“I can’t help but to write stories. They are always in my mind. I have to get them onto paper.” ~ Troy Hooker, author The Watcher Key and The Watcher Tower
Descendant Publishing began in 2018 as the result of Troy’s desire to publish The Watcher Key. As he wrote, he began researching the best ways of publishing a Christian novel in today’s literary marketplace. What he found was that traditional publishing was rapidly being overtaken by self-publishing and on-demand printing. And the question of: “Was there even a market for his genre?”
His first story, The Watcher Key, was nearly ten years in the making. Ten years? You ask. “Well, the story started that long ago. It just took me that long to make something out of it. The first chapter was actually written about five years ago, and I didn’t pick it up again until last year. I simply just didn’t know how to finish it.”
While writing The Watcher Key, Troy made the decision to self publish. From what he had read, he knew it was a long, difficult process with much to learn. Writing the story was only the beginning. Designing the cover and interior, securing the ISBN numbers and barcodes (which are pricey by the way), sketching and inking the interior illustrations, copyrighting the manuscript, going over the story fourteen billion times to make sure it flows, promoting the book, web sites, social media pages… the list can get quite extensive–and expensive.
Why not just send it to a traditional publisher?
“We wanted Descendant Publishing to be different. Christian fiction, yes, but drawing from the roots of Tolkien and C.S. Lewis to make something truly exciting. We want every story to be adventurous, something remarkable.”
Sending his story to a traditional publisher wouldn’t allow them to be different. Unique, while keeping at the forefront the real purpose of their company, to serve God and point others to Him. Together, with his wife Stacy, they plan to start with that.
“We are still in the beginnings of Descendant Publishing and still don’t know exactly what it will look like. We hope to find and publish many Christian Fiction/Fantasy authors who are having trouble finding a home for their masterpieces that have the same values and purpose we have.”
But first, they must finish publishing book two and three of the Descendants of Light series, then look outward. From there, who knows where Descendant Publishing will take them?
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