Note from the author: I had this blog post drafted a year ago. A year. And only now have I stumbled back to it. If you followed any of my recent interviews (here or here) you’ll see I echo similar sentiments in a few of my answers. The most exciting thing about finding this blog post again is that, a year later, I still feel the same about REUTS, and we’ve been able to continue our mission. We love what we’re doing, and we hope you’re loving it, too. <3
We’re frequently asked how REUTS came to be. The most basic answer we can give is To Make a Difference. But, that’s pretty broad, isn’t it? It’s absolutely true, but doesn’t explain much about REUTS, and our past experience which have led to the inception of our boutique publishing company. And then, I stumbled upon a familiar phrase I’m sure many writers and authors have used in the past:
Write what you’d want to read.
It’s the driving force behind many authors and their stories. Thinking to myself, I figured a similar phrase would perfectly describe why we started REUTS, and the place we’re hoping to establish ourselves in, in this world wide publishing industry. Now, if you were to ask why REUTS came to be, my answer is . . .
Be the publisher you’d want to publish with.
Similar sentiments, right? And, again, it’s absolutely true. This isn’t necessarily about our previous experience with other publishers, but more so how we want to move in a different direction with REUTS, becoming a company with all the appealing facets we’d be looking for while querying (and what we did look for, but didn’t always find). Things like author input every step of the way, or an author-centric contract where you become an equal partner in the publishing of your novel. Or, even just being accessible to our friends and fans. Did you know we allow you to update your submission at any point in the process? So let’s say you’ve gone through and made some hefty editorial changes . . . we encourage you to put your best foot forward by checking in with a team member, and updating either your query or your full manuscript. Something like this is typically unheard of across the publishing board, but we think it’s important to allow you the flexibility to grow with us, even if that means we have to re-read something.
And that’s why we’ve come up with something called The REUTS Movement, where out fellow indie fans can get involved. You can learn more about it here, but to summarize, it’s a collective of individuals looking to make a difference in the publishing industry, and strict structure we see today. Things are changing, especially with the advance of electronic publishing and reach. The traditional publishing industry won’t stay the same forever, and so we’re banning together to help make the changes we (as readers and writers) want to see. That’s The REUTS Movement.
We even have a nifty badge you can save and share with your friends, showing your Movement pride. (Make sure you link it back to http://www.reuts.com/about/movement so other’s can join!)
We know the publishing world isn’t always perfect— our personal experiences as authors are just as cringe-worthy as yours. But together, we can forge a new way. Together, we can be the publisher you’d want to publish with. And who knows? Maybe that philosophy will ripple outward and affect the larger pool of publishing. There’s nothing wrong with tradition, but neither is there something wrong with being a little different. Be different with us. Join the movement.
