With the failure of our crowdfunding campaign, we will begin shutting down The Gay Publishing Company. In the next week, you will see the social community and Raw Collection at www.TheGPCo.com being taken off-line; shortly thereafter, a page explaining our disappearance will show up in place of our primary site. Following those immediate, public displays, we’ll take a few weeks to contact subscribers—don’t give up on us: you will be contacted, as we mentioned in our previous post.

Thanks, again, to those of you who supported us over the course of our publishing struggles. At least, we are confident that we gave the economy our best shot, and we fade into the background knowing that the groundwork has been put in place in case a future possibility arises.

For now, our e-mail address and our contact form will be active, so make us aware of any last-minute comments, suggestions, or concerns you might have. We’ll appreciate it,

Stephen, theGayEditor.com

–Editor/Publisher/Founder, TheGayPublishingCompany.com
the Gay Editor –at– Im Your Editor –dot– com
PO Box 1168, Orlando, FL 32802
phone: 407-495-4801 (temporary)

We may be back some day but until then . . . take care, keep writing and fighting,
and don’t stop basking in each of our small glories and victories

I truly never thought I would have to answer that question and then need to write this post, but the time has come to face the facts; and, to do so is taking me to the verge of tears—not for me or for what this lost opportunity means to our community but for the hundreds of authors who have contacted me, including yet another one just today, over the years with stories that need to be told and shared. But, in consideration of our underwhelming crowdfunding campaign, we need to cut the promotional optimism and get real!  So, here it is . . .

The Advisory Board of The Gay Publishing Company has worked tirelessly since 2007, out of a passion for literature and/or for the LGBTQ cause. Unfortunately, we decided last spring that this crowdfunding effort would likely be our official last stand and that, if we did fall short of our goal, we would be deeply saddened to declare defeat, to shut down the company, and to place its destiny on extended hiatus. The decision did not come lightly or quickly and, in fact, the votes changed over the summer! Nonetheless, two overriding factors are forcing our hand:

First, and foremost, without a full-time editor (whose salary the campaign would have funded), we simply cannot move our dream for the company forward. Our goal was always to provide edited, professional quality products that our writers could be proud to claim and our readers could enjoy without cringing at grammatical errors, logical flaws, and spelling mistakes. The editorial process is a surprisingly focus- and time-demanding process and justice cannot be done to authors or materials by working on an occasional basis. In addition, by working with the company only as time allows, we could not adequately supervise projects or meet deadlines or work with and encourage aspiring writers—we know because we’ve tried, to the disappointment of both sides.

The second factor that led to our decision was the realization that we’ve dedicated our time, our energies, and our funds into this dream in exchange for (to tell the sad truth) only minimal support from only a few in the community; we just decided it was time to re-evaluate and perhaps re-focus those efforts. As mentioned, we’ve survived on our passions for several years, now; but, the time has come when a lack of financial support and the harsh words of criticism and sarcasm have begun to overshadow the words of encouragement and appreciation. We thank Samuel for being the final straw.

So, having already contacted our investors, the closing process will unravel something like this:

1. Subscribers will be contacted to make sure that we have current contact information in our records. At the same time, they will be asked if they wish the refund of their subscription payments. Those who do wish refunds will be issued checks in US currency. Those who do not wish to receive refunds will be thanked for their continuing support; their payment records will be retained in the event that the company is resurrected in the future.
2. Submissions will be archived. They will not be sold or shared with any entity for any purpose.
3. Notice will be posted on the social community at www.TheGPCo.com and the site will be taken off-line.
4. An “under construction” page and explanation will be posted at our primary site, www.TheGayPublishingCompany.com; the site will then be dismantled and taken off-line.
5. A final entry will be posted here, on theGayEditor’s Blog, and the blog will be moved to free hosting at WordPress.com–there, we might continue to post occasional entries and respond to appropriate comments.

We do plan to keep the name and licenses current for several years in the hope that circumstances will improve and we can make another effort. Until then, take care, keep writing and fighting, and don’t stop basking in each of our small glories and victories.

Oh—and it’s not too late to make this preliminary obituary unnecessary. I don’t mean to put pressure on you, but we do still have Saturday and Sunday . . .

Stephen, theGayEditor.com

–Editor/Publisher/Founder, TheGayPublishingCompany.com
the Gay Editor –at– Im Your Editor –dot– com
PO Box 1168, Orlando, FL 32802
phone: 407-495-4801 (temporary)

It’s not too late to join our KickStarter campaign!
(All pledges will be processed through Amazon Payments on September 19, 2011.)

