• Guest please check The Index before starting a thread.

Limitless Publishing

Maryn

Sees All
Staff member
Super Moderator
Moderator
Kind Benefactor
Super Member
Registered
Joined
Feb 12, 2005
Messages
55,448
Reaction score
25,475
Location
Snow Cave
I'd sure like to see an answer to the valid questions posed on how you define profits, how you determine which books go to print, and what your distribution system is.

Be aware nobody's grilling you or suspecting any chicanery. These are serious inquiries which help authors determine which publisher is a good or bad fit for them and their work.

Maryn, thanking you in advance
 

triceretops

Banned
Flounced
Joined
Feb 12, 2005
Messages
14,060
Reaction score
2,755
Location
In a van down by the river
Website
guerrillawarfareforwriters.blogspot.com
Gads, I forgot to report back. Okay, ultimately a rejection on the full way back there, but I'd sent in my second YA--a fantasy/paranormal thriller right after that, and that one got a full request today.

They are very nice to deal with, especially Jennifer. Outstanding cover art, I mean, I think it's the best I've ever seen for a small press--lots of diversity, great contrast, presentation and color imaging--no cookie cutter stuff.

I have some flirtations but no hard sex scenes in my YA, or anything totally out of line, so I hope I'm safe there.

Will let you know the results.

BTW, the book they do have up is pulling in several top 100-list best-seller slots on Amazon. Lots of reviews. That's a good start for a first book from them. Most of the new small press books I see lately pull in average to low ranks or flat-out belly flop.

tri
 

Undercover

I got it covered
Super Member
Registered
Joined
Mar 1, 2010
Messages
10,432
Reaction score
2,054
Location
Not here, but there
That's great Tri! I went to their site again recently and saw they changed the format. It looks great. But I see their not taking any submissions right now since they're bogged down with them. It says "spring of 2013" which technically it's now spring, but maybe later in the season? I do agree their covers are amazing. And they pay a token advance to start, which is a nice boost. I think it was 100 hundreds from what I remember asking months ago when I was first interested in them. Jennifer is definitely a sweetheart too, answered all my questions and was quick with her emails too. Everything I've seen so far impresses me very much. I'm going to watch for the next open submissions and try it too when I can.

Good luck Tri. Good to hear you're getting bites with your work!
 

triceretops

Banned
Flounced
Joined
Feb 12, 2005
Messages
14,060
Reaction score
2,755
Location
In a van down by the river
Website
guerrillawarfareforwriters.blogspot.com
Thanks, undercover. If they got through the first four chapters, I feel pretty safe since the adventure in the alternate world takes up the rest of the book and goes hog wild with conflict and dangers.

Both my YAs are about 220 pages, or 65,000 words plus, which really has me spooked bad. I know those lower limits are okay for YA, but I'm really used to writing 400-page adult novels. I fear they'll be digital only wherever they end up. Can't get that out of my head.

tri
 

triceretops

Banned
Flounced
Joined
Feb 12, 2005
Messages
14,060
Reaction score
2,755
Location
In a van down by the river
Website
guerrillawarfareforwriters.blogspot.com
Okay, contract offer here--very swift, IMO--about 50 days. Always very nice when Jennifer emails--they ask first without tossing the contract right at you. I was also advised that they'd like to change the title, which I'm always in agreement with. Small advance. Great covers.

I'll do the lateral hand-off to my agent on this one since she's holding it. This is the third offer for Screamcatcher--I put the other two on hold, but Limitless seems to top them in several areas, so we'll see.

tri

ETA: Just about all their books have really decent sales ranks, tons of reviews, and about four or five of them are in the top 100 Amazon categories. I can attribute some of it to new breakout sales, but many of them have been out for months. Their book covers are getting blogged and inked on various sites. Which, is a good sign I guess. I'll have to find out what this author support thing is and how they're boosting their sales.
 
Last edited:

Undercover

I got it covered
Super Member
Registered
Joined
Mar 1, 2010
Messages
10,432
Reaction score
2,054
Location
Not here, but there
Wow, Tri, congrats!!! I was going to submit to them, but I missed my window of opportunity then they closed submissions for a while. Seems you did some homework on them, sounds good. Are their royalty rates good? Is it net or cover price?

