VIII

I know noble accents
And lucid, inescapable rhythms;
But I know, too,
That the blackbird is involved
In what I know.

(from Thirteen Ways of Looking at a Blackbird, by Wallace Stevens)

This week, I decided that it probably made the most sense to start a publishing company. So, I did. I did the necessary searches, registered the name etc. It didn’t take long. World, meet Crow Girl Publishing. If Crow is on my side, then this could be the start of a beautiful friendship.

It’s not open for submissions–sorry writer friends. It’s just for the whole self-publishing undertaking. Nor is it an attempt to conceal that I’m self-publishing. Anyone going to the website will find it patently obvious (I think), that it’s just me, doing my thing. It’s just a matter of branding, and the overarching vision I have, in that context.

Here’s the thing: here in Canada, we can get free ISBNs from one of the fabulous branches of the government (some sub- sub- part of the Canadian Library and Archives or somesuch). Fabulous! So, for a variety of reasons, I figured that in applying for ISBNs from them, it probably made the most sense to do it as a publisher rather than as me, myself, and I. Though it amounts to the same thing, because obviously Crow Girl is one of those three (not saying which).

Just to clarify, for any Canadian writers reading this blog, you CAN register for ISBNs under your own, personal name. I just wanted to create the brand of Crow Girl Publishing as associated with my stuff. I’m not sure why–but it somehow feels empowering to take on the name and role of publisher in such an explicit way (I also really like crows and find them powerful and archetypal–a source of symbolic empowerment, as it were).

Not precisely the same thing, but I remember hearing how Loreena McKennitt was indie and just did her own thing and eschewed the big studio labels, even way back in the day when everyone wanted that big studio contract. I really admired that when I heard about it, but at the time, I had thought that I would never be up for something like that, myself. Of course, it’s a different world now–but it’s still pretty cool that I’ve gotten to this stage. Taking this step felt powerful, fun and satisfying. The world has changed, but so have I–and I guess I really am a different person today than I was back then.

I created the poster to commemorate it. The image has this blog listed because the CGP website is mainly for people who want to look it up when they see my listing on Amazon or whatever. I’ll post upcoming events and releases, but it’s not really going to be updated all that much–this will be my main site, still. But, if you want to check out the site, it is (as linked above), http://crowgirlpublishing.wordpress.com. I’ll admit–I do rather like what I did with the headers!