Believe what you want. Ultimately, I have the last laugh...the one I enjoy on my way to the bank.
'nuf said. Back to writing. Adios, Ken
'nuf said. Back to writing. Adios, Ken
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Limitless Publishing
- Thread starter melnve
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If you're going to flounce, you've got to do better than that.
(and, as a note - it's not only one person who was wondering about what you meant when you said "phenomenal marketing". For those who might be interested in Limitless Publishing, it's a fair question to ask and expect a bit more than cute quipping and a flounce. You do your publisher a disservice when you act this way - if you believe they're doing so well for you then why not detail why so that others might benefit from your experience?)
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Indeed, it's only in LP's best interest to have their phenomenal marketing explained and potentially draw authors.If you're going to flounce, you've got to do better than that.
(and, as a note - it's not only one person who was wondering about what you meant when you said "phenomenal marketing". For those who might be interested in Limitless Publishing, it's a fair question to ask and expect a bit more than cute quipping and a flounce. You do your publisher a disservice when you act this way - if you believe they're doing so well for you then why not detail why so that others might benefit from your experience?)
If Limitless own admissions about doing 95% of their business as ebooks is to be believed and with your book being exclusive to Kindle where rankings are rather easy to see, how can you honestly expect anyone to believe that you'll be laughing on your way to the bank? It's funny how facts can get in the way of your assertions.
3rd quarter royalties should be in soon. I doubt either of ours will be anything to laugh about, unless you keep up these "phenomenal" assertions.
Well, that's as clear as molasses.
I'll take that as a negative on your experience, then.
What is there for me to be jealous of?
The only reason I care about your assertions is because they are dangerous. Experiences, both good and bad, should be explained. That's something you clearly disagree with, fine. The value in raising these legitimate concerns is that no one reading this thread is going to be fooled by your claims that Limitless is "phenomenal."
While I'm not a moderator I should point out that the two of you have stated your positions as clearly as it's going to get, obviously. Based on the lack of any data other than vague assertions and tossing around foreign language phrases, I wouldn't submit my work to Limitless.
Others can make up their own mind. I think it's pretty clear what the facts are. Or aren't, as the case may be.
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I don't really see much jealousy there. All I can see is her probing into what exactly you mean by phenomenal marketing, and I am as puzzled as she is, that a client as satisfied and enthusiastic about the publisher as yourself, is unable or unwilling to elaborate. It'd only be in Limitless' best interest, after all.
I am not a Mod; I'm the server Admin. I'm not nice enough to be a mod.
Stop with the personal attacks, immediately.
I mean it. Or no presents for you!
Stop with the personal attacks, immediately.
I mean it. Or no presents for you!
Hi everyone,
I knew about this thread when I signed with Limitless four months ago and don't really know why I didn't let it dissuade me. I'm sure many of you have been in the same boat with small presses. I talked with a couple of the authors who said it was a great community. The fact that this was the consistent praise should have been enough to convince me to run away.
This past week has really shown me why no one should trust Limitless as a publisher, beyond their behavior on this thread.
Here is a message from Jennifer O'Neill, posted on the Limitless facebook page. Since it's a private group, I've screen shot the message and would happily share it with admins who may need verification.
"Aloha Authors,
I've been trying to figure out how to make myself more available to answer questions regarding publishing, marketing, how to promote, etc for you guys. I've thought about google hangouts, and other platforms. However I'm most familiar with BlogTalk Radio as I've done radio for like a million years LOL! So that being said, what topics would you like to be discussed? Also, would you be interested in calling in to ask questions? Or posting questions here that I could answer via the radio show? That way if you are at work or whatever, you wouldn't miss the advice/questions. You could listen at your convenience. Thoughts?"
She doesn't answer e-mails and thinks that the answer to this is to have authors help her launch a radio show. She already has one for her job as a psychic and clearly wants all the publicity she can get. I wonder if she would talk on her radio show about how poorly my book was edited and how I was told to keep promoting the book's launch even though there were errors everywhere.
Last night, Jennifer "hired" a guy to give Limitless authors a marketing webinar. I held off on this post as I wanted to see what the webinar would be like.
First off, barely anyone could actually sign in as the thing was full with supposedly 400 people trying to get in. The webinar itself only offered more of the same. Newsletters, paid boosts, all the stuff you can find on the internet.
Naturally, it ended with the guy, Jonny Andrews, offering paid services that many Limitless authors jumped at. The whole thing felt very staged and I'm not surprised that Jennifer was involved in a shady activity.
The point that I and many other Limitless authors can't seem to understand is, if Jennifer is so good at marketing, why can she market our books? Limitless has two "marketing" people who don't seem to do much of anything besides standard cover reveals, which don't really help since they're done with four other books.
Avoid these people. At best, they're incompetent. At worst, dishonest. Do yourself a favor and don't try to find out.
