Reactor Press

VeggieChick said:

Found this online. Sounds like an intriguing opportunity but I can't get any additional info about them. I sent them a quick email but got no response. Anybody knows anything about them? They only publish "books" (poetry, fiction) 20 pages or less.

http://www.reactorpress.net

Click to expand...

I don't see anything about payment, and it looks like they just recently set up shop. (I checked their blog, and they still have "edit-me" links in the sidebar; not exactly professional touch.)

I did a quick Google search, but couldn't find anything else on them.

Unless someone else comes along with more info on them, I'd pass.

~Nancy

Also, if they're calling fiction of 20 pages or less "books," I would personally steer clear of them as well. That indicates (to me, at least) that they're not familiar with basic industry terminology.

Books in vending machines? Weird... I suppose it's a revolutionary idea, but too revolutionary in my opinion to take off.

"Books" that are 20 pages or less are not books; they are chapbooks. It is a format often used for poetry, but I have a hard time with the concept of a fiction chapbook. In the first place, any story 20 pages or less is not a novel or even a novella, but a short story. The idea of having a short story published in book form seems a bit weird to me, though I suppose it could be done. But what kind of market would there be for such a book?
Most people read short fiction in anthologies or literary journals, where they are part of a collection. No one is going to pay to buy a short story in printed book form unless the writer already has some sort of reputation.

Perhaps by fiction they mean children's readers or picture books? These are often less than 20 pages, but otherwise I have no idea what they mean by fiction that is 20 pages or less.

Having just checked out the link, I'm going to add an addendum to my last post. The more I learn of their guidelines, the wierder the whole thing seems. For fiction, they evidently require NO MORE than twelve double-spaced pages. I would be extremely hard pressed to find even a short story of mine that is less than fifteen pages minimum (and most are considerable longer, at least 20-25 pages).

Secondly, they ask that the work you send has not been previously submitted anywhere. Again, I would be extremely hard pressed to find a story among my many that has not at some point been submitted somewhere, whether it was accepted or not. Perhaps what they really mean is that the work should not be currently under consideration elsewhere (as in not simultaneously submitted), which makes a lot more sense. But if that's the case, their guidelines need to be more specific in making this clear. I can understand their wanting only work that has not been previously published and/or is not being considered elsewhere, but the notion of telling writers they can only send work that has never even been submitted elsewhere seems a bit ludicrous, not to mention incredibly
picayune.

They may be a perfectly legit publisher with good intentions, but I agree with the above poster who said they don't seem to have enough savvy about the book business to be trustworthy.

I kind of like vending machine idea. I can't tell you how often I've been stuck in an air port, traffic, or a a doctors office with limited reading material. I think if they offered books cheap enough, and with many genre to choose from it might work. I'd pick one up in a pinch.

2O pages though, that would occupy me for what, fifteen minutes? I'd still rather pick up a paperback--vending machine or not.

just FYI

Chapbooks have not always been primarily poetry books. Short stories, especially in what we consider romance, have been offered in chapbook form for many years. They have mostly been replaced by magazines offering a variety of stories at the same cost as a chapbook.

I like the idea of chapbooks. I have pursued releasing some of my own in the past. The finances of the effort prohibit such a venture.

awp