This is now the second of three big announcements this week. Yesterday I announced Friends of the Blog and tomorrow I’ll be announcing something to do with the keyword Connected. But for today, let me tell you about an exciting new venture I am involved in. Let me introduce you to [insert drum roll here] Cruciform Press.

Cruciform Press is an alternative publishing company designed from the ground up to operate in the digital marketplace. And it officially launches today.

This is a collaborative effort between Kevin Meath (book editor extraordinaire who has edited books for authors like C.J. Mahaney, Paul David Tripp and Dave Harvey), Bob Bevington (an entrepreneur and optometrist who also happens to co-author books with Jerry Bridges) and me. Together we see the need for a model of publishing that begins with, not extends to, the new realities of this digital world.

As a publisher getting its start at the cusp of the digital age, our model is slightly different from traditional publishers. We are focusing on books between 10,000 and 25,000 words (roughly 50 to 100 pages) and will offer them at great prices in print-on-demand, e-book and audiobook formats. And we intend to publish a new book on the first of every month. We will begin this September with my own Sexual Detox book (in a new, improved, oh-so-much-better version).

But I can’t do it all, so we are looking for more authors, both published and unpublished. In fact, we may be looking for you. Maybe you’re a pastor who has preached a great sermon series and you’ve been working on turning those sermons into a book; maybe you’re a blogger who has written a series of posts that would be ideal for print; maybe you’re a stay-at-home mom who has something to share with other moms. Whatever the case, we would like to hear from you.

We are particularly eager to receive manuscript submissions from people who read Challies.com and will reward at least one of you with a contract. Whether you are a published author or a first-timer, you will find many advantages at Cruciform. There are no upfront costs like you’d have with self-publishing and there are no hidden fees. We also feature simple contracts, substantial author royalties, meticulous editing, and competitive pricing.

Interested? Then Get Started! Make sure you mention this blog since one of you will be getting a contract.

If you are at Together for the Gospel, keep an eye out for Kevin Meath and for me. We’ll be at Band of Bloggers and then we’ll each be milling about (Bob will be in Israel, but that’s a whole different story). We’d love to tell you more about Cruciform.

And whether you’re at T4G or not, be sure to check out the web site and follow us @CruciformPress on Twitter.