E-book Publisher Prologue Books (Tyrus) Turns 1

Interview With Tyrus Publisher Benjamin LeRoy

ALL OF THEIR TITLES ARE 99 cents on AMAZON FOR THE MONTH OF JUNE!

1.      Why does Prologue Books believe there is a market for re-released books from an old era,1940-1970?  A couple of reasons.  Those books had an audience when they were originally published. Readers who enjoyed them originally are nostalgic for the stories of a bygone era, but unable to find cheap copies in print (if they can find copies at all).  Secondly, it’s interesting to study the roots of genres, to better understand how things considered cliché today were once original devices. Tracking the evolution of the hardboiled detective, the femme fatale, the cowboy in popular literature, etc. is fun for some of us.

2.      Were novels during that period written differently from today's fare? In some ways. Those books helped shape today’s fare. The authors didn’t have as many liberties when it came to being graphic, foul language, etc. as authors working today. But, they also weren’t handcuffed by political correctness. So there are things that are shocking to read today in the context of what would be published today.

3.      With over 400 e-books released in your first year of existence, what type of growth are you expecting this year? We’re slowing down on the growth and focusing on getting the word out. That’s the impetus behind the sale running throughout the month of June. Now that we’ve assembled this collection, it’s time to share it with readers.

4.      Are you surprised that so many people are showing interest in reading books that had been out of print, in some cases, for 40 or more years? Not really surprised. Between nostalgia and understanding the history of the genre, I think there is plenty of interest, and as somebody who feels both, I get it. In some cases, it’s an opportunity for folks to share bits of their youth.

5.      Do you plan to publish any original works? There are currently no plans to publish original works. That said, the company, like publishing in general, is prone to evolution, and we’ll see where it goes.

6.      By introducing a few new generations to the works of several well-established authors do you find that a whole new level of discovery is taking place? I sure do. It’s great to see conversations on Twitter and Facebook where people are letting us know which books they picked up and what they thought of them. Not every book resonates with folks, and that’s ok. Tastes vary from person to person and era to era, it’s all part of the fascinating history project to me.

7.      What do you love most about being a part of the book industry? I have always loved books. I have loved their power to entertain, to bring us together, to share the universal human experience. To be part of the process that makes that happen, from an editorial standpoint, feels like a dream every day. I don’t get caught up on the print v. electronic battles, or the popular trends. My interests are on a different level from all of those things.

8.      Does it seem strange to read these books as ebooks, considering none of them were originally published when ebooks debuted? The reading itself doesn’t feel strange, but I have often wondered what the authors would have thought while working on the books originally if you told them about a device like the Kindle or the Nook. I imagine it would have sounded like far-fetched science fiction. And that would have been good with some of them, since it’s clear that’s what they cared about the most.

Brian Feinblum’s views, opinions, and ideas expressed in this blog are his alone and not that of his employer, the nation’s largest book promoter. You can follow him on Twitter @theprexpert and email him at brianfeinblum@gmail.com. He feels more important when discussed in the third-person. This blog is copyrighted material by BookMarketingBuzzBlog ©2013