By now I'm sure there are a few rumors going around about what happened to the company. Why was BL Twist canceled? What happened to Queer Magic and Home On the Range? Why no appearance at Yaoi-con?
The short story is, Iris Print ran out of funding. Orders for in-stock books are still shipping, and refunds for BL Twist are being issued, slowly but surely. But there hasn't been enough money coming in to support this venture for a long time, and to be honest, the plug was pulled a lot later than it should have been.
Iris Print has been essentially a one-person operation. Just me, editor/owner Kellie Lynch. There are no co-owners or employees; there's no national headquarters. I work out of a shared office, and communicate via e-mail with a couple dozen very talented freelance artists, writers, and graphic designers. I travel around the country to sell books at conventions, and at 90% of the shows I man the booth alone. I read submissions after dinner at home and in my hotel room when I'm on the road. It's a very small business, and unfortunately I haven't been able to recover from the sort of hits that a larger business might be able to soak up.
The first convention I attended as Iris Print was Yaoi-con 2006, and it was a fantastic success. Encouraged, I focused heavily on conventions in the subsequent months, but I never had another successful con, and I lost a lot of money trying to change my strategy, booth setup, and selection to change that. Web sales were similarly disappointing; Amazon has been the only source of consistent book orders for the company.
To get the books in bookstores two distributors were required: one to handle graphic novels, and one to handle novels and anthologies. It took some time to find a distributor for the novels, and when they were finally picked up, it caused a serious glitch in the other distributor's system, resulting in a lot of lost book orders. This seriously hurt sales, and I don't think Iris ever really recovered from it.
In early 2007, it became apparent relying on book sales simply wasn't going to work. That's when BL Twist was conceived: a magazine, published a few times a year, was much more viable given the limited audience, and much easier on the artists involved.
Unfortunately, getting BL Twist underway was a lot of extra work for me. I was traveling a lot, not sleeping enough, and overworking myself, and I ended up coming down with mono during an incredibly busy month. Since Iris is, as I've said, a one-person operation, my illness was pretty much the end of the company.
Canceling BL Twist was one of the hardest things I've ever had to do. People were excited about it, I was excited about it, and there was some wonderful content lined up for the launch issue. I would have simply postponed the launch if I could have, but the financial situation was so bad at that point that the launch needed to happen on schedule if it was going to happen at all.
Iris Print was funded on personal lines of credit, and those lines of credits are maxed out. I'm returning to a regular nine to five job to settle this looming debt. While that won't give me enough time to run Iris with the dedication it deserves, I'm still not sure I'm ready to give up. For one thing, there's all the talented artists and writers who have put together some top-notch work for Iris Print, and they absolutely deserve to have their stuff seen and appreciated. And I've gotten some very touching letters in recent months, and it's clear that there are at least some people out there who want more of what Iris Print has to offer.
If you're one of these people, here's what you can do to help:
1) Pre-order a book. Queer Magic and Home On the Range have both been postponed indefinitely, as there are not enough pre-orders for either title to justify a print run. To make print runs viable, it would take 150 pre-orders of Home On the Range, and 250 pre-orders of Queer Magic. If you have been considering purchasing either of these titles when they come out, please consider placing a pre-order now. Pre-orders will be available through January 31 for these books, and if the target numbers have not been reached at that point, the books will be officially canceled, and all existing and new orders will be refunded. I will be updating this blog in the coming days to let you know where we stand on pre-orders and whether these books will be hitting shelves after all.
2) Join Iris Print. After Queer Magic and Home On the Range, one thing is certain: I can't do it alone anymore. If Iris Print is going to put out any new books, then I'm going to need some help. I'm looking for people with experience in any number of areas: proofreading, comic lettering, typesetting, graphic design, web programming, illustration, or pre-press. Let me be perfectly clear that there would be no pay involved, but you would be fully credited for the work done. I'm looking for people who share my dream of seeing high-quality western boys' love romance sitting on bookstore shelves, of seeing the genre break out of its Japan-centric yaoi mold, of seeing boys' love fiction held to the same literary standards as regular fiction. People who agree that two men kissing doesn't automatically make the story good. If you think you can help out in some way, please use the contact form to let me know what you're willing to contribute.
