PREMEDITATED SUCCESS
Something Anomalos this way comes. New publishing venture takes off like a storm.
ICRS provides format for launch of new authors, publishing house

Posted: August 24, 2007
6:00 a.m. Eastern

By Carl Anderson
© 2007 Christian News Service

The annual International Christian Retail Show 2007 (formerly CBA) brought together more than 9,000 industry professionals, authors, publishers and retailers, and the buzz at the STL-Appalachian Booth this year was clear: Anomalos Publishing House is the aggressive new kid on the block.

Officially launched in 2006, Anomalos had more new authors this year on hand to sign books for anxious retailers than anybody else.

This had a lot to do with Thomas Horn, the company's CEO. Horn is a man on a mission who became aware more than a decade ago of a gap in the publishing trade that allows great but unknown authors to fall through the cracks and never be discovered.

As Horn accounts from personal experience, "In the mid-1990's I decided to do something I had put off for many years. I wanted to write a book based on mysteries I had encountered during my twenty-five years of pastoring. But because I was unknown, I couldn't get a publisher to take the financial risk. Eventually I decided to partner with a publisher, which, looking back, was the best decision I ever made. Four best-selling books and a news career later, I make my living writing. There are a vast number of undiscovered authors out there who could do the same thing. We would like to partner with them to see through their publishing goals."

Such an idea--to partner with new authors--is practically unheard of these days, unless one includes print on demand and vanity publishers, a form of "self-publishing" viewed by mainstream distributors as a dead-end road.

According to Horn, "The problems for new authors have only gotten worse since mega-retailers like Costco and Walmart began carrying the A-list authors’ books at big discounts. Many local store owners, where lesser known authors are typically discovered, simply cannot compete with these Titans. As a result of the downturn for mom-and-pop shops, more and more publishers are focusing on A-list authors exclusively, while viewing investment in promising but unknown writers as too risky."

Not only has this affected the number of new authors being published, but this has also impacted the budget for publicity and marketing of those who do get published. As Horn points out, "most unpublished writers assume that publishers will take care of all their PR needs. The truth is, currently very few authors, even well-known and best-selling ones, receive high priority when it comes to promotion."

Just how important is promotion to a book's success? Lynn Marzulli, the best-selling author of the Nephilim Triology (Zondervan) believes, "Writing your first book and getting published are exciting experiences; however, promotion of your printed book is more important than any other aspect of the book-writing/publishing process. Promotion is imperative because this is a competitive business, driven by hard-nosed, intelligent people who can be ruthless at maximizing the dollar. If they're not working with you to get your book promoted, it is easy to get buried in the shuffle no matter how good your book is."

The strong publicity and marketing programs at Anomalos Publishing convinced Marzulli to switch publishers and go with Anomalos for his new book: a non-fiction take on the end times called Politics, Prophecy, and the Supernatural. His decision was a good one, as his book hit #1 in the prophecy section at Amazon the same day of release.

Patrick Heron is another best-selling author who chose for his new book Apocalypse Soon, to go with Anomalos Publishing. He is the author of last year's Pyramid of the Apocalypse, which rocketed up the best sellers list in 2005-2006. His new book hit #1 Google News search the same week it was released by Anomalos Publishing and is already the subject of two films by Grizzly Adams Productions.

There are other well-known authors turning to Anomalos, such as Terry James, whose current book The Rapture Dialogues is endorsed by the likes of Dr. Tim LaHaye and Dr. Chuck Missler, but the publishing venture is keeping its eye out for great but undiscovered talent too. According to Horn, "We just published a phenomenal piece of fiction that blows the lid off the creationism/intelligent design vs evolution debate. The book is a fantasy novel called Logic's End by newcomer Keith Robinson. It is filled with the kind of well-written, fresh, and creative work we are looking for . . . and from a terrific new author whose book is already racking up 5-Star reviews at Amazon.com.

"Another of our new books is by Thomas A. Glessner, President of the National Institute of Family and Life Advocates (NIFLA), a legal organization that provides legal help and consultation to over 1,000 pro-life pregnancy help centers as members in all fifty states," Horn said. "His book is titled Destiny's Team and involves deep spiritual issues discussed within the context of professional football. Both men and women are going to love this book. It is endorsed by the likes of Jonathan Flora, writer/director of A Distant Thunder, Sydna Masse, President and founder of Ramah International, actress Jennifer O'Neil, former Seattle Seahawk Ken Hutcherson and others. His exciting novel is on store shelves this month and he is already getting invitations from media to do interviews."

Tom's own new book Nephilim Stargates: The Year 2012 and the Return of the Watchers, and L.A. Marzulli's new book Politics, Prophecy and the Supernatural, have been slugging it out for the #1 and #2 spots in the prophecy section at Amazon since the first day of their release six weeks ago.

Anomalos is receiving a growing share of manuscript submissions and Horn says they are hand picking the best writers based on originality and writing appeal. The publishing house has hired a full time publicist to keep each author "Reviewed, in news copy, and on the air," Horn adds. "Our goal is to offer authors something they will not find anywhere else. A full service publishing house, which promotes each author as if they were the 'A' list at Zondervan."

So far the creative model is paying off with what looks like will be a series of best selling books.

Anomalos is seeking submissions from authors of a wide variety of books. Categories include: Mystery, Conspiracy, Politics, Science, Discovery, History, Religious, Inspiration, Fiction and Non-fiction. For any author who has written a well-crafted manuscript, Anomalos would be delighted to bring his or her publishing desires to fruition.

To learn more about Anomalos Publishing House's partnering program, visit their website at: http://www.anomalospublishing.com

Contact:
Thomas Horn, CEO
Anomalos Publishing House
PO Box 5
Crane, MO 65633
Email: info@anomalospublishing.com
Phone: 417-723-0610

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