The essence of this episode revolves around the exciting launch of PDN Books, our new publishing division aimed at supporting authors in the realms of parapsychology, the paranormal, and beyond. We, as passionate authors ourselves, recognize the inherent challenges faced in promoting literary works in an increasingly saturated market. Thus, we have endeavored to create a platform that not only provides robust marketing and public relations support but also fosters a community dedicated to the dissemination of knowledge within these specialized fields. As we unveil our submission process for prospective authors, we invite those who have faced rejection or who seek greater exposure for their self-published works to connect with us. The journey ahead promises to be transformative, as we strive to elevate voices that resonate with the mysteries of our existence and explore the profound intricacies of the human experience.

The premiere episode of the Deadly Departed podcast introduces listeners to a captivating dialogue between Jock and Craig, who seek to illuminate the shadowy corridors of the paranormal realm. Their conversation outlines the challenges they have encountered as authors, particularly in a literary landscape that is increasingly competitive, with thousands of books published daily. The hosts emphasize the importance of establishing a supportive community for authors, one that not only facilitates the publishing process but also actively engages in promoting their works to a wider audience. This foundational episode sets the stage for the future of PDN Books, a publishing venture designed to empower authors within the paranormal genre.

Throughout their discussion, the hosts candidly recount their own journeys through the often arduous path of traditional publishing, sharing personal anecdotes that resonate with many aspiring authors. They bring attention to the disheartening experiences of rejection and the realization that success in the literary world often hinges on an author's ability to market themselves and their work effectively. Jock and Craig's insights reveal a deeper understanding of the complexities involved in navigating the literary scene, particularly for those focused on the niche subject of the paranormal. The episode serves as a clarion call for authors seeking a more supportive and innovative publishing environment, fostering a sense of community and collaboration.

As the hosts unveil their vision for PDN Books, listeners are left with a sense of anticipation for what lies ahead. The podcast promises to not only explore the mysteries of the paranormal but also to delve into the intricacies of the publishing process, offering valuable insights and resources for authors and enthusiasts alike. Jock and Craig invite their audience to embark on this journey with them, signaling a new chapter in their commitment to exploring the unknown and supporting fellow writers in their quests to share their stories.

Takeaways:

• The Deadly Departed podcast serves as a conduit between the realms of the living and the deceased, inviting listeners to explore the enigmatic aspects of the supernatural.
• Jock and Craig, esteemed authors, aim to guide audiences through the complexities of parapsychology and unexplained phenomena, backed by credible experts in the field.
• The establishment of PDN Books signifies a pivotal moment in supporting authors by providing comprehensive marketing and public relations resources that are often lacking in traditional publishing.
• A new initiative, the PDN Book Awards, will soon be launched, featuring cash prizes and recognition for outstanding contributions in the field of paranormal literature, further incentivizing authors to share their work.

Links referenced in this episode:

• pdnbooks.com

Companies mentioned in this episode:

• Paranormal Daily News
• PDN Books
• Amazon
• Penguin
• Random House
• Journal of Parapsychology
• Audible
• Dan Brown
• Parapsychological Association
• PDN Book Awards

Welcome to the Deadly Departed podcast, where the veil between the living and the dead is just a whisper away.

I'm Jock, and along with my colleagues in Paranormal Daily News, we will be your guides through the shadowy realms of the paranormal and the unexplained.

In each episode, we will dive into the eerie and the enigmatic with the help of today's leading experts in parapsychology, science and the supernatural, prepare to uncover the secrets that lurk in the dark and explore the mysteries that defy explanation.

Let's embark on this journey now.

Good morning, good afternoon, good evening, ladies and gentlemen, wherever you are in the world.

This is Craig and Jock here from Deadly Departed pdn.

We've got some brilliant announcements that we want to make of things that are happening in PDN and something that we've been working behind the scenes for quite a while, actually.

Good couple of years.

And that's something that we want to share with everybody out there.

And this is going to benefit us as authors as well.

So you can guess where we're going in that.

Right.

Craig, how you doing, by the way?

It's been a while since we've done a little chat together on this.

Oh, I'm good, Jock.

It's morning here in California, so for me it's about 9:00am and for you, you're getting into your afternoon.

So that's.

I am, yes.

And the temperature here has plummeted recently, so my wife was complaining that the sun is only here in very sparse points.

For me, this is my favorite time of year.

Obviously it's gone into the autumn season, so it's great.

I get to get my camera out and go for little walks and take some shots and things like that.

You know, Craig, you and I are authors.

