• Guest please check The Index before starting a thread.

Severed Press

Torgo

Formerly Phantom of Krankor.
Kind Benefactor
Super Member
Registered
Joined
Apr 7, 2005
Messages
7,632
Reaction score
1,204
Location
London, UK
Website
torgoblog.blogspot.com
By the way, if you don't earn your advance back (with any publisher), you have to pay it back...so be wary of huge advances and don't spend it until you've earned it in sales.

That is completely untrue. The only circumstances under which you would have to pay back the advance would be if you broke the contract, say by failing to deliver the book.

Please don't perpetuate this myth.
 

Momento Mori

Tired and Disillusioned
Super Member
Registered
Joined
Sep 25, 2006
Messages
3,389
Reaction score
802
Location
Here and there
Hi, ECardillo, and welcome to AW.

ECardillo:
Their contract is very straightforward. No funny business. The royalty rates are average, give-or-take. They probably don't want to post specific rates because different authors negotiate different rates. In business, people rarely discuss the specifics of their contracts. It's a privacy thing. I didn't get an advance, but advances are old fashioned and rarely earned back. By the way, if you don't earn your advance back (with any publisher), you have to pay it back...so be wary of huge advances and don't spend it until you've earned it in sales. Royalties in my contract are off of cover, not net.

Most actually set down what their starting point is on royalties, even if that is later subject to negotiation. I agree with you that confidentiality may make people reluctant to discuss specifics, but most reputable publishers (especially start-ups) will let you know what their standard terms are so you know what the starting point is.

As for your point on advances, if you have hung around AW then you should know that what you've said is absolute balderdash. Advances only have to be paid back if you don't deliver the book. Earn out into royalties just means that you get extra money (i.e. the royalties). I'm very surprised that you appear to be confused on this and wonder where you got your information from - specifically, is this what Severed Press told you?

ECardillo:
They are very collaborative. They were very respectful of my characters, my plot, etc. They didn't have me change the whole flavor of my story. They even asked me what I wanted the cover to be, they offered some suggestions on style, and I am very happy with the results.

Collaboration is all well and good and I'd expect every editor to want to work with the author. However I'd equally expect editors to tell an author where there's something wrong with a book that needs to be improved or removed because their job is to make the book as good as it can.

Authors get too het up on covers. I'd hope that Severed Press had definite plans on the cover that they thought would best sell the book rather than leave it to you to do the legwork re creativity.

ECardillo:
They move very quickly. None of this six month to one year lag time in waiting to get published. They move as fast as you can keep up, and the finished product looks amazing. They always respond promptly to questions.

The reason there's a lag in publishing is to give publishers time to lay the foundations for sale to booksellers and prepare the marketing/PR campaign for it. If Severed Press are moving very quickly then what are they doing to assist in selling it and how much is done before and after publication?

ECardillo:
4.)Regarding sales, I have just started, but I was an Amazon Best Seller--top 10 in war fiction, top 100 in horror--in the US, Canada, the UK, and Germany for 4 days straight. I do not know what that translates to in sales, but that's Amazon's fault, not Severed Press'. Amazon is very hush hush about sales numbers. If you use novelrank to track sales, some authors have been selling 500 or so a month, some a lot less, and a lot in between. Anyone can track the sales of any novel using novelrank; I suggest you use it as part of your research. I am a new author, so I'm just getting my name out there. I don' expect huge numbers until I build my fan base, which takes time. Luckily my day job more than pays the bills.

That's great re sales figures and congratulations. I also take the point about Amazon sales figures. Is your book being sold anywhere else where SP can get sales figures and are they selling directly themselves?

ECardillo:
5.)Marketing--they are a small press, but my novel has appeared on numerous horror, sci-fi, and zombie themed websites. Marketing is a collaboration between the author and the publisher. Since collaborating with SP, I've been invited to a massive zombie conference on Facebook, I've been invited to be a workshop leader at a writers conference in NYC, and I've been interviewed on the radio. All of this led to sales, and all of this was due to my efforts and Severed Press' reputation.

