Alright – so today we’ve got the honor of introducing you to Erika Lance. We think you’ll enjoy our conversation, we’ve shared it below.

Erika, thanks for joining us, excited to have you contributing your stories and insights. So let’s jump to your mission – what’s the backstory behind how you developed the mission that drives your brand?

Our mission, as we like to call it, is “Bringing the Publishing Apocalypse”. What we mean by that, is the publishing industry has not, for some time, been pro-author in many respects. At 4 Horsemen Publications (and Accomplishing Innovation Press) we are changing how we approach author voices. We believe in series/multi-book authors that are able to tell the story they want to tell. Having a very diverse stable of Own voice and LGBTQA+ authors allows us to tell stories that, for the most part, mainstream traditional publishers overlook. We have found that we are also willing to bend and break genres to create new and more colorful stories for readers. This allows for whole new worlds to open up.

Erika, before we move on to more of these sorts of questions, can you take some time to bring our readers up to speed on you and what you do?

I have been a fiction writer who was working in the corporate arena for 25+ years. I, along with my business partner who has over 17+ years in the publishing business, decided that we could do things better and began 4 Horsemen Publications, Inc. in January of 2020. Since then we have published over 350+ titles and have over 100+ authors. We have grown, even during the pandemic, by creating high quality, beautifully written and designed book for children through adults across all different genres. We opened our non-fiction/academic imprint Accomplishing Innovation Press in January of 2022. One of the focus areas are academic and text books where we as a standard part of our process create ADA compliant books for those readers that need them for their studies.

We are very proud of the authors and team we have built at 4 Horsemen Publications. Our print on demand (POD) model along with ensuring all of our books come in eBook and audiobook formats, allows us to have less of an environmental impact. Our work from home model lends itself to creating a more sustainable impact and allows our team to work when they are at their best.

How’d you meet your business partner?

Valerie Willis is the COO of 4 Horsemen Publications. We actually initially met because we was an independently published author whom I invited to do a panel at a Comic Convention where the panelists had to dress as characters from their books.

We discovered that we both had similar stories in regards to publishing and what needed to change to make this industry work for authors and readers. After five years of friendship we decided to dive in and do 4 Horsemen Publications.

Is there something you think non-creatives will struggle to understand about your journey as a creative? Maybe you can provide some insight – you never know who might benefit from the enlightenment.

I think most readers do not understand that the publishing world can be unique in an aspect with writer’s work. The analogy I make is that if you came across a painting of a beach at sunset you would never tell the artist that you wanted to purchase the painting, however, you needed them to change the painting to be mid-day in a forest instead of what it currently shows. This would never happen.

In publishing this happens all the time. Authors are asked to completely change storylines, character traits (such as genders, race, sexuality, etc.). Many times the story is not close to what they originally wrote. Authors get so excited to be published that they have no idea what is going to happen to their creation.

We do not change the authors stories. We have strong writers that are telling the stories they want to share with readers.   

Contact Info:

• Website: https://4horsemenpublications.com/
• Instagram: @4horsemenpublications
• Facebook: @4horsemenpubs
• Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/company/4-horsemen-publications
• Twitter: @4horsemenpubs
• Youtube: https://youtube.com/@4horsemenpubs