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Secret Cravings Publishing
- Thread starter Stacia Kane
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Got my contract
I just heard back and received a contract for all 3 books in the series. I'm so excited! It's the first book I've ever written and it was declined by 2 publishers before SCP. I considered it a long shot.
I just heard back and received a contract for all 3 books in the series. I'm so excited! It's the first book I've ever written and it was declined by 2 publishers before SCP. I considered it a long shot.
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Congratulations, Karatemom, your kick must have had some impact! 
I've been lurking on this thread, happy to see the good news. I might submit to them later on this week. Ah well... here's to hoping.
Once again, great news! Hope you celebrate with something nice.
I've been lurking on this thread, happy to see the good news. I might submit to them later on this week. Ah well... here's to hoping.
Once again, great news! Hope you celebrate with something nice.
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acceptable to request time to consider? (merged into pub thread in BR&BC)
I just received an offer for 3 book contract (only subbed 1st in series) from Secret Cravings Publishing. I have the same MS at Samhain for consideration and I let them know I had another offer.
My question is Would it be acceptable to ask Secret Cravings for a week or two to see if I hear from Samhain? Or am I risking them withdrawing their offer?
This is my first book so I'm not sure how it is done.
I just received an offer for 3 book contract (only subbed 1st in series) from Secret Cravings Publishing. I have the same MS at Samhain for consideration and I let them know I had another offer.
My question is Would it be acceptable to ask Secret Cravings for a week or two to see if I hear from Samhain? Or am I risking them withdrawing their offer?
This is my first book so I'm not sure how it is done.
In your place, I would ask for time to consider. If Secret Cravings refused or withdrew their offer, that would show they weren't a good home for the manuscript.
And congratulations on the offer!
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Sales of my one story with them have been dismal. It's MF paranormal, and I've made less than 40 bucks from it since it's release in 2011.
I'm pretty sure other authors have done better, but this has been my experience with them.
I'm pretty sure other authors have done better, but this has been my experience with them.
Wow. Do you feel like they didn't market it at all? Do you know of other authors that had a similar experience?
I did Facebook and Twitter on my own along with promoting it on my blog. I know they sent it out to review sites and I think that's about it.
I haven't spoken to any of their other authors to be honest so I can't comment on their experiences. I will say that I always get statements on time even when they are for zero dollars.
Thanks for sharing. I'm a little concerned because I'm not finding any reviews or information from other authors about SCP. Most threads have a ton of people talking about being rejected/accepted, and discussing how the
process was for them. I know they are small, but still, I'd expect to hear
a few more experiences. This is my first book and I don't want to screw it
up.
My experience with Samhain when I had another offer on a book they were considering was quick. It took their editor 4 days to respond. It was a rejection, alas, but it came with lovely comments and it was quick. HTH.
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My personal opinion is that maybe you should wait to see what Samhain or other publishers say, and then still consider submitting somewhere else.
Some of their covers are nice, but many more are absolutely dreadful, homemade-looking, amateurish eyesores. The blurbs I read, every one, were stilted-sounding, unappealing and filled with grammar errors. Those two things alone (hell, just the covers) could be the death-knell for even an amazing book.
And then there's the bestseller list on their site. Granted, the top seller is doing pretty well at Amazon, ranked just under 10,000 and in the top 100 of some sub-categories. But it's 10 in a series about gay wolf-shifters, so it has a built-in audience at this point, and being a shifter story gives it an advantage. It's a very new release, Feb, 2014.
The book listed as their #2 bestseller isn't faring so well at the Zon, for some painfully obvious reasons. 340,000+ Very new release, Feb, 2014.
The #3 bestsller, 760,000+. And here's a truly amazing thing that I'd have a FIT with them over if I were the author. #2 on their list is apparently the sequel to #3 on their list, both very short. And yet there's absolutely no indication of this, anywhere. The first one is given a series name on Amazon, and they don't even carry that over to the sequel. That's just amazing, and really bad from a marketing and business standpoint. Also, consider that this is from mid-2013. So no new release has beaten this old, poor-selling story that's several months old, including a newish release from the same author in another series.
#4 is in the 700,000+ range as well, and is from mid-2013.
