After a long and exhaustive search where my book was rejected by 30 agents and publishing houses, I have decided to publish it with Luminare Press, a hybrid press. After making the decision to go with a hybrid press, I talked to 20 houses based in the US and the UK and Luminare stood out for their competence and professionalism. We have started the jacket and interior design processes, and have begun copy editing simultaneously. We’re planning on a publication date in December of this year. I will drip more details as I get them.

To those of you who are curling your collective lip as you read this and thinking, “What? Couldn’t get on with a real publisher?” I would say, “Move on.” While the traditional publishing industry still retains some positives, it is having trouble keeping up with readers in the 21st Century and much of its business model is inefficient and outdated. Many hybrid presses produce quality books and are more responsive and helpful to their authors. I had my eye on several hybrid presses before I even finished writing my book, but for some reason decided to give it the ol’ college try.

For the uninitiated, preparing and sending proposals to publishers is a time-consuming process, and the majority of them don’t even bother replying. For those who did, their feedback to me was, “This is no longer timely,” which translates to, “no one wants to read a book about Iraq.” The icing on the cake was when these publishing experts thanked me for my service with their next breath. People like that made the 32 months I spent downrange worthwhile.