Figured I'd update the thread, as a Book Guild author has been in the legal press recently, albeit for the wrong reasons (see
http://www.absolutewrite.com/forums/showthread.php?t=187613 for further details).
It's a strange company that claims to offer:
- a "conventional publishing" option (under which it provides an advance)
- "Partnership publishing" (where the author contributes to the cost);
- "Production only publishing" (which seems to be straight-out self-publishing for a fee); and
- "sponsored publishing for companies and charities" (and I'm not completely certain how this is different to Partnerhip Publishing or Production Only Publishing).
There are a number of things on the website that would make me uncomfortable or cause me to ask more questions before signing with them:
Book Guild Publishing Website (BOLDING MINE):
Also known as mainstream publishing, this is where the publisher will pay for all costs and may pay an advance to the author.
If by mainstream publishing they mean commercial publishing then the author will get an advance for their work. I'd be interested in knowing how many authors that Book Guild has paid advances to and I'd want to know how much those advances were.
Book Guild Publishing Website:
Due to the high level of risk in conventional publishing, books generally have to be considered to have mass market potential. At present, this means that the focus tends to be on “dead certs” - previously published authors with a successful track record and/or well-known names, particularly from celebrity culture.
This isn't true. While commercial publishers are always looking for an angle to whip up sales, plenty of first time novelists are getting advance paying deals and in fact, you've got a better chance of being published if you're a new author with no track record but a book that the publisher thinks will sell, than you do as an established author with middling or poorer than expected sales.
Book Guild Publishing Website:
The Bookseller has said that three out of four publishers’ books do not make money, so for a small, independent publisher the risks are even higher.
Does this statistic relate to all publishers (in which case, I wouldn't be surprised to know that some publishers don't make money) or commercial publishers?
Book Guild Publishing Website:
Every year Book Guild Publishing brings out conventionally published titles that we think will sell well in the mass market, and we have an excellent record of sales, though, of course, it is still a risk to us, as it is to all publishers. We are then able to apply our position in the marketplace to all of our books, not just to those conventionally published.
I'd want to know how many books on average their books sell.
Book Guild Publishing Website (BOLDING MINE):
[Partnership Publishing] is a full publishing package, which gives the author creative control and a high level of involvement. Unlike self-publishing, our full package includes a rigorous editorial service, high-quality production, professional jacket design, publicity, marketing, a UK sales force, global marketing where appropriate, warehousing, distribution, accounting, representation at the London Book Fair, and inclusion in our catalogue, on our website and on Amazon.co.uk. We also include two years of representation after publication.
I'd want to know what this means. It suggests that they're acting as agent for the published book, which would tie in with a suggestion on their site that they are taking all rights in the work (including audio, world-wide publication rights and adaptation rights). That is not a good idea for an author (notwithstanding their claims to have got some authors deals for those rights).
Book Guild Publishing Website:
Partnership Publishing offers a higher royalty rate: in general terms, the author will receive 30% of the retail price of every book sold, which is equivalent to 80% of the net receipts.
I'd want to know how much on average each author going with Partnership Publishing receives in royalties.
Book Guild Publishing Website:
You only pay for the origination costs for the first edition: any subsequent reprints are paid for in full by the Book Guild.
I'd want to know the terms for getting a reprint before deciding if this was a good deal.
Book Guild Publishing Website:
[Production Only] service includes the full editorial, production and design of your book to provide you with finished copies for your own distribution and use.
This looks like a straight-forward pay-to-publish/self-publish operation.
Book Guild Publishing Website:
An experienced marketing and publicity department with established contacts and an excellent track record of obtaining press, radio and TV coverage; bookshop and library distribution; online promotion, including Amazon.co.uk and
www.bookguild.co.uk; and, global marketing where appropriate.
More >
Book Guild does appear to have got some coverage including reviews for authors in the national UK press, although I haven't verified exactly what that coverage is (or indeed to what extent it was organised by the authors themselves).
All in all, not a company I'd be running to have publish my book.
MM