Publishing Mentorship Program
ABOUT OUR PUBLISHING MENTORSHIP PROGRAM
We started Two Dollar Radio in 2005 with no experience in publishing. A major reason why we were able to establish ourselves out of the gate and achieve sustainability was due to the support and insight we received from individuals in the industry who were gracious with their time and knowledge, and kind enough to answer our questions regardless of how basic they might appear on the surface.
While we’ve advised other publishers in the past, through our mentorship program we want to leave the door open to passionate individuals pursuing publishing — either as a start-up or an already existing young press — but who may not have easy access to industry professionals and their insight because of geography, experience, or class.
As the corporate publishing industry continues to consolidate, we feel it creates an exciting environment for publishers to spring up and present a diversity of stories from new voices. It is our hope that they and their authors flourish.
PUBLISHING MENTORSHIP PROGRAM:
We imagine a mentorship consisting of an initial hour-long introductory phone conversation with periodic follow-ups by email or phone as questions arise, with Eric Obenauf, who co-founded Two Dollar Radio and operates all facets of the company with his wife Eliza.
It won’t necessarily be a rigid or structured program, but rather governed by available time within busy schedules, need, and the urgency of the questions, with the potential to continue without an end-date and into the future.
We imagine helping to answer questions relating to (but not limited to) distribution, publicity, editorial, printing, contracts, and rights.
If you’d like to sign up, please complete this Publishing Mentorship Program form.
If you have additional questions about the program or are a publisher who would like to be listed here, then please use our contact form.
Please note that for a number of reasons we will not be able to work with every individual or organization who applies, which says nothing of the merit of your project but more about time constraints.
OTHER PUBLISHERS:
There are a number of other publishers who are running similar mentorship programs. If you feel as though their experience might prove more insightful for your specific enterprise, then please feel free to reach out to them:
And Other Stories — And Other Stories Publishing Mentorship page.
Stefan Tobler started indie press And Other Stories with no experience in publishing: read more here!
Belt Publishing — Belt Publishing About page.
Anne Trubek, founder of Belt Publishing, has written a book about the publishing process and inner workings of the industry: In So You Want to Publish a Book?
Deep Vellum — Deep Vellum Publishing Mentorship page.
In 2013, Will Evans opened Deep Vellum, a nonprofit organization with the goal to bring books, writers, and translators to Dallas by publishing the world’s best and most diverse literature from around the world and to create a community space for all things literary.