Do you have other ideas to help out?
Share your thoughts . . .

• updates on our crowdfunding efforts at KickStarter.com;
• notes about submissions we’ve received;
• notes about authors who have contacted us;
• answers to questions received by e-mail;
• a variety of relevant news from the world of publishing; and
• other information and links that we think might interest you, our followers.

So, join us—or, rather, follow us—and let us know what you’re thinking. 

BTW, we only have about two weeks to go in our crowdfunding campaign but, for now, we’re trying to stay upbeat and optimistic (with only the occasional panic attack).  Just don’t forget about us or wait too long!

Tweet, tweet, tweet!

Stephen, theGayEditor.com

–Editor/Publisher/Founder, TheGayPublishingCompany.com
the Gay Editor –at– Im Your Editor –dot– com
PO Box 1168, Orlando, FL 32802
phone: 407-495-4801 (temporary)

Join our KickStarter campaign!
(All pledges will be processed through Amazon Payments on September 19, 2011.)

Do you have other ideas to help out?
Share your thoughts . . .

In other news, we’ve started twittering!  And, unlike all the befuddlement I’ve created for myself on facebook, I’m finding twitter rather interesting and fun and easy to use.  Follow us for a while (@theGayEditor)  and let me know what you think of our tweets.

That’s all the excitement for now . . . tweet . . . tweet . . . tweet! 
Big bucks and only 25 days to go!

Stephen, theGayEditor.com

–Editor/Publisher/Founder, TheGayPublishingCompany.com
the Gay Editor –at– Im Your Editor –dot– com
PO Box 1168, Orlando, FL 32802
phone: 407-495-4801 (temporary)

Join our KickStarter campaign!
(All pledges will be processed through Amazon Payments on September 19, 2011.)

Do you have other ideas to help out?
Share your thoughts . . .

So, if you’ve been waiting for this phase of our campaign before making your pledge, the moment is here!  And, if you were waiting to tell all your friends, it’s time!  The KickStarter page sports an up-to-the-minute tally and a countdown clock, so you’ll be able to see exactly where we stand at any given time. You can also comment and pose questions directly on the page and see who else is backing us.

Well, what are you waiting for now?  Big bucks and only 37 days to go!

Stephen, theGayEditor.com

–Editor/Publisher/Founder, TheGayPublishingCompany.com
the Gay Editor –at– Im Your Editor –dot– com
PO Box 1168, Orlando, FL 32802
phone: 407-495-4801 (temporary)

Join our KickStarter campaign!
(All pledges will be processed through Amazon Payments on September 19, 2011.)

Do you have other ideas to help out?
Share your thoughts . . .

In the videos (which really aren’t that bad if you close your eyes, sit back, and just listen), I try to discuss some of the goals we’ve established and met, some of the highlights and challenges we’ve dealt with, and some of the questions we’ve addressed during the company’s halting development and disappointing growth; I also try to justify our existence and defend our crowdfunding effort!

1. Part 1: Introduction
2. Part 2: Background on theGayEditor
3. Part 3: Why the world needs a gay publisher
4. Part 4: A short history of The Gay Publishing Company
5. Part 5: What makes The Gay Publishing Company different?
6. Part 6: An overview of our crowdfunding campaign
7. Part 7: How will your funds be used?
8. Part 8: Join us! Become a part of our efforts

If you have time to watch the entire playlist (which runs about fifteen minutes), you can do so below, or with this link to the YouTube presentation: 

http://www.youtube.com/p/50F9C3FF61A66962?hl=en_US&fs=1

If an error occurs, use the second icon (above) to navigate through this playlist;
or view the videos on YouTube.

To find additional information on our crowdfunding campaign, just  jump to www.TheGayPublishingCompany.com/support-crowdfunding.html.  But, hold off on pledging, if you want, for another day or two—when the KickStarter.com page goes live.  When you do make the pledge, we thank you for joining our growing crowd of backers and funders and for supplying us with the power and means to help writers and illustrators publish their gay and gay-friendly works for readers around the globe.

We like to think you’ll be glad that you did!

Stephen, theGayEditor.com

–Editor/Publisher/Founder, TheGayPublishingCompany.com
the Gay Editor –at– Im Your Editor –dot– com
PO Box 1168, Orlando, FL 32802
phone: 407-495-4801 (temporary)

A special page for newcomers:
About Us, in a nutshell!

Do you have other ideas to help out?
Share your thoughts . . .