Aakjær tried to get the publishing firm of Gyldendal to partner with him, but was initially rebuffed, even though he was sought after by one of its editors, Peter Nansen. Instead he found a local bookstore owner, V. Oscar Søtofte, who published his first novel. Soon thereafter, he released a collection of earlier writing, "Derude fra Kjærne" (Out There from the Watering Holes, 1899). In time a rift formed between the two over a couple of issues. First, Aakjær did not like the choice of covers that Oscar had chosen. Second, he felt that the marketing ability of Oscar was severely limited, and finally, when Jeppe wanted to release a collection of shorts stories as a single book, Oscar objected and instead broke it into two. The collection, "Vadmelsfolk: Hedefortællinger" (Homespunfolk: Heath Stories, 1900) was released around Christmas 1900, but saw lackluster sales which forced Jeppe to seek a new publisher.