Again, well done on this but how much was actually done and arranged by you and how much has solely been arranged or brokered by SP?

MM
 

veinglory

volitare nequeo
Self-Ban
Registered
Joined
Feb 12, 2005
Messages
28,750
Reaction score
2,933
Location
right here
Website
www.veinglory.com
What you have just been told about advances is not a belief, it is a fact. If you wish people in a conversation to be open to you points based on your experiences, you should be open to theirs which is based on their direct experience also.
 

Torgo

Formerly Phantom of Krankor.
Kind Benefactor
Super Member
Registered
Joined
Apr 7, 2005
Messages
7,632
Reaction score
1,204
Location
London, UK
Website
torgoblog.blogspot.com
I just searched through the two posts above by me and MM looking for evidence of hostility and/or bellicosity. Am I missing something or were we not kind of polite?
 

Terie

Writer is as Writer does
Super Member
Registered
Joined
Jan 18, 2008
Messages
4,151
Reaction score
951
Location
Manchester, UK
Website
www.teriegarrison.com
2.)Believe what you want about advances. It's a free country.

Everyone is entitled to their own opinions. Facts are a different matter. It is a fact that commercial publishers don't require authors to pay back any part of an advance that doesn't earn out. Your misunderstanding of how the system works doesn't change the actual facts. (Might be worthy of considering that Torgo, the first one to respond to you on that notion, works for a major UK publishing house.)
 

Old Hack

Such a nasty woman
Super Moderator
Absolute Sage
Super Member
Registered
Joined
Jun 12, 2005
Messages
22,454
Reaction score
4,956
Location
In chaos
I've worked for all sorts of publishers and not one has ever expected an author to pay back even a penny of their advance if the book didn't earn out. To say otherwise is to perpetuate a myth encouraged by inept or vanity publishers.

Mr Cardillo, I'm sorry you feel that the reception you've been given here has not been polite but correcting misinformation isn't rude, it's reasonable; and I see no instances of hostility in the responses to you. Nor do I see any attempts to "tear" Severed Press apart. Let's not pretend, thanks.
 

James D. Macdonald

Your Genial Uncle
Absolute Sage
VPX
Super Member
Registered
Joined
Feb 11, 2005
Messages
25,582
Reaction score
3,785
Location
New Hampshire
Website
madhousemanor.wordpress.com
No one aside from Mr. Cardillo mentioned "2 or 4%" royalties. Royalty rates like that are very much below what you'd expect from major commercial publishers (exceptions: Book club editions; some tie-ins; a few other very limited and tightly defined cases).

Your higher-end publishers may only say that their royalties are "competitive." A "competitive" royalty is usually 12-15% or higher, and that's of cover price, not net or "profits."

As many others have said, the idea that unearned advances are paid back by the author is a myth. Another myth is that major commercial publishers will make you re-write/change beyond recognition your characters and plot. In fact, the reason they acquired your book is because they liked your characters and plot.

Say what you will about the Wheel of Time covers, those books sold a ton of copies. Whether this is because of or in spite of their covers is a question I doubt we'll ever answer.
 

veinglory

volitare nequeo
Self-Ban
Registered
Joined
Feb 12, 2005
Messages
28,750
Reaction score
2,933
Location
right here
Website
www.veinglory.com
I think the idea is that editor from a reputable house you would want to work with will respect your creative efforts. Each comment is made in relation to something specific, not every place that calls itself a publisher.
 

amergina

Pittsburgh Strong
Staff member
Moderator
Kind Benefactor
Super Member
Registered
Joined
Aug 20, 2007
Messages
15,599
Reaction score
2,471
Location
Pittsburgh, PA
Website
www.annazabo.com
The only time I've ever heard of anyone paying back an advance was when they breached their contract. (i.e., they didn't deliver their book or their book was rife with plagiarized text, etc.)

I've never heard of anyone at a reputable house having to pay back their advance because they didn't earn out.

And I personally know a number of big-six/five authors. ETA: And someone who currently works at one of the big 5.
 

