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Direidi Publishing

Angelepaauthor

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I've recently met a man named Tony Cratz. I'm considering going with him on a POD.
This link is a sample contract:http://direidi.com/content/sample-contract

This link is the site home: http://direidi.com/

Is there anywhere I can find more information on this publisher without actually alerting him that he's being researched? I don't want to seem paranoid, but I don't want to get snowballed either.

Thanks for any feedback, or any advice anyone can give me!!
--Angel
 

Stacia Kane

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The contract is surprisingly straightforward, and seems fairly author-friendly to me; I don't like that the author is required to register copyright, but that seems like a given considering what sort of place it is, and I'd certainly want to know exactly what percentage of net the publisher gets. I'm also not really seeing what they do for you that you can't do yourself, or pay someone a flat fee to do for you. But the contract itself is decent (and their FAQ says they're willing to negotiate), IMO, and the company seems transparent on what they're actually offering and what they're not.

What exactly drew you to this publisher, if I can ask?
 

Angelepaauthor

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I met him through either Linked In or a new yahoo group that I joined to be able to promote my work. I'm recently self pubbed by 2 weeks. He says he's willing on the 50%. I don't see that as bad, but I've been burned before first starting out about 8 years ago and learned my lesson then about not doing the proper research into a place. He seems fairly nice enough. He offered to help me with the formatting for Smashwords. (grr, darn place!, lol).

I asked him about his website today when I emailed him back. It took me by surprise that he would want to help out such a newly self pubbed author. After PA and never getting my rights back on my book, I'm leery of such now.
 

E. S. Lark

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Angel, if he found you through a yahoo group or something similar, I'd be careful. He might just be starting out. Also, formatting for Smashwords doesn't have to be that hard. Have you read their instructions on formatting? I'm sure there are folks here on AW who wouldn't mind helping ya out if you needed it.

I published one piece through Smashwords so far and had no problems.
 

Angelepaauthor

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I went by their guidelines, but went through the manuscript 7 times. I don't know if it's my choice of font, spacing between breaks, or what's going on. That's why I sent Pred & editors an email. To check them out. I wanna know if he's legit before I say something that will have me in over my head. I'd be glad to have someone look over the ms's. Getting them back up on Smashwords will help a lot. I didn't realize who they were (smashwords) or that they were important until my husband brought it to my attention. I've been out of the game for several years.

This is my first time self pubbing though.
 

JL_Benet

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I don't really understand what you mean by this sentence:
He says he's willing on the 50%.
Does that mean you get 50% of net as a royalty? If that's the case, I don't see how you could do much worse for what he's offering.
 

Katrina S. Forest

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It took me by surprise that he would want to help out such a newly self pubbed author.

He is not helping you out. He wants your business. If you use his services, he will get 50% of the profits from your book. (Remember, if you do everything yourself, you keep 100% of the profits.) Now, if you think his services are worth that money, then go for it. If he's not doing anything worth paying for, then don't.

The info on their site about how publishing works is definitely less than accurate.

Do you pay an author advance fee?
Being a royalties based model we make our money from the royalties from the sale of the book.
Advance-paying publishers DO use a royalties-based model. That's what an advance is -- getting paid royalties the publisher expects you to earn before you actually earn them.

Why are you 'The Mischievous Publisher'?
Mischievous means to have a fondness for causing trouble in a playful way.Direidi believes in causing trouble for the mainstream publishing houses by focusing on E-books and POD.
Micropresses like this are not causing trouble for big publishing houses. They aren't selling enough to do that.

The problem is the odds are against the author.
This makes it sound like agents and editors pick manuscripts out of a hat. The odds are against the author whose book isn't ready to sell yet. The odds are in favor of the author who wrote a really awesome manuscript.

Bottom line: If you are asking if this company is a scam, then the answer is, no, I don't see anything decietful here, other than repeating the usual myths about how big publishers discourage new writers, and sadly, there's very few start-ups that don't spread that myth.

If you are asking if this company is worth your time or half your profits, that's something you have to decide for yourself. To me, giving your manuscript to companies like this is the equivalent of buying an egg slicer you saw on an infomercial. Does it do anything you couldn't already do? No. Does that make it a scam? No.
 
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Angelepaauthor

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I'm not going with him. I emailed preditors and editors to see if they had any information on him, and they said he was new so they didn't have anything at all. That told me all I needed to know about taking the chance. I'm new enough, I don't want to be with someone as new as I am, lol. Thanks everyone!!
 

CaoPaux

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Last book published Jan '12. Anyone have recent contact?
 

CaoPaux

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Did put out another in '15 (copyright '14).

ETA: But that was last activity.
 
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