In much the same way as our no longer writing longhand with a quill and ink, now we the Modern Writer no longer need to worry about writing 'what's accept-able' (i.e. What's Going to Sell!) There is a landscape of New Options in the world of Publishing!
So by venturing to this set of Pages and their words of electrons instead of ink, you are interring into the realm of the 21st Century 'Magic' of POD.
Yes, most of you are asking. What the heck is POD?
Printing on Demand. No longer does an Author need to be 'picked up' by one of the giant Publishing Houses to have their Book Published. Provided they have The Skills, (or can afford Someone Who Has The Skills), they can Publish on their own.
Print on Demand is the revolution of the late 20th century where computers could -- with a single file -- download and print a single copy of a Book. Available almost literally "the Next Day." Not months.
And so, here I am. At the Gate of this Revolution. Armed with Manuscripts, and ready to Rumble! Well, Publish, that is.
This also allows me to have a Literary Imprint -- like Illuminousity Press. It used to be, that if you didn't get the Publishing Giant Seal of Approval, one had to resort to... Vanity Presses! Which is to say, if you aren't "Good Enough," you had to Pay to get your (dis)missives out to the Reading Public.
This also meant that you had a Box (or Several Boxes -- "It's Cheaper!") of Books in your bedroom or living room. Many were lucky in the end to give their Books away to friends and family. (Of course, that can still be the case.)
Amazon will sell your book (with a sufficiently good Cover). You can have Printing Companies give your book to Editors and Layout People, and with a good amount of Money... Well, you know.
So what I am saying is, all of this allows me to have less of a stigma that was previously inherent in the whole Idea of Self Publishing. I have written many books over the last thirty or so years, but have not had the resources to have them edited and proofed -- nor did I have the modern POD Companies to print them.
And so why a "Literary Imprint?" And just what exactly are they?
Usually, a Lit Imprint was a Sub-Publishing category for specific Genres of Books. As with Del Rey and their Science Fiction books, and of course Harlequin Romances, for their, well, Romances.
For me, it is a Category that sets me above many Others. I will not have merely a single Book that I'm coming out with (that would save me all of this Organizing that I'm doing with all of This). I decided (on finding that I had already more than a few Novels in progress back in January), that I would begin This Imprint of mine. A way of separating myself out of the Throng.
"A Rose by any other Name..." Hopefully. But only time will tell.
In the meantime... I hope I Write Happily Ever After.