Old Hack

Such a nasty woman
Super Moderator
Absolute Sage
Super Member
Registered
Joined
Jun 12, 2005
Messages
22,454
Reaction score
4,956
Location
In chaos
Perhaps I misread the tone...

Anyway, I was told by 2 individuals who worked for 2 big six houses, respectively, about the advances and the extensive re-writes. I am new to this, so I go by what I'm told by those who I've run into who are in the know. Perhaps they were inaccurate, but I don't know why that would be so.

Perhaps they weren't quite as "in the know" as you thought they were.

Regardless, there's a lot of misinformation flying around from pubs, agents, etc.

And from people who post unsubstantiated claims on the internet. Etc.

By the way, I have never dealt with a vanity press. C'mon guys :tongue

No one suggested you had. I did, however, point out that the misinformation you posted here originated with "inept or vanity publishers". There's a difference.

There were prior posts (on pg 2 I believe, prior to my post) referencing 2 or 4% and an "author" who claimed they were making the same low royalty rate for both print and ebook (I think it was 15% or st like that). That might have been that author's experience, but not mine.

There's something to be said for a publisher who respects an author's creative vision. I notice a contradiction in the responses about this: on the one hand, I'm being told that my editor didn't do enough; on the other hand I'm being told that houses don't screw with the characters/plot and demand extensive re-writes. So which is it?

Good editors at good publishers do their best to make the books they edit the best they can be. This means they always respect their authors' creative vision. And a big part of that is not "screw[ing] with the characters/plot". That doesn't mean that a good editor won't "demand extensive re-writes"; it means that a good editor will stay true to the book that was commissioned (because if they didn't like the plot, voice, or characters in the book, why would they commission it?) while asking the author to make changes which will strengthen those points.

A wise author will find out about an editor's vision for the book prior to signing. If author and editor aren't on the same page here, it's a good reason to refuse the contract.

The same contradiction goes for the cover art. If you have a big say, the pub isn't doing enough. They should tell you what would sell. Oh, but they aren't that heavy handed...hmmmm.

Where did anyone say that? Please clarify.

I posted in response to some of the questions about sales and marketing and my overall experience, and I provided some specifics. I'm not trying to "pretend" or deceive. I'm happy with my experience.

I'm glad you're happy. But that doesn't mean that this press is right for everyone, or that they do things in the best way all round. This thread is designed to help writers work out if this press might suit them. It's important we discuss all options. Some might not apply to you; but that doesn't mean they won't apply to anyone else.
 

Marian Perera

starting over
Super Member
Registered
Joined
Dec 29, 2006
Messages
14,333
Reaction score
4,578
Location
Heaven is a place on earth called Toronto.
Website
www.marianperera.com
The same contradiction goes for the cover art. If you have a big say, the pub isn't doing enough. They should tell you what would sell. Oh, but they aren't that heavy handed...hmmmm.

I provided input, but my publisher's cover artist had primary say in what the cover of my novel looked like. To me that wasn't "heavy handed" - that was the artist having much more experience than I did when it came to book covers and what catches the reader's eye. Just like I didn't think it was "heavy handed" of my publisher to decide the layout, how much to price the book, what digital formats to offer it in, etc.

So I'm not sure what, in reality, the contradiction is here.
 

paulcosca

The Paulest of all Coscas
Super Member
Registered
Joined
Mar 20, 2013
Messages
138
Reaction score
15
Location
Missoula, MT
Website
www.paulcosca.com
I wonder what exactly it is that prevents anyone from saying, point blank, "I make XX% for royalties". It certainly seems like Severed Press is respectable and treats people just fine, but it's a curious thing to completely omit, both from the press and from the authors who have participated on this thread.

In my mind, this would be like asking an agent what sales they've made and not getting any kind of answer. As much as collaboration and attitude and the general "vibe" are important, there can't be anything more important than the numbers.
 

