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[Publisher] Vires Intra

Shadow_Ferret

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Anyone heard of this "small publishing company" (according to their Facebook profile)?

I did a Google search and came up blank except for their Facebook page, twitter account, and a brand spanking new website.

They say they take unsolicited fantasy, sci-fi, and horror, but if they have no helpful info on their website and obviously have no track record, would it be safer to sit back and watch them for a few months then take a chance of submitting something?
 

CaoPaux

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Better to wait at least a year.
 

Cyia

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Put them through "Whois", find out who owns the site, then Google that name + publisher (or publishing) and see if the person running the place has a track record that's more impressive than the company itself.
 

M.R.J. Le Blanc

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Usually publishing houses don't officially declare themselves 'open' until they have books ready for the buying public. Usually they just open to submissions first. In a year you'll be able to tell if they can actually sell to the public, if they tank, or if they go the vanity route.
 

Cyia

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Okay, so it's owned by an online gaming company (Elite Online Games)and hosted by GoDaddy.

Keep moving, sounds like this may be "Author: the Role Playing Game" for real.
 

Terie

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OK. But now here's a question... how do they get up and running if everyone takes the "wait a year to see how they're doing" approach? :D

Wish I could find the post where Uncle Jim put it so succinctly, something like this:

Name publisher + new author = success
New publisher + name author = success
New publisher + new author = (can't remember what he said, but you get the point)

My take on that was that new publishers who are going about it right get a couple of name authors to help launch the publisher. Maybe Uncle Jim will reply and say it better.
 

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I'm the owner/editor of Vires Intra.

I don't know about the Elite Online Games thing, the company was formed in Colorado and is titled Vires Intra LLC

I'll email GoDaddy, as that is our webhost, to get that resolved. I have not declared the publishing house "open" and have been very straightforward with who we are, what we do, and what we can offer. I've only declared that we are accepting submissions. I announced on Facebook that the website is not launched yet, but wanted to give everyone on Facebook a heads up on what type of submissions we are looking for.

Looking into publishers is a very viable tool and very smart. I appreciate the opportunity to post on here to clear things up.

Robert
 

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Hi there Robert, and welcome to your thread. :D

Could you share with us your track record in publishing? Without your full name, I can't google you to find out where you gained your skills, which publishing companies you worked for, which books you published, etc. It might be good if your about page on your website was up and running soon - else writers can't know if they want to submit to you.

I also noticed that your mission statement on your facebook page is to "publish great authors bringing them publicity and visibility in a ever growing market". Could you be specific about how you plan to accomplish this? Do you have distribution? Will books be on bookstore shelves?

I'm sure the other B&BC denizens will have better questions for you. :)
 

veinglory

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OK. But now here's a question... how do they get up and running if everyone takes the "wait a year to see how they're doing" approach? :D

They use their industry connections to head hunt the very best authors, pay them advances out of the start up capital, and open with the most amazing books that readers flock to buy.

Maybe that is what will happen, we seem to have jumped the gun ;)
 

Eirin

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Will they pay advances?

How much in royalties?

Are royalties paid on cover price?

Do they plan to do print runs?

The owner's credentials is the important one though. To begin with, at least.
 

eqb

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The Whois data has been updated and now shows Vires Intra LLC as the registrant, with Robert Lee as the administrative and technical contact.

The webpage for Vires Intra has also changed to show its "not yet launched" status. In fact, all the pages are gone except the front page and some test blog entries.
 
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RobertsInferno

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This won't be the answer you are looking for, but it's the best I can give you.

All the pieces I've published that I have as credit are under a pen name, and I do not want them connected with mine so I've gone to decent lengths to avoid that. Due to my career of choice and the themes about which I wrote, I don't want credit under my real name for them.

On that note, I can say that I received one of the best educations in the country with focuses in both marketing and English/writing. I will be going back to school to get a masters in writing, I will pick an exact area to focus in after looking at the opportunities.

I've been a writer for six years, nothing compared to plenty of people here who have done it their whole life, but I feel very comfortable with it. I have spent a lot of those six years advertising/marketing and editing other people's works as well.

