Centaur Books / Joshua Tree Publishing

CaoPaux said:

Parent company is now Joshua Tree Global. Other imprints of Joshua Tree Publishing are Chiral House and Heroides Publishing. New ebook division is Joshua Tree Digital: http://joshuatreedigital.com/

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Two years on, Joshua Tree Digital doesn't exist. The linked page has a huge "Under Construction" banner.

Rather, for digital, they have this:

"At Joshua Tree Publishing, we are more excited than ever about how the content of our authors can be presented in a number of platforms. We have formed partnership with the leading companies in the digital age to transorm our author's books into audio books, video formats, and electronic books such as Kindle, ePub, and iBook formats. We are exploring streaming video and podcasts so our authors can reach their full creative potential and the largest possible audience."

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Spelling-and-grammar-checking your company's web page shouldn't be an optional step....

I just read a book from Centaur Books and was curious about the company. Having read their FAQ, I'm still a little confused. It repeatedly disparages self-publishing and says, "We do not charge authors to publish their books."

However, the FAQ also says that submissions should already have received professional editing. If a talented author submits a ms. that needs editing, Centaur will connect him or her with an editor at Chiral House, which it owns. So... this sets off my alarm bells. Also the fact that the FAQ vigorously attacks self-publishing but does not distinguish between CreateSpace or Lulu and vanity outfits like Xlibris.

Furthermore, the site's front page clearly targets authors, not readers.

All this makes me rather sad, because the book I read had great potential. The author is talented, but in desperate need of true editing, both developmental and copy editing. The book had a considerable number of errors. Perhaps the author would have done better to find some good beta readers, revise and try the trade route again, or else self-publish. (The trade route, I realize, is not easy for a literary novel, which this decidedly was, and with potentially controversial content.) I'm not sure I see the benefit of using a press like this one, even if they do not charge.

But those are just the random musings of a book reviewer who would have preferred to see the book in polished, streamlined form.