I woke up this morning to--you guessed it--BOOKS!

Authors have already begun to submit their manuscripts and, if we're lucky, we will find the next world-changing book in this list of incredible work. Fingers crossed!

My hope is that, over the next few days, we will receive plenty of manuscripts to read through. And then I will begin the work of sifting through Pitchletters to find the stories that really speak to me. Which is when the real hard work begins. I will be bringing those story ideas to this community to talk through them and to create a short list of stories I am REALLY excited about, so that I can read them and see if there is one I think I would be perfect to champion.

It's important to note that this process is more than just finding a well-written book. Last pitchfest, I received dozens of exceptional books. But there is a difference between a well-written book and a book that I have the influence and experience to champion well. I am looking for books that tackle really big conversations through the medium of Fantasy and Sci-Fi. You know--the types of books I have a lot of experience championing. I'm also really eager to dig into new genres, especially Horror and Romance. BUT, we have to move forward with the understanding that we only have the resources to publish one or two books a year. Which means we have to be ridiculously selective in the books we pick.

As our community grows, we will eventually reach a point where we have the influence and resources available to warrant more books per year, but for now, we have to accomplish all of our goals and have all of our important conversations with one or two. So bare with me while we search carefully for the right stories to represent Left Unread!

That said, we will have plenty of time to talk about manuscripts later. Right now, I want to talk about how you can be involved!

First and foremost, if you are not already subscribed to Left Unread, please do so right now. The beauty of having an entire community of avid readers congregated here is that the authors we are champinoning have a much higher chance of having wildly successful books. As I am sure you already know, the vast majority of authors do not have breakout success. In fact, most books that are published--whether traditionally or independently--sell a few hundred copies or less. And success is even less likely for traditionally published Black and brown authors. We want to fix those odds by building a strong community of readers who are ready and eager to propell our authors forward. So just BEING here is advocacy.

Second, if you are subscribed, but haven't yet considered upgrading to the $5 or $12 tier, please take this moment to consider it. Our paid subscribers help to fund our publishing projects and do play a part in how much we are able to accomplish in the future. An in addition to helping us to build as a publishing imprint, paid subscribers get direct access to the publishing process, including:

• Updates as I read through Pitchfest manuscripts
• First notice of new offers/acquisitions
• Sneak peaks of cover designs, promotional text
• Exclusive interviews with our authors
• Early copies of the finished book (e-copies for $5 subscribers, physical copies for $12/$25 subscribers)
• $12/$25 subscribers also get their name on a dedicated thank you page inside of our published books

Our goal is to not just publish books, but to change the way publishing works. So I encourage you to be involved to whatever degree you are able.

As always, please feel ZERO pressure to upgrade. My bookish content will continue to be available at the free tier. But if you want access to the publishing related content, upgrade to at least the $5 tier and boom, it's all yours!

WHAT'S NEXT?

Like I said... PITCHEST IS OPEN! Even as I type, manuscripts are coming in! So buckle up and get ready for an incredible few weeks and HOPEFULLY a new book anouncement!

AHHHHH!!!!!!

Thank you all for being here!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

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