3) Take a survey. This is something that costs no money, and takes only about 10 minutes of your time. I've put up a survey that will help determine which direction Iris should go next. Please take a few moments to answer these questions about your reading and buying preferences, and your answers will help shape Iris Print's future.
Iris Print has been a long, scary ride for me, and the future is uncertain, but I wish to extend my heartfelt thanks to everyone who has made it possible thus far: Tina Anderson, R.W. Day, Chrissy Delk, Caroline Monaco, Mia Paluzzi, and all the other amazingly talented creators who wrote and drew the books; every person who has bought an Iris Print book, whether in person at a convention, or at a bookstore, or on Amazon.com, or anywhere else; and every person who has shared their encouragement and kind words with me--those letters and smiling faces have kept me going in the darkest of times.
Let's see what the future holds.
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Kinda Late but....
Personally, when I heard about Iris Print, I was excited. Very excited, so much that I have been perfecting an idea I would love to work with in the future. I love the concept of half American and half Japanese style because there really is a surplus of Manga out there these days that should fulfill the desire of yaoi lovers. I, personally, do not go for manga. I go for more realistic individuals and more realistic stories. I bought When Worlds Collide at ECCC in Seattle two years ago and fell in love with the various styles of art and how it didn't feel like a necessity to be in the Japanese manga style. I hope to see far more books from Iris Print and honestly, I would love to help in any way I can. The dream of having more homosexually based stories beyond the mold of yaoi manga is a dream that needs to be followed. Kudos to all those who buy the Iris print books and to those who help out!
This is quite disappointing,
This is quite disappointing, as I was considering on submitting a sample to you for a graphic novel.
Do you advertise on websites? I know that there might be people interested in these books at y!gallery, for instance. Honestly I didn't know Iris Print existed until I was google searching for OEL BL webmanga.
I might contribute, I do like the idea of a BL publisher on this side of the ocean.
-Raerae
Submissions
Well, for what it's worth, I do expect to start reviewing submissions again soon--keep watching the blog for updates!
a strong and sudden thaw
I came here to buy the highly recommended "A Strong and Sudden Thaw" after MUCH deliberation on my part.
See, I generally don't like to buy paper books. Especially for m/m. I like ebooks and I am MUCH more likely to buy them on whim than I am a regular book. In fact, I knew about this book before but choose not to buy it at the time. I was planning to buy it today, but I really prefer an ebook.
I like ebooks for two reasons. One is that they are usually cheaper by quite a bit. Most small publishers charge at least 13/book like you, some are even more. Ebooks on the other hand are usually 4-7, depending.
I also usually read in the evenings after work on my computer (usually stuff people post online). I sometimes read a paper book in my free time too, but I like to be able to take those to work or on errands and most M/M novels have horrible covers or titles, either just plain amateurish looking art, or they make it obvious what's inside. When I get a kindle, I'll probably use that all around and reformat books for it. (that was the second reason in there)
I took your survey but it was actually missing an option, my SO doesn't care about what I read except for sometimes being curious about it or teasing me. He neither "likes it too" nor "tolerates" it. He also doens't dislike it. Its my life and my choice what I read and he respects that (With some gentle and annoying snooping).
By the way, a credit card is not actually a guarantee that the person is 18, and RE: people without CCs you can use an alternate method like money orders and only allow it for people from states that don't require you to verify age.
I just wanted to say...
...How much I love Iris Print. I really do. When I saw "Paintings of You" at Otakon, I was absolutely thrilled, and was told by someone at the Yaoi Press booth that you had a booth of your own, which I made a beeline for. (I think if you were running the booth then, I took up your precious time for like ever and it was great, by the way. For me.) I personally am really, REALLY sick of the "pure manga" aesthetic. If I want it to look like it came from Japan, you know what? I'll buy something that you know. Came from Japan! I loved the style, and while it could have used some more polish, for an early title from a small publisher, it was by far and away better than I expected. It had a STORY, with characters who were people . That is so rare for yaoi from ANY country! Here's hoping you get enough pre-orders: I want to have mine!
