Double Edge Press / Cutting Edge Literary Services

JA Konrath · Oct 27, 2005

Someone posted this on my blog today:

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I run a literary service and a small publishing company.

The majority of the manuscripts we publish come through the literary service, where we test market them on the web with anyone who wants to read them and report on them.

We charge a fee through the literary service for two reasons:

1). When we allowed free submissions, we were so overwhelmed by submissions that we could not even go through them all. Ninety percent of them were painfully bad. Now, with a fee, we get much fewer submissions, which allows us to truly 'read' them, not just skim them, and the quality of the writing has gone up ten-fold. Evidently, people are not as blind to their writing's worth as we generally believe, because if they're asked to put some money behind it, they are not as convinced as they were a moment ago that they have the next best-seller.

2). Test marketing takes time (setting up the ms, tracking the reader demographics and the reader reports) and money. The fee charged in no way makes a profit. We make our profit from book sales (hence, why we test market. We want to know we have a winner).

Double Edge Press/Cutting Edge Literary Services

http://cuttingedgeliterary.com

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Visit the site and form your own opinions.

I'm alerting Writer Beware and P&E as well. Spread the word.

CaoPaux · Oct 27, 2005

:faint:

At first, I thought this was one of those ex-PAer ventures, like The Cutting Edge e-mag. I don't see any immediate connection to PA, but this is just as gormless, IMHO.

victoriastrauss · Oct 27, 2005

Yet another iteration of the display site/reader rankings concept. (Egad. Does Bookner have some competition?)

Why, oh why do people continue to imagine that publishers or agents will be impressed by reader rankings? Not only is it total wishful thinking, it contradicts the core premise behind sites like this--that the publishing industry is closed to newcomers. But if agents and editors are so narrow-minded they won't consider new writers, why on earth should they pay attention to what a few readers think?

Well-intentioned and sincere, as far as I can tell. But gormless to the max.

- Victoria

Aconite · Oct 27, 2005

JA Konrath said:
We charge a fee through the literary service for two reasons:
...
Evidently, people are not as blind to their writing's worth as we generally believe, because if they're asked to put some money behind it, they are not as convinced as they were a moment ago that they have the next best-seller.

Oh, that's clever. "If you really believe in your book, you'll put up the money. If you don't, you don't believe in your book."

JA Konrath · Oct 27, 2005

victoriastrauss said:
Well-intentioned and sincere, as far as I can tell. But gormless to the max.

- Victoria

I'm not sure how well-intentioned it is. The "literary" agency takes money, then the "publishing" arm (doubleedgepress.com) pays money.

It's unlikely the literary part of the company will sell to any publisher other than itself.

And the publishing part of the company, evidenced by the sample chapters and book cover sample, appears to be a POD outfit with similar production values, unlikely to get into brick and mortar stores, or to sell to anyone beyond the writer's family and friends.

Starting your own publishing company is one thing. Having newbie authors pay to be considered, and then treating the few who are 'chosen' to the POD special, is not good at all.

James D. Macdonald · Oct 27, 2005

JA Konrath said:
We charge a fee

That's enough for me.

CaoPaux · Nov 28, 2006

Well...Cutting Edge Literary Services is gone (not be confused with The Cutting Edge Literary Consultants in the UK).

The "publishing" arm remains: http://www.doubleedgepress.com/AboutUs.html

Bleak House Books · Nov 28, 2006

I don't know what you guys are all upset about, they are bringing

"'Brand Name Recognition' to new authors via our publishing house logo, prominently displayed on the back cover of each new release."

What more do you want?

soloset · Nov 28, 2006

On the Barnes & Noble page (and the Amazon page as well) for the novel touted on the website's front page as the company's first novel, Shall Die By The Sword:

From the Publisher
This book only exists because of readers just like you! The Double Edge Press logo so prominently displayed on this book is our invitation to you to not only read a great story, but to participate in our future publishing decisions.Shall Die by the Sword, written by previously unpublished author T. S. Beckett, totally blew our readers away with great characters in action in this thrilling historical tale. They demanded it be published and we listened (see reader comments inside front cover). You can help decide the next book to be published.

Shouldn't there be more than fifteen words actually about the book here? You know, in case I'm interested in knowing more about the book? It points to a very odd attitude on the part of the publisher. No average browsing-for-Christmas reader is going to look at that blurb and pick the book up. It's marketing towards the community members who "demanded it be published" and the people they've mentioned it to as a novelty.

This strikes me as one of those publishers that someone somewhere will no doubt be publishing through, but why why why WHY would you want to?

Bleak House Books said:
"'Brand Name Recognition' to new authors via our publishing house logo, prominently displayed on the back cover of each new release."

The cover I saw had the logo on the front cover twice. Bleargh. "Brand Name Recognition" only works when you either recognize the brand name (imagine that) or you buy the product and like it enough to remember the brand name for next time.

Julie Worth · Nov 29, 2006

Shall Die By The Sword is a bizarre first effort: The execrable cover (designed in part by the publisher herself) reflects what's inside. First a prologue that begins with a dream, and not just one dream, no, three of them! And then a second prologue--the only time I've ever seen two prologues--this one beginning with a weather report, followed by buckets of telling, backstory, and--amazingly--praying! In one book they've managed to make all the usual mistakes, and several brand new ones.

soloset · Nov 29, 2006

I wasn't going to comment on the contents of the book, although the point could be made that the flaws in it do point to a publisher who doesn't really understand the commercial market.

