Short Summary

Since 2012, Crystal Lake Publishing has certainly been part of a unique success story. And that story continues and expands into 2018 with some of our biggest projects to date. We aim at bringing the best Dark Fiction to readers, while supporting authors (not just our own) beyond anything they’re used to from other publishers.

So welcome to what might be the first of our annual crowdfunding campaigns. But instead of focusing on raising funds, we want to concentrate on you, whether you’re a reader or author. We’ve got pre-order pledges, giveaways, signed paperbacks and hardcovers, limited edition movie memorabilia and so much more. For authors, we’ve got prizes where you can win editing and critiquing services, even online ad space on websites and podcasts.

We’ve got it all! There are over 30 pledge rewards with more added daily! So check in every day, or like our Facebook page where we’ll focus on the new daily pledges. You might even get to see some of our staff members do crazy things on video every time we reach a goal.

This campaign is focused on promoting all Crystal Lake releases between now and the end of 2018:

• Tales from The Lake Vol.4, edited by Ben Eads (includes Joe R. Lansdale)
• Where Nightmares Come From, edited by Eugene Johnson and Joe Mynhardt (includes Stephen King, Charlaine Harris, Clive Barker etc.)
• The Ghost Club by William Meikle
• Beyond Night by Eric S. Brown and Steven L. Shrewsbury
• C.H.U.D. Lives!, edited by Eric S. Brown (includes Jonathan Maberry)
• Varying Distances by Darren Speegle
• Fantastic Tales, edited by Eugene Johnson (includes Joe R. Lansdale, Elizabeth Massie, and Bev Vincent)
• Frozen Shadows and Other Chilling Stories by Gene O’Neill
• House of Sighs by Aaron Dries
• Things You Need by Kevin Lucia
• The Mourner’s Cradle by Tommy B. Smith
• Ashes and Entropy: Horrific Tales of Cosmic Noir, edited by Robert S. Wilson
• Beatrice Beecham: Ship of Shadows by Dave Jeffery
• War by Alessandro Manzetti and Marge Simon
• Book Haven by Mark Allan Gunnells
• Dead Reckoning by Dino Parenti
• Welcome to the Show, compiled by Matt Hayward (includes Brian Keene)
• Lost Highways: Dark Fictions from the Road, edited by D. Alexander Ward
• Dead Stage by Dan Weatherer
• Draw You In by Jasper Bark
• Darker Days by Kenneth W. Cain
• Book 2 in The Dream Weaver series, edited by Eugene Johnson and Joe Mynhardt
• Tales from The Lake Vol.5, edited by Kenneth W. Cain (includes Gemma Files)

What We Need & What You Get

So why do we need funds, you might ask. It’s no surprise that folks are spending less money these day (visibly less compared to last year), which also means small presses and authors need to earn more. While we try to pay authors more and more each year, and publish big name authors in our anthologies, running a small press just gets more and more expensive.

Our main goal for this campaign is to pay for the authors in our 2018 anthologies, while promoting single-author collections and novels at a larger scale. If we manage to get enough out of this, money will go to paying artists to take part in every 2018 release, while upgrading our website for a better online experience, concentrating on improving the skills of authors while entertaining readers.

If our goals are not reached, we’ll continue our best to support each book, although some anthologies will have to be postponed to a later date. We just won’t be able to risk it. Too many small presses have failed from putting it all on the line.

If $3,000 goal is reached: A special thank you to every contributor in our first anthology of 2018, plus a free eBook to every backer from our back catalogue.

Stretch goal 1: $4,000 - Interior artwork for all 2018 single-author collections/novels etc. 

Stretch goal 2: $5,000 - Interior artwork for all 2018 anthologies

Stretch goal 3: $6,000 - We’ll continue our successful Writers on Writing series on the blog, with regular open pitch windows for non-fiction articles/essays. We will also create a brand new, professional website created with the best SEO capabilities to best promote these blog posts, authors, and books.

Stretch goal 4: $8,000 - early cover and interior artwork reveal of a massive anthology due next year. We'll also reveal the current TOC, and hopefully open for anthologies if we reach the next stretch goal...