I knew about this thread when I signed with Limitless four months ago and don't really know why I didn't let it dissuade me. I'm sure many of you have been in the same boat with small presses. I talked with a couple of the authors who said it was a great community. The fact that this was the consistent praise should have been enough to convince me to run away.
This past week has really shown me why no one should trust Limitless as a publisher, beyond their behavior on this thread.
Here is a message from Jennifer O'Neill, posted on the Limitless facebook page. Since it's a private group, I've screen shot the message and would happily share it with admins who may need verification.
"Aloha Authors,
I've been trying to figure out how to make myself more available to answer questions regarding publishing, marketing, how to promote, etc for you guys. I've thought about google hangouts, and other platforms. However I'm most familiar with BlogTalk Radio as I've done radio for like a million years LOL! So that being said, what topics would you like to be discussed? Also, would you be interested in calling in to ask questions? Or posting questions here that I could answer via the radio show? That way if you are at work or whatever, you wouldn't miss the advice/questions. You could listen at your convenience. Thoughts?"
She doesn't answer e-mails and thinks that the answer to this is to have authors help her launch a radio show. She already has one for her job as a psychic and clearly wants all the publicity she can get. I wonder if she would talk on her radio show about how poorly my book was edited and how I was told to keep promoting the book's launch even though there were errors everywhere.
Last night, Jennifer "hired" a guy to give Limitless authors a marketing webinar. I held off on this post as I wanted to see what the webinar would be like.
First off, barely anyone could actually sign in as the thing was full with supposedly 400 people trying to get in. The webinar itself only offered more of the same. Newsletters, paid boosts, all the stuff you can find on the internet.
Naturally, it ended with the guy, Jonny Andrews, offering paid services that many Limitless authors jumped at. The whole thing felt very staged and I'm not surprised that Jennifer was involved in a shady activity.
The point that I and many other Limitless authors can't seem to understand is, if Jennifer is so good at marketing, why can she market our books? Limitless has two "marketing" people who don't seem to do much of anything besides standard cover reveals, which don't really help since they're done with four other books.
Avoid these people. At best, they're incompetent. At worst, dishonest. Do yourself a favor and don't try to find out.
Hi magical, so sorry to hear of your troubles. Possibly some AWers with a bit more experience might be able to give you some advice on how to salvage your book , I understand that it has not been published yet? It may be possible to terminate the contract if the publisher has not performed as expected, but that might depend on the terms.
Thank you Eltondiva. It's out sadly. I'm under contract for the series, but doubt there will be any more.
I just wanted to come here and share my experience since I saw the warning signs, messaged current authors, and was told that things had changed.
The marketing aspect was the real selling point. I was told that they'd hired a team to handle that. What I wasn't told was that the team essentially functioned like the "free service" on a website. They do more, but only if you pay for it through their HEA Book Tours PR. I mean seriously, what kind of business is this? Aren't we all supposed to want to make money together? Why am I supposed to pay a kickback to Limitless' own employees?
The saddest part is when I see that new authors have been signed. Everyone writes "welcome" and "congratulations," while I sit there feeling sorry for the person.
At least the cover is pretty. Thankfully, Limitless now awkwardly puts their logo on the covers so readers will know not to pick up a poorly edited mess.
I just wanted to come here and share my experience since I saw the warning signs, messaged current authors, and was told that things had changed.
The marketing aspect was the real selling point. I was told that they'd hired a team to handle that. What I wasn't told was that the team essentially functioned like the "free service" on a website. They do more, but only if you pay for it through their HEA Book Tours PR. I mean seriously, what kind of business is this? Aren't we all supposed to want to make money together? Why am I supposed to pay a kickback to Limitless' own employees?
The saddest part is when I see that new authors have been signed. Everyone writes "welcome" and "congratulations," while I sit there feeling sorry for the person.
At least the cover is pretty. Thankfully, Limitless now awkwardly puts their logo on the covers so readers will know not to pick up a poorly edited mess.
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So sorry to hear this. A few of my friends signed with them in October and all have their books out in February. I had always thought the conflict of interest unethical but my friends don't think so and the books I've read so far have me steering clear of them because of poor editing. I hope you can find a way to salvage your book in some way.
Thank you for sharing this with us. Your words may help someone else from suffering the same frustration and disappointments you're currently feeling. I sincerely hope you find a way to pull out and salvage your book.
Thank you both. I just can't get over how stupid I was. The signs were everywhere. The covers are so beautiful (until they started putting the logo on), but the rest is so shady.
I got an e-mail from Lori Whitwam, their managing editor (a title almost exclusively used for newspapers/magazines) about pre-edits. That's right, Limitless had me format my own book. What a joke.
The entire editing process (not counting the proofer, if they even actually used one) took about a week and a half. I got several assurances that everything was good to go and if it wasn't the proofer would catch any lingering mistake. Wrong.
