What is Broken Hilt Publishing?

Broken Hilt Publishing is an imprint of my own self-publishing venture. So, it’s an imprint of Stephen Pannett. It currently only publishes books that have been authored by me. It’s not a small press or publishing house in its own right — at least not at the time of writing. It also specifically caters to work in the gritty or grimdark fantasy genres. Let me explain.

Self-publishing and imprints explained

For the uninitiated, there are several routes available when it comes to publishing a book. Traditional publishing (trad pub) typically requires that an author has representation. This is because buyers at the big, traditional publishing houses tend to only deal with literary agents. To find an agent, an author pitches their book via what’s known as a query. A query gives that agent a solid idea of what the book is about, how marketable it might be, and what you’re like to work with as a person.

Some smaller publishing houses (independently owned outside of the ‘Big Five’ of Penguin Random House, Hachette, HarperCollins, Pan Macmillan, and Simon & Schuster) may deal directly with authors. Organisations like this are often referred to as an “indie press” and will have a small selection of authors that they publish and promote.

And last but by no means least, you have self-publishing. This is where the creator of the work (i.e. the person who writes the story) also publishes and handles all of the marketing themselves. Write the story, publish the story, sell the story.

Where do imprints come into all this?

Remember those “Big Five” publishing houses? Well, they actually account for about 80% of the entire market. And they do this through imprints. In short, an imprint is a trade name, or sub-brand, that typically specialises in one genre or sub-genre. This allows them to better target readers who might like similar books (and therefore optimise their marketing spend accordingly). Sometimes an imprint might start life as an indie press and, if they find success in their particular niche, might get bought out by one of the “Big Five” – that’s why you will see more than just five publisher logos inside your books, but they might well all be part of the same ecosystem.

Why make my own imprint?

I started my own imprint for the exact same reason that the behemoth publishing houses do: I want to make sure readers can find the books they’re looking for.

Now, I’m not delusional enough to think that me—via the medium of self-publishing—has anything close to the market penetration of huge, established publishing houses. But, as well as writing, I’ve had a successful career working in design, marketing and branding. All of that experience has taught me that presentation, proposition and placement are just as important as the skill and craft that goes into actually creating something.

In short, I wanted to ensure that the stories I write are well-categorised from the beginning. So I started this imprint, Broken Hilt Publishing, as somewhere to house my dark, gritty fantasy fiction novels. That way, if I ever decide to write in a different genre, I’ll create another imprint for books that cater for those readers!

Right now I don’t have any plans to write outside of the fantasy space, but doing this now will save me—and you, the reader—some headaches later on!

Why ‘Broken Hilt Publishing’?

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Will it ever be a small press?

Or, to ask the question another way: will I ever publish work by other authors?

The short answer is “no, not right now” — and the slightly longer answer is “I don’t have any designs on making this happen, but hey, never say never!”

I am, after all, really enjoying my publishing journey. And there is a lot to be said about the value of the book community that exists out there. There is real power in a group of people working towards a common goal, especially if they all bring different skillsets to the party!

But right now, I’m happy with it as an imprint solely for my own books.

What happens if I write in another genre?

If I start writing in another genre, expect another imprint to appear on this website! It’s as simple as that. I want my imprint(s) to serve as a tool for categorisation. If I decide to stray outside of gritty, dark fantasy, then you can expect another one to be born as a result!

That being said, I have no immediate plans for doing this right now. I still have dozens of ideas for writing in my preferred genre. And I love this niche too much right now to be tempted by writing something else.

But, the joy of being self-published is that I get to make my own decisions. The journey (and its various pit-stops and off-piste jaunts) is mine to make. And, let me say, dear Reader, I’m very glad to have you along with me.

If you’d like to learn more about my books you can find them here, or if you want to get to know me a bit more you can find some info here, or connect with me on social media.

📚✌🏻SP

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