I don't sell false hopes or make promises I can't keep. So I have been very straightforward with what I have said and in the conversations I've had when people submit manuscripts. Vires Intra is a small publishing company and is sort of a starting ground, at least for now. I can't compete with the thousands of dollars up front that large publishers pay for manuscripts and I don't have the advertising team they do. But authors have high royalty options available to them and will never have to pay a dime for any service provided. All I promise people is that Vires Intra is sort of a "stamp of approval" for their book, we will print their book, and it will be part of the Ingram distribution process which will list it on amazon.com and make it available to B&N and thousands of other book stores. I will organize book signings and launch ad campaigns on various websites, in various magazines, etc while sending out flyers, press releases, getting the book reviewed, etc. To get the book on the shelf though it will take me working in my area and the authors advertising themselves as well.

When I first started writing it was very hard to get noticed or to even get a book in print. Self publishing became a very tempting avenue, but there were so many self published books that many people refuse to look at them. If anyone can do it then anyone will and many of the books will be horrible. I started Vires Intra with the idea of providing that "stamp of approval" and a lot of help to the author in terms of marketing and getting them setup. If a major publishing house wants to pick their book up then I consider my job a success and I have no problem releasing the rights of the book, if the author wishes, to that house. It also makes it a lot easier for the author's second book to take notice and to have "publishing credit" to speak of.

I use PoD technology to print books since it's just plain economical and smart to do so. PoD is a manner of printing, not a reflection of publishing. I don't ask that every author trusts me and I'm not asking largely known authors to print a book with Vires Intra just so we can get a better name. My goal for Vires Intra is pretty clearly stated and those that want to publish with the company can, if their books are of the right quality and interesting/creative/unique.

If you aren't convinced, which I'm sure many of you aren't, then I implore you to either go with whatever other company can serve you best or to give it a few months, or even a year. With time the works published will speak for themselves and the advertising/help given by Vires Intra will do so as well.

Again, thanks for the opportunity to write on my company and I apologize if I didn't say everything you wanted me too.
 

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Will they pay advances?

How much in royalties?

Are royalties paid on cover price?

Do they plan to do print runs?

The owner's credentials is the important one though. To begin with, at least.

No we do not pay advances right now.
We offer editing and book cover services for free, but no advances.
Royalties are 15% on the cover price (I believe this to be fair and is on the high end of the industry standard).
We use PoD technology. We are not a major publishing house and without somewhere to start, never will be.



As for submission guidelines, I posted them awhile ago on the facebook when I stated that Vires Intra was taking submissions. The website isn't up so it's simply a heads up of sorts to those on facebook.

I had never advertised the website so I played around with what I wanted the site to say/look like while the webmaster was working on it. After it became clear that people were viewing the site I went ahead and changed the front page to "not currently launched" thus the revisions.
 

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Robert, nothing you've said fills me with hope. "Publisher" is not an entry-level position. The path you're taking is littered with dead men's bones.

Please make the firm commitment, now, that if your company goes bust that you'll send hard-copy reversion letters to all of your authors, without question, and without delay. Don't just unplug your phone and abandon your email account. We've seen that happen too many times.
 

eqb

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I've been a writer for six years, nothing compared to plenty of people here who have done it their whole life, but I feel very comfortable with it. I have spent a lot of those six years advertising/marketing and editing other people's works as well.

Which companies did you work for? Were they publishers? In short, what kind of experience do you have in acquiring, editing, and marketing novels?

But authors have high royalty options available to them and will never have to pay a dime for any service provided.
Again, could you be more specific, please? What do you mean by "high royalities"? Ten percent? Twenty percent?

And what are those royalties based on? Cover price or net, and if it's net, how do you define net in your contracts?

ETA: I see Robert posted answers to the royalty question. Are you offering fifteen percent for all books, then? Hardcover and paperback?

All I promise people is that Vires Intra is sort of a "stamp of approval" for their book, we will print their book..
And edit it too, I hope.