Stacia Kane

Girl Detective
Super Member
Registered
Joined
Jul 23, 2006
Messages
8,142
Reaction score
2,668
Location
In cahoots with the other boo-birds
Website
www.staciakane.com
I've been published--in one way or another--by four of the Big 5 (it was five of the Big 6), and none of them have required that I repay an advance that doesn't earn out. None of them have forced me to do "rewrites" I didn't agree to. All of them paid me royalties considerably higher than 2-4%.

And all of that is standard. I know a lot of others published by all of the Big 5, and none of their experiences differ from mine in those respects. If they had, it'd be news.
 

triceretops

Banned
Flounced
Joined
Feb 12, 2005
Messages
14,060
Reaction score
2,755
Location
In a van down by the river
Website
guerrillawarfareforwriters.blogspot.com
An editor will not "demand" major structural changes in a manuscript. They will ask and suggest changes of an author and will seek reasonable compromise. I've never had an editor take over any part of my book or actually rewrite the damn thing. OTH, I've never had one that told me that they'd let my prose go because they did not feel like interfering with my creative direction/vision.

From experience, I've found that writers who continually raise hell about their creative vision being tromped on are guilty of "golden word syndrome", and impossible to work with. I've beta'ed for such writers (a few) and the process was a disaster on an emotional level.

Sorry, veered off topic a bit.

tri
 

kevinwaynewilliams

Be blunt: I appreciate it
Super Member
Registered
Joined
Aug 18, 2013
Messages
555
Reaction score
53
Location
Phoenix
It's hard for me to sort wheat from chaff on this thread. I've got a request for a full manuscript from Severed Press sitting in front of me, complete with a request for seven-day exclusivity. I can't pull back other queries, but I've got no real problem with waiting a week before I respond in the off-chance I get a positive response to one of my other outstanding queries. Still, seven days seems a bit odd.

Any advice?
 

Old Hack

Such a nasty woman
Super Moderator
Absolute Sage
Super Member
Registered
Joined
Jun 12, 2005
Messages
22,454
Reaction score
4,956
Location
In chaos
My advice, KevinWayne, is that you pay particular attention to the various times this publisher gets things wrong in this thread; and that you read Momento Mori's post at #56.

I see a publisher which doesn't really market or promote its books, which doesn't have proper distribution (so its books are not going to sell well unless people know about them--which they're not going to do, because the publisher doesn't promote its books effectively), which seems to use POD technologies but claims not to, which doesn't understand how royalties work or know what standard royalties are, and which rushes through production in order to get its books out quickly and so can't take advantage of review placement (which brings us back to marketing and promotion).

More worryingly, this publisher seems to have told some of the people posting in this thread to delete their comments. It would be better if the publisher had debated the points he didn't agree with, rather than censoring people: would you want to work with someone who thinks he has the right to tell you what you can and can't say in public? I wouldn't.
 

Severed Press

Registered
Joined
Apr 27, 2013
Messages
6
Reaction score
0
My advice, KevinWayne, is that you pay particular attention to the various times this publisher gets things wrong in this thread; and that you read Momento Mori's post at #56.

I see a publisher which doesn't really market or promote its books, which doesn't have proper distribution (so its books are not going to sell well unless people know about them--which they're not going to do, because the publisher doesn't promote its books effectively), which seems to use POD technologies but claims not to, which doesn't understand how royalties work or know what standard royalties are, and which rushes through production in order to get its books out quickly and so can't take advantage of review placement (which brings us back to marketing and promotion).

More worryingly, this publisher seems to have told some of the people posting in this thread to delete their comments. It would be better if the publisher had debated the points he didn't agree with, rather than censoring people: would you want to work with someone who thinks he has the right to tell you what you can and can't say in public? I wouldn't.



We have not censored or asked any author not to post or to delete any post. A new author came on here and made some incorrect statements and you all pounced on him like a pack of piranhas. That is probably why he deleted his posts.

What various things have we got wrong?

How do we not have proper distribution? You can order our books worldwide through Ingrams. We have never claimed to be mass market.

Where have we claimed not to use POD? We are not ashamed to use new technology!

