The Deixis Press Weekly - Issue #31

Hello there, and welcome to this newsletter’s new home, Substack, which for many of you probably looks pretty similar to its old home. Let me know if you encounter any problems (I mean, I guess if you don’t see the newsletter at all, you won’t know to let me know, but other than that.)

One interesting thing about Substack is that, if you create a Substack account, you can comment on newsletters, so it becomes a little more interactive—more like a forum, in a way. I think I’ve turned that on, anyway. I’ll check.

I’m back in work mode after the holidays, yes. Did I mention that I really do not enjoy the holidays? Thanks to out-of-sight-out-of-mind brain, I get completely out of sync with work, and then it’s hard to remind myself how it all works. I basically have to write myself handover notes for a return to the new year.

Having said all that, the landscape of the new year has changed a little. All is in hand for Chocolate Cake for Imaginary Lives to come out in March, and The Transfer Problem is still coming out in April. But After Silence has moved to 9 August instead of May, to coincide with the Leningrad première of Shostakovich's Symphony No. 7 (which is what it’s about). And I’ve moved Hangdog Souls to July instead of June. And I have a little more clarity on certain prize deadlines, which are a little further away than I had initially thought. So, in actual fact, my day-to-day work does not need to be as intense as it was in December (which is actually not great for me because I thrive on deadlines, but that’s another story).

Meanwhile I’ve sent out a bunch of promo copies of Chocolate Cake:

deixispress

A post shared by Deixis Press (@deixispress)

. . . which have been very well-received:

Joanne: Portobello Book Blog 📚 💕 @portybelle

How pretty does this #bookpost look? Thanks @HannahHargrave8 and @DeixisPress for sending me a copy of Chocolate Cake for Imaginary Lives by Genevieve Jenner (@gfrancie). Really looking forward to reading this. Due out in March in paperback.

Anne Cater @annecater

Look at this beautiful #bookpost Chocolate Cake for Imaginary Lives by @gfrancie from @DeixisPress - thank you @HannahHargrave8 💚

. . . by at least a couple of people. I have high hopes for this one. (Well, for all of them. But the buzz around this book has been phenomenal.)

Other than shifting deadlines I’m not sure I have a lot to report. I haven’t learned anything new (which is what this newsletter is really supposed to be about), except I had a brief exchange on Twitter that seems to suggest that the Gardners/IngramSpark distribution problem still exists, after Litalist very kindly made The Workshop of Filthy Creation by Richard Gadz a highlighted book—but didn’t actually list it in their catalogue:

Litalist @LitalistBooks

@Frankenwriter At the moment we are limited to a Gardners feed (6.5M books, but which doesn't index all extended catalogue titles). We're adding a Nielson feed this month so your books will feature very shortly!

Deixis Press @DeixisPress

@LitalistBooks @Frankenwriter This is so awkward because @IngramSpark insists all of my titles are available with @Gardners, but Gardners seems to insist otherwise. I’m so sad and confused by this lack of clarity from my two most important distributors, neither of which has been particularly helpful 😢

I’m still at a complete loss to explain what on earth is going on. I think I’m going to have to sack Ingram Spark.

Finally, I’ve also started a personal Substack, to which I did not automatically subscribe you, but to which you may feel free to subscribe if you so choose. I’ll aim to put all the emotional damage over there instead of here. For example, today I’ve whinged about my own inability to reply to people’s requests for information, and how that ultimately causes problems for me, and how somehow that isn’t my fault.

Yours,

Angel