My wife is an author.

We know many authors.

But we also know how hard it is as an author to not only promote our books to get readers.

I was going to say listeners to get read, but listeners as well, because that's another thing that's also audio.

It's also audio.

Yeah, actually.

And that's another thing that actually we are doing.

But yeah, we know what it's like to put a book out there.

Certainly not one that's written by AI I've mentioned this many times.

But to have a passion for something to passionately put down on paper our thoughts and our wisdom and our knowledge and to share it with the world, the hardest thing is to promote it and get it out there.

And publishing has changed over the years and it's something we've been Looking at for quite a while, isn't is?

Yeah, well, you know, for example, I think there's like 4,000 books a day go onto Amazon.

So 4,000 a day.

Trying to be heard above that kind of noise is a real challenge.

So even if you have the greatest book in the world, there's no guarantee that somebody will read it.

Even getting a publisher doesn't necessarily guarantee you that your book will get the proper publicity so that you'll at least have a chance for it to be read.

You know, it's funny you mentioned that, because I don't know how it was for you, but I remember I wrote my first book.

The amount of rejections I had from agents and publishers.

I mean, yes, I have agents now and I've had publishers and I've only ever traditionally published now with the advent of AI, anybody I saw, I saw an ad the other day says obviously it's one of these promises in the world and doesn't deliver.

But, you know, earning six figures a month because they're developing books on AI and putting them out there.

And it's kind of disheartening for anybody out there who's an author, because anybody can become an author in AI, but you're not.

Yes, you can put words on paper and words on the screen, but you're not putting your heart and soul and your passion into it.

And I think that's where I think we agree as well that this is the scary thing about this AI industry.

Especially now you've got everybody, everybody saying, pump the books out there and earn six figures a month.

Which is not true, actually.

No, it's not.

And I remember being turned down so many times.

It was so disheartening.

Did you, did you apply for agents and publishers and get turned down?

I was working with one publisher.

I had it almost in the bag and the person I was working with, everything just suddenly fell through.

The book was topical and yeah, yeah, that's a story I don't want to get into because it would involve trash talking somebody that I really, I really don't want to do that.

Yeah, I've been there.

I actually get.

I am not going to mention mine, but I actually got an upfront payment from a publisher for a book idea that I actually started writing and got think a quarter way or halfway into it.

And then they changed their mind and so we had a bit of a.

Bit of an argument and I ended up getting to keep.

I kind of won legally and got to keep the upfront payment, but again, that was way Back in the day, we don't have upfront payments now because there's so much of it.

Even to get a publishing deal is something in itself.

I ended up self publishing.

I wasn't going to wait, you know, six or eight months for somebody to come up with, you know, for maybe something to happen.

And it was, it was a book about parapsychology.

So it was very specialized and I didn't think I had a whole lot of chance.

So I self published an ebook and a regular book, figured out how to do an ebook, you know, just learned how so.

And that, that ended up working for me because the audience was so specialized in that particular case that it started getting reviewed by, by scientists and recommended by them.

I was getting good reviews.

In fact, recently I got reviewed by the Journal of Parapsychology.

Excellent.

Yeah, A couple years ago, I think.

Now it keeps staying out there, but that's because it's very specialized.

It's talking to a particular audience and that particular audience doesn't have another book that addresses that particular thing.

So it's a little different than most other stuff.

Most self published things go into the bin of history, never to be seen again.

That's right.

And then of course, even if you are with a publisher, I mean I've published with really big publishers, large, multinational, I won't mention names, but large multinational publishers.

And what I found was I was kind of left to my own devices.

I probably had delusions of grandeur.

So I thought, you know, my first book, I thought I'll go write the book, I got to retire to a little cottage by the sea, I'm going to sell lords, I go buy a house.

It just, it doesn't happen that way.

And you realize when you get into publishing, it's a fricking hard game to actually come on top with.

And I found very quickly that if I didn't market it and if I didn't stand behind it, it wasn't going to go anywhere.

Essentially a publisher put it out there and then it has a little bit of, they maybe do a press release, they maybe do a little thing.

But essentially it's down to you.

It's down to you to get your reviews, it's down to you to get your network.

And unless you're a household name, you're signed up with likes of Penguin, Random House or one of the other ones where they have a full PR team behind you because you're famous and you've Millions of followers, you're not going to get anywhere.

And if you're in a specialized field that we are, which is so small, it really is down to you.

And that's where we are trying to change the game.

So here we are, ladies and gentlemen.