Reading through the "cream of the crop" on any display site pretty much confirms that readers on a website generally aren't very good at filtering slush. I don't know if it's that they have their own agendas, or they're so caught up in being part of the community that they miss the bigger picture, or what.

It boils down to the fact that a publisher is supposed to publish books that are of high quality, and if a publisher doesn't provide that, their "brand name" becomes a marker of what to avoid, not what to buy.

priceless1 · Nov 29, 2006

Bleak House Books said:
I don't know what you guys are all upset about, they are bringing

"'Brand Name Recognition' to new authors via our publishing house logo, prominently displayed on the back cover of each new release."

What more do you want?

Brand recognition for new authors (or any authors, for that matter) doesn't come from a company's logo. It comes from a great book, professional cover design, editing, marketing, promotion, and distribution. To me, this statement above shows a lack of savvy.

JeanneTGC · Nov 29, 2006

I think Bleak House was being sarcastic. VERY sarcastic. (A trait I, personally, love, because it's so relatable to me.

)

priceless1 · Nov 29, 2006

JeanneTGC said:
I think Bleak House was being sarcastic. VERY sarcastic. (A trait I, personally, love, because it's so relatable to me. )

Ah. Sarcasm. D'oh! I must be having another Homer moment. Probably a result of scads of family, laughing too much, not enough sleep, eating and drinking entirely too much for my own good. Mea culpa. Good show, Bleak House.

Bleak House Books · Nov 29, 2006

priceless1 said:
Brand recognition for new authors (or any authors, for that matter) doesn't come from a company's logo. It comes from a great book, professional cover design, editing, marketing, promotion, and distribution. To me, this statement above shows a lack of savvy.

Errr...

CaoPaux · Nov 14, 2007

Updating link: http://hummingbirdworldmedia.com/DoubleEdgePress.html

Hummingbird World Media is Ms. Melvin's new (July 2007) marketing/retail venture.

CaoPaux · Jan 16, 2010

Clarifying: Double Edge is still at http://doubleedgepresscom/index.html. The above is her umbrella site.

jairey · Apr 30, 2010

A member of my writers' group was just accepted for publication by Double Edge. Didn't have to pay for anything, straight publication deal. (I didn't ask her about advance, or royalties -- we're not that close!). She's very impressed with Ms. Melvin and very happy about it.

Ralyks · Feb 20, 2011

I've had books published by Double Edge Press. I received a cash advance for two of them. For every book, I've received free copies and a standard royalty contract. There were no fees whatsoever involved at any time. The publisher takes care of distribution, fulfillment, etc.,. There is no request for a list of names and addresses to plug your book to, no fees, no investment on the part of the author (other than any time the author wants to invest to promote his/her book). The acceptance process is selective, as only a few titles are published each year. My sales have been moderate but reasonable, and I have earned royalties above my advance on my novels.

The publisher I think entered the business without much experience and has made some errors along the way that may have cost me some sales, but she took a risk on my titles, and I have earned money from them, and I think Double Edge Press is a legitimate, commercial small publisher.

I see no reason Double Edge should be on a beware list. It's a small press publisher that uses POD technology, and thus the cover price of the books is certainly higher than with your large offset publishers, but the cover prices are pretty typical for trade paperbacks using POD technology, and the royalty arrangements are also pretty typical. The worst you could complain of is inexperience, as Double Edge is a relatively new publisher, and there were some hitches in that regard, especially for my first novel.

Unimportant · Feb 20, 2011

CaoPaux said:
Clarifying: Double Edge is still at http://doubleedgepresscom/index.html. The above is her umbrella site.

That link isn't working for me. I found Double Edge at http://doubleedgepress.intuitwebsites.com/index.html

CaoPaux · Feb 20, 2011

Updating link: http://www.doubleedgepress.com/index.html

Momento Mori · Feb 20, 2011

skylarburris:
I see no reason Double Edge should be on a beware list.

The purpose of this thread is to enable people to share information about the company so that people can make an informed decision as to whether to sign with them. Clearly there were things that gave people cause for concern back in 2005.

skylarburris:
The worst you could complain of is inexperience, as Double Edge is a relatively new publisher that is still – so to speak - learning the ropes, but cash definitely flows to the author from the publisher, not the other way around.

It's good to know that they're not making money from their authors but I don't think you can call a company that's been trading for at least 6 years (judging from reports here) new. That's more than enough time to learn the ropes.

MM

Ralyks · Feb 20, 2011

Momento Mori said:
It's good to know that they're not making money from their authors but I don't think you can call a company that's been trading for at least 6 years (judging from reports here) new. That's more than enough time to learn the ropes.MM

The company was new when I was first published by it. You are right - they are no longer new and have, I believe, learned quite a bit over the past six years.

Thanks for clarifying the purpose of this forum. I am glad to have this "background" check service and, weighing in with my personal experience, would offer the opinion that Double Edge Press is a viable small publisher.

Unimportant · Feb 20, 2011

Skyla, this isn't a Bewares List. This is a subforum titled "Bewares, Recommendations and Background Check". The vast majority of the threads here are indeed of the background check variety. The only real "Beware List" in here are the Publish America and SPB subsections.

CaoPaux · Apr 7, 2018

Sites are a mix of missing and archived pages. Last book pubbed '16. Anyone have recent contact?

Double Edge Press / Cutting Edge Literary Services

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