#5 isn't at Amazon yet. I guess they keep it in only their store for a period of time before releasing it elsewhere, like many small presses do. It's #4 in a cowboy romance series (which is also hot at the moment, if you do it right). The previous 3 books range between 40,000 and 50,000 at Amazon, which isn't wildly fantastic, but it means they're selling some copies. #4 will probably do pretty well for a time, at least.
#6 is a newish release by the author of #2 and #3 on the list, but that's not going wild at Amazon, either.
I haven't sampled the books for quality. If the same people who write the blurbs do the editing, hoo boy. But they might be engaging stories, edited beautifully. I'm put off without ever finding out.
Essentially, if your book is in a hot genre and part of a series, it stands a better chance. But honestly, if your book is that, the sales are yours to lose whether you go small press or self-publish. A look at the bestsellers in the hot categories at Amazon tell that tale. The fact that the book was put out by a small press probably doesn't mean anything. I self-publish, and a lot of people I know are skirting the top 100 of all Kindle books with shifter romances.
I don't mean to sound discouraging, but you should take a hard look at this press and ask if it's the best thing for your book(s). Being badly published is, to me, far worse than not being published at all.
Some of their covers are nice, but many more are absolutely dreadful, homemade-looking, amateurish eyesores. The blurbs I read, every one, were stilted-sounding, unappealing and filled with grammar errors. Those two things alone (hell, just the covers) could be the death-knell for even an amazing book.
And then there's the bestseller list on their site. Granted, the top seller is doing pretty well at Amazon, ranked just under 10,000 and in the top 100 of some sub-categories. But it's 10 in a series about gay wolf-shifters, so it has a built-in audience at this point, and being a shifter story gives it an advantage. It's a very new release, Feb, 2014.
The book listed as their #2 bestseller isn't faring so well at the Zon, for some painfully obvious reasons. 340,000+ Very new release, Feb, 2014.
The #3 bestsller, 760,000+. And here's a truly amazing thing that I'd have a FIT with them over if I were the author. #2 on their list is apparently the sequel to #3 on their list, both very short. And yet there's absolutely no indication of this, anywhere. The first one is given a series name on Amazon, and they don't even carry that over to the sequel. That's just amazing, and really bad from a marketing and business standpoint. Also, consider that this is from mid-2013. So no new release has beaten this old, poor-selling story that's several months old, including a newish release from the same author in another series.
#4 is in the 700,000+ range as well, and is from mid-2013.
#5 isn't at Amazon yet. I guess they keep it in only their store for a period of time before releasing it elsewhere, like many small presses do. It's #4 in a cowboy romance series (which is also hot at the moment, if you do it right). The previous 3 books range between 40,000 and 50,000 at Amazon, which isn't wildly fantastic, but it means they're selling some copies. #4 will probably do pretty well for a time, at least.
#6 is a newish release by the author of #2 and #3 on the list, but that's not going wild at Amazon, either.
I haven't sampled the books for quality. If the same people who write the blurbs do the editing, hoo boy. But they might be engaging stories, edited beautifully. I'm put off without ever finding out.
Essentially, if your book is in a hot genre and part of a series, it stands a better chance. But honestly, if your book is that, the sales are yours to lose whether you go small press or self-publish. A look at the bestsellers in the hot categories at Amazon tell that tale. The fact that the book was put out by a small press probably doesn't mean anything. I self-publish, and a lot of people I know are skirting the top 100 of all Kindle books with shifter romances.
I don't mean to sound discouraging, but you should take a hard look at this press and ask if it's the best thing for your book(s). Being badly published is, to me, far worse than not being published at all.
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Thank you so much for taking the time to do this. It's this sort of information I was hoping to find, but frankly I am not experienced enough to know what to look for.
I'm not sure at this point what I'll do, but I will definitely wait to hear from Samhain. The feedback on this press hasn't been the greatest and I haven't seen one person that claims to have had a MS rejected by them. It makes me wonder if they pretty much accept everything.
