Publisher’s Corner: Trifecta Books

My name is Tristi Pinkston, and I don’t recall a time in my life when I didn’t want to become a writer. I wrote my first story when I was five—a gripping tale about a little dog who wanted to be a ballerina. It had drama, it had conflict, it showed the power and importance of having a dream—it was basically awesome. Fast forward through my teen years (I’ll spare you a synopsis of my angst-ridden poetry phase) and into the year 2002. I published my first novel through Granite Publishing, and my dream came true. Perhaps the little dog in my story was somehow cheering me on.

Over the years, I’ve had a lot of fun interacting with other authors in the industry, as well as putting out books with a few different publishers. I also worked for a short time as senior editor for a publishing company. Every so often, the thought would flicker through my head, “When I have my own company . . .” and I’d push it away. I didn’t want to run a publishing company, did I? It seemed too far-fetched. Well, I changed my mind.

I started Trifecta Books in September of 2013 because I was concerned about a trend in young adult books—a focus on darkness. While it’s true that many of these dark books include redemption, I felt it was time that young adults had a broader range of new releases to choose from, stories that were lighter and full of more hope. When Jenni James, author of the Jane Austen Diaries, told me she’d like to be my first author, I knew it was time to move forward with my dream and make it a reality. We’ve since been joined by young adult authors Karen E. Hoover (Fractured), Laura Bingham (Dancing with Black), Michael D. Young (Paladin: Pawn), Jaclyn Weist (The Princess and the Prom Queen and Endless), and Shari Bird (Free Bread Girl), along with illustrator BC Sterrett (the Andy and Annie series). Soon, we’ll be publishing Pendragon Inman (The Shinehah Saga) and Rebecca Blevins (Captain Schnozzlebeard and the Singing Clam of Minnie Skewell Island) as well.

In August of 2014, we added a new element—the Sweet and Clean Romance Collection. This was started for the same reason I started the whole company—there needs to be more choice. Readers who prefer sweet romance can sometimes find themselves at a loss for what to choose next. We started this line with two authors—pen names Paige Timothy (Tristi Pinkston) and Raine Gillespie (Karen E. Hoover)—and Jenni James will shortly be joining us as an author for this collection as well.

We’ve started small, of necessity, focusing mostly on e-books with some print. In future, we plan to shift toward more print, but as the majority of our sales are e-books anyway, we feel we’re putting our attention where it’s most deserved.

We’re still looking for great young adult novels and clean romance. We’ve also recently put out a call for Regency romance, and we’ll be opening up to LDS and Christian submissions in January of 2016. Our books right now are geared more toward the national market, but contain LDS morals. Anyone who wishes to submit can check out our website at www.trifectabooks.com and read our submission guidelines.

The future of publishing seems to be leaning more and more toward self-publishing. At Trifecta, our goal is to marry together the best parts of self-publishing and traditional publishing. Our authors get the editing, covers, and know-how of a publisher, but they have a lot of say in the process. Our contracts are fair and easy to break, should you want to step away. You can publish with us and another publisher at the same time. Our aim is to keep the joy and fun in writing. You as an author should be fulfilled in what you’re doing, and we want to make this part of the process as enjoyable as possible.

We’re excited to see what the future holds for us. By April 7^th, we will have published twenty-four books, and we have several more slated before the end of the year. It’s so much fun to work with these authors and watch their books come to life, and I’ve had the good fortune of having a great team behind me all along the way. Some of the faces have changed, but they’ve all been fantastic.

So there you have it—a little bit about this new venture. It’s certainly been exciting, and becomes more so all the time. Books have to be one of the greatest things ever, and it’s been my pleasure and my privilege to help bring more good books to life.