One of the things that we've been working on is our own traditional publishing division.

PDN Books has grown.

PDN Books?

Shut up, Jock.

You've just let it off the bag.

Paranormal Daily News, the magazine has been growing over the years.

It has got a great reputation, it has got a great readership, we have dedicated, I would say fans.

Plus we have highly regarded professionals in the field of parapsychology, science and other avenues, transpersonal psychology, that love it.

We now have a peer reviewed journal which is also being launched and we have our community and there's many, many other assets that we have out there, including this podcast and various other things that we have ongoing as well.

So it was a natural progression for us to look at developing our own publishing brand, our own publishing label.

And so.

God, how long has it been, Craig, that we've been working on this?

In a long time?

Four, five, six?

Well, we, I mean, how long have we.

So, so we've been working together, I mean, years.

So it wasn't long after that we started talking about it and talking about it with Linda in Australia.

And behind the scenes we've been trying to develop PDN Books and trying to develop in a way that we can give a lot more to our authors.

And so we have done that now.

Our site is nearly finished.

We've got, you know, we're in the process developing it and building it now.

There may be some tweaks and changes and things that we're going to do.

You can check that out on pdnbooks.com but we are now open for submissions, although I don't know if the submission form is up and running yet, but you can message us through Paranormal Daily News.

But the idea is that we will be able to appeal to a wider audience and also to give something to our authors that they don't get.

And that is a full support system for marketing and pr.

Yeah, way more than what any other publisher would give you because we have got PDN magazine, we have got our other assets, we've got lots of different ways of doing it.

We've also started since, you know, we, we, we started developing promotions, we have a promotional system for authors where they can and they don't and they, and that's actually correct.

They don't actually have to be one of our authors yet, because we're only just launching that now.

But we've, we've had authors that have now taken up our author promotion packages.

And I think that's a terrific deal because the, the thing that PDM provides is ongoing support.

In other words, it's not just.

We threw up a page on a website for you.

Here you go.

Good luck.

We're doing more than that.

We're keeping it in the social media.

We'll be talking about it and generally keeping your book up into the public awareness so that it has a chance to catch hold and reach the audience that it deserves.

And we just.

And I just finished actually doing a little author interview because we've got a new section on Deadly Departed that we're doing, which is the Author Spotlight.

So if you are an author in our field of specialization and you want to promote with us, then obviously we do have a fee for it.

But we'll get you on as well and we'll talk with you about your book and we'll promote you there on the podcast and on various avenues.

And we've just did the first one.

We've got another couple that we're setting up of authors that have advertised with us, and so we'll be promoting them.

But this is just the stepping stone until, for, until we reach to get our authors.

We've got some new titles coming out and we're also going to be really excited.

We're going to be republishing old titles and giving them a new lease of life, which I'm excited about, Craig, actually, because that means it's people out there in our field that have maybe published before but didn't get much from it in terms of sales or getting exposure.

And so we are in a great opportunity where we can republish those titles and if they've self published, then we can get them into our brand.

Yeah, yeah.

And that works marvelously for people because the object is to sell books.

I know that there's the.

Yeah.

So, you know, I know that there's not a huge amount of money to be made from writing your book, but it's an important thing about sharing the information that needs to be shared that you know, that nobody else quite knows the way you do.

And I think there's something in.

There's something in it as well.

When you really polish a book and you take it from your heart and your soul and passion, that you have to have somebody else read it and get something.

I mean, obviously we got good reviews Bad reviews.

It happens anyway.

But to have someone that I should write to you and say, your book changed my life or your book made me think differently, or you know what, I was quite skeptical beforehand, but no, I'm even more skeptical now.

Or, you know, I'm changing.

The whole paradigm has changed for me.

So I think that's important as well.

And I think that's where PDN books is going to be different and help also to bring academic writing to the lay community so that they can enjoy learning about stuff that's probably so dry.

And we're also going to be bringing in obviously an imprint for paranormal spirituality side of things as well.

And we're open for submissions now.

So if you've got, if you've been turned down before or you've got a book that you've self published but you want to get a little more behind it, then please contact us.

Let us know what your idea is.

Again, you can check our site.

We have got a submission process.

We won't just take anything on.

And it's not just me and Craig with other people.

We've got, obviously Linda's our editor and chief editor and who will be in charge of her own imprint and spirituality.

She doesn't know that yet.

So she's going.

Surprise.

I was going to say surprise.

Linda, if you're listening to this, yeah, we do need to arrange a meeting so we can, we can all conflab.