Hmmm, I have no experience with SCravings but having read this thread, I too wondered at the acceptance rate. No disrespect meant to any of the authors. Regarding the blurbs, could it be that the authors themselves are expected to write them? I was once offered a contract by a small publisher which required the author to write the back cover copy and submit it. I didn't accept it, but not for that reason. So it might be that the blurbs are substandard (not that I've read them so I'm don't really know if this is the case IMO) because the authors are expected to write them. No excuse, IMO, but it is an art and not an easy one to master.
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You're quite welcome.
I saw enough things without reading the titles to bother me here, but if I'd been undecided after tooling around the site and Amazon like I did, my next step would have been to start reading samples of books like mine. If I didn't end up put off by the samples, it might have ended up with me purchasing a couple and asking questions like are they doing well, are they full or errors or relatively clean, is the writing engaging or poor, is it consistently good throughout, is the cover a good fit, and does it look like a cover that could have been put out by the Big 5 or something an enthusiastic but unskilled person made with Microsoft Paint?
You can also start by reading samples. Very often, reading a few samples is enough to tell you that you don't want to submit. I am constantly surprised how often I see the name of a small press, true more of epublishers than others, and find the samples are full of beginner writing that's nowhere near publishable. I cringe for the authors, because they've been done a disservice.
A high acceptance rate is a red flag for me, frankly. Lots of acceptances mean lots of ebooks, and how many titles can a press promote properly? And if they're not promoting their titles, then why aren't they?
I noticed something else about this publisher. The owner has several titles for sale. The covers on her books are pretty dreadful. If the owner can't even get professional-looking covers on her books, that's a problem. (I will grant you that the newest releases in that rotating bar are a huge improvement. Some of those are nice. But scroll down to see the 6 titles available for free. Those covers are horrendous.)
Something else you should always look at in a press is the staff. This site lists names but gives no other information. What qualifies all those listed people to be editors and proofreaders? Does anyone have any background in editing or publishing? You don't know. I would guess that if they did have this background, they'd mention it as a selling point. I would.
Good luck, whatever you choose to do!
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That could be, though I would expect better writing on the whole. Writing a compelling blurb is a skill, yes, but a writer with enough competency to create something publishable should understand subject/verb agreement and the proper use of punctuation. And if not, one of the many editors there should have looked at the blurbs and at least fixed the obvious errors, if not improved them to the point they didn't seem like a first draft attempt that was deemed just good enough.
The marketing professional there should understand how important an engaging blurb can be.
Anyway, we agree.
I am an author with SCP, and have been for over a year.
Having seen the back and forth that happens on the boards here regarding publishers (there's a lot of bashing that goes around on every thread), I will only say my experience has been positive.
To be honest the BEST way to get a feel for a publisher is not here on AW...but by emailing the authors of the house. Feel free to email me (I'm clearly not hiding behind an innocuous name). Or any author with SCP. It's easy to do, go to the pub's site, and start picking authors and finding their websites. Emails or contact forms should be there.
Also, no publishing house worth their salt will mind if you ask for a week or two to think it over. I've always done that, whether I had multiple submissions or not. Usually because I was off emailing authors to get a heads up on the house. My standard is two weeks to consider and/or review the contract. No one (even the houses I turned down) balked at that request.
(FWIW-Pub is great w/ contact and support, I've never worried about emailing them about ANYTHING. Authors are equally supportive. DM me here and I'll give you my email, or just go to my website, I have my email there.)
Having seen the back and forth that happens on the boards here regarding publishers (there's a lot of bashing that goes around on every thread), I will only say my experience has been positive.
To be honest the BEST way to get a feel for a publisher is not here on AW...but by emailing the authors of the house. Feel free to email me (I'm clearly not hiding behind an innocuous name). Or any author with SCP. It's easy to do, go to the pub's site, and start picking authors and finding their websites. Emails or contact forms should be there.
Also, no publishing house worth their salt will mind if you ask for a week or two to think it over. I've always done that, whether I had multiple submissions or not. Usually because I was off emailing authors to get a heads up on the house. My standard is two weeks to consider and/or review the contract. No one (even the houses I turned down) balked at that request.
(FWIW-Pub is great w/ contact and support, I've never worried about emailing them about ANYTHING. Authors are equally supportive. DM me here and I'll give you my email, or just go to my website, I have my email there.)
