As an attorney, I have had the good fortune to represent many interesting clients. One of my clients, who over the years became a dear friend, recently approached me about publishing her first novel. For several years, she has written and submitted short stories to various websites and decided about 6 months ago to take the plunge and compose her first full length novel. I helped her secure her copyright and she undertook the ponderous, lonely and often frustrating journey of trying to secure a publishing contract. She faced many obstacles, I told her, not the least of which was that her genre was an area some might shy away from. She writes erotic fiction, specifically, interracial erotic fiction.

So together, we ventured into the world of traditional publishers. We discovered that publishers who would consider publishing her novel would offer a royalty rate of 6% on the sales of her paperback books. I reminded her that she was also responsible for paying her agent the standard 15% off the top. In addition, many of the contracts included a stipulation that if her book didn’t earn back her advance, she owed them! Plus she was responsible for promoting her own book, which in her case would probably mean hiring a publicist. As she quickly discovered, the business model for authors using the traditional publishing method is not a ticket to “easy street”, unless you are one of the rare few who have a bestseller. Considering the market for her genre, the numbers quickly showed that under the traditional publishing equation: 2 + 2 = 5. Call me old fashioned, but I strongly believe that the author or artist as creator of the product should be the one receiving the lion share of the economic pie.

The second major hurdle we encountered was who has creative control. Almost two-thirds of all publishers did not give her the final approval on copyediting. I thought this is ridiculous! Who knows this story best, the author or the editor? I’m a strong believer that great editing is an essential element in creating a great book. But the final word on the book's content must reside with the author. After all, it’s the author’s name, reputation, and blood, sweat and tears which created this tome.

We encountered other obstacles. Over one-quarter of the publishers gave her no right to choose her title or cover design. At least one-third gave her no say in the book’s promotion. It was apparent to even the casual observer that traditional publishers were not prepared to offer my client any measure of control over her own book. How is an author able to profit from her own book if she has no say? It is my learned opinion that an author or musician knows their market better than publishers because after all, they are their own market.

So we were left with a dilemma on how to proceed. I had undertaken this journey with my client and friend and I was determined not to let her fail. I promised her that I would see her published and was determined to fulfill my promise. So I decided that if the traditional publishing method was unyielding and too cumbersome to afford her with any measure of success, we would move to a less traditional method. A method commonly referred to as self publishing or publishing on demand.

It was at this moment that Atypical Publishing was born. A self publishing company born out of necessity committed to respecting the author. Atypical Publishing is a publisher on demand who affords the author the rare opportunity to be in complete control of their own work. The author’s decisions about his or her book are paramount. While we offer advice to our authors on cover design and typesetting, the ultimate decision rests with the author.

I invite you to review our site, view our articles, blog posts, and observe our growth over the coming months and years. As our library grows so will our list of satisfied authors who like my friend have been frustrated with the traditional publishing model and seek more control over their work. On behalf of everyone at Atypical Publishing, let me say thank you for visiting our site and affording us the chance to show you how to publish your next book.