Madame Butterfly:
I wonder at the seeming success of this novel... but then, i could be jaded.
Sorry - what success? It's currently ranked #430,482 in Books, which means it's sold a few copies but not a huge number. If you mean success by reference to the 4 and 5 star reviews, that really doesn't mean anything (and I speak as a someone who reviews on Amazon). You don't know who wrote those reviews or for what reason.
The only other thing I can find about it is that it was given an award by Foreword Magazine - but I'd want to know if that's because the publisher subbed it or the author (not least because there's a $75 entrance fee). I haven't come across Foreword Magazine before but it seems to charge for reviews, which is seldom a good sign.
There are a number of things on the Chalet website that would put me off:
Chalet Publishers Website:
Genres We Accept
- Fiction and non-fiction, but no novels with intense adult themes.
- YA – young adult, but no picture books.
- If your book is a romance, we ask that the love scenes be in good taste, nothing explicit.
Publishers usually do best when they specialise in one or two genres. Chalet seems open to anything, which means that it's less likely to have built up good connections with the reading/buying community of any one genre and would therefore make me question to what extent they can market, promote and distribute effectively.
Chalet Publishers Website:
Your manuscript must be edited by a qualified, professional editor. If you do not know of one, Chalet will have it edited for a fee.
Publishers should be editing as a matter of course and not charging for it. The fact that Chalet don't seem interested in doing so suggests that they're not interested in inputting on the product they're putting out and/or don't have the inhouse capability. Neither of these are a good sign.
I'm not encouraged by the information provided on the people behind Chalet Publishing either:
Chalet Publishers Website:
Joyce Norman has been a writer for over thirty years and has written and published three books: Personal Assignment, Above All Else, the story of H.L. Hunt’s daughter, and Come And See, the story of a blind concert pianist. Formerly a journalist, Joyce has traveled extensively in the Middle East, reporting from many of the hot spots in that region. She has just completed her debut novel, Coming Together, with Joy Collins and has begun work on a her second novel.
There's no information here suggesting that Joyce has any experience either in the commercial publishing industry or of running her own business.
According to Amazon.com Personal Assignment was published in 1973 by Fleming H. Revell (which seems to be an established Christian publisher).
Above All Else does not seem to have a listing on Amazon.com and neither does Come and See.
Coming Together is published by Chalet Publishers.
Chalet Publishers Website:
Joy Collins knew she wanted to be a writer as soon as she learned what a book was. She has written non-fiction articles that have been published online and in print magazines. She has been trained as a nurse and had her own health care column and newsletter at one time. Now she devotes her time primarily to fiction and publishing. Her debut novel Second Chance has received great reviews. Her second novel co-written with Joyce Norman has just been published and she is working on her third novel. To learn more about Joy visit her web site
www.joycollins.com
Again, nothing here to suggest that Joy Collins has any experience of working in commercial publishing or running a business.
Second Chance was published by Desert Spirit Press, which appears to run through Smashwords and is either owned or run by Joy Collins.
It doesn't seem to have been running for long, so my advice would be to give it the standard 2 years and see how author experiences have been then.
MM
