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Clayborn Press

johnr1468

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Is there anyone here who has worked with Clayborn Press?
I was wondering because they have shown an interest in publishing my book in ebook format?
Is this a good move for me? I am a first time author.
Thanks
 

veinglory

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It is new, run by authors, all-genre, states your book can go from acceptance to release in as little as six weeks, and has an amateurish website with badly edited content. These are not, in my opinion, the hallmarks of a runaway success in the making.
 

KimJo

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How did they show their interest? Did you submit to them and receive an acceptance, or did they somehow solicit you?

If you submitted to them, why did you choose to submit to a publisher you don't have any information about?

Sorry if my questions seem abrupt... A little more information about where you heard of them might help the folks hereabouts answer your questions.

Brainstorm, thanks for tracking down the link! Going through their site, I notice a few typos and spelling/punctuation errors, which doesn't fill me with confidence. They seem to publish a wide variety of genres; in fact, their FAQs state they will consider *all* genres. For a small press, that can sometimes be a death toll, because they become spread too thin.

They've only been in business since November 2005, which means I'd offer the frequently-given advice "Wait a couple years and see how they're doing." Their site states they have 13 authors working on 67 projects, which is an average of just over five projects per author. Their site states, "our entire staff writes", which makes me think this may be another case of authors turning into publishers... not necessarily a bad thing, depending on how much business acumen they have, but unfortunately sometimes being run by authors is also a death toll because they don't have a firm handle on the business side.

Currently, they appear to have only one book available for sale, which was released in May. Although they have a couple of titles listed as releasing in November, those don't appear for sale on the site.

Personally, I wouldn't go with them.

And if a mod hasn't already done so while I was typing, perhaps this should be moved to Bewares, Recommendations, and Background Checks?
 

johnr1468

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Thanks everyone, I appreciate your feedback.
It seems like mission impossible trying to get someone to read my manuscript.
I have queried at least 100 agents and over 30 publishers.
Like most, I believe I have a very good book filled with memorable characters.
It seems though unless you write chick lit or about vampires they won’t even look at your stuff.
I mean no offense to those who write about those things.
I just believe that I have written something very unique and I wish someone would give me a shot.
Thanks again everyone.
 

kaitie

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I'd suggest not submitting to anyone else. The problem is most likely your query letter. Generally speaking, you should be getting at least a ten percent request rate. If you're getting less, it's because your letter hasn't done what it's supposed to. You might be making some mistakes in method that are causing you to be rejected.

I'd suggest sticking around here, reading the stickies about how to write queries, and check out agent blogs that discuss the matter, too (My favorites are Nathan Bransford and the Query Shark. Miss Snark also had a lot of good information). Then I'd try to work on the query and come back here and post it in Query Letter Hell. I know they've helped me improve my queries immensely.

I'd also avoid sending to publishers and agents at the same time, unless you're only sending to small publishers. It can actually be a negative for an agent to see that a manuscript has been shopped around a lot. Small publishers without an advance that an agent probably wouldn't submit to shouldn't be a problem, but if you're pursuing publishers an agent might, they won't want to take on a manuscript if it's already gone to many of the places they would have sent to.

My book is nothing at all like chick lit or vampires, and I've gotten a pretty good response so fa, even from some of my top choices that I honestly have always thought were out of my league. I'd say the problem is your query letter, so work on that and I'm sure you'll have much better luck. Hope this helps. :)
 

priceless1

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johnr, everyone can sympathize with you about how disheartening the query process can be. But it's so important to research everyone before you query because it's the only way you can know for certain whether you're making a wise decision that will enhance your writing career or losing your book to an inexperienced publisher and watching your book die an anonymous death.

Protect yourself - research BEFORE you query anyone.
 

JulieB

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Welcome to AW!

It's tough out there right now. I was just moaning to a couple of friends about it.

Keep plugging away. I know folks who queried about the same number of publishers until they hit pay dirt. In the meantime, be working on a second book. If an editor calls and asks if you have anything else in the pipeline, you can say yes - and it just might sway them to offer a contract.
 

johnr1468

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I believe it is my query letter. I have tried and tried to get it right but I’m not there yet.
It seems it’s always longer then it should be.
I want to make sure I cover everything to try to sell the book the best I can to an agent/publisher.
A paragraph or two doesn’t seem to do it justice.
It is something that I need to continue to work on because giving up isn’t an option at this point.
I invested two years of my life into this book and I believe it.
Thanks again everyone
 

kaitie

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It's definitely a tough thing to do. Stick around here and we'll be glad to help. :)
 

johnr1468

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Thanks.
Assuming I get it right at some point, should I resubmit my query to those I have already queried?
I would wait until the new year if I were to do so.
 

