By Caleb J Ross.
1) Why did you decide to start Black Coffee Press, originally? Some might say the landscape is cluttered with too many publishers already, and that one more is just white noise. How do you break through this noise?
I was tired of being rejected. No, seriously. I started BCP with the poet Thomas Michael and we have always been huge fans of what Henry Rollins was trying to do with 2-13-61 back in the day when he was actually publishing some cool writers. And in particular that spirit of fuck mainstream and just do it yourself, which was very prominent in the American Hardcore Punk scene and can be transformed to other mediums of expression rather easily. The concept was very simple – let’s publish writers we want to read. John Martin did it with Black Sparrow Press and Ferlinghetti did it with City Lights Books. Seeing what Soft Skull or Eraserhead Press has done in the last ten years has been a huge nudge in the nutsack to get going and do something.
There are a lot of publishers out there, but there are a lot more writers to balance that out. I really think the difference is in who and what you publish and how you do it. We defiantly fit a niche. We are more gritty, and experimental then some. We hand select each of our authors. We work closely with them from the get go. We do not just take their work and jerk off on it and twist and make it something they never intended it to be. It’s a relationship. That’s the difference. From the pre-production, to layout and cover suggestions each author is involved. We take a personal stake in each book we put out into the world.
2) I believe the press started in 2008; after two short years, are there differences in the world of publishing that have caused you to revamp your business model in any way?
Everyday is a learning process. We are constantly changing the way we are looking at things. We try and stay fluid as much as possible. By no means are we set in our ways about how to present ourselves or our house of great writers. We try and stay abreast of the marketplace and what is happening out there in publishing and the underground as much as possible. We monitor the web and follow other great publishers and writers. I also try and befriend a lot of people. But since our business motto has always been to produce and promote great writing we are really free to work beyond the lines of standard publishing houses. We don’t have a ton of money to waste so what we do is well calculated and very precise. We started Black Coffee Press at the perfect time. Publishing is changing everyday and there really is a new guard taking hold and we are a guerrilla press by all means.
3) Why should people care about Black Coffee Press books?
If they love great writing, awesome writers and well crafted books than they need not look any further. From the cover design to the layout we have created something with the author that stands alone as something to be admired and fucking dug. It’s like a great album from a new band that is tight from the packaging of the CD to the music that is heard. Black Coffee Press is publishing great shit.
4) Tell me about your personal writing history? Why do you do it? How does you, being a writer, contribute to the overall mission of Black Coffee Press?
I’ve been writing professionally for just a few years. I have spent a decade or more honing my craft. I have been published both in print and online. Google me. I like saying that.
“Oh, do you write?”
“Yes, baby.”
“Where have you been published?”
“Go home and Google me, darling and get excited. Call me later.”
Being a writer has really helped as a publisher due solely to affect that I know what it takes to fully invest one’s soul completely into a piece of work. I totally respect that. I would never do anything to butcher what someone has worked so hard to create. My job is to make it better and get it out to the world. I don’t believe in over-editing. I like for a work to stand as is with just the minor changes needed. It grabbed my eye for a reason and I don’t see a need to alter much of that. On the other hand, being a writer myself, I know how it sucks to be rejected. So that parts really sucks as a publisher. I hate that. I wish I could send chocolate, flowers and a stuffed animal with each rejection.
5) You want to get to know someone. Where do you meet? How do you traverse the initial awkwardness?
Going for coffee and then later alcohol. That way you get to see how much they’ve lied to you beforehand. That’s when the real personality comes roaring out like zombie looking for brains. I usually drop my pants. That breaks the ice rather easily. I have sexy white legs. I’ve been told my calves are to die for.
Scott C. Rogers American poet, writer and publisher. He co-runs Black Coffee Press with the poet Thomas Michael. He is the author of Celluloid Cowboy (2008) and Love Like a Molotov Cocktail to the Chest (2010). He lives in Detroit.
First posted: Thursday, January 14th, 2010.
