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Martin Sisters Publishing

laura278

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About Martin Sisters Publishing

I contracted with Martin Sisters Publishing to publish my YA novel in August 2013. The editor promised me, either via email or phone conversation, three different publication dates (August 2014, January 2015, March 2015) that did not materialize. She did not contact me to explain the delay when each of these dates passed. Consequently, I was embarrassed several times when I had spoken to a bookstore or library about setting up an event for a book I thought was forthcoming. Please note that this publisher's listing in the 2015 Children's Writer's and Illustrator's Market claims a six-month turnaround from the time of signing the contract until publication.


Final edits were completed in March 2014. At that time, the editor promised galleys to me. I never received them. In June 2015 I emailed her to ask her if the book would be published this summer. She advised me that it would be out by the end of July. On July 13 I received an email from a member of her staff telling me the book was available on Amazon and would be on several e-sites in 6-8 weeks.


I ordered my author copies from the publisher. When they arrived, a quick look showed me that the book was riddled with printing and formatting errors that were not part of my original ms. These included italics removed, chapters beginning in the middle of a page, multiple lines of dialogue in one paragraph, and uncorrected errors left over from the edits. These errors were so numerous and obvious as to make the book unreadable and unsalable. Further, the publisher did not secure permission for a song quote, which could result in legal liability.


I emailed the editor asking her to fix the errors and replace my author copies so that we could offer the reading public a professional and salable book. She did not reply. At that point I contacted an attorney, who advised her she is in breach of contract and the contract is hereby terminated.

Before I signed the contract, I researched this company and found nothing negative about them on any website or blog. I even ordered a book from their website to see how my book might appear. The one I chose was not as polished as a book from a major house might be (I found a few minor editing errors), but definitely passable. What happened with my book might be a one-time error and an honest one. However, I would have expected the publishing company to fix their mistake and replace my copies at no charge--not ignore me.
 

Barbara R.

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Sorry this happened. I looked at the publisher's site. They present themselves as a small but traditional publisher except they do no marketing, leaving that up to the writer. So basically they do production and some distribution, by the look of it. The covers appear generic and cheap. They claim not to ask money of writers, but you're in a better position than I to judge the truth of that. There's little info about the owners other than a claim that they're two sisters with publishing experience, unspecified. It smells like a vanity press to me, but it's not obvious on the surface.

You did your due diligence. Sometimes that's not enough. Hope you get your rights back and find a better home for them.
 

mrsmig

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There's already an AW thread about this publisher here: Martin Sisters Publishing. A mod will probably be along shortly to merge the threads.

I'm sorry you got stung, laura278. There are multiple red flags on their website - no info about the company's principals, possible conflict of interest with the printing services the company also offers, constant emphasis on the author taking responsibility for marketing - but without knowing that these are red flags, it's easy to get suckered in.

ETA: This is the publisher that famously hates the word "as" and urges writers to eliminate or change it in their submissions. Oy.
 
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laura278

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Hey Barbara, thanks for your reply. They are not a vanity in the way I understand the term--I did not pay them to print or publish the book. They presented me with what I thought was a fairly nice piece of cover art (I used it on my author website and FB page until the deal went south). My issues were the length of time it took to get the book out, the repeated pub dates that never happened and were never explained, and the slew of errors in the completed work. It was quite literally unsalable. My attorney advised me not to even give it away. The real frustration for me, other than the humiliation of having to explain what happened and why the book isn't for sale, is the loss of two years in which I might have been able to sell this book to someone else. Now I am back to Square Zero. I hope to help another author avoid this.
 

Barbara R.

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Laura,

I do sympathize. A very reputable, long-time ebook publisher bought the rights to two of my older books, and when they were reissued, I found half a dozen newly-introduced mistakes in the first few pages alone. Fortunately for me, the publisher was an old colleague from my agenting days. I spoke to him and the books were withdrawn, proofread, and reissued. But it was a horrible experience and I was embarrassed at having promoted those reprints for the first few days.

Time lost can't be regained, but publishing is a world full of setbacks. Get knocked down, get back up, repeat.