So, very soon, DeadPixel Publications will be no more. The band is breaking up. Yep. That’s it, that’s all. It’s a bittersweet development for me, as I did enjoy the sense of community that a collective of authors provides. I’ll miss that and most of the new friends I made because of it. However, it leaves the door open for bigger and better, right? Right. This is what I’m telling myself and I’m running with it.

The decision to dismantle DPP has left me to re-examine my publishing path and the goals I’ve placed along the way. The group was a big part of what I’d planned over the past couple of years, so now I have to remove DPP from the equation, which changes things here and there.

While I gained a lot from DPP in terms of readers and my network, perhaps what I learned about myself and this industry is the most important, and for that I’ll always be glad I found that small gang of weirdos.

But let’s address the obvious question first. Why did it fall apart? A number of reasons, many I’m sure are still unknown to me. First, we had diverse interests and goals that no one seemed particularly concerned about merging. A collective of authors is an amazing networking tool for indies. However, if every author isn’t gaining something from the collective, you begin to splinter. If every author isn’t GIVING something to the collective, we see more splintering. With this splintering comes resentment. If members don’t speak their minds on this, it worsens. Sometimes if they DO speak, it worsens. A no-win situation, I suppose.

Perhaps a common theme, such as genre, would have been helpful. The goal is to gain readers, and to expand your reader base, you need a diverse pool to draw from, though. Having multiple genres as part of your collective draws readers who might not check out your books otherwise. But drastically different genres (sci-fi and romance, for example) mean different interests. Authors who aren’t interested in what the other authors are doing, or at least interested enough in a common goal to give a shit, won’t promote said authors. The un-promoted authors, being kind of put out by the uninterested parties not doing their “jobs,” then decide they won’t promote the uninterested authors’ books either.

And then we have a stalemate of non-participation from all sides that defeats the purpose of an author collective.

Of course, every group has that handful of optimistic workers, who try to keep shit going. They promote everyone, and try to rally the troupes. After a while, though, even these shining little rays of unicorn shit give up.

However, let’s be clear on one thing: Despite our differences and the diverging paths we found ourselves on, the breakup of DeadPixel wasn’t bitter. Not on my end anyway. We’re still “friends” and we continue to support and promote each other wherever we can. It was amicable, and we agreed to share custody of Mr. Brumm.

But back to the theme thing. Yes, a theme is useful. Common interests, goals, and such. So out of the ashes or DPP, comes an idea I’ve played with for many years. I started my own band. Yeah, it’s nuts and a shit ton of work, and I keep telling myself I should just do the lone wolf thing, but despite my introvert side, I don’t like going it alone.

Welcome, ladies and gents, to Deviant Dolls Publications (I’m aware of the DDP – DPP thing going on there, but it wasn’t intentional), where the funny, the dark, the weird, and the scandalous collide (may I present the all-important theme). When you check out our little spot on the interwebs, you’ll see a few familiar DPP faces, as well as some new ones.

Check out our books, our bios and our store. In a few days (April 20^th) we’ll have an official launch “party” on the Facebook. At the party, we’ll be giving away books, book covers (for the author guests) and some pretty neat swag as we amuse you with shenanigans and witty banter (I hope).

I have a lot of shit to do, so that’s all I’ve got today.