 | Aionios Books is a publishing house that specializes in young adult fantasy and science fiction novels. Gerardeen Santiago, owner and publisher of Aionios Books, shares her insights about the publishing industry. |
About Aionios Books
Who is Aionios Books’ target audience?
The Young Adult. We love developing books for this audience because, regardless of age, readers of these genres are all young at heart: they share a perennial optimism that’s reflected in the books they read. Even in the darkest of dark fantasy novels, there’s always a kernel of hope, a little ray of light shining through.
Which range of genres does Aionios Books focus on?
YA science fiction and fantasy. These are the genres we most love reading and therefore are what we choose to publish. We get especially excited about discovering and helping launch new writers with new stories to tell.
Our next book, launching on Halloween, is Tithe by Chani Lynn Feener. It’s the first book in the Roses Red trilogy. Chani’s an exceptionally bright and talented young author who’s been writing since the age of ten and reading before she could walk. The story centers on a freshman at a small college. Arden Archer—along with all the women in her family, past, present, and future—is cursed: she can see the Unseelie fae and is fated to be driven insane and die an early death because of it. But she has the chance to alter her family’s destiny by competing in the upcoming Tithe, where the winner is saved from her curse but will lose her soul forever.
Our next book, launching on Halloween, is Tithe by Chani Lynn Feener. It’s the first book in the Roses Red trilogy. Chani’s an exceptionally bright and talented young author who’s been writing since the age of ten and reading before she could walk. The story centers on a freshman at a small college. Arden Archer—along with all the women in her family, past, present, and future—is cursed: she can see the Unseelie fae and is fated to be driven insane and die an early death because of it. But she has the chance to alter her family’s destiny by competing in the upcoming Tithe, where the winner is saved from her curse but will lose her soul forever.
Publishing Process
How does Aionios Books’ editorial team Overcome the Challenges they experience?
(One of our main challenges is) the workload. Editing a full-length novel is a lot like running a marathon. It requires a great deal of focus, dedication, and skill to do the job well. An editor usually can only focus on one book at a time. So our solution is to stay small, to foster close working relationships with our authors, and to focus on publishing only one to three books per year. This way, we are able to dedicate our resources on one book at a time, one author at a time.
We love beautiful books and our goal is to produce beautiful books. We want every aspect of our books to shine: the story, the characters, the writing style, and the production value of our ebooks (we custom-code and design all our ebooks) and our print books. We take pride in the fact that each book we publish represents our very best efforts. We strive to continue to improve with each project.
We’re also fortunate enough to work with editorial interns in partnership with San Diego State University. In this way, we can minimize our costs while expanding our editorial resources AND helping students acquire real-world publishing experience. I personally have gained so much from working with our interns: they bring a new perspective and an indefatigable enthusiasm.
We love beautiful books and our goal is to produce beautiful books. We want every aspect of our books to shine: the story, the characters, the writing style, and the production value of our ebooks (we custom-code and design all our ebooks) and our print books. We take pride in the fact that each book we publish represents our very best efforts. We strive to continue to improve with each project.
We’re also fortunate enough to work with editorial interns in partnership with San Diego State University. In this way, we can minimize our costs while expanding our editorial resources AND helping students acquire real-world publishing experience. I personally have gained so much from working with our interns: they bring a new perspective and an indefatigable enthusiasm.
Does Aionios Books consider submissions from international authors?
Absolutely! The plethora of communication channels available today makes working with authors anywhere around the globe so easy. We are currently working with a South African author who lives in The Netherlands.
Does Aionios Books accept submissions from debut authors or unsolicited manuscripts?
Absolutely! We especially love working with debut and fledgling novelists. We love their enthusiasm, their energy, their openness to learning and their willingness to improve.
We manage our risk by doing most of the editorial and design work in-house and by working with a stellar group of interns from San Diego State University. But we require our authors to develop a robust online presence.
We manage our risk by doing most of the editorial and design work in-house and by working with a stellar group of interns from San Diego State University. But we require our authors to develop a robust online presence.
Industry Trends
What prominent opportunities can Aionios Books observe in the publishing industry?
We love the growth in YA books. We also love the YA communities on social media—especially on Instagram. It’s a place where the bookish can find kindred spirits and express a shared passion for YA books.
How can Aionios Books utilize these opportunities to remain competitive?
We encourage our authors to continue to develop an online presence (i.e., Instagram, Goodreads, YouTube if they’re not too introverted, their own website, and so on).
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About the Journalist
 | Tiffany Lim has worked with several notable organisations with marketing, production and project management. Her clients and partners include Marshall Cavendish Editions, Bossini Singapore, National Library Board (NLB) and Mediacorp. She has been invited to share her experiences with polytechnic students in Ngee Ann Polytechnic and Singapore Polytechnic. She has also spoken in educational institutions (IMDA Labs, National Library Board) and literary festivals (All In! 2018). More details may be found on her official website. |
