So long, 2021. We really hope that all of your Christmas and New Year plans haven’t been totally sabotaged by the most unwelcome of guests, Corona, and that you’ve been able to spend some quality time amid friends and family (and books and booze, of course!). Strange as everything may have been, we have thoroughly enjoyed Blackwater Press’ first full calendar year, and are so proud of how everything has turned out. Much of this has come down to all of you: the people who buy our books, who use our editorial services, engage with us on social media, and just generally encourage us when so much of today’s world seems designed to make small businesses fail. It means a lot! The three books below are the result of our work, and with reprints of Tuscawilla: Stories of a Farm and I Piped, That She Might Dance having just arrived, we are glad they’re going down well. And yes, they’re available for purchase here 😉
We are also very pleased to see so many authors trusting us and our editorial services. Back when we were writing the business plans for Blackwater Press a year or so ago, the model we hoped for involved funding our own publications through our editing work, and now that we’ve started to build a strong reputation this seems to be working. Our manuscript assessment service has a waiting list of two months, and we firmly believe that every author who comes to us gets a lot closer to being published in the places they want to be following these reports. But hey, don’t take our word for it: It was a tremendous pleasure to work with Blackwater Press on a manuscript evaluation for my forthcoming novel. The feedback was perceptive, insightful and also very supportive and encouraging. Awesome! (Jayna Sheats, author of Hanna’s Climb) So there you go! A quick reminder that our 2022 short story contest is now open; we’re delighted to once again see your submissions start to pop into our inbox. Head HERE for full details. And with that, we’ll see you in 2022. We have HUGE plans for the coming year, so stay tuned, and have a happy new year!