That's a good way to get information, provided the questioner knows what to ask and the authors aren't in the honeymoon stage where everything is perfect. I know someone who ended up signing with PublishAmerica because of the enthusiastic recommendations of authors (not trying to compare Secret Cravings to PA at all, just saying that authors need to be asked the right questions).
Agreed. Know what to ask, and ask established authors. Like I said, I've been with them for over a year, and having been through this I can answer questions you might not think to ask. However, that is one thing AW is good for...finding out WHAT to ask. I know I've seen threads about it before.
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Thank you for answering! I have just talked to another SCP author who is also pleased with their experience. I still have a few questions so I may email you if you don't mind.
I wasn't trying to talk bad about SCP, it looks as if they may be giving me my first chance. I have read some horror stories about small publishers and I just couldn't find any info on SCP.
As I said, this is all new to me and I'm trying to feel my way through without screwing up an opportunity. I emailed SCP to ask for two weeks to consider before I decide.
I wasn't trying to talk bad about SCP, it looks as if they may be giving me my first chance. I have read some horror stories about small publishers and I just couldn't find any info on SCP.
As I said, this is all new to me and I'm trying to feel my way through without screwing up an opportunity. I emailed SCP to ask for two weeks to consider before I decide.
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I'm an author who has been published with Secret Cravings since 2011, I am also their marketing director. Let me set the record straight on a few things:
1) We have an award-winning cover designer. Our covers are outstanding.
2) Authors write their own blurbs, not the editors.
3) As for the SCP bestseller list, that's what selling on the Secret Cravings Publishing website. That has nothing to do with sales on Amazon or any other third party site. There are plenty of Secret Cravings ebooks with outstanding sales that are not as hot on the publisher's website. I can attest to that personally as I have several strong selling books on Amazon that don't appear on the SCP website.
4) Secret Cravings has some of the happiest authors around. Take a look and see how many of our authors submit to us time and time again. That speaks volumes.
5) Tap a couple of our authors on the shoulder and ask them about their experiences at Secret Cravings. I'm sure they will tell you the truth.
6) Secret Cravings publishes a monthly magazine that promos authors and their books.
7) Secret Cravings sponsors a weekly radio program, where our authors are guests whenever they want to sign up.
8) We do many other things other publishers don't do, but those are confidential.
9) We have the most involved and author-friendly publisher anywhere. All emails are answered promptly, within a day usually. You have input on your cover and your editing.
10) If you don't know a publisher, then don't draw conclusions from a few piece of information on the website. Speak to authors and find out first hand.
1) We have an award-winning cover designer. Our covers are outstanding.
2) Authors write their own blurbs, not the editors.
3) As for the SCP bestseller list, that's what selling on the Secret Cravings Publishing website. That has nothing to do with sales on Amazon or any other third party site. There are plenty of Secret Cravings ebooks with outstanding sales that are not as hot on the publisher's website. I can attest to that personally as I have several strong selling books on Amazon that don't appear on the SCP website.
4) Secret Cravings has some of the happiest authors around. Take a look and see how many of our authors submit to us time and time again. That speaks volumes.
5) Tap a couple of our authors on the shoulder and ask them about their experiences at Secret Cravings. I'm sure they will tell you the truth.
6) Secret Cravings publishes a monthly magazine that promos authors and their books.
7) Secret Cravings sponsors a weekly radio program, where our authors are guests whenever they want to sign up.
8) We do many other things other publishers don't do, but those are confidential.
9) We have the most involved and author-friendly publisher anywhere. All emails are answered promptly, within a day usually. You have input on your cover and your editing.
10) If you don't know a publisher, then don't draw conclusions from a few piece of information on the website. Speak to authors and find out first hand.
Concerning SCP
Right on, Jean Joachim!
As an author who has been with Secret Cravings Publishing since 2011 also, I can tell you, I wouldn't have any other. I now have 12 books released with them and intend to submit more. I've had bad experiences with two other publishing houses where they either wouldn't pay, didn't pay on time, or gave the authors a very difficult time when they requested back their rights. As long as I've been with SCP, they've never missed a payday or missed sending out sales reports. The editors are all very professional. They work hard to make your story the best.
