Writers looking for a different kind of book publisher might find it in Robbinsville-based business, WTF books.
WTF books is Robbinsville resident Jeffrey M. Stundel, Florida resident Mitchell Hyman and a puffy white dog named Frodo, whom Stundel calls his “administrative assistant.”
Company founder Stundel said the moniker, Words Take Flight, was inspired by the sight of a flock of seagulls taking off.
Stundel also works as a marketing consultant. He founded the company with the goal of helping writers get around the hurdles posed by the traditional publishing agency.
Like most self-publishers, WTF Books charges authors for their services, but in return, writers get a larger share of the revenue from sales.
Unlike most self-publishers, Stundel has standards. Though he offers his services as an editor to help whip books into shape, Stundel said has rejected more than one manuscript on the grounds that it would never be good enough to publish.
Stundel founded the company in 2010 after being laid off from a job in the financial services industry. His cousin Mitchell Hyman, who worked in the comic book industry, had an idea. They were both writers. Why not team up and write something? And why not publish and market it themselves?
The result was “Dr. Sarcophogus,” a compilation of phantasmagoric tales by Stundel, well-known author Brent Monahan, Cindy Livingston, Dee Landford, Michael Rennay and Hyman.
The anthology became WTF’s first book, available on amazon.com and wtfbooks.net.
Stundel is a technophile who loves to quote statistics about e-book sales, and accordingly, publishes all of the WTF Books offerings in paperback as well as ebook formats.
Beside Dr. Sarcophogus, WTF has published the novel Hitmen in Paradise, by Hyman, and two novels by Monahan, Nevermore and Time Step. Nevermore is a counterfactual historical detective story where detective Allan Pinkerton investigates the death of Edgar Allen Poe. Time Step is about modern con-men who are transported back in time to WWII London.
Stundel majored in English literature and spent years working in marketing, branding and advertising in the corporate world. He figures editing and publishing uses both of those skill sets.
“It keeps my skills fresh, and yes, you can teach an old dog new tricks, unlike Frodo,” he said.
Stundel said he hopes to make WTF Books his full-time gig once more authors are on board.
So far, WTF focuses on horror and sci-fi titles. Stundel said it’s advantageous for a publisher to focus on one particular type of book, and it also makes it easier to take advantage of Hyman’s connections in the comic book industry.
Another difference between WTF books and a typical self-publisher is that Stundel is a fanatic about grammar.
“You can tell a great story, but if I read something and there are typos and grammatical errors, it takes away from the experience for me,” he said.
Stundel said he read a few chapters of the hit erotic thriller 50 Shades of Grey and was offended, not by the smut, but by the bad writing.
“I don’t care if people read pornography, but when they write it, I wish they would adhere to standards of grammar and style and technique,” he said. “That’s my cross to bear, so to speak.”
“Dr. Sarcophogus” is a compilation published by Robbinsville-based WTF books. (Photo courtesy of Jeffrey Stundel.)
