On Integrity in Publishing.
A response.
The majority of the people I’ve published over the years end up becoming friends. I guess this is because my boundaries for friendship mirror my boundaries for publishing. Micro publishing is unlike any other job because it is unpaid work that you exert for another towards a larger, shared goal. My goal, therefore Backlash’s goal, is to create a supportive, inclusive, informative community. A cooperative of people who are kind and champion one another. Incidentally, this is also my approach to friendship. Over the years, I’ve learned to trust my instincts regarding people and work. The body is a precursor to the mind in understanding language. Sometimes, because I’m learning about my boundaries every day, it takes me a while to comprehend what my body is telling me. Neurosis, entitlement, and megalomania are the red flags that I am the most conscious of because, well, they are toxic to the type of cohesion I aspire to create. So, integrity is something I’ve built by publishing stories that matter by people who are respectful and supportive of my press. And, because there is a type of vulnerability allowed to happen safely inside my publishing house, my assembled integrity is worth protecting from toxicity. If you are rude and patronizing to me, I will not publish you because you are most likely rude and patronizing in other areas of your life, so I want nothing to do with the people or ideas you attract. Simply put, there is no place for insolence at my table.
Gret Heffernan is the Editor-in-Chief of Backlash Press and author of The Sculptor and Dark Ansley, Book One and Two.
