Today I am delighted to welcome Yasmin from Three Hares Publishing to my blog. I discovered this publishing house through one of their authors, Sarah Vincent, whose book, The Testament of Vida Tremayne, I plan to review later this week.
The Three Hares website contains a mood bar to assist potential readers:
“The mood bar came from the inspiration that choosing a book is often down to how you feel and not think, books are a direct connection to how we feel.”
Let us find out more about a small press which aims to offer the book each reader will enjoy on that day.
1. Why did you decide to set up Three Hares?
Three Hares Publishing launched with 6 titles in May 2014. Three Hares was a concept I had been considering for a long time, having been a literary agent for 12 years and seeing how the industry was changing. I wanted Three Hares to have an ethos which embraced ebook technology and based the emphasis on choosing books back into the hands of the reader.
Three Hares website has a mood bar, this enables readers to choose books according to how they are feeling. Feelings are very much an integral part of reading. One can re-read the same book over and over, yet, feel differently each time, this makes reading the work subjective and it all depends on how the reader is feeling at the time.
2. What sort of books do you want to publish?
I love publishing books which are thought provoking in some way, whether they make you laugh, cry, shudder or evoke some emotion, this means you have really connected with the characters and you cannot put the book down! Characters with strong distinctive voices are vital, this means the reader is hearing the characters voice and not the voice of the author, this makes a huge distinction and it comes across instantly. Beautifully crafted stories will always have an immediate impact, as will stories touching on universal themes such as love, I am particularly interested in stories with a moral basis, such as One Thousand and One Nights, any story with a twist or moral will have me hooked immediately.
3. How do you go about finding and signing authors?
I receive submissions from new authors and some authors who are already published. Submissions are an integral part of discovering new voices. I am still very clingy about my submissions, discovering a new author is an incredible buzz. The anticipation of hearing their voice on the phone and meeting them in person and looking for their characters in them and being able to wax lyrical about their novel is a joy.
In February 2016, Three Hares acquired The Choice by Valerie Mendes. This is a philosophical and moving historical saga set in 1930’s Oxford. It very lightly touches on the abdication of Edward VII. The Choice has one of the most wonderful protagonists in Eleanor. Valerie, has woven a stunning spell through the novel.
4. There are a good number of small, independent publishers out there publishing some great works. Do you consider yourself different and, if so, how?
I do consider Three Hares to be very different from other independent publishers, primarily due to the way it operates and because I never ever view it as an independent publisher, it is Three Hares and there is no limitation on it remaining an independent publisher. It’s all about the stories and not the status of Three Hares.
5. Latest trend or totally original – what sells?
Three Hares has been fortunate enough to publish original titles and this has enabled it to grow organically. In response to your question, totally original please, I don’t believe in following trends, I am lucky enough to be able to publish books I truly believe in and absolutely love, trends don’t allow you to express yourself in that way. If I followed trends, I would be publishing books which I don’t necessarily believe in.
6. Ebook or hard copy – what do your buyers want?
Both please! There is a huge market for ebooks and hard copies, both should be able to reside in harmony, I take a very mindful approach to this issue.
7. Do you consider Three Hares to be niche or mainstream?
I consider Three Hares to be very much mainstream, it’s all about publishing great stories and they are not niche stories, I love huge all encompassing universal themes. There are publishers who specialise in niche titles, because it is their area of expertise.
8. Collaborative or dictatorial?
Collaborative every time, even the way Three Hares is structured is collaborative, this was always the intention. Teamwork is so much more conducive to creativity.
9. Plans for the future?
Plans for the future involve looking into more global distribution networks. UK and Ireland logistics are in place. I will also be publishing a further 4 titles this year and have plans for many more next year. Onwards and upwards, without a backward glance!
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Thank you Yasmin for taking the time to answer my questions. You can find out more about this small press, including details of their books, on their website by clicking here: Three Hares Publishing | Original, hand-picked books
Keep up to date with all of their news via Twitter: Threeharesbooks (@threeharesbooks)
If you are an independent publisher and would like to be included in this series please check out my introductory post: Shout Out to Independent Publishers
neverimitate 
The book mentioned called The Choice sounds good. Great to hear about smaller publishers.
great cover