And yes, the covers are amazing. I'm very interested on what you decide on C. Please let us all know.
 

Undercover

I got it covered
Super Member
Registered
Joined
Mar 1, 2010
Messages
10,432
Reaction score
2,054
Location
Not here, but there
Is this vanity publishing?

No. It just means they do reprints of books that were previously published in the past but you now have the rights again for.

Limitless isn't a vanity. They're royalty paying plus small advance.
 

triceretops

Banned
Flounced
Joined
Feb 12, 2005
Messages
14,060
Reaction score
2,755
Location
In a van down by the river
Website
guerrillawarfareforwriters.blogspot.com
Even though I did receive a very generous offer, I had to decline because of some snafu that was entirely my fault. They were nice to work with and the communication was great. I really hope this publisher takes off. I have regrets to this day, since my sub was a contest win, there's no telling where this book might have gone. The publisher I settled on offered triple the advance, so naturally, I made this a business decision. Intrigue is still on my want-favored list.

tri
 

Amberley

Darkness is the key!
Registered
Joined
Aug 3, 2013
Messages
32
Reaction score
0
Location
London, UK
I submitted to them on 6th November, and got a full script request last night. Feeling slightly optimistic, however, what is their turn around time?
 

Undercover

I got it covered
Super Member
Registered
Joined
Mar 1, 2010
Messages
10,432
Reaction score
2,054
Location
Not here, but there
They only took a week to decline my submission, but that was just on a query +3chaps. Since they requested a full, it may take them longer.

From what I remember, they pay $100 on advances to start. Now I'm not sure how firm they are on that.

Hopefully someone will come by and answer that for ya. Good luck with it. I've always admired their covers. And the site looks pretty clean and organized.
 

Amberley

Darkness is the key!
Registered
Joined
Aug 3, 2013
Messages
32
Reaction score
0
Location
London, UK
They only took a week to decline my submission, but that was just on a query +3chaps. Since they requested a full, it may take them longer.

From what I remember, they pay $100 on advances to start. Now I'm not sure how firm they are on that.

Hopefully someone will come by and answer that for ya. Good luck with it. I've always admired their covers. And the site looks pretty clean and organized.

Thanks, Undercover :)

I asked because I did get an offer earlier in the week from another publisher, and hate to keep anyone hanging.

Do you know how fierce they are on cover design and author input?
 

Undercover

I got it covered
Super Member
Registered
Joined
Mar 1, 2010
Messages
10,432
Reaction score
2,054
Location
Not here, but there
You mean if an author gets to have input in the cover design?

I would imagine you'd have some say in it. Most publishers are that way. But I can't speak for Limitless, cause I don't know. All the publishers I've worked with so far have asked for input, but it was ultimately their decision.

Not sure where you're other offer is coming from, but always check to make sure their ok. You can check the P&E (Preditors and Editors) and the AW thread here would be good to check if you haven't done so. I'm pretty informative on a lot of them if you want to PM me about it. Especially if it's a YA book.

Whatever the case, Google both these publishers, see what comes up. Also check the Amazon rankings on both company's books, are they low? Or sky high? If they're all sky high numbers on all or most of their books, I would question it a bit.
 

triceretops

Banned
Flounced
Joined
Feb 12, 2005
Messages
14,060
Reaction score
2,755
Location
In a van down by the river
Website
guerrillawarfareforwriters.blogspot.com
Well, I was enrolled in their contest as an applicant, and from submission to contract offer, I think it about 40 days, give or take before I won the grand prize. The advance was $200 and the runners up, I believe, received $50 or so (two of them). I'm just guessing since it's hard to remember. But I would imagine they're fairly quick on turn-around--a nice bunch to work and communicate with.
 

readwritelearn

Registered
Joined
Dec 13, 2013
Messages
9
Reaction score
0
Any news on this publisher? I checked their new releases and most of them are performing well. I submitted and received a request for a full.
 

