- Joined
- Feb 23, 2008
- Messages
- 72
- Reaction score
- 5
- Location
- Boston area
- Website
- www.MichaelSussmanBooks.com
Solstice published my YA novel, Crashing Eden, in May of 2012. Although all of the Solstice staff with whom I interacted were pleasant enough, I came to regret choosing this publisher.
I had already published two professional books in clinical psychology with reputable houses (Wiley and Jason Aronson.) I also published a children's picture book, Otto Grows Down, with Sterling, an excellent publisher. All three of these books did quite well.
In my experience, the editing process at Sterling was cursory and incompetent. Looking back on the novel, it could have used some substantive editing. What it received was sparse line editing, much of which I rejected because it was grammatically incorrect or at odds with standard formatting.
The cover design for Crashing Eden was simplistic and aesthetically lacking. Rather than use that cover, I chose to pay a graphic designer out of pocket for a better cover.
When it came out, I busted my butt for over six months on promoting the book. This included sending copies to top Amazon reviewers, dozens of blogger reviews, a couple of newspaper reviews, guest blogging, interviews, and a Facebook ad campaign. I managed to get a few local indie bookshops to carry the title, but only by using my own copies on a consignment basis.
In my case, as far as I could determine, Solstice did minimal promotion.
I'm not saying Crashing Eden was an extraordinary novel, but it was good enough to earn an average of four stars on both Amazon and Goodreads. A pilot based on the novel made it into the semi-finals of the Pilot Launch TV Script Contest. And yet, the sales were downright poor. A couple of years later I was informed that the book was out of print, even though it was POD through CreateSpace. Even the eBook is unavailable. Realistically, I would have done better with a vanity press, but my own vanity ruled out that option!
I had already published two professional books in clinical psychology with reputable houses (Wiley and Jason Aronson.) I also published a children's picture book, Otto Grows Down, with Sterling, an excellent publisher. All three of these books did quite well.
In my experience, the editing process at Sterling was cursory and incompetent. Looking back on the novel, it could have used some substantive editing. What it received was sparse line editing, much of which I rejected because it was grammatically incorrect or at odds with standard formatting.
The cover design for Crashing Eden was simplistic and aesthetically lacking. Rather than use that cover, I chose to pay a graphic designer out of pocket for a better cover.
When it came out, I busted my butt for over six months on promoting the book. This included sending copies to top Amazon reviewers, dozens of blogger reviews, a couple of newspaper reviews, guest blogging, interviews, and a Facebook ad campaign. I managed to get a few local indie bookshops to carry the title, but only by using my own copies on a consignment basis.
In my case, as far as I could determine, Solstice did minimal promotion.
I'm not saying Crashing Eden was an extraordinary novel, but it was good enough to earn an average of four stars on both Amazon and Goodreads. A pilot based on the novel made it into the semi-finals of the Pilot Launch TV Script Contest. And yet, the sales were downright poor. A couple of years later I was informed that the book was out of print, even though it was POD through CreateSpace. Even the eBook is unavailable. Realistically, I would have done better with a vanity press, but my own vanity ruled out that option!
