Michael Grant Kellermeyer, MA, a former English professor, owns and runs the splendiferous Oldstyle Tales Press, where he dons a variety of hats: bibliographer, illustrator, editor, critic, blogger, proof-reader, and barker (the old-fashioned word for "publicist"), amongst others. The Press provides high quality, annotated and illustrated print and e-books that don't cost the earth. I’m delighted that he was able to take time from his busy schedule to answer a few questions.

What inspired you to become a publisher, especially of vintage supernatural writers?

When I graduated college, my parents’ graduation present consisted of buying my wish-list of fifty novels and short story anthologies by British and American writers from John Milton to Graham Greene, and while I was in grad school I started reading my way through them. I always loved classic horror (especially Poe and Bierce), but – much like the academy – I considered it an escapist indulgence, not serious fiction. In grad school I had a fantastic class on Romanticism which revitalized my fascination with the likes of Mary Shelley, E. T. A. Hoffmann, and Washington Irving. During my last semester in grad school (and I graduated in December, so this was during the Halloween season), I started reading the spookiest books in the collection my parents bought me: Bierce, Le Fanu (both from Dover), and Lovecraft (Delrey).

Unfortunately, I noticed that the books left me wanting: their introductions were essentially author biographies with very little discussion of analysis, themes, or interpretations of the fiction itself, and they had no notes or illustrations, leaving both my imagination and intellect wanting more. I thought back to the analysis-heavy Oxford Annotated editions of literary novels which were required reading for my grad school classes, and I wished that these horror anthologies had some kind of a gloss or guide to assist in interpreting and understanding their highly-symbolic, often tantalizing stories.

The final straw came while I was re-reading my all-time favorite ghost story anthology – Hauntings: Tales of the Supernatural, (ed., Henry Mazzeo, illus. Edward Gorey) – which included illustrations as well as contextual introductions and closing analyses for each story. It reminded me of a college course where a professor would introduce a work, let us read it, then guide us through some of the themes or contexts that we might have missed. We would need to come up with the ultimate interpretation, but at least it offered us some guideposts.

I decided to create something similar to fill the gap I perceived in classic horror, and while I waited to start my first semester as an adjunct professor, I put together an anthology of my favorite Victorian ghost stories: one with footnotes like the Oxford Annotated books, and with illustrations, and story introductions and analyses like Hauntings. I initially wanted to do five books in a series of classic horror anthologies. Since then it has grown to nearly thirty titles and going.

Considering the huge amount of work that goes into creating a book, that is some achievement (Hauntings is one of my favourite anthologies, too, though the real horror of it was, my copy came with library stamps all over Gorey's illos).

I know we can read your blogs to discover all the writers you publish, but out of those, who are your favourites?

I won’t dodge this and say “all of them,” because I do have some definite favorites. Washington Irving is my favorite author, for his cheeky prose and humor as well as his supernatural tales, and M. R. James is my favorite writer of horror-for-horror’s-sake. I also adore Algernon Blackwood, J. S. Le Fanu, F. Marion Crawford, Arthur Machen, Edith Nesbit, Ambrose Bierce, and Henry James, in particular. Other favorites include W. W. Jacobs, Margaret Oliphant, Rhoda Broughton, and – of course – the three S’s: Shelley, Stevenson, and Stoker. Fortunately, though, I’ve never felt a need to publish an author whose work I detest or outright dislike: I’ve thoroughly enjoyed each of the nearly thirty authors I’ve worked on.

How long does it take you to create a book, from concept to publication?

Usually three to four months. The writing (introduction, footnotes, and individual story analyses) takes ten weeks, usually, although I only work about 8-12 hours a week, and the illustrations take about a month. The final formatting and the publishing process takes one week.

When writing, do you use pen and paper, computer, laptop, typewriter? Do you work alone or in coffee shops? Music or silence?

What a fabulous question! I have a 1960s Remington Rand Quiet-Riter typewriter, but the nature of my business requires a laptop. I do my best work either in one of the cozy corners in my house (I like putting my feet up, have a view out a window, and have a spot for coffee to sit), although I do sometimes get work done at The Firefly, my local coffee shop (on my same street, even) in Fort Wayne. I absolutely love music, and usually play it while I’m working. Some books I’ve done even had a “soundtrack” that I listened to while I worked on them: I listened to Philip Glass’ The Hours score on repeat while doing Henry James; James Newton Howard’s The Village while working on Algernon Blackwood and others (it’s my favorite spooky soundtrack); Rachmaninoff for F. Marion Crawford, and Atrium Carceri with M. R. James.

What do you think are the key skills necessary to be a successful publisher?

I think creativity is the most important skill, but the very next one is business acumen: the ability to find a market, create a beautiful and useful product, connect with an audience, wisely manage your financials, and be open to improvement. Just like a writer, publishers must learn to “murder their darlings”: my website is nothing like the one I started, and my books look very little like the ones I first printed in 2013. It was often difficult for me to admit when something wasn’t working, but choosing to take critical advice from my wife, friends, customers, and critics led to a much better, much more profitable product. Taking insightful advice gracefully is a must.

What do you think is the most exciting thing that publishers can do?

They get to expose the world to new literary universes and life changing ideas and visions. In my specific instance, as a publisher of classics, I’m not ushering in a new voice, but I am introducing it to a new audience: one which may either never have heard of this author (especially the likes of Fitz-James O’Brien, F. Marion Crawford, Arthur Machen, or Edith Nesbit), or – even if they have – haven’t had access to the literary interpretations and historical contexts that I provide with my notes.

What do you think are the biggest challenges facing independent publishers today?

I think being able to reach and keep an audience, especially in our noisy, busy, over-commercialized world makes it tough for independent publishers to make their business profitable. We don’t want to be materialistic, but profit is the difference between a hobby and a business. Mine was a hobby for the first two years, but as I spent more time on it I wanted to financially justify the hours I was working on it. It proved very hard to gain and retain customers in a very competitive, noisy marketplace, and fortunately I have.

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