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Sapphire Star Publishing

Willowwriter

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Another new publisher. Seeing lots of tweets from them. Here is their info. They're also running a contest for romance.

http://sapphirestarpublishing.com/

About Us

Sapphire Star Publishing is a small press publisher dedicated to bringing you today’s finest fiction. Here at Sapphire Star, we understand that publishing is only the beginning. We work alongside the author to provide the tools to help their work reach readers all over the world, ensuring each publication the opportunity to reach its full potential. By seeking out and publishing talented authors, Sapphire Star Publishing is able to deliver quality fiction that inspires, provokes, intrigues, and entertains the most important part of the equation—the reader.
 

Momento Mori

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No information on who's running the company or their experience. No information on what type of rights they're looking to take or for how long. No information on how they plan to sell. No information on royalty rates or whether they pay advances.

They're brand new. Wait 2 years and see what average sales/royalties are like if they're still around.

MM
 

Willowwriter

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is two years the time period that most people advise waiting for the new pubs?
 

herdon

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It would really depend on the publisher. If there was a strong indication that they knew what they were doing, were invested in the process and were willing to sink $$$ into the book before it got to the published stage, etc., you might look at that differently than a random Pub with no specifics on their experience, the distribution channels they plan to use, etc.

This one looks closer to the latter.

Also, your specific project would play a role. But in general, you'd want to wait until they actually had books out and check out the sales and quality of those books.
 

akaria

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We tend to advise people to wait two years because that gives enough time to see if they can meet production schedules in a timely matter, have a quality end product and pay royalties on time.

Have you taken a spin through the gray links in the index? After a while you'll start to see patterns where a lot of places with the best intentions disappear like ghosts or go supernova leaving authors and stories scattered around like debris. There's a couple of success stories in the index but they are very rare.
 

Willowwriter

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Has anyone subbed to them? See them doing a lot of author and book promo on twitter lately
 

Leah J. Utas

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Just submitted today. I report back on how it goes.
 

Leah J. Utas

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Reporting back as promised. It would appear they have some standards as I got turned down today.
Not belittling myself. Merely drawing a point.
 

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I wrote them today telling them my interest in submitting, asking some questions first. If and once I get info, I'll let you guys know.

It looks like a promising publishing house, but you never know.
 

HapiSofi

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The name says "amateur" to me. You may not be able to copyright a title, but you certainly can trademark a character name.

It doesn't speak well for them as a publisher that DC has apparently not yet noticed them.
 

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Well someone got back to me right away. As far as royalty, here it is:

Books Sold Royalty Percentage to Author
0 – 250 25%
251-500 35%
500-1999 40%
2000+ 50%
(Quantities based on regularly priced ebooks)


Promotional priced e-books 50%


Print 25%
Distribution Print 50%


So they do do print also, which is nice.
 

James D. Macdonald

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According to a search I just did over at the Patent and Trademark Office, the only trademarked "Sapphire Star" is a line of clothing: Goods and Services IC 025. US 022 039. G & S: Clothing, namely, skirts, blouses, t-shirts, sweaters, jackets, blazers, pants, shorts, and vests.

These books probably won't be confused in commerce with a pair of pants.
 

HapiSofi

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According to a search I just did over at the Patent and Trademark Office, the only trademarked "Sapphire Star" is a line of clothing: Goods and Services IC 025. US 022 039. G & S: Clothing, namely, skirts, blouses, t-shirts, sweaters, jackets, blazers, pants, shorts, and vests.

These books probably won't be confused in commerce with a pair of pants.
Sapphire Star is a longstanding part of the Green Lantern continuity.

Whether or not DC chooses to take action, it was a boneheaded move on the part of the publishers to put themselves in a position where that's a possibility.
 

acadia1997

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HapiSofi, please do your due diligence before criticizing a company you know nothing about.

The character in DC Comics' Green Lantern series is called Star Sapphire, NOT Sapphire Star. Please check out this very easy to find link from DC Comics http://www.dccomics.com/graphic-novels/green-lantern-corps-sins-of-the-star-sapphire So obviously there is no conflict, bonehead or otherwise.

It's disappointing that you have made a public judgment about whether SSP is professional or not without ever emailing them or even speaking to one of their many happy authors and asking them what they think of the company.

I can attest to the fact that they are indeed legitimate, very professional, pay competitive royalties, allow their authors a significant level of control, and promote their author's titles. SSP is not a vanity press. Nor do they charge for their services in any way. We who have signed with SSP are very happy and look forward to a long relationship.

To all those interested, please check the SSP website for submission standards.
 
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LisaLRegan

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I signed a 2 book contract with Sapphire Star Publishing earlier this year. My first novel is due out 12/6/12. I have found them to be exceedingly professional and courteous. They are very well-informed as to what's going on in the publishing industry and clearly they know exactly what they are doing. They have very well-defined marketing plans for each one of their books and they are very author-oriented. Any issues or concerns that come up for me as an author are addressed immediately to my satisfaction. They really believe in their authors and they are determined to make each of us a success. I could not have asked for a better experience thus far. Also, FYI two of their first three titles have reached bestseller status on the Amazon Kindle list in their respective genres (one in the US and one in the UK) and their first title, Pulled by A.L. Jackson was in the top 300 in the paid Kindle store last time I checked and continues to climb. They put a lot of time, effort, thought and expense into each book they release. I think any writer would be lucky to sign with them.
 

