We recently connected with Gideon Marcus and have shared our conversation below.

Alright, Gideon thanks for taking the time to share your stories and insights with us today. When did you first know you wanted to pursue a creative/artistic path professionally?

I’ve done a lot of things in my life. I was an astrophysics major, got degrees in music and Japanese. For a while I was a professional tutor, a journalist, then i ran a law firm. For several years, I was co-owner of a successful global internet SAAS company.

Every time I had any spare time, I found myself writing. Between the law firm and a biotech company, I wrote my first short story and started galacticjourney.org. Between the biotech company and the internet startup, I wrote half a dozen short stories. The day I gave my resignation to the internet startup, I wrote 1000 words of my first novel (Kitra).https://journeypress.com/titles/kitra/ 

What I have learned is that there are two types of people: Those who *need* to write. Who can’t imagine not writing. Who, whenever they have a free moment, write or contemplate the next thing they will write.

And those who “have a great idea that they plan to write…someday.”

I think this dynamic applies to any creative or entrepreneurial endeavor. Both types are fine, but don’t kid yourself as to which one you are.

Great, appreciate you sharing that with us. Before we ask you to share more of your insights, can you take a moment to introduce yourself and how you got to where you are today to our readers?

I’m perhaps best known for Galactic Journey (galacticjourney.org). It’s a sort of time machine to 55 years ago where I and a bunch of other folks live in the past, experiencing life day by day. Every two days, we post an article about something that happened back then, usually of interest to science fiction and space fans: a review of the latest (i.e. September 1967) issue of Fantasy and Science Fiction, the latest Moon probe, or the most recent episode of Star Trek (the original series, of course).

Sometimes our coverage goes broader–talking about fashion trends, or the latest Beatles album…or the intimidation of Black Americans at the polls, or chauvinism against women creators. It’s amazing how much things resonate between then and now. Which, of course, is the point. We write about yesterday for the benefit of today’s audience.

It’s a project that has gone on for nearly a decade and garnered four Hugo nominations thus far (Hugos are science fiction’s version of the Oscars). It has spread out beyond the website onto social media, live chat servers, weekly Star Trek watch-alongs, a virtual museum, and for the past several years, a publishing house.

Journey Press (journeypress.com), founded in 2019, is an independent publisher focused on bringing unusual and diverse science fiction and fantasy to the forefront of the publishing landscape.

We are dedicated not only to modern science fiction, but also to elevating classics that have fallen by the wayside. You’ll find us supporting the women and queer people who have been erased from the history books, reprinting rediscovered classics, and publishing new novels by creators of all types.

Our flagship volumes are the anthology series “Rediscovery: Science Fiction by Women”, reprinting some of the best SF of the last century. Stories that had been largely forgotten until we found and revived them.

We also print a wide variety of new fiction, from YA space adventures to gay fantasy romance. The common elements are our focus on marginalized characters and creators, bringing something different to the world.

Starting a publishing house on the eve of the pandemic was… challenging. Especially since we’ve prioritized the independent bookstore over online distribution as our main sales outlet. And yet, it’s worked. Today, our books can regularly be found in hundreds of bookstores across the world, and we’ve been partners in success with the vibrant literary community of the brick and mortar bookseller while providing an absolutely unique service.

Let’s talk about resilience next – do you have a story you can share with us?

I built Journey Press literally store by store. We came out with our first book in August 2019, and our sales strategy was simple. I planned to call every single independent bookstore in the country, introduce myself (I had two Hugo nominations to my credit at the time) and pitch our first Rediscovery volume.

It was surprisingly successful. Certainly, Rediscovery did much better than the first release of a new indie press could ever expect.

Then COVID hit.

Our second release, which happened to be my first book, was scheduled for March 30. Right when every store in the country was shutting down against a global pandemic.

We did a lot of soul searching. Should we give in and go for an internet-focused strategy? The thought kind of made me sick. I love bookstores, and the idea of turning our back on them sat poorly. Plus, I had no desire to go head to head on Amazon with the traditional publishers and the millions of self-publishing hopefuls–all while enriching Jeff Bezos instead of the bookstore community.

So we took April off, read a lot of books, and waited. Come May, bookstores started to open again. They adapted to the new situation, offering curbside pickup, expanding their online footprint. Innovating. Some withered and died, but most hung in there thanks to the support of their community. That was the energy we wanted to partner with, not soulless algorithms.

In mid-May, I began my calls again. We had gotten onto the shelves of 200 bookstores thus far; I still had about 700 more stores to call. Our patience and persistence paid off. Indeed, booksellers were happy to hear we were sticking with the plan, and they supported us just as we boosted them, with social media promotions, even donations (we spent more on support to bookstores than we took in receipts in 2020).

And here we are today, on the other side of the worst of it. We have ten titles in print now, and they can be found in most American bookstores, as well as some in half a dozen countries around the world. The friends we made in the process are firm, reliable customers, and the press is on a solid foundation.

All it took was not giving up.

What do you think is the goal or mission that drives your creative journey?

I am, first and foremost, an educator. My goal, with Galactic Journey, Journey Press, my public lectures, my space history articles, is to communicate. To instill excitement about topics that folks may not have much exposure to.

So I write YA novels that buck the grimdark, dystopian trend–villainless space adventures that focus on science and teamwork.

So I give presentations about the Van Allen Belts, Project Gemini, and the women pioneers of space science to colleges, libraries, microbreweries.

So I publish books that shine a light on people out of the mainstream in fantastic worlds but with recognizable, empathizable plights.

In all that, I’ve learned a valuable lesson for any creative: do what you’re passionate about.

If you try doing something you hate, whether it’s social media or blogging or joining this group or that club, because you hear that’s where the clicks are or it’s the surefire way to success, you ultimately won’t succeed.

But if you create what you’re passionate about, be it art or stories or charity or a new business, then you will keep doing it because you love it. And you will infect people with your passion. That will create a positive feedback between the creator and the audience, keeping you going. And ultimately, you will succeed.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://gideonmarcus.com
• Twitter: @gideonmarcus9
• Youtube: https://studio.youtube.com/channel/UCIzbXI8gA5EX67SbloB321g/videos
• Other: https://journeypress.com Twitter: @pressjourney FB: facebook.com/pressjourney2019 IG: @journeypresspublishing https://galacticjourney.org Twitter @journeygalactic FB: facebook.com/galacticjourney IG: journeygalactic

Image Credits
Long hair photos taken by Nathan Daum. Short hair photos taken by Janice Marcus.