About Us

Gaia & Fenrir Publishing was born out of bad experiences. Founder, Francesca Catlow explains:

'I wrote a novel in 2020 and I wanted to get my story out into the world as soon as possible. This ruled out finding an agent and going for a big publishing name. Self publishing was going to be the way forward, only, I had a new born baby, a two year old and a husband with a disability and no time to look after everyone, finish editing my manuscript, continue my Open Uni work AND learn everything there is to know about publishing a book. I was lost and unintentionally fell into the beautiful trap of Vanity Press. The glittering enticing website didn't mention that after paying thousands of pounds to get my novel out there, the publisher would take 15% of the RRP! This meant that selling my paperback at a sensible price actually cost me money. On top of this, the company actually published an unedited version after I had paid thousands for editors... I never want anyone to go through this. I was forced into learning everything and now I'm here to help other authors to build a writing career for themselves. With the Vanity Press that published the first edition of my book, the owner actually emailed me to say "I hadn’t realised that you are hoping to make a living from your writing." This horrified me. This was when I realised why these types of publishers are called "Vanity" press and independent publishing is no longer Vanity Press. Authors CAN make a living if they work hard. I want all writers to be able to make money from their art. It might be hard work, but that's why it's called a job. 

In my desire to help other authors, I started to post interviews on my website and share their work on my YouTube channel. Now, I don't just publish my own novels, I've created publishing plans to support all the stories I believe in."