Veteran romance, women’s fiction and mystery novelist Donna Hill, along with writer Pittershawn Palmer, have launched InnerVision Books, an e-book publishing venture dedicated to publishing titles that highlight “multiculturalism in a global society.”
InnerVision has launched with four titles including After Midnight, an erotic short story collection by Hill and Words Loving Emotion, a poetry collection by Palmer. The press will publish a few of Hill’s short stories but she’s adamant that her work will not comprise the bulk of InnerVision’s list. Next year marks Hill’s 20th year in publishing, a career that has produced more than 50 books, three of which have been adapted to TV. In March 2010, Harlequin will publish Hill’s What Mother Never Told Me, the long-awaited sequel to her 2001 novel Rhythms.
Although InnerVision is not planning to publish street lit, Hill said she is interested in fiction, poetry and nonfiction. Hill said that they want to publish books featuring African Americans that aren’t culturally monolithic in theme and that reflect multiculturalism of American society. The royalty split is 50/50 between publisher and author.
The idea to launch an e-book house came from Hill’s teenage son who isn’t a big reader. When Hill showed him her Sony Reader, he said that if he had one, he would definitely read books on the device. “I realized that an entire new generation of readers is being born right now,” she said, “and they are being born and bred on technology.”
InnerVision’s e-books are in the PDF format and can be downloaded to a desk or laptop computer and transferred by USB cable to the Kindle, Sony Reader or Nook digital reading devices, which all read PDF documents. The press is in the process of setting up their titles for publication on the Kindle. However, Hill, who admits to being a Kindle fanatic, said that their ultimate goal is to also publish trade paperback editions as well.
Currently, Hill and Palmer are financing the venture themselves, which according to Hill isn’t a large investment. “That’s the beauty of electronic publishing,” she said. “No overhead, printers, or layout people. All of the work is being done by us.” They both edit. Palmer is a graphic designer and built the company’s web site. Hill focuses on promotion and publicity, which she says requires 90% of her time. The house leverages the web in their marketing efforts by using blogs, Facebook, Twitter, electronic newsletters and other virtual word-of-mouth mechanisms.
InnerVision is prepping for its 2010 list which includes a nonfiction project and short story collection and hopes to emerge as an “independent voice for stories that publishers are too afraid to sell,” Hill said.
