Curiosity Quills Press

I agree, the further you are removed from that "just finished" high the more open you will be to taking suggestion on editing. You also may have some different insights and idea yourself. After I finished my novel I waited a month then read it again. I came up with some additional material that really improved the ending.

Have been getting feedback from the point person at CQ (for me at least) on some slight changes they want done (on board with that) and would I be willing to promote the book (of course). So I'm thinking they are looking strongly at me, but one never knows.

Does anyone know if books published with small time presses ever get picked up by one of the legacy presses if they are doing well?

amergina said:

What the heck is a legacy press?

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A derogatory term for trade press.

Sigh. It's a term used originally by vanity publishers, and now by a number of self-published authors, to describe commercial advance-paying publishers. As someone here on AW explained to me via PM in 2010, it carries the same insulting tone as 'legacy college'.

Stan, it happens. We see the best examples in glowing announcements in Publishers Weekly. But it's a balancing act. I've listened to editors and agents at conventions, who often basically say 'We look at numbers. If a small-press or self-pub book shows a few hundred or so sales, there may not be a larger market for it. If it's in a niche it might have already sold too well, and flooded its market.' So they're looking for breakout books that could perhaps reach a much larger market.

Are the big 6 considered legacy presses. That's how I used the term, perhaps incorrectly.

So I'm wrong to think that Legacy publishers and the "Big 5" are synonymous. I think I got that somewhere. Thanks for pointing it out. I care about being picked up by the Big 5 because they're the ones who pay the big advances. Isn't it still true that commercial success still comes more readily and easily through the Big 5?

Stan said:

So I'm wrong to think that Legacy publishers and the "Big 5" are synonymous.

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If you mean Big 5, just say Big 5.

Stan said:

Isn't it still true that commercial success still comes more readily and easily through the Big 5?

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This line and the use of "legacy publishers" makes me wonder if you're trolling us.

Commercial success doesn't come "readily and easily" through any route of publishing, I'm sorry to say. Nobody's in this career for the money -- you'd make better money than most Big 5 midlist authors in a 9 to 5 job.

EMaree said:

This line and the use of "legacy publishers" makes me wonder if you're trolling us.

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I highly doubt it, actually. If you start with no knowledge of how publishing works, and then use Google to try to research it on the web, you end up with pretty much what s/he's saying here.

The misinformation is so ubiquitous and often-repeated that it's incredibly hard to come away from web research about how publishing works without it.

Have no idea what the hell trolling means. It was a honest question.

Easy, guys, this seems to just be a translation error.

Stan, 'trolling' is what folks do when they jump into online forums and deliberately incite arguments. Sometimes, this is done with ulterior motives, often it's just for the sake of chaos.

As for finding out how commercial trade, small-press, self-pub, vanity, and subsidy publishing all work, a few cursory internet searches probably won't help. A lot of the 'information' will be weighted toward one camp or another. Only by gathering many, many diverse data points, can new authors begin to build an accurate picture.

Sorry Stan, I shouldn't have jumped to that conclusion, that was rash of me. I've been reading too much about the KBoards (Kindle forums) sending people over here to stir up arguments and I had a moment of paranoia.

You're asking some really important, honest questions, and part of AW's purpose is to help out writers and answer questions, so please don't be discouraged by grumpy Scots who respond to your question too sharply.

I have a manuscript with CQ and am supposed to get word any day now if they will take it or not. Of course, everyone's ultimate aim is the big 5, so was wondering if that goal is automatically squashed (for that book) if you go with a small press.

That goal is not 'automatically' derailed by publishing with a small press, Stan. You've been around AW longer than I have, so you'll have seen the same positive examples discussed.

As I said before, it's a balancing act. Small press and self-published books are getting more consideration from larger publishers now, because commercial agents and editors recognize the role such outlets play in incubating new talent. But a small press or self-published book has to show strong potential vs. little market burnout, for a big press to get interested. Author brand loyalty is another consideration: will the earlier readers embrace a new commercial version, if it's perceived to have value added?

For the average small press book, 5000 sales during life of contract is wonderful. For the average subsidy or vanity-published book, it's a daydream (why many such publishers' guaranteed subsidy refund is predicated on reaching that 5000 copy threshold, which almost never seems to happen.) Some self-published authors get there, but many more bog down at the low three figures.

For the average commercially published genre book (I'll use romance and sci fi, since I know those markets best), 5000 copies in print and/or e-book is a very conservative sales record. For a second novel, it might even be low enough to make the publisher drop the contract.

It's all in perspective, and in how much an author is willing to gamble on first rights.

As someone asked for updates from people working with them, I thought I'd chip in again, although nothing big has changed from last time.

I'm currently working with an editor on my MS to ready it for publication, and was just shown the first draft of my cover art for approval, which is beyond gorgeous.
Still finding them very open and professional to work with.
I know that the proof of the pudding is in tasty book sales, but I haven't had any reason to regret signing with them thus far.

They seem to be signing more agented authors recently as well (as I am!). Not sure what that means, but putting it out there

Then I'll be cautiously hopeful for you, Elspeth.

With an added caveat: which agents are working with CQP? In researching other new, small pubs, I've run across 'literary agents' who are sending work to vanity publishers and inexperienced publishers. There are lots of equally inexperienced people calling themselves agents, who don't really understand the business. Some others apparently know exactly what they are doing, and have been caught taking kickbacks from subsidy fees or workshop fees.

I don't know the CQP situation, and I hope that the future shows them as a strong, vibrant press. But merely saying 'well, agents are sending work there' is not an accurate measure of professionalism for either press or agent.

ETA: for what it's worth, CQP is showing some respectable sales ranks on Amazon, with at least nine or ten books listed as having estimated mid three-digit sales in March. So they are making some sales.

Filigree said:

I don't know the CQP situation, and I hope that the future shows them as a strong, vibrant press. But merely saying 'well, agents are sending work there' is not an accurate measure of professionalism for either press or agent..

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I sold them a book. You can decide for yourself what kind of agent I am.

Very good! Knowing who you are, that gives me a valuable data point. I know you cannot answer specific questions, but how amenable were they to contract negotiations? Not-budging-an-inch like Harlequin, or more flexible?

For anyone who's wondering: that full request I got a month and a half ago turned into a revise and resubmit. I am ecstatic, excited, anxious and nervous all at the same time!

- Michael