Ink Sweat & Tears has launched a chapbook publishing venture. We were going to call it El Cheapo Chapbooks however somebody has already nabbed that name – but the sentiment remains the same: to publish low cost chapbooks with a minimalist production process that should appeal to the pockets of audiences AND still generate a royalty for the authors.

Yes, we did say royalties. This is not a vanity publishing operation nor one of those hocus-pocus pamphlet competitions, where the entry fees of canon fodder competitors subsidise the producing of the winning pamphlet. Instead, we are operating on a commercial basis, evaluating the content of submissions, publishing chapbooks, selling them online – and paying their authors a royalty. Typically, a 40-page chapbook will sell for £3.50 – which equates to a royalty of 20% (or 70p) for every copy sold. Authors will automatically receive 4 free copies of their chapbook however (because the reality of poetry publishing is most copies are shifted at readings and performances) authors will also be able to buy bulk copies of their chapbooks at a cost price of £2.00 + p&p. This, incidentally, is not a pre-requisite – and in fact there are no fees, hidden costs or charges that we will suddenly spring upon an author. (We will also automatically produce a digital version of the chapbook, which authors can publish on their own websites.)

Currently we have an e-commerce facility linked to this site (see the Chap Book Shop graphic & link in the right-hand column) which lets you buy online via PayPal (and credit card) however from New Year we will also have titles listed on Amazon.

And, as with all Ink Sweat & Tears ventures, we are doing this without any public funding or subsidies.