by Mike O’Mary
(imaginary soundtrack by B.J. Thomas)

Dream of Things just published its first anthology of creative nonfiction, and a very cool thing is happening. The people who contributed to the book are all thinking of ways to help spread the word.

That may not sound like a big deal. But it is. Most anthologies pay contributors a flat fee for a story. Dream of Things is the only publisher that pays royalties to authors who contribute to anthologies. Consequently, it feels more like the contributors and the publisher are in this together. And everybody is working to help spread the word about the book.

The book is Saying Goodbye, and it helps a lot that it’s a very good book. It’s about saying goodbye to the people, places and things in our lives, and although there are some sad stories in the book, it is a surprisingly uplifting book. One reviewer said, “If you have ever had to deal with loss, read this book. It will make you feel better.”

Having a good book and sharing the royalties isn’t rocket science, but it definitely makes for good chemistry. It feels like we’re all in this together, and it feels good to be working with more than 30 people (authors, editors and others) to spread the word about a very good book. It’s the kind of feeling that encourages a publisher to publish more books by more writers, and I hope it’s the kind of feeling that will keep more authors writing.

Mike O’Mary is founding dreamer of Dream of Things, and publisher of Saying Goodbye, MFA in a Box by John Rember, and Everything I Never Wanted to Be by Dina Kucera