What is Windtree Press?
Good people, of like minds and career goals, who help each other to grow in their writing craft, to improve discoverability, to keep on top of the changing publishing landscape, and in cooperating to rise together.
Windtree Press offers books of the heart, by proven authors, across multiple genres and all age ranges in both fiction and non-fiction.
We believe writers are best served when they have multiple opportunities for publication. We encourage all writers to pursue both traditional publishing and independent publishing as it fits their specific book and the known marketplace. We see writers in all their artistic complexity, individuals who may wish to pursue more than one genre, more than one publisher, and more than one distribution mechanism.
We are an author publishing cooperative founded as a means for independent authors to join together and publish under a single press name. We agree to quality products and production at every level. We agree to support each other in our careers and marketing.
Windtree Press was founded by Maggie Lynch in 2011 to offer a solution for the emerging and career-focused indie author by providing a place where authors share their knowledge and resources, support each other to create better books, and pool resources to take advantage of the economies of scale in purchasing new technologies, belonging to independent publisher networks, and seeking reliable marketing opportunities.
We began with three members and are now at 27 members with over 300 titles across many genres. Our books are released in print and ebook when it makes sense. On an individual basis authors may also have audiobooks and books in translation.
Our core value is distributing wide, though individual authors do have the ability to choose exclusivity for specific periods of time when it makes sense for their genre, their marketing options, and their career.
SUBMISSIONS
We are not a typical press that acquires a specific book or a series. We are a cooperative of author members who may have books they wish to publish with the press. We evaluate those submissions on an author by author basis and their books fit with our catalog. When appropriate we will include both backlist and new books as they are created.
We are open to increasing membership, but we are also selective in that we want to make sure that members:
- Continue to produce quality titles and have the support and resources to do so
- Have a real desire to continue to learn and share knowledge as publishing changes
- Support each other’s efforts both in the creative and marketing parts of their career
- Be willing to share new opportunities with all members
- Embrace a diversity of thought and learning both in the types of books in the catalog and in the characters and their journeys
- Interact with each other with dignity, compassion, and the ability to work things out when there is conflict
As Windtree members live across time zones and in countries outside the United States, we use a closed Facebook Group for our discussions, sharing of knowledge and learning opportunities. We have virtual meetings when there is a need for decision-making regarding how the press is operating and if we wish to pursue any new options.
Members sometimes offer webinars or training sessions around new technologies and marketing, as well as assistance in writing craft and trends/expectations based on genre. We also offer opportunities to gather in person in small groups, at small organized writing retreats for in-person support, and to organize member connections for those who are attending larger conferences.
If you have an interest in joining this type of cooperative, first check out our Q&A responses on this December 2021 blog. Then, if still interested, please contact us and provide information about: the types of books you have written; why you want to join; a link to your author website; what type of career you see for yourself; and what you can offer the press in terms of expertise, resources, and moral support. We are happy to answer any questions you may have.
