by Gideon Marcus

I'm going to break character for a moment. I hope you'll bear with me, because it's important. We need your help.

One of our goals with the Journey has always been to bring lost classics to light, especially those by marginalized voices. Last year, we took the plunge and launched our own publishing company: Journey Press. Our flagship release was Rediscovery: Science Fiction by Women (1958-1963), fourteen fantastic stories by forgotten female science fiction authors.

When we started Journey Press, we had a plan. We’d launch Rediscovery, and if it did well, we’d start selling other books: some by new authors, some reprints of forgotten gems. We decided early on that we wanted to focus on bookstores. Yes, we also made our books available digitally and through Amazon, but bookstores were and always have been at the heart of our sales strategy. People told us we were nuts, but guess what? It worked! Thanks to you and our bookstore partners, Rediscovery ended up being something of a bestseller. Within a few months, it was selling coast to coast in hundreds of stores. We got rave reviews, and word of mouth gave us a swell of interest beyond anything we’d expected.

Now established, we knew future books would have a ready base of support. To that end, we contracted with a couple of big names to reprint a couple of excellent books from the era of Galactic Journey: I Want the Stars, by Tom Purdom, and Galactic Sybil Sue Blue, thanks to the estate of Rosel George Brown. We’ve got a terrific fantasy romance in progress. More books in the Rediscovery series are planned. And on and on.

But before all those, we were ready to release my first novel, Kitra, a space adventure with themes of isolation, teamwork, and hope. It's in the "YA" genre, but it was really inspired by the "juveniles" of the 20th Century, designed to appeal to young and old alike. Not only is it a great book, but The Young Traveler did the lovely interior illustrations.

With great enthusiasm, we were counting down to launch Kitra on March 16, 2020. Many bookstores had already pledged to promote it, and advance reviews had been very positive.

And then COVID-19 happened.

Now the bookstores are closed or under restricted hours, and everyone’s worried about what’s coming next. Our promotional and business plans are completely out the window. The future of Journey Press is uncertain.

This means we have to change our strategy. We need to focus on online sales, working with the beast that is Amazon. We're not neglecting bookstores — in fact, we've got several virtual shows planned, which we'll announce in various media and you'll see on the side of the page and prefacing articles. And when this is over, we'll be partnering with plenty of stores again from the moment they open their doors. But for now, we need to go straight to you, the reader, rather than rely on middlemen. You are the ones who can and will shape the future of Journey Press.

So I'm interrupting our regularly scheduled program to make a request. Several, really:

1. Buy our books. For you, for friends, for family. The more, the better! Each sale increases the visibility of the books while also directly supporting the Press. Plus, you get an amazing story (or several) to help while away your time in isolation or lockdown.
2. Please leave reviews, both on Amazon and the Journey Press site on the book pages. Nothing will contribute to the success of our books more than getting the word out. Speaking of which…
3. Tell your friends! By word of mouth, by blog, newspaper article, megaphone — let folks know we exist and that you like what we do – not just our books, but our blog, too!
4. Recommend Rediscovery and Kitra to local libraries and bookstores. Most aren't open right now, but they will be. Plus, some are doing curbside pickup and virtual delivery. If you can support your local bookstore through this crisis, we hope you will!
5. Connect us with presentation venues. Not only are our shows fun and educational, they're a perfect way to connect with us and the outside world right now. If there's a venue you think might benefit from a Journey appearance, please let them – and us – know!

By doing these things you will ensure that Journey Press can continue to bring out more new books from interesting creators, classic and current, for years to come. Plus, you get to read the great books we're coming out with, now and in the future. It's a win for everyone.

You can get Kitra in e-book and/or paperback here. Rediscovery is available here.

Thank you for listening. Thank you for your support.

Gideon Marcus