We understand royalties just fine. We choose not to discuss them publicly.

This is not a debate it is more like a series of trolls. And still not one post from any author who has had a negative experience with us.
 
Last edited:

dondomat

Banned
Joined
Mar 9, 2011
Messages
1,373
Reaction score
225
Okay this is going to be the last time I post here...again.
I thought I would answer some of the more outlandish claims on this thread by people who have had no dealings with us whatsoever.
Severed Press treat their authors unfairly. This is untrue. Our author sweatshop is one of the most advanced in the small press world. We have modern plastic buckets and our cat o’ nine tails has an industry leading 12 tails.
Severed Press censors its authors and doesn’t allow them to post on absolutewrite. This is true and any author foolish enough to talk about us will find our secret police at their doorstep with the nipple clamps.
Severed Press do not pay their authors well. Not true, every author that signs with us receives a shiny new penny.
Severed Press do not pay advances…Err hello, one shiny new penny.
Severed Press has no distribution. Untrue, anyone lucky enough to be within throwing distance of our office window can get a copy of one of our books.
Severed Press do not market or even sell many books. This is part of our forward thinking business strategy. One day our books will be so rare and hard to find that they will be valuable beyond our wildest dreams!


I'm not sure if this is brilliant, or a meltdown, or a brilliant meltdown, or merely a spasm of inadequacy, but it made me grin.
 

gingerwoman

Super Member
Registered
Joined
Jun 27, 2007
Messages
2,548
Reaction score
228
I wonder what exactly it is that prevents anyone from saying, point blank, "I make XX% for royalties". It certainly seems like Severed Press is respectable and treats people just fine, but it's a curious thing to completely omit, both from the press and from the authors who have participated on this thread.

In my mind, this would be like asking an agent what sales they've made and not getting any kind of answer. As much as collaboration and attitude and the general "vibe" are important, there can't be anything more important than the numbers.
Well many of the new digital first lines of the Big Five don't list their royalty rates when asking authors to submit, and many other publishers do not list their royally rates on their site. I think this needs to change because there is so much choice out there now. I'd like to see REAL reason an author should submit to a publisher on websites not "blah blah we are moving into the innovative new world of digital books and can accept new kinds of stories," which I keep seeing and I think "so what?"
 

gingerwoman

Super Member
Registered
Joined
Jun 27, 2007
Messages
2,548
Reaction score
228
If I had to hazard a guess, it would be that royalties are on net, or even if they're on cover, that they're concerned that people might be turned away if they see numbers and think "I could get 70% on Amazon" or something.

That being said, I'd wonder how many authors like myself would be turned away by not having that information available. That's one of the most important things to know when evaluating a company, IMO.
Yup that's right, that's how I see it. I wish we were having this discussion in a more general thread than one about this publisher.
Obviously those of us making the choice to go with a publisher know we are not going to be getting 70% like Amazon. We are making the choice to submit direct to a publisher for the benefits of having a publisher and we don't expect 70% but we would like to know what the royalties are so we can compare them to other publishers. If other publishers post their royalties on their website so that we at least know, I for one am going to be more likely to consider the publisher.
And an advance is going to make me even more interested although "may offer an advance" may not be enough to get my interest as I'm realizing "may pay an advance" often means "usually won't".
I say this not from my own personal experience but from talking to authors who have signed with publishers who say "may pay an advance on their website, but haven't actually been offered the advance. I don't know if this is a little trick where you only get the advance if you say "hey hang on on your website you say you 'may pay an advance'."
Will pay an advance would get immediate interest. :)
 

gingerwoman

Super Member
Registered
Joined
Jun 27, 2007
Messages
2,548
Reaction score
228
For what it's worth, I'm getting 10%-15% of cover on paper and 35% of cover on electronic books from a Big 5 publisher.

Just to give you an idea of the ballpark.
Wow James that isgood. I'll be getting 8% of cover from my big independent publisher and 40-30% of cover for ebook depending on where it is sold.
But I know the Big 5 often only give 25% of net on ebooks so I'm surprised and impressed by your royalty rate. Donald Maass did say recently that was going to have to change.
 