Stretch goal 5: $10,000 - We’ll open for short story submissions for two of our anthologies next year. 

The Impact

Crystal Lake Publishing prides itself on being the most helpful publisher around. We go out of our way to support authors and help them grow. With your help, we’ll be able to help them even more, while also paying authors more.

At the moment we provide online video workshops through our Patreon page. We release only the best in non-fiction books on the craft of writing. We Offer professional editing services. And we even have monthly mentoring programs geared toward writing and career skills. We don’t care if an author’s been previously published or not; if they’re talented and submit a great story, we’ll publish it.

Crystal Lake Publishing is one of the best small presses out there, and we want to continue growing and expanding. Standing still in today’s markets is definitely not a key to survival.

Other Ways You Can Help

Your contribution doesn't have to be a financial one.

Please consider backing this project and spread the word to as many people as you can. If however you choose not to back this project, then please feel free to share this project with people you think would like to get involved. This support would be very much appreciated and could make all the difference. We still believe that word-of-mouth is the best marketing around. Tell the world about us. Or...

Support our Patreon page: https://www.patreon.com/CLP

Purchase some of our books: http://www.crystallakepub.com/book-table/

Subscribe to our YouTube channel: https://www.youtube.com/c/CrystalLakePublishing

Subscribe to our newsletter: http://eepurl.com/xfuKP

Or follow us on Twitter: https://twitter.com/crystallakepub

…and Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/Crystallakepublishing/

Thank you for supporting Indie Publishing.

Want to know more about the Random Draw prizes?

Random Draw author prizes:

• 2 short story edits (1 story per winner) by Crystal Lake editor Ben Eads
• 1 short story edit (up to 5,000) by Crystal Lake founder and owner Joe Mynhardt
• 1 short story critique by author and HWA vice president John Palisano
• 2 short story critiques (1 story per winner, up to 5,000 words) by Jason V. Brock
• 1 short story critique (up to 5,000 words) by author/editor Stephanie M. Wytovich
• 1 short story critique by Aaron Dries
• 1 short story critique by Dave Jeffery
• 1 short story critique/edit from Kenneth W. Cain
• 1 short story critique from Todd Keisling
• 1 short story critique/edit from Tommy B. Smith
• 1 short story edit (up to 5,000 words) by author/editor Tim E. Johnson
• 1 short story critique by Jennifer Loring
• 1 short story edit by Dino Parenti
• 1 short story edit by Robert S. Wilson

Random Draw readers prizes:

• Predator print signed by actor Derek Mears
• 1 copy of Where Nightmares Come From signed by Mort Castle
• 5 copies of Horror 201: The Silver Screen, signed by Mick Garris
• Signed (by the author) book tour poster from Tommy B. Smith’s Poisonous book tour
• 1 copy of Cemetery Club (signed by the author JG Faherty)
• 1 copy of the Evil Jester Presents comic book signed by Taylor Grant
• 1 copy of The Dark at the End of the Tunnel signed by Taylor Grant
• 1 copy of Samurai and Other Stories signed by William Meikle
• Author Theresa Derwin will use your name as the villain in her next book
• 1 copy of Embers signed by Kenneth W. Cain
• 1 copy of The Adventure of the Incognita Countess by Cynthia Ward (signed 1^st edition trade paperback)
• 1 copy of Ugly Little Things signed by Todd Keisling
• 1 copy of Sarah Killian signed by Mark Sheldon
• 1 copy of the Behold! anthology signed by Richard Thomas
• 20 Kindle eBook bundles, which includes 5 previously released Crystal Lake titles
• 1 hardcover copy of Journal Stone’s first Double Down flip books, which contains Rena Mason’s East End Girls, and Gord Rollo’s Thunder Knows, signed by both editors (free shipping in the US.
• 1 copy of Wind Chill signed by Patrick Rutigliano

Check back regularly for added pledges, updates, and featured opportunities.

To show you the top quality we deliver, check out our most recent releases:

And our upcoming releases: