Domhan Books

Check your contract. It may have expired. If so, they may not have renewed it because the book wasn't selling enough copies.


Yes, it would be nice if ALL publishers took a moment to at least admit that in a short, friendly letter, but many of them just don't or they have reason to believe that you'd rather be with another publishing house and don't try.

Unless your book was selling very well, it's doubtful that any publisher will want it as a reprint. This is a case where you may have to resort to Lulu if you want to see it remain in print.

I'd consider Lulu for a reprint only after I'd already approached and been turned down by every legitimate publisher on the planet.

paladinb said:

so there's nothing I can do with it once I got the rights back i.e revamp/rewrite. title change?

what's lulu?

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Once you have the rights back you approach other publishers who handle the kind of book you have, and ask if they're interested in reprint rights. Don't rewrite, don't change the title.

Write another book. Sell it. Sell the reprint rights to this book along with the rights to the new book.


Lulu is a printer. Marketing, publicity, distribution ... you're on your own.

Lulu.com, a POD printer with zero to low setup fees, a rather author-friendly contract, and not very much in the way of smoke and mirrors. But you could certainly try and see if a commercial publisher will buy reprint rights first.

Writer Beware has gotten a number of complaints over the years about Domhan, including copyright theft (the owner of Domhan ran a literary agency before she started the publisher, and apparently published a number of the literary agency's clients without getting their permission), minimum purchase requirements (authors say they were required to buy their own books), failing to inform authors they were liable for setup fees, and failure to pay royalties due.

In early 2003, I got complaints of publication delays and nonresponse--unanaswered snail- and e-mails, unanswered phones, unfilled book orders. Authors seemed to think the publisher was going out of business. Since then, I've heard nothing. Judging by information on Amazon.com, Domhan books published in 2002 and earlier still appear to be available, but nearly everything after that is listed as Special Order or Currently Unavailable. There are no books with publication dates later than February 2004. It certainly does appear that Domhan is defunct.

Unless your contract is time-limited, that leaves you in an uneasy position as to rights--especially if you were required to initiate a formal process in order to get your rights reverted to you once your book went out of print. If you were, and you didn't do this, the publisher (whoever and wherever it is) still has at least nominal title to your rights. Apart from all the other issues of reprinting, etc., it's unlikely that a publisher would be interested in a book where there's any ambiguity about who is the actual rights-owner. Another issue: I looked up your book on Amazon, and it appears still to be in print and available.

This is a very tangled situation, and I strongly suggest that you seek legal advice. On the Overview page of Writer Beware (http://www.sfwa.org/beware/overview.html), there's a section on Legal Recourse that provides links to the American Bar Association Lawyer Referral Service and also Volunteer Lawyers for the Arts (a volunteer organization that specializes in providing legal assistance for people in the arts). Either service will arrange an initial low-cost or pro-bono consultation for you to discuss your situation, after which you can decide on what further action to take.

- Victoria

I submitted manuscripts to Domhan when i first started writing and their reply (rejection) back was not very nice. They strongly suggested i get professional doctoring on my novel, and when i rewrote it and sent it back, sent back another rejection criticizing me for not following their advice.


I heard awhile ago they were in trouble. I can understand it.

MadScientistMatt said:

Lulu.com, a POD printer with zero to low setup fees, a rather author-friendly contract, and not very much in the way of smoke and mirrors. But you could certainly try and see if a commercial publisher will buy reprint rights first.

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Why wait? Why not sell it through lulu and booksurge, and try to sell it to a commercial publisher? After all, the first rights are already gone.

Julie, that's some spectacularly bad advice.

James D. Macdonald said:

Julie, that's some spectacularly bad advice.

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It was actually a question. Why wait? Lulu and Booksurge are nonexclusive, and neither will tie him up with a contract. So why do you think that selling his book would be a bad idea?

Assuming he gets the rights back, of course. I didn't mean to suggest he sell what he doesn't own. Only that he not wait on a regular publisher to pick it up.

Having an edition out from Lulu and/or Booksurge is likely to guarantee that he won't have a regular publisher pick it up, and sales through Lulu and Booksurge combined aren't likely to be worthwhile.

I'd query every publisher in Writer's Market first, and only if every one of them turned me down would I even consider self-publishing or vanity publishing.

James D. Macdonald said:

Having an edition out from Lulu and/or Booksurge is likely to guarantee that he won't have a regular publisher pick it up, and sales through Lulu and Booksurge combined aren't likely to be worthwhile.

I'd query every publisher in Writer's Market first, and only if every one of them turned me down would I even consider self-publishing or vanity publishing.

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Why would that guarantee anything? The book has already been out by a POD publisher. And with lulu and Booksurge, he can withdraw it almost instantly if he needs to. Even regular publishers are using POD to keep their lagging titles in print. So how could that possibly be a factor in picking up the book?

If the book had sold poorly the first time around, then that alone may be the deciding factor, and selling a few thousand on his own might be the only way to rescue it. I agree that self-publishing is the last resort, but with this book now six years old, isn't it time?

Anyway, the question may be moot, as Paladin is still avaliable. See here.

But it's not done well in those six years.
Availability: usually 24 hrs.
The Amazon sales rank: none.
Number of reader reviews: none.
Editorial review: "An enjoyable romp, with exotic locales, a thrilling set of villains, and a rather unlikely hero." That's it, the whole thing.
Cover image: generic.
Search inside: no.

Obviously, the publisher has done little to help this book at Amazon. Still, it's surprising that the author didn't get someone to review it.

Julie Worth said:

Even regular publishers are using POD to keep their lagging titles in print. So how could that possibly be a factor in picking up the book?

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Quite simply, the book is in print. Other publishers won't pick it up.

Hi Barry,

I'm deleting your other thread because our rule is to have just one thread for each publisher/agent. I hope someone more knowledgeable than I am about your situation will be along to advise you soon.

Domhan is Defunct

According to what Writer Beware has been able to discover, Domhan is now defunct.

You may have to do some work to track down the people who owned the company so you can write to them and get your rights release.

They were a scam anyhow...

It might be wise, once you've located them, to have a lawyer write your letter for you, and to send it registered mail, etc.

-Ann C. Crispin
Chair, Writer Beware
www.writerbeware.com

paladinb said:

2) How do you know it was a scam?

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Ann, together with Victoria, run Writer Beware. I'd call her naming Domhan a scam to be expert testimony.

Victoria suggested you consult counsel. That's good advice.

Domhan Books... that was the first "publisher" who answered to my query letter, and who told me how they loved my story... They said they would offer me a contract, which I never received. By then I realised it was a scam. There are many like these lurking around, so better be aware!


Nickie