Old Hack

Such a nasty woman
Super Moderator
Absolute Sage
Super Member
Registered
Joined
Jun 12, 2005
Messages
22,454
Reaction score
4,956
Location
In chaos
We have not censored or asked any author not to post or to delete any post.

Post #29 on page two of this thread has been deleted. The original poster deleted it and the reason they gave for that deletion is "Requested by publisher".

A new author came on here and made some incorrect statements and you all pounced on him like a pack of piranhas. That is probably why he deleted his posts.
It's always so professional to make ad hominem attacks, don't you think? It shows one up in such a good light.

Heh.

A second person has deleted his comments in this thread but much of those deleted comments appear as quotes in other people's posts. I see no "pouncing" in response to his comments: but I do see that he had a hard time accepting it when his opinions were shown to be wrong.

What various things have we got wrong?
All sorts of things.

How do we not have proper distribution? You can order our books worldwide through Ingrams. We have never claimed to be mass market.
"Mass market" is a format, not a distribution issue.*

Distribution, in the book trade sense, means that you have a full-service distributor working for you. This would involve you having a strong marketing plan and a budget to match (I know this doesn't seem like much to do with distribution but it's a requirement for most distributors, so worth including); having a sales force (both on the road and a telesales team) actively selling your books into bookshops; and having stock of all your titles held at that distributor so that they can deliver your books within 24 hours of ordering. You can expect to sell your books at 55-60% discount off cover price through your distributor, and will have to offer sale or return.

You don't do any of these things.

Your books being available through Ingrams doesn't mean you have proper distribution: it just means your books probably have ISBNs on them. It's completely different, and it's worrying when a publisher doesn't know this.

Where have we claimed not to use POD? We are not ashamed to use new technology!
No one has said that one should be ashamed about using new technology and it's disingenuous of you to imply otherwise.

Earlier in this thread Domoviye wrote:

They also have a fast turnaround rate novels, much faster than the market average.

Offset takes time and one has to book one's printing slot months in advance to get a good price, so your fast turnaround implies that you use digital printing: but then one of your authors wrote,

The Severed Press is not POD.

However, now you've confirmed that you do work on a POD business model, which is another indication that you are not going to sell many copies of the books that you publish.

Digital printing has a high unit cost. This high unit cost means that you can either sell your book at a reasonable cover price, or you can sell your book at the discounts that distributors and good booksellers will demand; but you can't do both. And that makes it impossible for you to have full distribution, or to get your books into enough bookshops to sell a decent number of copies.

Not only does digital printing come out very expensive per copy, when it's used in conjunction with a POD business model it means that you have long delivery times--often a week or two, sometimes longer--as the books have to be printed and bound to order. This is another clear indication that you don't have full distribution (a week-long delay on supplying copies is obviously not compatible with 24-hour delivery), and so won't sell many copies.

We understand royalties just fine. We choose not to discuss them publicly.
But you have discussed them publicly: you've mentioned them in this very thread.

My claim that you "[don't] understand how royalties work or know what standard royalties are" stems directly from your posts in this thread. Earlier you wrote,

We treat our authors very fairly and have industry standard royalty rates.

Soon after, you wrote,

Our royalties are more than double what you would get from the big 6.

It's impossible for you to pay "industry standard royalty rates" while simultaneously paying royalties which are "more than double what you would get from the big 6". When this was pointed out to you you wrote,

We do pay industry standard rates that are probably a little higher and in some cases a little lower than other small presses. As for my statement about it being double what a big publisher would give...going by James D's statement on what he receives, then I was misinformed by what I had read elsewhere and I will happily retract that statement.
You agreed right there that you didn't know what standard royalties were.

My suggestion that you don't know how royalties work came from this post:

The author I spoke with said your ebooks rates were much lower than the standard 40% most epublishers offer. He said your ebook and print royalties are the same.

It's very odd for a writer to be offered the same royalty for electronic and print editions, and if this is true it's another point against you.

