Candlemark and Gleam
This is, unfortunately, a warning against working with Candlemark & Gleam.
I hate to be writing this.
I signed a contract with Candlemark & Gleam for my book, The Dominion, to be released in winter 2014. Kate Sullivan appeared to be the person running the shop and she was tremendously helpful as an editor. I am grateful for the work she put in and for her suggestions, which made the book much better. She also brought in a second editor, whose advice was less helpful. I appreciated, though, the thoroughness of getting that second viewpoint.
Meanwhile, another publisher expressed interest in The Dominion. I told him the book had been sold.
Once Kate and I had a book we were both happy with, she began work on the cover. She expressed disappointment with what she was getting from her designer and I recommended a designer I often worked with. I offered to pay some or all of his fee. She said, “You’re a writer. Put your wallet away.”
I had no advance and I knew this was a small company, but I saw her making investments of time and money and felt reasonably secure. She seemed happy with the work the new designer was doing.
Then, I got an email from the designer saying he had not received payment and that Kate was not responding to his emails.
I sent her a gentle email, mentioning that he hadn’t heard from her but also talking about other things. No pressure, just checking in.
She did not respond.
A potential issue with the cover art occurred to me and I wondered whether Kate was also concerned about this and was uncomfortable saying so. I went ahead and paid the designer myself to have a change made, so that she could choose from two versions of the cover. I emailed her to let her know I had done this and that I didn’t expect to be paid back. I had also wanted to put some money, at least, in the designer’s pocket—I did not mention this to Kate because I didn’t want her to feel bad.
As winter 2014 was around the corner, I also listed grants I might apply for that could assist with promotion for the book and asking if she had settled on a release date. I wanted to prepare to be as much help with promotion as I could.
When she did not respond, I grew concerned for her well-being and a friend of mine checked in with some other CM&G authors as to whether Kate was all right. I was assured by one author that all was well.
Winter 2014 came and went. There were no responses to emails.
In early summer 2015, a friend of mine met a former CM&G author through Facebook and discovered that Kate was responding to her emails. I emailed Kate again, saying that I still hoped that we would be able to work together and that it was important for me to hear back either way. There was no response.
A friend of mine left a phone message for her. It was not returned.
Finally, I sent her a registered letter asking for the return of my book, as she was in breach of contact. Delivery was not possible as no one answered the door.
In case she was on vacation or not able to receive the package due to illness or other circumstances, we waited a few weeks. Then, a friend of mine emailed her and said that I would, after a week, publicly take back my book and explain why I had to do things this way.
The possibility was still left open that she could contact me before the week was up to return my book and explain why she hasn't responded.
I wanted to give her time after each of my attempts to contact her, because I know people can have a bad week or not notice an email. However, at this point, it is approximately a year since my publisher last returned any communication from me and I think that's a long time.
I am taking my book back, as the contract has been broken, but I am saddened by the missed opportunity of working with the other publisher who expressed interest and by the time I’ve lost. I’m also concerned that new publishers may be wary about touching a book that hasn’t been formally released, even if the contract has been broken.
I didn’t want to go public about this because I don’t want to seem vengeful or bitter. What I really am is sad and I figured I could be sad in private. However, friends have convinced me that it’s unfair for me not to warn other authors, as I might have been warned. So, here I am.