Melodrama Publishing Lives Up to Their Name

Melodrama Publishing came to my attention after I saw one of their books in my local Walmart.  I have to say the presentation of the book itself did not make a positive impression.  It had that trade paperback size, $15 price tag,  and overly shiny cover that you see more often from under-achieving self-publishers than a press with in-store distribution. Nevertheless, it take some serious skills to get your books on the shelves of a Walmart Supercenter--so I was intrigued.

Melodrama was founded in 2001 by author  Crystal Lacey Winslow and now includes works by fifteen other authors--the book I saw being by Nisa Santiago. Although in this case the correlation between pseudonyms and actual writers might be a loose one.  There seems to be some interesting history with the name of Santiago which was initially intended to be a pseudonym for Danielle Santiago but was ultimately used by Melodrama as a pen name for a number of different ghost writers (after Danielle failed to deliver promised manuscripts).

Melodrama Publishing seems to be a strong and now well-established presence in urban/African American fiction with a focus on tough, glamorous heroines and dramatic stories involving organized crime.  This apparently popular niche supports higher pricing on both paperbacks and kindle editions (up to $9.99).  In a time when many small presses are cutting prices and going under, Winslow has developed a recipe for success that demonstrates that my first impressions were 100% wrong.  Melodrama Publishing is the kind of author-founded press most of the others aspire to be.