As if having a career ruining book out there wasn't bad enough, their whole marketing game is really concerning. Every Friday, they offer a list of freebies to those who subscribe to their newsletter (just about the only useful thing we learned in the webinar). A list of five books, for free. Every week. Why would anyone who subscribes to that list ever actually buy anything from them. You get more for free than anyone could possibly handle.
It's the same thing with the cover reveals. They do a bunch at once and I mean really, who cares? Their covers are pretty, we get it. Their marketing doesn't have any individuality to it at all.
People have noted in the past that there have been a few success stories. The only consistent thing I can see from looking is that the early books have way more reviews that later releases. Limitless has defended signing more authors as essential to staying in business (author mill antics), but it appears that individual attention is what brought them success.
I got an e-mail from Lori Whitwam, their managing editor (a title almost exclusively used for newspapers/magazines) about pre-edits. That's right, Limitless had me format my own book. What a joke.
The entire editing process (not counting the proofer, if they even actually used one) took about a week and a half. I got several assurances that everything was good to go and if it wasn't the proofer would catch any lingering mistake. Wrong.
As if having a career ruining book out there wasn't bad enough, their whole marketing game is really concerning. Every Friday, they offer a list of freebies to those who subscribe to their newsletter (just about the only useful thing we learned in the webinar). A list of five books, for free. Every week. Why would anyone who subscribes to that list ever actually buy anything from them. You get more for free than anyone could possibly handle.
It's the same thing with the cover reveals. They do a bunch at once and I mean really, who cares? Their covers are pretty, we get it. Their marketing doesn't have any individuality to it at all.
People have noted in the past that there have been a few success stories. The only consistent thing I can see from looking is that the early books have way more reviews that later releases. Limitless has defended signing more authors as essential to staying in business (author mill antics), but it appears that individual attention is what brought them success.
So sorry to hear all this, but I hope that you won't let this experience stop you from writing in any way. Like Fallon de Mornay said, your words here may help someone else from going through the same frustration and disappointments.
I will admit their covers are gorgeous - but no one is going to care about the covers if the inside of the book doesn't match up, which is what I am hearing more and more of. There's a reason why trad publishing is a slow moving beast that takes the better part of a year to run through its cycle - to ensure a quality product hits the shelves.
Are you writing under a pseudonym? I only ask because when you move on and start over, it may be worthwhile to rebrand entirely to try and bury this disappointment as deep as you can so it doesn't resurface down the road. My heart goes out to you babe. Sounds like your dreams have been preyed on and its such a shame. Keep us posted on your journey and I wish the best for you.
Thanks so much for sharing your experience. This thread was certainly a ride.
My novel was rejected by them sometime last year after a full request (they gave me no follow-up notes, which was odd), and at the time I was bummed, but now I'm so grateful they didn't take me on. The fact that they don't work with agents and seem unwilling to do so is also a red flag to me.
My novel was rejected by them sometime last year after a full request (they gave me no follow-up notes, which was odd), and at the time I was bummed, but now I'm so grateful they didn't take me on. The fact that they don't work with agents and seem unwilling to do so is also a red flag to me.
Thanks again everyone! I asked around about Limitless' release policy and have heard that it's gotten quite ugly.
The agent thing is definitely a big red flag. Any agent question in their group gets deleted and I've heard stories where authors are discouraged by other Limitless authors from talking about agents/querying on any form of social media because Limitless will see.
The fact that authors feel the need to discourage it shows what a shady operation Limitless is. It's hardly surprising that Limitless wouldn't want their own authors agenting up since it would most likely lead to their departure. But the hard line is alarming.
There's just red flag after red flag on this thread with no real substantial counterargument from anyone, including Limitless. I've met great people through them, but that wasn't worth my career.
FallonDeMornay made a great suggestion which I plan to listen to. I'm just sad that Limitless destroyed me to such an extent that I need to change my name to keep writing. Please, please, don't make the same mistake I did and sign with them. The warning signs are out there. Listen to them.
The agent thing is definitely a big red flag. Any agent question in their group gets deleted and I've heard stories where authors are discouraged by other Limitless authors from talking about agents/querying on any form of social media because Limitless will see.
The fact that authors feel the need to discourage it shows what a shady operation Limitless is. It's hardly surprising that Limitless wouldn't want their own authors agenting up since it would most likely lead to their departure. But the hard line is alarming.
There's just red flag after red flag on this thread with no real substantial counterargument from anyone, including Limitless. I've met great people through them, but that wasn't worth my career.
FallonDeMornay made a great suggestion which I plan to listen to. I'm just sad that Limitless destroyed me to such an extent that I need to change my name to keep writing. Please, please, don't make the same mistake I did and sign with them. The warning signs are out there. Listen to them.