...and it will be part of the Ingram distribution process which will list it on amazon.com and make it available to B&N and thousands of other book stores.
So no bookstore presence at this point. Do you intend to get distribution to physical bookstores in the future?

Again, thanks for the opportunity to write on my company and I apologize if I didn't say everything you wanted me too.

I'm not sure what you mean by "everything you wanted me to." We ask lots of nosy questions so that authors can tell if they want to submit to you.
 
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RobertsInferno

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Robert, nothing you've said fills me with hope. "Publisher" is not an entry-level position. The path you're taking is littered with dead men's bones.

Please make the firm commitment, now, that if your company goes bust that you'll send hard-copy reversion letters to all of your authors, without question, and without delay. Don't just unplug your phone and abandon your email account. We've seen that happen too many times.

I understand, fully, what I've started on. The commitment is there on the reversion letters and is already included in the contract.
 

RobertsInferno

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Which companies did you work for? Were they publishers? In short, what kind of experience do you have in acquiring, editing, and marketing novels?

Again, could you be more specific, please? What do you mean by "high royalities"? Ten percent? Twenty percent?

And what are those royalties based on? Cover price or net, and if it's net, how do you define net in your contracts?

ETA: I see Robert posted answers to the royalty question. Are you offering fifteen percent for all books, then? Hardcover and paperback?

And edit it too, I hope.

So no bookstore presence at this point. Do you intend to get distribution to physical bookstores in the future?



I'm not sure what you mean by "everything you wanted me to." We ask lots of nosy questions so that authors can tell if they want to submit to you.


The royalty rate for hardcover is 15% and the royalty rate for paperback is 10%. The 10% is a starting rate and increases as the book hits certain marks in sales.

The Ingram distribution system allows bookstores to order the books from their catalogs. However, a book store is not going to order a book without some sort of hope of selling it. That's where advertising and working on both my end and the author's end comes into play.

And as far as the "everything you wanted me to" I just realize that some of my answers have not completely satisfied the questions. For example, my publishing background.
 

eqb

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No we do not pay advances right now.

That's odd. I checked Google cache and the front page used to say "Also, we pay authors an amount up front."

We offer editing and book cover services for free, but no advances.
Does your editing include editing for content as well as proofreading? Have you lined up a permanent staff for editing, or are you using freelance editors?

And to get really nosy, do you have adequate startup funds for this venture? One thing we see over and over, a micro-publisher opens their doors, and six months later, they fold because they didn't have enough money. It's sad for the publisher, but it's a tragedy for the authors.
 
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eqb

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And as far as the "everything you wanted me to" I just realize that some of my answers have not completely satisfied the questions. For example, my publishing background.

Robert, thank you for continuing to answer questions. That said, I hope you will give more details about your publishing background. Not story sales, but the companies you worked for, and the kind of work you did for them.

Again, we see all kinds of new publishers and agents show up with bright plans, but without the necessary experience. I'm not saying you don't have the experience, but that yours is a big blank. Blank is not good.
 

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That's odd. I checked Google cache and the front page used to say "Also, we pay authors an amount up front."

Does your editing include editing for content as well as proofreading? Have you lined up a permanent staff for editing, or are you using freelance editors?

And to get really nosy, do you have adequate startup funds for this venture? One thing we see over and over, a micro-publisher opens their doors, and six months later, they fold because they didn't have enough money. It's sad for the publisher, but it's a tragedy for the authors.

On the test site I put that idea up, never advertising it though as it was just for me to see how it looked on the test site. However, the authors I talked too said that supplying an advance of a couple hundred dollars was more of an insult than not, since most publishing houses offer in the thousands. The couple hundred dollars that I had planned for an advance is going to go to marketing/advertising instead. The place I've called for submissions, facebook, has a full submissions policy and FAQ which states that there are no advances.

I don't know what you consider "adequate funds" but I currently have twenty thousand dollars to invest into Vires Intra. I have a very stable career and that money is "extra" that I wish to invest in the company. The reason I started the company was based on what I love doing and a love for literature/helping authors, not to sustain my living style.