10 Questions with Eric Beebe
1. How has your business background helped you in creating and running Post Mortem Press?
I think it has added sense of reasonable expectations. I see a lot of people get into this process and shoot for the moon. I think lofty goals are great, but you have to have to be grounded in reality. Publishing can be an expensive proposition with a level of risk like any other business. Add to that the countless number of people out to take advantage of you and success becomes even more elusive. It also allows me to take a broader view of the process, seeing the bigger picture. That doesn’t mean I haven’t missed some things, I have.
2. How has the digital revolution and the emergence of ebooks affected you as a publisher?
I see eBooks as a way to broaden the audience. Sure, there are some cases where paper book buyers have moved to digital, but people are creatures of habit. Once a book person, always a book person. eBooks allow readers to explore new authors with minimal risk. A first run movie costs at least $10 for a single ticket, while an eBook from an emerging author runs $5 or $6 at the most – usually under $4. It’s an easy economic decision and it benefits all readers. The more access to readers the better.
3. What kind of niche does Post Mortem Press fill that is not filled by mainstream publishing?
Like most small press, our niche is to promote emerging authors. The folks that you may not have heard of. The competition to get into a NY publisher is fierce and presses like ours act as a stepping stone. When an author adds a known small press to their CV, they are adding credibility.
4. If you could work with any writer, who would you choose?
That’s a tough one. I love the authors I work with and continue to do so because of that love. The business man in me would love to work with Stephen King or Neil Gaiman. I am big fan of Nick Hornby and John Connolly as well. In the small press world, I am looking for the authors who tell stories that entertain me. It’s that simple.
5. What made you want to get into the publishing business?
An untreated mental illness. Seriously, I am not sure. I have always been an avid reader and a frustrated writer. I have published things since I was five and used carbon paper to make a neighborhood newspaper. I made them in the garage and sold them door-to-door for a nickel. I used the money to buy ice cream. I am a believer in the whole find a job doing what you love concept. I found it.
6. What advice do you have for beginning writers?
Keep writing and reading. Set a schedule and do your absolute best to follow it. Even if you only write 15 minutes a day, make sure you do so. Like any skill or talent, practice is imperative to success. Also, don’t let rejection get you down. I know that’s a common statement and I know it is harder to do than it is to say. Don’t forget to read. I hear writers say “I don’t have time to read” all the time. Make the time.
7. What do you see for the future of horror publishing?
Onward and upward. I don’t see any doom and gloom (beyond the stories) ahead. As long as there are storytellers, there will be stories.
8. What are the most effective ways your authors have used to promote their work?
Our most effective authors do an excellent job of selling themselves first and their book later. Regardless of the method, if you can sell yourself to potential readers you are ahead of the game. A likeable person can sell almost any book, even an awful one, but an awful person will have serious challenges selling even the best written most entertaining book ever written.
9. Is there any subject that is off limits for you as a publisher?
As a publisher I am not a fan of violence for violence’s sake. I know that sounds odd coming from a horror/mystery/thriller publisher, but it’s true. The violence needs a purpose. I also shy away from needlessly graphic sex. Sex is part of life, hell it’s critical to life. Sex is a good thing. But most people don’t write it well and I don’t care to read the details – especially poorly written details.
10. If you could invite five people to a dinner party (alive or dead, real or fictional) who would you invite?
In no particular order …
Nikola Tesla
Shirley Jackson
Stephen King
Gordon Gano
David Bowie
I think it has added sense of reasonable expectations. I see a lot of people get into this process and shoot for the moon. I think lofty goals are great, but you have to have to be grounded in reality. Publishing can be an expensive proposition with a level of risk like any other business. Add to that the countless number of people out to take advantage of you and success becomes even more elusive. It also allows me to take a broader view of the process, seeing the bigger picture. That doesn’t mean I haven’t missed some things, I have.
2. How has the digital revolution and the emergence of ebooks affected you as a publisher?
I see eBooks as a way to broaden the audience. Sure, there are some cases where paper book buyers have moved to digital, but people are creatures of habit. Once a book person, always a book person. eBooks allow readers to explore new authors with minimal risk. A first run movie costs at least $10 for a single ticket, while an eBook from an emerging author runs $5 or $6 at the most – usually under $4. It’s an easy economic decision and it benefits all readers. The more access to readers the better.
3. What kind of niche does Post Mortem Press fill that is not filled by mainstream publishing?
Like most small press, our niche is to promote emerging authors. The folks that you may not have heard of. The competition to get into a NY publisher is fierce and presses like ours act as a stepping stone. When an author adds a known small press to their CV, they are adding credibility.
4. If you could work with any writer, who would you choose?
That’s a tough one. I love the authors I work with and continue to do so because of that love. The business man in me would love to work with Stephen King or Neil Gaiman. I am big fan of Nick Hornby and John Connolly as well. In the small press world, I am looking for the authors who tell stories that entertain me. It’s that simple.
5. What made you want to get into the publishing business?
An untreated mental illness. Seriously, I am not sure. I have always been an avid reader and a frustrated writer. I have published things since I was five and used carbon paper to make a neighborhood newspaper. I made them in the garage and sold them door-to-door for a nickel. I used the money to buy ice cream. I am a believer in the whole find a job doing what you love concept. I found it.
6. What advice do you have for beginning writers?
Keep writing and reading. Set a schedule and do your absolute best to follow it. Even if you only write 15 minutes a day, make sure you do so. Like any skill or talent, practice is imperative to success. Also, don’t let rejection get you down. I know that’s a common statement and I know it is harder to do than it is to say. Don’t forget to read. I hear writers say “I don’t have time to read” all the time. Make the time.
7. What do you see for the future of horror publishing?
Onward and upward. I don’t see any doom and gloom (beyond the stories) ahead. As long as there are storytellers, there will be stories.
8. What are the most effective ways your authors have used to promote their work?
Our most effective authors do an excellent job of selling themselves first and their book later. Regardless of the method, if you can sell yourself to potential readers you are ahead of the game. A likeable person can sell almost any book, even an awful one, but an awful person will have serious challenges selling even the best written most entertaining book ever written.
9. Is there any subject that is off limits for you as a publisher?
As a publisher I am not a fan of violence for violence’s sake. I know that sounds odd coming from a horror/mystery/thriller publisher, but it’s true. The violence needs a purpose. I also shy away from needlessly graphic sex. Sex is part of life, hell it’s critical to life. Sex is a good thing. But most people don’t write it well and I don’t care to read the details – especially poorly written details.
10. If you could invite five people to a dinner party (alive or dead, real or fictional) who would you invite?
In no particular order …
Nikola Tesla
Shirley Jackson
Stephen King
Gordon Gano
David Bowie
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