Help Amplify Diverse Voices

Hi, my name is Juliet Diaz, the founder of Spirit Bound Press. Spirit Bound Press aims to disrupt spirituality, magic, and wellness publishing with diverse voices.

The Movements Purpose:

Spirit Bound Press needs funding, and we don't have the privilege of big corporation funding campaigns, investors, or loans. What we have are our communities and faith. Word of mouth isn't the best way to raise 100k in a month, but it is all we have for now, and we genuinely believe that WE CAN DO THIS TOGETHER!

Are we a little nervous, with frequent sweaty palms and sneaky urges to hide in a cave away from the world and never look back? Yea, a little, but we are doing BIG things and BIG work to create BIG changes, which can be scary. We. Us. CommUNITY. We got this! So many spiritual warriors are present right now, reading these words, ready to support this Movement.

Bringing awareness to our mission and fundraiser is the purpose so we can show up fiercely and do the damn thing! (more on what "the damn thing" is below)

So...

Who is Spirit Bound Press:

Spirit Bound Press is a revolutionary imprint birthed from the resounding call and need for more diverse and inclusive books in spirituality, magic, and wellness. We are dedicated to amplifying the voices of Latinx, Black, Indigenous, people of color, and marginalized and underrepresented communities, appropriated from, and silenced by traditional publishing channels.

Publishing writers with authentic roots, cultures, practices, and experiences in their works acts as a conduit of truth in the stories, wisdom, medicine, and magic of the communities we are part of and embrace.

Backstory (why we started):

Juliet Diaz the founder of Spirit Bound Press (learn more from her bio on our website), is known for her works and presence as an empowering voice in the Spiritual and magical community. She left traditional publishing shortly after being asked to be a mentor with the US Diverse Wisdom Initiative at her former publisher, where she saw for herself the lack of experience and understanding in how to support diverse authors. This, along with the reality check from the #PublishingPaidMe hashtag, showed her the existing inequality and how deeply rooted this was and intentional.

After meeting with her former publisher about it, not only were they dismissive, but they also continued to offer her meager advances for her following books even after having had a bestselling book that stayed in the top five (mostly #1) in many categories and has a significant active following. Staying true to what she stands for as an Indigenous Taino Cubana who is an activist, cares deeply for her community, and believes in equality, she took a risk with her career as a writer and went public about her decision to leave her publisher.

Rebekah Borucki, the founder of Row House, who also left the same publisher, came to Juliet, asking her if she would want to join Row House as their first author and be part of the RH council as a faith investor. Juliet received offers from other traditional publishers after the word of her leaving her former publisher was made public. She, however, decided that what Row House stood for was incredibly important and aligned with her values.

With her experience as a multiple bestselling and award-winning author and the many relationships she has built over the years as a community leader, she wanted to keep the door open for voices like hers that were being taken advantage of, appropriated from, and silenced. And so, she founded Spirit Bound Press.

"We are more than a publisher; we are the community. Taking up space and filling shelves with more diverse and inclusive books in spirituality, magic, and wellness is part of my mission; I intend to make sure we reclaim our stories, medicine, wisdom, and magic.

- Juliet Diaz

Mission (What we are doing differently as a publisher):

Spirit Bound Press advocates for diversification in literature and publishing, creating an equitable publishing press that represents the values and diversity of the authors and communities we represent. While also honoring antiracist, decolonial, and inclusive principles.

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Spirit Bound Press offers equitable publishing deals (with a 40% royalty rate, which is about 4x the industry average). A team that coaches, supports, and helps authors through their writing journey while growing authentic communities aligned with their message, values, and beliefs. Developing and creating their book launch campaign and marketing plan with our in-house PR team. We also give SBP authors a free membership to our educational and social networking platform, Literary Craft Society. LCS houses courses, workshops, and events covering topics like decolonizing your writing, reclaiming your voice, growing your social media, promoting your book, how to write a bestselling novel, and more. LCS will be available to the public in late 2023

Spirit Bound Press is an imprint of Row House Publishing and holds the same values and mission.

"Big publishing is broken, but it doesn't need to be fixed. It needs to be disrupted and dismantled. What no longer works begs to be torn down, reimagined, revolutionized." - Row House Publishing.

We are that disruption and a new way to publish. Our leaders are authors who know how to put the author first, front and center. We believe in equity and activism and that books—and the culture around them—have the potential to transform the universal conversation around what it means to be human.

Why we need funding and our vision: This is where we do our damn thing =)

We need community support to make these goals and visions a reality.

With your help, Spirit Bound is:

✖️Giving more contracts to authors who hold marginalized identities

✖️Making those contracts fair, equitable, and transparent

✖️Putting a stop to Cultural appropriation

✖️Offering scholarships to the Literary Craft Society (In-House learning/coaching platform)

✖️Changing the way leadership looks, acts, and operates through diversity, equity, and inclusion-based practices

✖️Offering free content and in-person experiences to our communities

✖️Supporting small businesses like bookstores and shops

✖️Creating a community of authors, writers, and readers who support each other

And, of course, comes the cost of producing and publishing a book...

✖️Printing costs, production costs, editors, cover designers, design and copy edit costs, sensitivity readers, marketing and promo, author events, legal, community events, free resources, and classes. ​

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Publishing has a problem. A racism problem. An ableism problem. A heteronormative, transphobic problem. A problem with wildly inequitable and unfair acquisition practices and advance and royalty contracts that make it almost impossible for emerging voices to get heard.

Spirit Bound Press wants to be a solution.

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Every contribution to our GoFundMe is incredibly appreciated. Thank you for showing up and caring enough to make a difference in the publishing world. You are also making a difference in the communities we represent and are part of; for that, we are grateful.

Ways to help spread the word:

✖️Share our story, mission and fundraising efforts.

✖️Talk about it on social media.

✖️Share it with your newsletter subscribers.

✖️Share it with your friends, family, coworkers, and so on.

OUR WEBSITE: www.spiritboundpress.com