touchstoned

Lover of Sci-Fi
Registered
Joined
Jul 24, 2014
Messages
1
Reaction score
0
Location
Massachusetts
I had gotten a read request on a fantasy novella, and it got rejected about 2 weeks later. I'm going back to self publishing for a bit, as I've been rejected a lot. I don't get much success there either. I need to work on my stories more often I guess. :)
 

Sandsurfgirl

Super Member
Registered
Joined
Feb 11, 2011
Messages
142
Reaction score
14
If she's good at it (like recognized NY editor at a Big Five publisher 'good') that's not far off the mark. I had a discount quote for about half that, from someone really well known in her field.

It's not the price so much as the fact that it seems like a conflict of interest doesn't it? I know in the agenting world you don't want an agent who is also charging for editing services and book doctoring. I could be wrong, and maybe other publishers charge for editing services, but I have not seen that on any small press websites yet. Usually you do one or the other, not both. The whole "money flows TO the writer thing."

Couple that with the fact that she publishes her own books, it just makes me wary. The publisher should have editors for you to work with and if she is doing publishing full time and putting her all into her authors who have signed for her, then taking on clients for paid editing just seems like a conflict to me.

I would love to hear from some of the veterans if my concerns are unfounded or not. Maybe other small publishers are offering paid editing services and I didn't notice?

Then there's the thing posted on the first page of the thread that she reviewed her own client's book without revealing the conflict of interest. The fact that she is a "spiritual" teacher and not someone with a big publishing background, and then questions from like a year or two ago that went unanswered. Then the thread gets all "Yay they're awesome" but I want to know more.

And well... then there's this. http://www.limitlesspublishing.com/p/limitless-review-team.html Seems weird to me. Amazon reviews are for real customers who purchased the books and review them honestly, not people who are part of a "team" for the publisher, who what... got the books for free? It's just weird and sketchy in my opinion.

I don't plan on subbing to them because the the things I find sketchy but I would love to know veterans take on these issues. This board is to advocate for authors and keep an eye out for things that are either just off and maybe not a great choice or downright shady. This publisher doesn't seem downright shady to me, but there are some things that are sketch.
 
Last edited:

Sandsurfgirl

Super Member
Registered
Joined
Feb 11, 2011
Messages
142
Reaction score
14
If she's good at it (like recognized NY editor at a Big Five publisher 'good') that's not far off the mark. I had a discount quote for about half that, from someone really well known in her field.

She is most definitely not anywhere near that category. Which is part of my point. She's a "spiritual teacher" from Hawaii with no publishing, agenting or editing background except her own books that she wrote until a bunch of friends told her "Hey you should publish books!" She seems like someone who was pretty good at self publishing and then thought she would do it for others, rather than being someone who is an experienced person in the publishing industry, who interned at this place or that place in New York, etc.

Even if something isn't an outright scam, it can still be problematic. That's what I would like to flesh out here.
 
Last edited:

Filigree

Mildly Disturbing
Super Member
Registered
Joined
Jul 16, 2010
Messages
16,441
Reaction score
1,529
Location
between rising apes and falling angels
Website
www.cranehanabooks.com
Ah, I get it. Yep, those are likely 'scam school' 'well-meaning but marginally-trained' prices. If I pay anywhere near that for an independent editor, I want it to be someone with 20 years in the biz and at least some association with a couple of Hugo and Nebula awards.

A jumped-up life coach, nyet.

I've looked again at the publisher: some of the Amazon sales are good, and many of the covers are excellent, but there's a lot of worrying stuff in the negative reviews about bad editing and some clunky, not-ready-for-primetime writing. Some of which was borne out in the five samples I just scanned.

Ah well, your mileage may vary. If that is the standard of the editing applied to independent clients, I wouldn't go for it.
 
Last edited:

Sandsurfgirl

Super Member
Registered
Joined
Feb 11, 2011
Messages
142
Reaction score
14
That's pretty scary if there is bad editing and bad writing from someone who is with a supposed publisher. You expect that from self published writing but not from a publisher. I'll be passing on this one.