QUILL AND FLAME PUBLISHING
FROM AUTHOR TO PUBLISHER
The books at Quill and Flame Publishing target YA and NA romance readers. But, unlike many other publishers, Quill & Flame focuses on sharing stories that don’t have heavy triggers or questionable themes that might not be fit for younger adults. They filter their books and only produce the ones where the good guy wins and good themes prevail.
HOW IT STARTED
Quill & Flame got its start from bestselling author AJ Skelly’s frustration with the general market. Tired of searching for good books for her high school students that didn’t glorify toxic relationships, have words sailors would blush at hearing, and graphic sex on the page, she wanted something more for her students.
Quill & Flame was born.
WHAT QUILL AND FLAME PUBLISHING IS ALL ABOUT
At Quill & Flame, we believe that words have power. The right words can bring life, while the wrong words can manifest darkness. When we read, we are putting those potentially life-changing words inside us. There they sit, lurking in the background, festering in our subconsciousness. As such, it behooves us to put in the right words into our minds.
Quill & Flame strives to publish unique books that bring light. That doesn’t mean that there won’t be darkness in the stories—quite the contrary. The darkness is what makes the light shine brightest. But that does mean there are certain lines our books will not cross.
Quill & Flame books will never include full detailed love scenes. Our books will never have an abundance of profanity. Our books will not include senseless gore. Our books will never glorify toxicity or evil. We like it when the good guy (or girl!) wins.
We are focused on YA and NA romance. This spans a wide genre. You may expect our books to fall everywhere between sweet to spicy clean, fantasy to contemporary.
ABOUT ME
Some of my personal favorite tropes are friends to lovers, arranged marriages, and the White Knight. I love it when the hero gets the girl. My all-time favorite series is Karen Hancock’s Legends of the Guardian King. It’s. So. Good. But other authors I really enjoy are CJ Redwine, Nova McBee, the eternal C. S. Lewis, and Shari L. Tapscott. And about a million others.
WHAT GOT ME STARTED
I (AJ Skelly) am a former high school English teacher and have always loved reading and writing. But as I was looking for books to recommend to my students, I got really frustrated that a lot of what was available didn’t provide good modeling or glorified things that shouldn’t be aspired to.
Quill & Flame Publishing House has been several years in the building, and I’m delighted that with the wider rise of indie publishing, there ARE more good books out there and available now, but I wanted to build a business where the RIGHT things and the GOOD things were put in their proper places, tucked into amazing stories with characters meant to linger long after the books are finished.
GOALS
With the opening of Quill & Flame Publishing House, my goal is to make an impact by releasing amazing books that provide those intense journeys to new worlds, swoony romance, and rollicking adventures to be enjoyed over and over again—without the heavy, burdensome darkness that seems so prevalent in so many stories.
MY BACKGROUND
As a traditionally published author myself, I’ve been fortunate to have really good experiences, as well as a few veteran authors that came alongside me (shameless plug for author Karen Sargent—everyone should go stalk her) and invested in me as a budding author that made all the difference. With those experiences, and in talking to other published authors, I’ve seen a noticeable gap in the industry. Every author, whether published with Harper Collins, or the smallest indie press, is expected to market their books. However. No one teaches their authors HOW to market.
That’s something I want to help with—I want to bridge this gap between marketing and writing. They’re two completely different skill sets, yet both are necessary to a successful publishing career. At Q&F, for our authors, we have open access for questions, seminars for marketing ideas, book launching instructions and connections to professional book launchers, a book tour group, quarterly events like The Bookish Bash (next one coming up September 12-16!), and an amazing team culture where we aren’t in competition with each other—we help each other.
Because a rising tide floats all boats.
ABOUT QUILL and FLAME PUBLISHING
As a small indie press, we are still totally traditional in the sense that authors pay nothing to publish with Q&F. All queries go through a traditional submission process. If a contract is offered and accepted, the author does not receive a monetary advance but does receive a package of professional launching materials and additional resources that retail at $250.00.
Nearly all Q&F books will come in eBook, paperback, full-color special edition hardbacks, as well as audio (though the author may retain audio rights if he or she prefers). At this time, we do not offer additional services, though we do have a pitch package review that can be purchased at the Q&F Shop (https://www.etsy.com/shop/QuillandFlame).
CONTACT
Contact info: info@quillandflame.com
Website: www.quillandflame.com
Instagram: @quill.and.flame.publishers
Q&F Shop: https://www.etsy.com/shop/QuillandFlame (where you can find delicious bookish merch, exclusive swag, and Q&F books complete with signed bookplates)