That's what turned me off immediately when I saw somewhere in a thread that a writer was turned down because she wanted to bring her agent to the table to go over the contract. And when I looked into a few of their book releases, the lack of editorial quality really had me step back with a hard No.
I'm glad the suggestion helped. Re-branding is never easy - but honestly, best to do it now than five years later and this blip from your past resurfaces. I hope you're able to get out of your contract. Maybe somewhere in this forum someone can put you in touch with a literary lawyer who specializes in contracts?
Keep us posted on your progress babe! I'm rooting for you!
Hi!
I'm new here, and also with Limitless.
1. magicalfantasy5 is right -- The whole webinar thing reeked of shady, and now a bunch of these young authors are signing up with this Jonny Andrews guy. One of the authors added it up and it seems like, with the monthly subscription fee, cost of FB ads, and giveaway prizes (gift cards and Kindles) it could cost $3k a year. Sigh. Prior to the webinar, the entirety of any marketing was author cross-promotion and a huge emphasis on blog tours, but now it's all newsletters all the time. All you'll get from their marketing team is a pretty cover, and a tweet/FB post about cover reveal and one on your release date. However, as has been pointed out prior, there are 3 or 4 titles coming out each week so you're sharing the spotlight.
2. The thing that most surprised me about Limitless --and the thing I wish I'd known, and maybe I wouldn't have signed - is that absolutely no content editing is done. Their editors only do line edits. In fact, if you make too many changes to your MS during the (brief) editing process, it's frowned upon. My book turned out well-edited, but I scoured that thing multiple times each round of editing, as my editor missed things and would suggest changes that didn't work. So that was entirely me.
3. I think the saddest part is that, honestly, I'm not sure anyone at Limitless has ever read my book...I hate to admit that, because it means I got suckered. But more authors join the "Elite" Facebook author group each week, and I think we're all just numbers.
Disenchanted.
But lesson learned.
I'm new here, and also with Limitless.
1. magicalfantasy5 is right -- The whole webinar thing reeked of shady, and now a bunch of these young authors are signing up with this Jonny Andrews guy. One of the authors added it up and it seems like, with the monthly subscription fee, cost of FB ads, and giveaway prizes (gift cards and Kindles) it could cost $3k a year. Sigh. Prior to the webinar, the entirety of any marketing was author cross-promotion and a huge emphasis on blog tours, but now it's all newsletters all the time. All you'll get from their marketing team is a pretty cover, and a tweet/FB post about cover reveal and one on your release date. However, as has been pointed out prior, there are 3 or 4 titles coming out each week so you're sharing the spotlight.
2. The thing that most surprised me about Limitless --and the thing I wish I'd known, and maybe I wouldn't have signed - is that absolutely no content editing is done. Their editors only do line edits. In fact, if you make too many changes to your MS during the (brief) editing process, it's frowned upon. My book turned out well-edited, but I scoured that thing multiple times each round of editing, as my editor missed things and would suggest changes that didn't work. So that was entirely me.
3. I think the saddest part is that, honestly, I'm not sure anyone at Limitless has ever read my book...I hate to admit that, because it means I got suckered. But more authors join the "Elite" Facebook author group each week, and I think we're all just numbers.
Disenchanted.
But lesson learned.
Wow. I'm speechless with the $3k a year thing, to spend marketing a book they have no control over, and he's someone I've never heard of (unlike Mark Dawson, Nick Stephenson and Tim Grahl) and even the cost of their programs aren't half that.
They just finished a pitch contest on Wattpad so theyve got more new blood coming in. I just hope people do their research before making a decision.
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The fact that Limitless puts in so much effort toward acquisitions should be enough to dissuade anyone from signing. A lot of the small presses do #pit2pub and stuff like that, but Limitless does Wattpad, #pit2LP (I honestly almost died laughing when I read that they were actually doing that), and frequently mentions that they're open for submissions on their social media pages. Why does a company with so many titles need to do this so much? I know there are plenty of other questionable small presses, but none of them to my knowledge behave like this.
The fact that Jennifer is a professional psychic makes me hesitate, but you can't really have a conversation with anyone who works there that doesn't come across like they have some angle to play. That webinar thing was so sad to see. People who really don't have a ton of money being conned into shelling out thousands of dollars thinking some guy would help them when all he did was make a backdoor deal with Jennifer.
Most telling was my royalty statement. 14 bucks... and that's with a new release that many of my friends and family bought. I wish I could burn every copy.
The fact that Jennifer is a professional psychic makes me hesitate, but you can't really have a conversation with anyone who works there that doesn't come across like they have some angle to play. That webinar thing was so sad to see. People who really don't have a ton of money being conned into shelling out thousands of dollars thinking some guy would help them when all he did was make a backdoor deal with Jennifer.
Most telling was my royalty statement. 14 bucks... and that's with a new release that many of my friends and family bought. I wish I could burn every copy.