We did it--with your help!

And we're off and running with queries

Last week, we finished our Kickstarter campaign and we’re delighted to say the project was fully funded! That means that 304 individual backers pledged a total of just over $60,000 to fund our start-up costs for Galiot Press. We owe an enormous thank you to everyone who contributed. There was some nail-biting during the long middle period of the campaign, but look how our supporters rallied in the last few days! We’re excited to have entered this new phase in the creation of the business.

Open for queries

Mere days after the conclusion of our Kickstarter, we opened for submissions this past Monday, at the inconvenient auspicious time of 6:00am. Within the first minute and a half, we had eight query slots booked, and the total tally of forty slots for this week filled up well before this week’s deadline. As is essential to our business model, we’re reading those submissions now—a query letter and the first ten pages for each project— and will have responses to the submitters by the end of the day tomorrow. This is how we will do things week in, week out.

But what are we talking about—you might ask—when we say things like query slots and bookings? Our submission system is unlike any other in publishing. We borrow from the restaurant industry, and we open a certain number of slots each week for writers to submit their queries and writing samples. We cap that number each week to match the amount of time we are able to allot to query-reading. This way, we can always respond in a timely manner, and always stay on top of our workload. It’s exciting to be reading in some of the cover letters how our mission has appealed to submitters. And of course it’s exciting to be reading the queries that have come in.

In addition to reading submissions, we’re teaching classes that we’re offering through our website, including a one-hour session on info and tips on the publishing industry, and several three-hour classes on various aspects of writing life and writing craft.

Join our crew!

Does the Galiot Press mission really speak to you? And would you be interested in helping us to spread the word in your city or town? We’re looking for people to join our street teams and be on the lookout for opportunities for Galiot Press events or GP-friendly venues. Email us at info@galiotpress.com if this sounds like something you’d be game for and we can give you more information.

Enter a writing contest

And finally, we’d like to give a shout-out to our friends at Solstice Literary Magazine who are holding their Annual Literary Contest, with submissions open until June 1. Judges include Marjan Kamali (fiction), Andrea Cohen (poetry), Rajiv Mohabir (non-fiction), and Leela Corman (graphic lit). Click Solstice Annual Contest to submit! Prizes are $1,000 for fiction, and $500 each for poetry, non-fiction, and graphic lit.