Jul 22 2007

Red Sage Moves to Ebook Publishing

By Jane • Ebooks, Interviews •

rs_logo_color.jpgRed Sage Publishing was one of the first erotic romance publishers in the market. The first anthology was published in 1995 and since then, Red Sage has gone on to publish 18 Anthologies and one single title, The Forever Kissby Angela Knight. I heard rumblings that Red Sage would be moving into ebook publishing, I was excited because my local stores have never been very good about stocking Red Sage and because they are often stocked in the Self Help section, I forget about them. Alexandria Kendall, Publisher of Red Sage, graciously answered some questions about Red Sage and its new endeavor. At the end of July, we readers should start to see Red Sage ebooks on the internet. I, for one, am excited about this.

Jane: How did Red Sage start?

ALEXANDRIA KENDALL: I started Red Sage in 1994 and our first book was published in 1995. Red Sage means passionate wisdom. Don’t laugh. :) I had attended several RWA conventions and kept hearing the authors complain about their publishing houses not letting them write the sex they wanted to write in their stories. The publishing community did not want to offend their readers.

Jane: Is Red Sage primarily a direct order?

KENDALL: 99% of our sales are from bookstores.

Jane: I see some of the Anthologies in Borders but not often.

KENDALL: Must be your Borders, we do quite a nice business with them.

Jane: Alternatively, where can the reader find your books?

KENDALL: According to Ingrams and Baker and Taylor, large chains and small independent bookstores are the major buyers of the Secrets Collection of Volumes. Next comes on line retail.

Jane: What is the focus or mission of Red Sage?

KENDALL: Our mission has always been to bring the best quality new and established authors to readers. When I started the company I knew there were great writers who weren’t getting published. There will always be the ones who are over looked because of their particular voice or style which just hasn’t broken through yet.

Jane: Why anthologies?

KENDALL: To give readers the best reading experience they could have. There are very well known novella length classics. Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde and Alice in Wonderland are examples of stories that changed the world and they are novella length. So I knew a reader could have a wonderful experience with that length. Giving the reader four great stories, even if they liked one better than the other. They always have a favorite. One they love and read and reread. The mail supports this.

Jane: What is your sense of the current erotic romance market? Is it getting too crowded or is the capacity for more there?

KENDALL: Quality will always stand out. That is why our number one focus has always been on the best possible stories, by authors who know how to write.

Jane: What do you see as the future of erotic romance?

KENDALL: Just like any market things come and go and come back again.

Jane: What are the bestselling anthologies? Why?

KENDALL: To be honest they all sell about the same. Some more one year than another, but they all sell extremely well. Secrets Volume 1 is a great seller and it was published in 1995.

Jane: What made you decide to go into epublishing?

KENDALL: I believe as everyone else does that the publishing industry is going in that direction. Readers or devices will follow.

Jane: How will that work?

KENDALL: How will what work? Do you mean will we be selling print and ebooks. Yes.

Jane: Will there be different royalty schedules for e v. print?

KENDALL: Yes, working this out.

Jane: What will you be looking for?

KENDALL: Number one. Great writing. Number two, stories that will rock the readers world with the characters. You have these two elements and a great story is a great story. People talk and word gets around. :)

Jane: When can readers find your ebooks?

KENDALL: We are working to open the end of July 2007.

Jane: Will you be making your older anthologies available in eform?

KENDALL: Yes.

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