JerseyGirl1962

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I believe it is my query letter. I have tried and tried to get it right but I’m not there yet.
It seems it’s always longer then it should be.
I want to make sure I cover everything to try to sell the book the best I can to an agent/publisher.
A paragraph or two doesn’t seem to do it justice.
It is something that I need to continue to work on because giving up isn’t an option at this point.
I invested two years of my life into this book and I believe it.
Thanks again everyone

John,

Once you have 50 posts here at the Water Cooler, you might want to consider having your query letter dissected in the Share Your Work part of this website, here. The password is vista.

Just an FYI, make sure you have a thick skin, because the critiquing can be rough. Not mean, not calling into question your manhood or anything ;), just rough, as in "this doesn't make sense" and "what about trying something like this to make your point". It can be tough to deal with people suggesting such things, but the people on these boards will truly help you distill your tale in as few words as possible. :) Not easy, but you'll see some who still post here and are commercially published give thanks that their queries went through "Query Hell."

Don't give up! :hi:
 

priceless1

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Thanks.
Assuming I get it right at some point, should I resubmit my query to those I have already queried?
Opinions on this vary. Some feel you have nothing to lose by doing so, and they would be right. However, as one who reads queries for a living, I don't enjoy seeing a rehash of a query I rejected months ago because I wonder what it was about my "no thank you" they didn't understand the first time around.
 

JerseyGirl1962

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Thanks.
Assuming I get it right at some point, should I resubmit my query to those I have already queried?
I would wait until the new year if I were to do so.

My gut reaction to this is to first make sure you've researched agents, to make sure they take the genre/whatever you're subbing. (I apologize if you've already done this.)

And since agents get soooo many queries, and you've written a much-improved query, chances are it'll be so masterful and overwhelming that the agent won't even remember your original query.

Just my 2 cents. Good luck!

Nancy
 

johnr1468

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I've been reading some of the queries that have gotten a response and I have to say, I do envy the way some people can sum up thier novels in such a short amount of space.....lol
It really is a talent to summarize like that, I mean it!
This is something I am going to agonize over until I get it right. It did the same thing with my book. I must have done four rewrites until I was happy with everything and even now I still think of how I can change things.
I'll keep plugging though. Thanks for the advice priceless and Jerseygirl
 

Stacia Kane

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I've been reading some of the queries that have gotten a response and I have to say, I do envy the way some people can sum up thier novels in such a short amount of space.....lol
It really is a talent to summarize like that, I mean it!
This is something I am going to agonize over until I get it right. It did the same thing with my book. I must have done four rewrites until I was happy with everything and even now I still think of how I can change things.
I'll keep plugging though. Thanks for the advice priceless and Jerseygirl


Welcome to AW, John!

Writing queries is indeed a separate/special skill, but it's one anyone can learn if they want to. Given how dedicated you seem to your book and how much work you've already put into it, I imagine you want to. :)

I want to ditto JerseyGirl here. I urge you to stick around and get to know us all a little bit--that's what the 50-post minimum in SYW is for, is so you can learn a little about us all and we can learn a little about you before we start critiquing. Fifty may seem like kind of a daunting number when you first see it, but with so many forums here and so many discussions I think you'll be surprised at how quickly they add up!

I hope to see you elsewhere on the forum!


(Oh, and no chick-lit, no vampires here either. ;) Appreciate the "no offense, thanks!)
 

johnr1468

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Thanks for the post Stacia. You've gotten quiet a few books published.
Care to share one of your query letters that I could use as a reference?
I started looking at different letters last night.
My issue is going to be what I stated earlier.
How do I cramp an entire book into one or two paragraphs and say all I need to say about it?
 

regdog

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Thanks for the post Stacia. You've gotten quiet a few books published.
Care to share one of your query letters that I could use as a reference?
I started looking at different letters last night.
My issue is going to be what I stated earlier.
How do I cramp an entire book into one or two paragraphs and say all I need to say about it?

John try this thread There are many successful queries for you to read over. Don't forget SYW password, vista. Good luck :)
 

johnr1468

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I tried to post a new thread with my query but it wouldn't let me.
It didn't request a password at all?
Can someone give me some quidence on how to post my query?
Thanks
 

CaoPaux

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You need 50 posts to be able to start a new thread in the SYW forums. In the meantime, read through the existing Query threads to get a feel for what's expected and how folks critique around here. And try your hand at participating: Writers learn as much -- if not more -- from critiquing as being critiqued.
 

CaoPaux

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Per FB on 6/15:

After four years of inactivity, we're starting to dust off the cobwebs and get the press operational again. We've got a couple of books in the works, more to come later.

Nothing further, yet.

ETA: Revived at http://claybornglobal.com/press/
 
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