happy to present the paper-only publication of Two Kyogen Plays, in a mildly-illustrated edition:
by Richard McGowan (The plays will not be available in an e-book edition any time in the near future; you can only get this book on paper.)
The press is also squealingly happy to announce alpha ARCs of two recent books, the publication of which is forthcoming.
First is Mantissa Etherbright's initial public offering, My Afternoon of Squeezing Persephone's Pomegranates.
Second is a new Kajolium Broadwick novel, Barely Pursuing the Minions of Mab.
This one is so new and fresh it doesn't even have a real cover yet. But it does have one marvelous interior illustration by our pal Lon Ryden. It is the fourth volume in the Embargoed Earth series of novels by Kajolium Broadwick and comes between Three Maidens in the Dark and Soft Pink Rain, so you'll only want to read it if you've caught up with at least the first three books in the series. (Which of course you can get for free if you follow the bread crumbs far enough.)
Contact The Rodent at SROP if you just can't live without an alpha e-ARC to brighten your early summer or early winter, whichever it is. Readers with non-terrestrial addresses get free shipping.
Santa Banana's only native press is squealingly happy to present the paper-only publication of Two Kyogen Plays, in a mildly-illustrated edition:
by Richard McGowan (The plays will not be available in an e-book edition any time in the near future; you can only get this book on paper.)The press is also squealingly happy to announce alpha ARCs of two recent books, the publication of which is forthcoming.
First is Mantissa Etherbright's initial public offering, My Afternoon of Squeezing Persephone's Pomegranates.
Second is a new Kajolium Broadwick novel, Barely Pursuing the Minions of Mab.
This one is so new and fresh it doesn't even have a real cover yet. But it does have one marvelous interior illustration by our pal Lon Ryden. It is the fourth volume in the Embargoed Earth series of novels by Kajolium Broadwick and comes between Three Maidens in the Dark and Soft Pink Rain, so you'll only want to read it if you've caught up with at least the first three books in the series. (Which of course you can get for free if you follow the bread crumbs far enough.)
Contact The Rodent at SROP if you just can't live without an alpha e-ARC to brighten your early summer or early winter, whichever it is. Readers with non-terrestrial addresses get free shipping.
State of the Rodentia, 2016
Good evening everyone. It's that time of year again... When bustling things begin to wind down and we all meander toward a few days of utter repose in the last week of December. When we pause to take stock of what's been clogging up our presses. When we roll a big (now legal in Santa Banana) spliff and try to forget that Humanity is aboard a runaway train careening at high speed toward the yawning abyss of mass extinction...
It's time to look up and smile, and pause for a brief but happy examination of what happened this year at our homey little press, and to discover what befell our precious little rodents beneath their cozy rock.
First, 2016 was a rather terrible year for writing, which is a trifle sad. Smashed-Rat-on-Press only released three rather slim books, and one additional toss-off, all year. The writerly word-count was also depressingly lower than in the past couple of years, coming in below 73,000 words (not including blog postings).
These are the books that came out this year from SROP:
(Thankfully, the low annual output can be neatly blamed on the horrors of American politics, as 2016 is turning out officially to be the most depressing year since 2001, as well as the year from which we are least likely to recover. The bright part of the year's offerings is that we were able to work four times with our fabulous photographer/illustrator/friend, Jennifer Garst.)
Now that we've got the catalog issues out of the way, let's look at sales...
The SROP paperback sales for the year 2016 totalled [drumroll please]... eight books, for a net income of zero dollars and zero cents. The total for e-books sold is... two books, for a grand total income of $3.54. Yay! That's just enough for a boutique coffee beverage, so we're now chomping at the bit, ready to splurge at the sign of the mermaid.
But wait, there's even more good news! Because 2015 was one of the slowest sales years on record (a mere three books all year), 2016 sales were more than 300% higher; and not even much lower than 50% of the record 2014 sales year. So the rats are hopping with glee tonight and have a special beer already waiting.
Meanwhile, the infamous list of SROP titles that have never been read by anyone but the author and the cover designer has grown longer. So that is a feat of which we can be quite proud, hardly (perhaps never) duplicated in the last 500 years of publishing history.
Just in case nobody's looking, here is a formidable display of never-been-read SROP books:
And remember, there are only 10 more days until the burning of the books for Yuletide.
And now, adios muchachos as we say in California... Onward and upward to 2017 and beyond.
It's time to look up and smile, and pause for a brief but happy examination of what happened this year at our homey little press, and to discover what befell our precious little rodents beneath their cozy rock.
First, 2016 was a rather terrible year for writing, which is a trifle sad. Smashed-Rat-on-Press only released three rather slim books, and one additional toss-off, all year. The writerly word-count was also depressingly lower than in the past couple of years, coming in below 73,000 words (not including blog postings).
These are the books that came out this year from SROP:
(Thankfully, the low annual output can be neatly blamed on the horrors of American politics, as 2016 is turning out officially to be the most depressing year since 2001, as well as the year from which we are least likely to recover. The bright part of the year's offerings is that we were able to work four times with our fabulous photographer/illustrator/friend, Jennifer Garst.)Now that we've got the catalog issues out of the way, let's look at sales...
The SROP paperback sales for the year 2016 totalled [drumroll please]... eight books, for a net income of zero dollars and zero cents. The total for e-books sold is... two books, for a grand total income of $3.54. Yay! That's just enough for a boutique coffee beverage, so we're now chomping at the bit, ready to splurge at the sign of the mermaid.
But wait, there's even more good news! Because 2015 was one of the slowest sales years on record (a mere three books all year), 2016 sales were more than 300% higher; and not even much lower than 50% of the record 2014 sales year. So the rats are hopping with glee tonight and have a special beer already waiting.
Meanwhile, the infamous list of SROP titles that have never been read by anyone but the author and the cover designer has grown longer. So that is a feat of which we can be quite proud, hardly (perhaps never) duplicated in the last 500 years of publishing history.
Just in case nobody's looking, here is a formidable display of never-been-read SROP books:
And remember, there are only 10 more days until the burning of the books for Yuletide.And now, adios muchachos as we say in California... Onward and upward to 2017 and beyond.
The Rodent's Shut-Out Year!
Well, you're the first to know. The furry-faced folks at Smashed-Rat-on-Press have actually pulled off a no-hitter! Not one single SROP book was sold in 2017. This is an untarnished record of non-sales that would have most "publishers" investigating how to file for bankruptcy. And if zero isn't a rock-bottom integer, I don't know what is.
Luckily, SROP is a serendipitous little venture that isn't about money or fame, just about happily playing in the park. So we already broke out the last of the very special single malt scotch we've been hoarding since 2006.
The Head Rodent and all the little minions have stopped holding their collective breath and are looking forward to a less quiet 2018.
Happy New Year, everyone. Onward and upward!
Luckily, SROP is a serendipitous little venture that isn't about money or fame, just about happily playing in the park. So we already broke out the last of the very special single malt scotch we've been hoarding since 2006.
The Head Rodent and all the little minions have stopped holding their collective breath and are looking forward to a less quiet 2018.
Happy New Year, everyone. Onward and upward!
Smashed-Rat-On-Press
The main purpose of this blog is to announce occasional additions and changes to the SROP catalog or the site. And it doubles as a soap-box from which to gesticulate and babble...
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