If you’ve been a reader for any amount of time you’ve probably noticed that one thing traditional publishing loves as an industry is jumping on a trend or publishing ten more books of the recent viral commercial hit. And to a certain extent, they can’t be solely blamed—publishing is a business, and when readers are putting their time and money behind more of the same narratives, it’s no wonder that we’re in the situation we’re in.

If you haven’t read Tajja Isen’s piece in The Walrus titled, “The Publishing Industry Has a Gambling Problem” then go read it now. It gives wonderful background on the industry but also into the insidious way that “track” works in the industry and how publishing companies choose which books to publish based on the previous “track” record of the author. Now when you combine that with the concept of “comps” (or “comparative titles”), where publishing companies project the sales of a book and retailers buy stock of a book based on a comparative title—i.e. some other book that has been published in the past few years that is similar to the book you’re trying to sell-in/publish, and which hopefully has good “track” (i.e. sales track)—you get a situation where you can only recycle more of the same stories.1

And when you’re a BIPOC or marginalized author—or even someone trying something original and new with the books you write—this is basically the start of a long arduous journey where everyone else gets to walk in the well-worn path while you’re forced to claw your way through the forest without any view of the other side.

This is why I think the work I do with my micro-publishing imprint, Boundless Press via Bindery Books, is so important.

support my imprint 💖

Ever since I announced the Anti Brain Rot Reading Challenge, there have been so many new people who have joined my Bindery community and discord, and you may be wondering:

1. what is Bindery?

2. what is Boundless Press?

Bindery is Patreon-esque paid membership platform for bookish content creators like myself where we can share extra & exclusive content with our viewers. But not only that, some of the “tastemakers” like myself on the platform, also have their own micro-publishing imprints.2

Bindery partners with the tastemaker to design their imprint brand, solicit submissions, and manage editorial, design, printing, publicity, and distribution to everywhere books are sold.

Publishing with Bindery offers several advantages for authors: a strong royalty structure; quality editorial, design, marketing, and trade distribution; a tastemakers’ marketing muscle and promotional efforts on behalf of each book; and a built in community of readers. In an age where authors are expected to be both writers and marketers of their work, Bindery allows authors to focus on what they do best: creating the stories that move us all.

With my imprint, Boundless Press, I’m able to publish books from authors who have been overlooked by the traditional publishing industry and give them a space and spotlight to get their stories out into the world.

But I can’t do it without your support. Bindery’s publishing model allows for tastemakers to publish books with the support of our communities to offset some of the very real costs of putting a book out there in the world (from editorial costs, to layout, project management, printing, etc). And without your support I will eventually be forced to pander to the same systemic issues of the industry and publish more of what’s commercial and “on trend” to keep my imprint going and still provide a great royalty structure for my authors.

help me publish BIPOC authors

For the cost of ONE latte each month—you can support me and Boundless Press and help me publish incredible BIPOC and marginalized authors who deserve to have their stories out there in the world. You will be helping me change the industry in a way that we’ve never seen before.

And you won’t just be supporting my imprint, you’ll also be getting exclusive behind-the-scenes content about the publishing process for all of the Boundless Press titles. This includes: author interviews, behind-the-scenes on the editorial/cover art/marketing process, getting to vote on which books we publish, cover design, and so much more. AND you’ll be getting digital or physical ADVANCED READER COPIES3 of the books we publish—that means early access to read these stories before they even publish ⭐️

get exclusive content!

Membership tiers!

Currently, the Boundless Press community is at just under 100 paid members and I’d like to hit the goal of 500 paid members to offset the cost of production to be able to publish 1 book a year that I (and you as a member) think deserves to be out there in the world regardless of trends or what publishing thinks will sell.

help me reach 500 paid members 🫶🏾

We’ve already published one book so far on September 30, 2025, which is Dust Settles North by Deena ElGenaidi*4 — a historical, literary fiction set partially in Egypt after the Arab Spring uprisings and which follows two adult siblings who are reeling from their mother’s passing and the secrets they’ve recently discovered about their family.

eBook on SALE for $3.99 | Goodreads | Storygraph | Bookshop* | Barnes & Noble

And our next two books are part of an anti-colonial historical fantasy duology based on the life of queen, Abbakka Chowta, who fought the Portuguese in the latter half of the 16th century: Burn the Sea by Mona Tewari* is out April 21, 2026, and the sequel Before I Bow is out in Spring 2027.

Goodreads | Storygraph | Bookshop* | Barnes & Noble

I truly would like to change this industry for the better and I hope you can consider supporting me and my work 🫶🏾

become a Boundless Press member!

1. I talk about the topic of comps a bit more in-depth in this video on my channel.

2. If you don’t know what a publishing imprint is, check out this definition.

1. Physical benefits unlock after 90 days. Shipping to US and Canada residents only.

1. “*” affiliate links where a percentage will go to support me!