The Purpose

TaleBlade Press was born from the idea that the success of a fiction book should not be subject to established platforms, critical agendas or deceptive marketing systems. Instead it should be determined by how well a book elevates the imagination and inspires the very being of the person engaged in the tale.

Michael Ende wrote in his book, ‘The Never Ending Story’;

“He didn’t like books in which dull, cranky writers describe humdrum events in the very humdrum lives of humdrum people. Reality gave him enough of that kind of thing, why should he read about it? Besides, he couldn’t stand it when a writer tried to convince him of something. And these humdrum books, it seemed to him, were always trying to do just that. Bastian liked books that were exciting or funny, or that made him dream. Books where made-up characters had marvelous adventures, books that made him imagine all sorts of things. Because one thing he was good at, possibly the only thing, was imagining things so clearly that he almost saw and heard them”.

These words essentially get to the heart of TaleBlade Press. Unfortunately, like the world Ende painted in his classic tale, the motivation for writers to create these imaginative masterpieces are slowly being eroded. Good marketing now covers a multitude of literary sins, didacticism has taken the place of simple creativity and the gatekeepers of publishing have become too concerned with the requirement of cultural relevance.

In light of this, TaleBlade Press decided to focus its efforts on building an artisanal approach to publishing.

The Beginning

It all began on an autumn day in 2016. The warm afternoon breeze brought with it the familiar petrichor of a nearing storm. As the sky darkened and the first few drops of rain began to fall, an unexpected explosion of thunder caused Fegan to look up from his small notebook.

For the past few hours, he had been immersed in a world of his own creation. Sitting alone in a beautiful park, he was surrounded by a serene environment that was now growing restless and increasingly wild as the winds picked up.

Fegan’s thoughts shifted. It was only that morning he had been reading about the turbulent world of publishing. The storm now gave him the perfect metaphor for the processes he would soon have to endure. Only behind the strongest trees would one be insulated from the storm, and only through the strong and weathered publishing houses, would one be assured of relative success. At least that’s how it used to be.

Fegan cast his eyes to the side and noticed a small shoot growing from the ground nearby. Over the last few years, independent publishing had begun to take root. Not nearly as strong, they yet provided greater freedom and more opportunities. Encouragingly, the small shoot was enduring the storm with as much resilience as the grand oaks that surrounded it.

It could certainly be done. Rather than bind his work to an established publishing house, he could create his own. There already appeared to be an increasing number of well-known authors abandoning the traditional publishing house for the flexibility of their own. Why not simply skip the months of writing letters to agents and publishers, negotiating small percentages and replacing swaths of creative text with commercial viability. On the other hand, the one benefit that a publishing house would bring was the simplicity of unburdening the hard work of editing, publishing and marketing to someone else. Simply focusing on writing was certainly an attractive proposition.

However, at the end of the day, there was not a single publishing house that would be as dedicated to his tales as he was. Being determined, a perfectionist, and not afraid of the work involved, Fegan made up his mind to begin his own publishing house. He would only have to start small. In time, his dedication to comprehensive research should see all aspects of the publishing house grow stronger.