Interview with Club Lighthouse Publishing Editor Terrie L. Balmer

Terrie L. Balmer is a wonderful editor who gives her publishing house a personal touch. She publishers all kinds of book in ebook format in pretty much any electric format you can think of!

Here she is to tell us about her work. Here's a link to Club Lighthouse Publishing.

Can you tell us about Club Lighthouse Publishing?

Well Club Lighthouse Publishing has been in business since 2006. It started with just me at the helm and six books...all mine of course. I started it on a Government Small Business grant after the film industry in which I was working for five years, started to slow down here in Toronto. Also, the idea to start CLP was actually conceived in 2002 while I was still completely bitten by the film industry bug...but never got the chance to start it until it's official inception.

What made you want to start an ebook publishing company?

After years of dealing with crooked literary agents because most of the big publishing houses would not accept un-agented submissions, I was totally frustrated. I also had enough rejection letters to paper my walls from the smaller publishers...who though they were kind in their critiques...just weren't interested in such a long novel. After writing and erotica novel that finally got me published by Renaissance, the also agreed to publish my very long novel...and release it as a four part series. Still I believed in the books I had written (by now there was also a sequel to Love's Legacy). I found too, that a lot of the big publishers were more concerned about the bottom-line as opposed to creativity on the author's parts...as most big corporations are. This is why electronic publishing has provided the means by which many a talented author can have his or her work published and recognized...and they have a worldwide reader base via the internet. Is it any wonder that a lot of the big publishing houses now have e-book divisions?

Also, I knew there were other authors with very good books who were more than likely being passed over because they weren't a household name, and I wanted to help ease some of the hurdles they experienced like I did. At the time e-book publishing was still relatively new...and a ground floor opportunity as many people were still in love with their print books. Oh yes, and it's it great for the environment too...one of the reasons I'm reluctant to go to print as I feel electronic reading is where the future is...maybe not immediately, but it's fast getting there.


What do you think the advantages are for publishing ebooks over traditional publishing?

Electronic publishing has provided the means by which many a talented author can have his or her work published and recognized...and they have a worldwide reader base via the internet. Where they would be virtually ignored by the big print publishing house because they're not household names such as Rice, Conroy, King, Sparks...to name a few of the well known authors of today.

How many hours a week would you say you work for CLP?

I still keep film industry hours, and I can very often put in 80 hours a week especially at prepping and upload time. Then there's the sifting through the pile of manuscript currently on hold to determine which ones will be contracted etc. Reviewing is what takes a lot of time, along with all of the other administrative duties I still perform. I'm always on the look out for any of our authors who maybe have certain talents can be utilized.

What is your favourite part of being the editor of CLP?

Well, I get to read some really interesting manuscripts and I get to choose which ones I will edit of course...I suppose being the CEO and Chief Editor has it's perks (smiling humbly).

What do you predict for the future of ebook publishing?
It is a wave of the reading future. The very near future.

How do you feel about cats? (I ask all the people I interview this one : ) )

Kitties, kitties, kitties, one can't have too many of 'em. Love e'm to death and from a literary stand point, cats and writers are synonymous with one another. Also, Hemmingway, I believe, made it respectable for the single lady if she's a writer, to have as many as she pleases without being dubbed the pathetic single female who's half dozen cats short of crazy (lol). well at least that's my take on it.


Thanks, Terrie, for your insights and for taking the time to be interviewed by Raven and the Writing Desk.