Umwelt House

[JulesJones]

Followed me on Twitter last night. Doesn't seem to have much of an online footprint, not yet launched, seeking authors.

When I go to the website I get this:

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Umwelt House

We've detected that you have Javascript disabled. Because we use it to make our site look lovely, and as such we can't support users with Javascript disabled.
Click here to find out how to enable Javascript.

***

There's a reason why I don't let strange sites run Javascript. It's also accessibility-hostile, and I'm sometimes dependent on Dragon, so I'm not interested as either reader or writer, quite apart from the usual "brand new publisher" issues. However, the Googlecache of the front page says they're launching late 2014 and gives a mock-up of the covers, the Googlecache of the submission page indicates they're looking for speculative fiction novellas and short novels, 15,000 to 70,000 words (recently increased from 40,000 according to the Twitter feed).

Insert usual comments about new publishers here...

 

[frimble3]

And "to make our site look lovely" is a major concern of theirs?
'Workmanlike', 'professional', 'informative', might seem better choices.

 

[Filigree]

Yeah, um, not going there, Umwelt. As Jules says, there are reasons we've disabled Javascript. *Fail* until I hear of major site improvement.

 

[Polenth]

I'd say the plus features are choosing a specific niche (rather than trying to publish anything and everything) and the idea of switching colours across social networks to announce a new book. But I couldn't see anything about rights and payment details. The site could do with being a little less sparse in that respect.

 

[JulesJones]

I liked the Old-School-Penguin inspired cover design and the colour switching concept. But even ignoring the "disabled and security-conscious users not welcome" design aesthetic, when I compare this with Tor.com's announcement this week of their new digital novella imprint for specfic, there's a lot more hard information about what writers get out of it from Tor.com.

The address is in the UK, which could make it of interest to those who'd rather not do battle with the US IRS. Assuming there is anything to pay tax on, of course.

 

[JulesJones]

How very interesting. I went Googling to see whether there's any mention of payments elsenet. I didn't find that, but I did find the founder's entry on CreativePool:
http://creativepool.com/craighitchings/projects/umwelt-house-for-umwelt-house

And right now that entry says:

Date created: January 2014

Last updated: 10 February 2014 10:57

Setting up and managing a publishing house focusing exclusively on autobiographical novellas in print and digital formats; reviewing, developing and editing submitted manuscripts; responsible for all aspects of the business, including accounting, invoicing, digital/print rights, contract negotiation and distribution; attracting over 2,000 Twitter followers in first few months; building an attractive eCommerce website; launching in 2014. http://umwelthouse.com

Note the genre... He could be referring to an earlier project, but every reference to a specific project is to Umwelt House.

 

[CaoPaux]

Now set to launch in '16 ....

ETA: Newp. Last TW activity Jan '17.