EXCLUSIVE INTERVIEW: Writer/Editor/Publisher Danielle Ackley-McPhail Talks Decades Of Work In Short Sci-Fi And Fantasy Fiction

Award-winning author, editor, and publisher Danielle Ackley-McPhail has established herself as one of the most prolific voices in speculative fiction, with an impressive catalog that spans eight novels and numerous short story collections. She’s been acting as a publisher for decades in short fiction, building Kickstarter success through her consistent releases in the genre.

Her latest project, "The Cryptid Compendium," represents a fascinating departure into the realm of mysterious creatures that lurk at the edges of our world. This 104-page collection, featuring 33 full-color illustrations by artist JW Harp, compiles cryptids featured in the first five years of the acclaimed Systema Paradoxa series. The book explores creatures "long relegated to myth and legend" that have somehow survived in our modern world – beings that "swim in our lakes and bays, soar the night skies, and hunt in the woods."

After another successful Kickstarter campaign, this book is set to release July 1st on Amazon, and Ackley-McPhail sat down with Fandom Pulse for an interview on her incredible career. She also has a current anthology project, A Future For Ferals, an anthology meant to celebrate those who rescue strays, funding on Kickstarter right now, with several big names in science fiction like Sharon Lee and Keith R.A. DeCandido contributing.

You’ve worked at about every level of the mainstream publishing industry. What would you say was your best and most notable experience and how did it shape your career?

Thank you for asking. I can say with all honesty that I have done absolutely every job there is in publishing, between my career of 35 years and being a publisher for ten. While it was a great experience working for Random House, it is the niche publishers like Music Sales and BBS Publishing, and later working freelance for a host of small presses, that prepared me the most for being a publisher. With smaller operations where staff is limited, more aspects of the process fall to one individual than with larger corporations. While not the only publishers I worked with over the years, the two I’ve mentioned exposed me to all aspects of book production and promotion in ways that would not have happened at a traditional publishing house. Tasks like writing cover copy, laying out a book, sales brochures… and so much more. I wouldn’t be nearly as good at what I do now without having built my business on that firm foundation.

eSpec Books is your current company that’s been crowdfunding short fiction with some of the biggest authors in the business for a long time. Tell us about this company and what your goals are.

I have to be honest, I never wanted to be a publisher. It is a lot of responsibility, not to mention a *LOT* of work, particularly being one of those niche publishers where staff is limited. Unfortunately, as an author, I never trusted the big five publishers or their process because I’d worked for them. I knew that most authors did not get the time or support that the headliners did, so why go through a years-long process to maybe “make it”? Because of this, all of my personal writing has been published by small and mid-level independent publishers, places where I had more creative input, production schedules were quicker, and acquisitions were not dictated by the accounting department. Of course, the hard truth is that such publishers rarely have longevity. They make mistakes, they get in too deep, or they just burn out.

I sadly have a lot of experience being caught up in that process, watching as things go wrong.

I used to bring many choice opportunities to the publishers I worked with, courtesy of all the established authors I have networked with over the years, but by the time my fourth publisher started to go off the rails, I could no longer in good conscience offer him the projects people brought to me. Around that time, I had the good fortune to participate in my first Kickstarter campaign as a contributor for the anthology Athena’s Daughters put out by Silence in the Library Press. The platform was fairly new at the time, and this campaign had the distinction of being the highest-grossing publishing campaign at the time. I learned a lot while participating, and it opened my eyes to the possibilities.

We—my husband Mike McPhail and I—had toyed with the idea of becoming a press before this, but releasing titles only digitally, thus eSpec Books, specializing in electronic speculative fiction, but nothing came of it. When our last publisher showed signs of folding, and we had been educated in the wonders of crowdfunding, we resurrected our plan and registered eSpec Books LLC, joining forces with our long-time friend and bookseller, Greg Schauer of Between Books, an independent bookstore in Delaware. Of course, thanks to crowdfunding and the boom of POD printing options, we no longer needed to limit ourselves to digital medium.

As publishers, we primarily focused on science fiction and fantasy, both anthologies (which we have always been known for) and original novels by the authors we have formed relationships with over the years. We have since expanded into steampunk and horror. Because of our long history, and our wealth of experience in the industries of publishing and printing, not to mention our proven track record for well-compiled collections, eSpec Books quickly grew.

Having learned from publishers past what not to do, all of our new projects are crowdfunded in one manner or another, building a dedicated audience and ensuring that the company remains in the black, despite the turmoil in the industry. If it doesn’t fund, it isn’t published, though to date we have not had to face that issue. Our goal is to produce quality original fiction and fun anthology projects, as well as to give our authors a good and stable home for their books. We are not just publishers, we are family.

You’ve worked with a lot of Star Trek-licensed novelists on their original works. How did you form relationships there?