Meet Madeleine Elizabeth | Author and Publisher

We had the good fortune of connecting with Madeleine Elizabeth and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Madeleine, can you walk us through the thought-process of starting your business?
In all honesty, the motivation behind Extra Extra Publishing House was fairly self serving. I had spent a year plus in the query trenches of traditional publishing and in that process I had unearthed things about the industry that made me feel disenchanted as a writer and artist, as well as disappointed by the commonplace business ethics of today. I didn’t want to participate in an environment that was burning out its workers left and right; that includes agents, editors, and the authors themselves. That style of operation serves no one in the long run, least of all the readers and consumers. I also knew I wanted to own all my own work, and I feel all authors deserve to have that option. Although there are plenty of other small presses out there, lots are still modeled off a traditional structure. None of them quite met the aesthetic or experience I wanted to have in sharing my work with the audience. Since I didn’t see what I wanted out in the market, I leaned into this idea that I am my own demographic. If I want a more autonomous experience, surely others do as well. We’ll find each other.

Can you open up a bit about your work and career? We’re big fans and we’d love for our community to learn more about your work.
The goal with Extra Extra is to offer authors a more autonomous way of publishing. As it stands, a publisher will register your copyright under your name, but they will own your ISBN and in some cases even the rights to your edited manuscript. Cover art and titles is another area where authors get some say, but not always the final say. To me, it seems the artist who has spent the most time with their characters should have a heavier hand in the collaboration, should they want it. Some authors do, and some don’t, but the option should be there.

All these are elements that Extra Extra Publishing House would like to hand back to the creators and ask “What do you think?” or “How do you want this book release to look? How do you want it to feel?”

If you had a friend visiting you, what are some of the local spots you’d want to take them around to?
While this won’t be the nerdiest answer out there, it might be underwhelming for some of your readers, I’m sure. If my best friend was visiting though, we’d likely be holed up watching the entirety of Lord of the Rings, extended edition of course. Then we’d follow that up with another run through, with commentary on. We can literally spend all day – and we have – examining and debating story archetypes from all the epics. And while we both love to eat, we are also terrifically curmudgeonly. Most likely we’d go out for pho, or hot pot to sustain us through the day. However I’d be in charge of desserts. My baking is amateur at best, but my bestie is an enthusiastic taste tester. I made a rainbow crepe cake for her and her wife as part of a belated celebration and now she is adamant that I make it every time we are together. So, if she’s in town, homemade baked goods is a must.

Who else deserves some credit and recognition?
My shout out would have to be directed at my best friend and my parents. I’ve been writing and scribbling terrible little stories since I was about 11 years old and my best friend has probably read every minute plot along the way. She’s invaluable to this journey and she knows it. My parents deserve the shout out for being the supportive parents everyone should have. They don’t always understand my take on plot or characters, but they have made great efforts to learn more about the ins and outs of publishing alongside me. My dad can build a business out of anything, and my mom lives to weigh the options of business techniques, so I honestly don’t know what I’d do without them.

Instagram: @ms.madeleine.elizabeth and @extraextrapublishinghouse

Facebook: Madeleine Elizabeth

Other: Our official website for Extra Extra is still in development, alongside our intake forms for authors interested in working with us. My business partner and I are using our own works to smooth out any wrinkles in the process, so we are still in the very early stages of operation.

Image Credits
Images by Rachel, Firefly Publishing and Design, Madeleine Elizabeth