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Dragonblade Publishing

VeryBigBeard

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Every title I can find on Amazon--and there are a lot of them, some of which seem to be selling well, too--is by Kathryn Le Veque, which combined with their site and FB dating back to about Feb. 7, 2016 makes it look like a self-publishing label that might be branching out to submissions.

In which case, wait some more.

Stormowl, I'm genuinely in awe of your ability to find interesting little niche publishers but I always wonder if you've tried agents and the larger small publishers? Mostly I'm just curious, but a lot of the pubs you ask about also tend to have the same issues: no real experience, no real track record of sales, etc. I don't mean to be snippy, but you've been around here awhile and surely these warning signs must jump out at you, too? You obviously do a lot of research so I totally respect that you have your reasons for the houses you're targeting. I just feel like a lot of these questions have the same answer and want to make sure you're asking that question for yourself, too. In the end, folks here can only advise.
 

Scarodactyl

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I find it a bit jarring that a publisher named Dragonblade isn't particularly looking for fantasy (outside of urban). I wonder if that could be a problem for future marketing if they're trying to work with different genres.
 

authorMAF

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Every title I can find on Amazon--and there are a lot of them, some of which seem to be selling well, too--is by Kathryn Le Veque, which combined with their site and FB dating back to about Feb. 7, 2016 makes it look like a self-publishing label that might be branching out to submissions.

In which case, wait some more.

Stormowl, I'm genuinely in awe of your ability to find interesting little niche publishers but I always wonder if you've tried agents and the larger small publishers? Mostly I'm just curious, but a lot of the pubs you ask about also tend to have the same issues: no real experience, no real track record of sales, etc. I don't mean to be snippy, but you've been around here awhile and surely these warning signs must jump out at you, too? You obviously do a lot of research so I totally respect that you have your reasons for the houses you're targeting. I just feel like a lot of these questions have the same answer and want to make sure you're asking that question for yourself, too. In the end, folks here can only advise.


I started querying agents at first, and when I ran out, went with publishers, including smaller presses. At this point, because the responses are often the same for my query "strong writing, great query, but paranormal is too hard to sell." I figured I'd check all the venues.

And yes, a lot of the small presses I ask about don't have much info on them, but that's why I ask here - to see/talk to writers who have published with those publishers in question, and hear about their experiences.
 
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VeryBigBeard

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I started querying agents at first, and when I ran out, went with publishers, including smaller presses. At this point, because the responses are often the same for my query "strong writing, great query, but paranormal is too hard to sell." I figured I'd check all the venues.

And yes, a lot of the small presses I ask about don't have much info on them, but that's why I ask here - to see/talk to writers who have published with those publishers in question, and hear about their experiences.

Cool. Totally fair approach and I figured it was something like that.

It is always good to have at least a short thread here as a stub for others looking for info. Props for all the work you do finding these places.
 

zmethos

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This publisher will be taking pitches at the InD'Scribe conference in Burbank in a couple weeks. I agree I would have expected them to be a fantasy publisher, but it seems their focus is historical romance.
 

bibliophyl

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Any recent experiences here? Considering submitting my historical romance.
 

Lil

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I published a series with them recently, and did reasonably well. They are strictly historical romance, want at least a three-book series, and put their books on KU, so strictly Amazon. That said, they have a number of good authors (even not counting me *grin*), so you needn't be embarrassed by the company you keep.
 

bibliophyl

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Thanks! I see agents making deals with them so I assume they're doing something right, or else it wouldn't be worth the agent's time, but sometimes it's hard to know with small presses. Is there anything you're willing to share about their level of marketing support? Did it feel like they were earning their cut of the royalties in terms of getting your books out there?
 

Lil

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Thanks! I see agents making deals with them so I assume they're doing something right, or else it wouldn't be worth the agent's time, but sometimes it's hard to know with small presses. Is there anything you're willing to share about their level of marketing support? Did it feel like they were earning their cut of the royalties in terms of getting your books out there?
Like all publishers, they expect you to put in some effort, but they give you a good bit of support. More than many publishers. You don't need an agent. Submit yourself.
 
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Turtle2023

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Anyone know if Dragonblade responds to all submissions? I queried them with a historical fantasy romance back in early August. Their website says they respond in 4 weeks, but it's been crickets. I don't know whether to mark it CNR or just chalk it up to publishing being even slower than usual.

UPDATE: They did finally get back to me with a personalized rejection in January 2023. The "respond in 4 weeks" on their website is outdated, but they do respond.
 
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