My 2 Cents
I was reading over some of the suggestions and thought I might put in my 2 cents. I think one of the ways to get over having a parent using their credit card for people who might not have to go this route is instead using money orders. From my knowledge anyone can go to a store and get a Money Order and mail it out. All you would have to do is have an electronic form and at check out click money order and either print the form out and mail with payment, or submit the form online and mail payment separately. The down part of this is that it would be more work for Iris Print, but in the end I think it would be beneficial for all those involved.
I also think that having e-book options would be important. As I showed when I filled out the survey, I buy most of my gay fiction by e-book. Part of this is because I'm impatient to read my fiction then and for me it's just easier. I also think that format is popular among yaoi/slash/boy love readers.
Also I think with e-book option it'll be easier to produce a bigger selection of books. One of the only problems I've had with Iris Print is that there doesn't seem to be much of a selection. Since Iris Print is just starting out I understand why there are so few items, but what usually makes me come back and back again to a site is that I see a book that I wanted that I didn't buy before and then while I'm getting that book I browse and see more books I want and add to my list to buy.
Lastly I think it might be good to expand your audience. See what's popular out there among readers of the genre. Maybe even develop lines from soft intimate romances to more steamy ones. Expanding your audience and knowing what's popular right now is a huge thing. For example fantasy, science fiction and paranormal romances are currently big in the market right now.
I really like Iris Print and also that they focus more on the romance and story of their books, so I really hope you'll succeed!
Rachael W.
Money order payments
Well, there is one other thing to consider when making it easier for people under 18 to order the books: a couple of these books do contain content that would be illegal to show to minors in some states. When someone orders a book online with a credit card, that at least ensures that there's someone over 18 involved in the ordering process. If I started accepting money orders as payment, I would have to look into how to keep those books out of the hands of minors and protect myself legally. I would hate to make anyone paying with a money order sign an "I am over 18" form or send in a copy of their ID; that would just be a pain for everyone involved.
Thank you for your suggestions--I appreciate your input!
Do not completely forego Japanese influence
I found a Yaoi Press book at Borders the other day and added it to my purchase along with some other manga. It sat on my bookshelf a week, whereas the other manga, I pretty much inhaled right away. Why? Honestly, because it didn't hold nearly the appeal for me that the other titles did. I've perused the titles available from Iris and some do seem interesting. But it's as another poster commented: ultimately, it's just... not the same. From the artwork to the storylines themselves. Your submission requirements almost seem to show a disdain for true manga artwork (something my partner and I found most disappointing as stateside OEL yaoi publishers are so few and far between). But from a marketing standpoint, is it really such a good idea to ignore the predominate formula for success in this genre? As the owner of enough yaoi manga to buy a house, even a sort of hybrid of eastern and western influence would be more likely to give western-based yaoi more of a chance to succeed as opposed to outright denial of it. I know that I would be much more inclined to buy a graphic novel or light novel with artwork that at least veered more towards a manga style than completely ignored it.
Thanks for your input.
Disdain or disrespect for manga-style artwork isn't the intention; personally, I love the style. It's just that right now, the market is absolutely flooded with yaoi imports from Japan, so I primarily look for "hybrid" styles for Iris books, ones that blend Japanese and American influences into something that doesn't look like everything else on the shelf.
However, I would also love to see more submissions with pure manga-style art. If the art is clean and polished, and the story is solid, that's what matters more than the style it's in. And perhaps I should update the submissions page to make that more clear.
Not manga, but that's not a bad thing.
No, it's not the same as manga, and I know exactly what you mean... I get turned off a lot by the 'amerimanga' look too. But I've been finding more and more that just because it has more japanese influence doesn't mean it's... good. One of the things I like most about what I've read from Iris (Thaw and Paintings of You, two very very good books) is that they seem to pick strong storylines first and work from there.