But there's other people involved with us as well, and designers.

And so our aim is to support authors.

And the reason is because we know what it takes and we understand the support that we would have liked.

And maybe we can do that because I've had a lot of experience in media and PR and public.

And not so much public.

Well, yes, publishing world, but in marketing and content marketing.

And so bringing that skill set into PDN and developing this is going to help us to take this to a new level.

So we're really excited, guys.

We're really, really excited.

Again, as I mentioned, we've got some old titles that we're going to be revamping, revitalizing, and who knows where this is going to take us.

And also we have Craig here that will be offering audio versions of the books.

So we'll also have the audio side as well.

Because I love to sit and hold a book with a coffee or something and read.

Yeah.

My wife, for example, listens to all of her books.

She rarely has a print copy in her hands.

It's almost always.

She drives a lot and she listens to books on tape when she's doing that.

She's currently listening to Dan Brown's Awesome.

I see.

That's the thing.

See, Dan Brown doesn't need a marketing team because he's.

No, Dan Brown does not need a marketing team.

I published something.

I love Audible as well.

I've got probably on my Audible library, I've got like 400 odd titles that I listen to.

And even with some of the academic research that I do, I'd rather listen to the Audible version.

I know bore the face off my wife.

Right.

You know, with some of the stuff that I listen to.

Right enough when we're in the car.

So I tend to have to go for a hike.

But of course there's all of that and who knows, there may be some other avenues that we'll bring into PDN Books.

So there you have it, ladies and gentlemen.

PDN Books has finally got a life.

And yeah, and the way we're doing it as well is for you authors out there, I'm not going to give up too much.

But there's an opportunity.

Yes.

You may come in with us and start off very easy, very light, with a contract that is probably more fitting for a beginner or more fitting for even like a print on demand side of things.

But we are moving into a full global distribution and that's hard copy, traditional print books with full distribution, with foreign rights, everything else.

And that's why it's taken so, so, so long to even get to this point.

So there is an opportunity for our authors to really expand and grow with us.

Because as we said, we're authors.

We know what's missing.

We've been there.

We've watched every freaking review, good and bad.

And we've put ourselves out there trying to promote.

We know how hard it can be.

So we want to bring our family in and to support not only the academic world, but also those interested in other avenues of parapsychology, transpersonal psychology, the paranormal and in spiritual fields.

So look out, guys.

Please sign up to our newsletter on Paranormal Daily News.

Oh, and also we have another announcement coming very soon which we're not going to let you know about.

Just know something Craig and I have been working on for quite a while and that will be coming through pdn, which might be music Terriers.

We'll just say that we'll just.

For now, it's secret.

It's secret.

You can't know about it.

So.

It is Halloween season.

That was his scary thing.

And also, guys, as well as launching PDN Books, we also have our own clothing line, a clothing brand that we're going to be launching very soon.

We're working on that as well.

So there is absolutely so much coming up, so much exciting things, and we couldn't do it without a great team behind us.

And we, this is a passion project for us.

It's passionate and we hope that we can show the same passion to your books.

If you're an author and don't hold yourself back, if you've got an idea for a book and everybody else is turning you down, who knows, we may not turn you down.

We're not going to guarantee we're going to take it.

But, you know, we are looking for new voices, so contact us.

Craig, anything else you want to say before we finish off?

Yeah.

So when you're signing with us, you have to remember this is our thing.

Jacques and I are both associate members of the Parapsychological Association.

We are very much committed to the paranormal.

We respect people within the community.

And so if you are writing, if you sign up with us in this, you are giving money to the people who appreciate you the most.

Oh, and I forgot, we are also launching the PDN Book Awards, which we're not going to go into that just now, but we do have PDN Book Awards coming out that will be announced very soon.

And if you're an author, you will be able to apply for the PDN Book Awards.

Now, it's not just any award, there is a cash prize and it will be probably the biggest book awards in our field ever and probably the biggest prize ever.

So stay tuned for that.

That's another announcement we've got very soon as well, all to do with pdn.

For those of you who are with us, who are writers or readers or members of our community, we thank you.

We couldn't do without you.

And please share this with everybody.

This is an exciting time for us.

God bless.

Thanks for tuning in to Deadly Departed.

I hope you enjoyed our exploration into the strange and mysterious.

If you like what you heard, don't forget to subscribe rate and leave a review.

Join us next time as we continue to unravel the unexplained and bring you the latest from the world of the paranormal and parapsychology.

Until then, keep questioning, stay curious and never stop seeking the truth.