Of course the authors write their own blurbs. With experience in three different houses, I've never known it done any other way, but those blurbs are edited before they are ever seen by readers. Remember, SCP is small press, but for all that, the owner and staff work diligently to come up with new ways to promote our books. They work as hard as the authors to get the information out to readers. The more sells, the more money for all of us! They don't take promoting lightly.
We have an extremely talented cover artist who works closely with the authors to make sure they get the cover they want. She can't be beat. However, some authors prefer to design their own covers. Good for them! And good for SCP willing to take the risk and allowing them to do so.
There are very few books who make it to market without a mistake or two. Even editor's miss errors, and certainly, their eyes get tired too. I've read well known author's books who have numerous mistakes in their books and they have the best editors money can buy.
No one makes big money all the time. The economy is slow for everyone. If you go into this business thinking you'll get rich over night. Forget it!
I write under two different pen names, Tabitha Shay and Jaydyn Chelcee. I have two web sites. My email addys are on both. I can be contacted anytime if there are any questions about SCP.
Right on, Jean Joachim!
As an author who has been with Secret Cravings Publishing since 2011 also, I can tell you, I wouldn't have any other. I now have 12 books released with them and intend to submit more. I've had bad experiences with two other publishing houses where they either wouldn't pay, didn't pay on time, or gave the authors a very difficult time when they requested back their rights. As long as I've been with SCP, they've never missed a payday or missed sending out sales reports. The editors are all very professional. They work hard to make your story the best.
Of course the authors write their own blurbs. With experience in three different houses, I've never known it done any other way, but those blurbs are edited before they are ever seen by readers. Remember, SCP is small press, but for all that, the owner and staff work diligently to come up with new ways to promote our books. They work as hard as the authors to get the information out to readers. The more sells, the more money for all of us! They don't take promoting lightly.
We have an extremely talented cover artist who works closely with the authors to make sure they get the cover they want. She can't be beat. However, some authors prefer to design their own covers. Good for them! And good for SCP willing to take the risk and allowing them to do so.
There are very few books who make it to market without a mistake or two. Even editor's miss errors, and certainly, their eyes get tired too. I've read well known author's books who have numerous mistakes in their books and they have the best editors money can buy.
No one makes big money all the time. The economy is slow for everyone. If you go into this business thinking you'll get rich over night. Forget it!
I write under two different pen names, Tabitha Shay and Jaydyn Chelcee. I have two web sites. My email addys are on both. I can be contacted anytime if there are any questions about SCP.
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Some are very nice, particularly those in the carousel. Others are very bad. Perhaps someone else used to do the covers? You can't really think that the 6 covers on your homepage, the free reads that you scroll down a little to see, are outstanding, just as an example. Even looking at your 17 books and the owners' 19, I'm sorry but those are not professional-looking covers. I'm not trying to grind you, but there's a world of difference in quality of the covers, ranging from the good newer ones to very poor, amateurishly done covers. Objectively, there simply is.
Perhaps now that you're aware of the errors in so many of them, those will be fixed?
It's one metric of comparison, that's all. I'm aware that the bestseller list was for the website, but there's value in looking at how the books fare elsewhere.
Your website is the face of your company online. It's impossible not to draw some conclusions from it, just as I did.
Can I ask why there are no qualifications or background information listed on anyone involved with the publisher? The staff page is just a list of names. Why don't you have, for instance, a paragraph about the cover designer mentioning that she's award-winning with a list of those awards or a little bit about why anyone is quaified to market, edit, publish, etc. The blankness leads to conclusions, whether you want it to or not.
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If the blurbs I read were edited, that speaks to a brand new problem.
This explains a great deal. However, I wouldn't praise the publisher for letting authors design their own covers, not at all, not when the covers are such a huge part of actually selling a book. That's an incredibly poor marketing decision.
I'm not sure what this has to do with the criticisms aimed at the publisher or the concerns I expressed after looking around the website.
It's great that you're pleased with your experience, and I'm guessing several more will join and post now in defense of the publisher, too. Subjective experiences are helpful for people making decisions, but they don't negate any of the problems that seem obvious when looking at the publisher objectively.
I wouldn't encourage a friend to submit, based on their website. But I hope you continue to be pleased with your experience there and enjoy much success.
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