In the case of Paintings, the art doesn't always look polished... there are panels that look downright rushed. But the story was very impactful, and it's got a lot of reread value... and I don't think it would have had the same energy if it was bishounen-and-flowersy. So I've been trying to set aside my 'japanese art aesthetic' and get recs from friends or websites, and I've been picking up lots of stuff I wouldn't have looked at twice, and I really haven't been disappointed yet.
Also I think doujin circles are just that, circles. Teams of people to work on art and toning. No wonder their artwork is so awesome! It's a totally different dynamic stateside, where you're lucky to get one other person to help draw the art.
That's my two cents anyway.
Suggestions
I have bought two books from Iris, "A Strong and Sudden Thaw" and "Only Words." I pre-ordered "Queer magic" but I'll be honest that I wavered over it and didn't pick up "Connections." Anthologies are a dime a dozen. Torquere Press even has an anthology with the same theme, "Torqued Tales." I ordered "Queer magic" because I wanted to support a new publisher. But there are so many anthologies, sometimes with only a couple good stories that I ended up wishing had been novels, but many more I didn't like. I think Iris would be better served concentrating on novels. "Thaw" was fantastic and I added it to my Amazon listmania and raved about it on Librarything. I would order a sequel in an instant! More importantly, I would buy it as an e-book. I purchase a lot of e-books, as I think many slash fans do because there is such a large selection and they get released fast. In fact, if I enjoy it enough I often buy a book in e-book AND in print later! Sometimes it is a good way for a publisher to test the waters. Release an e-book and if sales warrant, release it in print. And with Amazon's new Kindle you can still take advantage of it showing up on a large retailer.
As to the manga. "Only Words" was very good, but it has the same unfortunate problem I have found in many western yaoi - the art just isn't as clean/professional looking. There is a tendency to have thick lines and cartoonish faces. "Only Words" walked the line, and the story was compelling enough to overcome the lack, but... Yaoi IS too Japan-centric, but I think that is because western authors don't focus on what makes them so popular - beautiful art, and intimate relationships.
Last thing. Shipping. I know publishers usually have to offer a discount to big distributors like Amazon. So they make more money if customer buys direct. I usually don't buy direct because I don't want to pay shipping. Amazon offers free shipping for most book orders over $25. Or, Prime members like me get free 2-day shipping. I'm willing to pay the book's retail price to buy direct from a publisher and support them, but I'm not willing to pay retail AND shipping. Offering free shipping, even media mail, on pre-orders or orders over a certain amount (I've certainly purchased additional books I may not have to get such promotions) might help get people coming direct to the site. I really like Iris and want to see it succeed. Most especially so "Thaw" gets a sequel!
Excellent suggestions, thank
Excellent suggestions, thank you! E-books are a project that have been on the back burner for some time, and I'd like to continue forward with them. The speed at which that happens will depend somewhat on the survey responses.
Thanks for your input on shipping. Offering free shipping is a difficult thing to do--if you look at the breakdown of most small publishers' expenses, shipping will usually be #2 on the list, right after printing. This is also a problem for any business that ships internationally, as international shipping costs tend to be almost as expensive as the books themselves. However, I feel the same way you do about paying retail plus shipping, and I'd like to look at the shipping costs to see if there's anything that can be done to lower them.
I think you might have to
I think you might have to consider the fandom: surely not all, but a lot of fans are underage, and would have to ask their parents to buy stuff from here, even ones that are age-appropriate. And I see a couple things at least that make doing that a little, well, embarrassing. I'm a bit wary of asking my mom to get a book called Queer Magic from a site with a picture of a half-naked boy with unzipped jeans to the side. Even getting it from Amazon, it's still a little odd. And I'm one of the fans whose parents are fully aware of their fandom.
Surely not the main cause of people not buying things, but I can't be the only one. Still, hearing that the company's at risk might make me just tighten up and ask for the books anyway, temporary embarrassment be damned.
I really want to see this company succeed. I wish you well.
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