By David Owain Hughes
Hey Jon,
Tell us a bit about yourself. You are a writer and a publisher? Do you see yourself as one more than the other? What is your publishing house, Plumfukt Press, all about?
*gasp* Did you just assume my career?!
Writing is my calling but it has slowed to a trickle, and getting funds for and marketing the press takes away from it as well. I would probably consider myself a word slayer since I have more time for editing than anything else these days. Regardless, I truck along finding time for everything and anything related to the overall industry.
Plumfukt Press (https://plumfuktpress.com) is my passion project. It’s a micro-press specializing in darker horror such as bizarro, splatterpunk, extreme, and dark fantasy. It began as a self-publishing venture but has since branched out to add a couple badass writers to the stable. We exist to assault senses, push boundaries, and produce tidy, entertaining, and disturbing word vomit.
Why did you start Plumfukt Press and where do you see/hope it goes?
In 2019, the publisher of my dark fantasy vampire trilogy unexpectedly shuttered its doors and the rights reverted to me. Having dipped my toes into some publishing houses and being left dissatisfied with the overall editing process and final products, I decided it was a good time to push quality over quantity myself. I believe we’re all fucked, so the publishing name came easily enough from there.
I hope Plumfukt Press becomes known for pumping out high quality dark fiction that epitomizes the essence of horror. We may never be a household name, but we hope other small publishers likewise help raise and set the bar. We have to prove that the indie world isn’t mostly comprised of typos, one-dimensional characters, and lackluster storylines.
With multiple small publishers out there, publishing and pushing indie writers, what does Plumfukt bring to the table other presses do not?
One thing that may set us apart from other budding indie publishers (and even some more established ones) would be our less restrictive contracts. We only ask for two-year publishing rights, and we only ask for rights within our current scope (e.g., we don’t currently dabble in hardback or audio, so the author keeps those rights). We don’t nab subsidiary rights in the vain hope that we’ll get rich and famous by association. We don’t require our authors to give us first dibs on future works and we can’t see a reason to bind someone to us if they wish to leave (they would just need to ask!). We only take what we can give, and the author retains autonomy in building their brand and expanding their audiences through other mediums.
We also offer one-time sign-on bonuses not held against royalties for original collections, novellas, and novels. Royalties are 50% on all formats and are paid monthly regardless of amount. We have yet to pump out any anthologies because we don’t have the proper funds to divvy out semi-pro rates or better, and we refuse to put out open calls for “exposure only.”
In addition, we request no holds barred material, and we mean it. Nothing is off limits. Absolutely f***** nothing.
From our experiences in the indie publishing industry, quantity reigns supreme. We do the opposite, investing our time and resources in quality (and extensive communication) instead. That’s why we don’t publish often, and we will delay releases if necessary to ensure our client’s work is fully polished, formatted correctly, and in overall pristine condition.
We’re not here to make millions of dollars and compete with the big dogs. We’re in it for the sake of wicked fiction.
Tell us about your authors – what sets them apart from the multitude of scribblers out there?
Thus far, the couple of authors we’ve signed have exuded a deep kinship for producing quality, clean fiction that drags the readers into some wild, blood-drenched, disgusting stories. They care about presenting their absolute best work, which is more refreshing than a golden shower after being exposed to sub-zero temperatures during an hours-long snowstorm.
What does Plumfukt look for in a writer/submission?
Originality and audacity. We want the nastiest, darkest shit you can cook up, interwoven with a compelling plot, intriguing characters, modern and relatable topics, and a legitimate story, not just a slice-of-life scene with no point and no flow. We also seek writers who display a tight grasp on literary devices. There are loads of them out there: alliteration, metaphors, similes, irony, hyperbole, onomatopoeia. Whip those f***** out of your toolbox like you’re about to shove a horse d**** into our gaping wet holes and give it to us!
Do you write in the same vein as your authors?
I do. Dabbling in horror and its many subgenres is what keeps my demons away.
Are you currently open to submission? If not, when?
No, we are not currently open to submissions. However, we’re anticipating an open call for original novels and novellas in the latter half of 2023. (We may also open to reprints, though those will not be eligible for the sign-on bonus.)
What is your plan moving forward?
Keep marketing, keep publishing one polished work at a time, keep moving. It’s not a sprint for us. It’s more like the slow sliding of a slug. But we’re sticking around as long as we can. We want to show the world we’re fucked. Plumb fucked.
Thanks