Publishing is in a bad place. While the mainstream has written the male author out of the picture for merely being a man who writes for men, there are signs of a parallel economy taking shape. What began in the 2000’s with the arrival of KDP has and continues to be the main alternate route for writers to find readers and potentially thrive outside of the mainstream gatekeepers.
There are signs that the landscape of the mainstream is continuing to evolve. Aethon Books and Ark Press are emerging as competition to BAEN Books, which historically has been the last great publishing house of sci-fi and fantasy that has been open to the manly man. That said, there remains the gatekeepers. Simply put not everyone will be able to access those markets.
But what about Substack?
Along with the likes of Royal Road, which has recently emerged as a viable alternative to the mainstream grime of Wattpad, there is Substack. It has emerged as the new town square and an outlet for podcasters, essayists, and writers of fiction from all genres. Well, the first ever anthology is about to emerge from the editors and contributors of the WARRIOR WEDNESDAY and SWORD & SATURDAY columns. It is being published by the Canadian brothers Joseph and Dan Chaput under the ALLIANCE AUTHORS brand who also operate the substack of the same name along with THE BROTHERS KRYNN substack and YouTube channel. Their co-editor in this venture is professional editor and creator of the Vaporous Realms Fantasy world. He concludes the anthology with his musings on each story of THE STEEL HEARTS ANTHOLOGY.
Five stories. Five authors. All of them from the fantasy fiction community on Substack. They are tales of wonder, terror, love, and courage in the face of fear, overwhelming odds, or the unknown. Tales of Sword & Sorcery.
These five tales range from the following:
A young man bereft of kin and hope braves subterranean horrors and ancient evils in the fae world.
The lords of humanity's last refuge plunge into battle against an infinite horde of ravenous orcs.
Two brothers stalk winged fiends through the primitive jungle in a hunt for vengeance.
A young woman must choose between her life of protected seclusion and the perils of love and prophecy.
The fate of a treachery-ridden kingdom falls on a young country duke and an old wizard.
The stories are by the creators of two amazing Substacks, which you can subscribe to here:
This anthology is funding soon on KICKSTARTER. The add ons available for the U.S. and Canada will include a poster of the cover art for Steelhearts and signed copies of one Joseph Chaput’s previously published fantasy novels CROWN OF BLOOD or CALADBOHLG, or a signed extra copy of Steelhearts.
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Thanks for this article! Really do appreciate the promotion for the Steelheart Anthology.