This is not a debate it is more like a series of trolls.
If you're not happy with any of the posts in this thread then you're welcome to use the "report post" button, to bring it to the attention of the appropriate moderators. (The "report post" button is the red triangle with an exclamation mark inside it.)

But please recognise that asking reasonable questions and providing informed and polite opinion is not at all the same as trolling. I understand that this thread must be difficult for you; but that doesn't mean that it's inappropriate for us to ask our questions or offer our opinions.

And still not one post from any author who has had a negative experience with us.
Yes, there was a post from an author who has had a negative experience with you. It's the one I referred to earlier, from the member who has since deleted his post apparently on the request of the publisher--you.

Okay this is going to be the last time I post here...again.

Ahem:

Okay, this will be the last time I post on this forum as I don't want this to become something it is not.

[...]

That is me over and out. THX

Are you sure about that?


_______________________________________

* It's been pointed out to me that while mass market books are usually a specific size and therefore a specific format, mass market is at its heart a distribution issue, as mass market books are designed to be stripped rather than returned. Sorry for the confusion.
 
Last edited:

dondomat

Banned
Joined
Mar 9, 2011
Messages
1,373
Reaction score
225
Oh thee, venomous attacks, why, why the hate thou speweth forth in posts that lack all worth, of courth...

Anyway, dear Severed Press person; you're currently experiencing a public meltdown in a popular forum, and that is never ever good. It's easy enough to deduce your thoughts at this point: "I saw us being discussed, I tried to clarify some stuff, and instead they all ganged up on us, trolls and haters and losers who think they know stuff. Wouldn't it be better to just be constructive and polite and give each other a break?"

This is a common affliction, but it leads down unproductive roads. This forum is a place where every scrap and shred of information is being examined from all possible angles, looking for possible positive and negative points which an author should keep in mind when entertaining the idea of working with said publisher.

Small publishers, who have yet to show a track record of measurable non-fluke success of their books and authors, get double scrutiny, which is only natural. We all know of bad publishers who've gotten their just deserts because of threads like this. I don't think there's a single case of a quality publisher suffering because of scrutiny in the 'bewares' forum.

In the Zharmae thread, you will see an example of a small publisher constantly challenged on various issues, nevertheless be a regular and polite contributor, with informative posts that show supreme self-control. In other threads, like Musa's, you'll see a publisher who chooses the aloof non-involvement approach. For now, you're in the middle ground of bitterly trying to tell everyone that they're just being nasty and inconsiderate.

I hope this is merely the peak of a bad day, and that tomorrow this thread will become a place of polite and productive discussion. After all, the participants of the forum are people who either a) really do want to be published and thus to know what the best and worst deals are, or b) industry professionals, who take the time to share their experiences. Periodically, real trolls or simply uncouth individuals make an appearance. Thus far this has not been the case in this thread. Certain hissy fits accepted.

I hope Severed press grows and prospers and that a few month from now a string of digital bestsellers will make the world sit up and take note. But being defensive and whiny instead of stating calmly that in spite of certain limitations Severed Press nevertheless transparently offers A, B, and C, and is therefore a great choice for authors looking for a publisher of this level, is very, very, very counterproductive. IMO.

Manning up and just being efficient and polite is not "losing". Neither are people asking stuff, or even clarifying terms through use of accumulated industry knowledge, trying to "score points". That's kindergarten thinking.

You will see below your avatar a sign saying "New Fish; Learning About Thick Skin". We all went through this in one manner or another.
 
Last edited:

usuallycountingbats

Procrastinating on the net.
Super Member
Registered
Joined
Aug 5, 2013
Messages
732
Reaction score
168
Location
UK
Wow. Just, wow. This really isn't how to portray a business well on the web. I don't write anything in the genres Severed Press publish, but if I did, I'd now be extremely wary of submitting to them if this came up in a google search. Not, I hasten to add, because of anything said by the people asking questions in this thread, but because of SP's responses, especially after Dondomat gave them such a kind get out.

It's fascinating reading though, so as you were!