What is Aderton Prime? I've been getting this question quite a bit lately, so I figured I'd use this forum to answer that question and give a little insight into how it all came about.

Anyone who's ever tried to publish a manuscript through traditional channels knows the pains, trials, and heartache that come with it. It's no easy thing. Battling slush piles, nailing the right query letter, trying to stand out from the crowd -- it's a daunting task!

Heaven's Night is my fourth novel (but first one published) and I've been writing for twenty years. Fantasy is a difficult market to break into to begin with -- but adding angels and religious backdrops to the mix, well that's a deal breaker for most agents and publishing houses. I sent out over a hundred query letters and manuscript proposals over the course of two years. I received some very nice letters in response, along with photocopied form letters (some so poorly photocopied that half the letter was missing from the page), and often no response at all. All told me the same thing -- thanks but no thanks.

Those that took the time to respond added a little more clarity, i.e. 'There is no market for this type of book. If it doesn't have vampires, werewolves, or focus on the young adult urban fantasy market, then don't even bother. It's not marketable. No one will take a risk on a new author with this kind of subject matter.' Good thing I believed in my novel more than their feedback.

The one letter I did receive from a New York Agent gave me the best advice I needed. It's not what I wanted to hear, but it's what I needed to hear. She told me the same thing all the other agents told me -- it's not marketable and no one will touch it. But then she added, "But don't let that stop you. Self publish." Wow. Not something you typically hear.

But the thought of self-publishing was just as daunting as trying to publish through traditional channels, if not more so. How to begin? (I'll address that in another post). Suffice it to say, I hadn't given up on my publishing goals and wanted to see it at a local Barnes and Noble. Just a small dream of mine.

The plan was simple in concept -- publish digitally, make it as successful as possible, then use the momentum to get the interest of a major publishing house. Easy, right?

Suffice it to say (to keep this post much shorter than it could be) that the plan essentially worked. I founded a small press called 'Aderton Prime LLC' and published my book digitally in April 2012. The book was a success -- to my amazement. The critical response was both overwhelmingly positive and quite humbling. Buoyed by this response, I then launched the next phase of my plan and solicited a large publishing house. I approached Greenleaf Book Group because a) I liked their non-traditional business model; b) my gut told me too; and c) they were one of the few publishing houses left I hadn't already solicited too.

I approached them, not as a struggling writer but as a small business with a potential opportunity. I wrote my proposal like a business case (thanks to my day job), complete with numbers and metrics from my on-line sales, my marketing plan (I had a book trailer made through my amazing advertising agency, Spitball Inc.). It worked. They picked me up. But they also offered me something I hadn't expected – a chance to publish this book under my own small press, Aderton Prime, as an imprint.

Wow again. My mind took me down all kinds of future possibilities. What if I could use Aderton Prime to give a future struggling writer an opportunity to get published? I know how hard it can be. This was my chance to give back to the fantasy genre and the book community which I dearly love.

So Heaven's Night was published under Aderton Prime LLC in March 2013, an imprint of Emerald Book Company, which is an imprint of Greenleaf Book Group. I intend to publish my future novels the same way, God willing, and one day, expand it to publish the works of other writers.

If you got to the bottom of this post, I thank you and admire your fortitude! I'll try to keep the next one shorter.

Until next time.

Kindest Regards,

Harry Aderton
April 2013