Axordil

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Here's an interview with one of the owners:

http://www.examiner.com/article/introducing-sapphire-star-publishing

This appears to be her website:

http://www.amylichtenhan.com/

I qualify the latter only because much of it appears non-functional in Chrome, but that might be my ad blocker at work.

ETA: Ms. Lichtenhan is also an author. Her books, now appearing under the name A.L. Jackson, are currently published by SSP. They were formerly released under her own name, and published by The Writer’s Coffee Shop Publishing House.
 
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Momento Mori

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acadia1997:
It's disappointing that you have made a public judgment about whether SSP is professional or not without ever emailing them or even speaking to one of their many happy authors and asking them what they think of the company.

You've been a member here since November 2010. You should therefore know that this is a site where writers ask questions to ascertain whether a publisher is the right one for them and for people to identify potential issues that they should be aware of (if only so that they can ask questions about the same) and therefore make an informed decision about who to sign with.

You should also know that the people posting here do know what they're talking about either because they work in the industry, they're known commentators on the industry or they've got a lot of background experience to identify potential pitfalls.

If Sapphire Star put information on who was running it, what their experience was etc etc on their website then it would go a long way to alleviate concerns because it would show that the people standing behind and working for the publisher know what they're doing and so can help a book to be a success.

I've just taken a quick look at the site and I still can't see that information. Nor can I find any information on there about what rights they take or what type of deal they're offering new authors (i.e. advance or royalty only). This is all information that they can and should be up front about given that they're new and so have no significant track record.

acadia1997:
I can attest to the fact that they are indeed legitimate, very professional, pay competitive royalties, allow their authors a significant level of control, and promote their author's titles.

Okay. So you're one of their authors? When did you sign with them? Has your book come out? What kind of support have you had? What marketing activity has Sapphire Star done for you? What kind of sales figures have you had? How has that translated into royalties?

If you don't want to go into specifics then can you share what their "competitive" royalty rates are? Are they paid on net or gross? If they're paid on net then how is net calculated? Are they just taking electronic rights or do they take a print option? Are they limiting rights by territory or do they want worldwide rights? Who are the professionals behind the company? What is their expertise? Have they worked in publishing before? If so, who did they work for and in what capacity? Are the people behind the company also authors being published by them? What marketing activities do they do for their authors? Do they make promotional material available or is it confined to internet promotion?

acadia1997:
SSP is not a vanity press. Nor do they charge for their services in any way.

That's all good to know. Thank you for making that clear.

acadia1997:
To all those interested, please check the SSP website for submission standards.

I did. SSP apparently takes all genres. That worries me because it suggests they don't have a targeted marketing plan. Normally start-up publishers start in one particular genre to build up expertise, contacts and reputation before moving out. It also enables them to concentrate marketing spend. A publisher who is publishing any genre is unlikely to be able to concentrate marketing efforts, which can hurt authors.

CarrieAnn:
To ease some of your concerns, SSP is a legitimate small press and very professional in their handlings. This not a vanity pub, co-op, joint venture, etc. They do not offer any kind of service that requires the author to pay a fee.

That's all good to know but again, I'd like to know who is involved with it and what their background is.

CarrieAnn:
There’s a strong sense of community within our ranks. The owners are knowledgeable, attentive, and very willing to share their experience. The other authors have been nothing but supportive of me since day one. (If you follow any of us on Twitter, you know we like to think of ourselves as a family.)

Okay. So what is the owners' experience?

It's good that the other authors have been supportive but what's important is how that translates into sales. Do you cross-market each other? Are you encouraged to that yourselves or is it co-ordinated by SSP?

LisaLRegan:
My first novel is due out 12/6/12. I have found them to be exceedingly professional and courteous. They are very well-informed as to what's going on in the publishing industry and clearly they know exactly what they are doing.

Cool. So what's their background in publishing?

LisaLRegan:
They have very well-defined marketing plans for each one of their books and they are very author-oriented.

Great. Can you share examples of what those plans include?

LisaLRegan:
Also, FYI two of their first three titles have reached bestseller status on the Amazon Kindle list in their respective genres (one in the US and one in the UK) and their first title, Pulled by A.L. Jackson was in the top 300 in the paid Kindle store last time I checked and continues to climb.

That's great. How long were they in the bestseller lists and do you know what number they got to?

MM
 

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They were prompt and professional in answering questions when I dealt with them. If that means anything. From what I've asked, I don't think they pay advances, but I posted their royalties here. They seem competitive. Not sure if that's net or cover price though. I know that's a huge difference.
 

acadia1997

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My comments were in response to HapiSofi when she said the name "says amateur". That's awfully judgmental considering she knows nothing about SSP and had even gotten the reference wrong concerning the name and the DC Comics character. Her remarks were hurtful to not only SSP, but also to the authors who work with them. So please pardon Lisa, Carrie, and I if we appeared sensitive to her judgmental comment.

As for the info you seek, since I'm under contract, and, as most contracts include a DND clause, I cannot comment on the terms of my deal. Neither can Lisa or Carrie. But if you're interested, you can email SSP and ask them yourself. As with most publishers, they do not post their terms on their website, but disclose when terms are discussed with potential authors. It's up to the individual whether those terms are acceptable.

I think commenters who work in the industry would understand these issues.