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East 64 Publishing

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Ran into these guys on Craigslist, where they posted this:

"East 64 Publishing is looking for all kinds of authors. Whether you have a 500 page sci-fi novel or a short children's book, we want to talk to you. We are a new, aggressive company looking to build our catalog and help establish new authors. We have a full time Editor with 30+ years of experience, so don't be afraid to send rough drafts. We will help you get your work where it needs to be to show it to the world. We also have a full time Social Media Ambassador that will work to get your book to the masses. Feel free to check us out at www.e64books.com or on Facebook and Twitter @E64Books."

Very new publisher with only one book out (but it looks hilarious), and not much of a footprint.

If anyone has dealt with East 64 yet, please let me know.
 

PVish

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Their one book is available through Createspace. Their homepage cuts off before the bottom, so whatever happened in 10/17/12 isn't visible. Their "about us" page gives the names of the two partners' children, but gives no info about publishing credentials.

Please contact us to see if we can help make your dream of publication a reality.
Uh-oh. There's that "dream" thingie.
We view each project as a collaboration between the author and ourselves. With that said, please know that we do not typically provide advances on royalties as your success is our success.
Why doesn't this inspire confidence?
 

Jupiter

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I clicked the link and got 'Internal server error'. The fact that they're advertising on 'Craigslist' doesn't inspire confidence, IMHO.
 

Susan Coffin

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That is about the worst website I have ever seen. Somebody needs to redo it.

As for the press itself, they sound like an amateur small press (this is not saying all small presses are amateur)

From their website:

...send only a biography of the author and an abstract of the novel.

Do they mean a query letter with a bio?
 

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"Abstract" is the synopsis/potted version of a scientific manuscript. It sounds like this lot comes from an academic background -- which is not necessarily a selling point.
 

J.S.F.

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Clicked on the link the OP provided and got a black screen. Maybe I'm supposed to guess at what's on the website.

Or not....
 

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"Abstract" is the synopsis/potted version of a scientific manuscript. It sounds like this lot comes from an academic background -- which is not necessarily a selling point.

You are so dead on with that. I was trying to find that word in one of my manuscripts, sure that it was a reference to a scientific paper. It is, a short version.
 

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It's a dreadful website: I have to downsize the text or some of it disappears and can't be read.
 

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I have to be honest it surprises me that a small publisher is apparently trying to do a start up and do things the right way and people here are lining up to jump all over them.

Yes it is odd they advertised on craigslist, yes their website is not the best and yes the use of "abstract" is odd.

Regardless if they are honest and trying to put out new writers work then maybe they should be applauded? Possibly?
 

waylander

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I have to be honest it surprises me that a small publisher is apparently trying to do a start up and do things the right way and people here are lining up to jump all over them.

Yes it is odd they advertised on craigslist, yes their website is not the best and yes the use of "abstract" is odd.

Regardless if they are honest and trying to put out new writers work then maybe they should be applauded? Possibly?

Not if they don't know what they're doing
 

Barbara R.

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When I read that they'd advertised on Craig's list, I figured they're trolling for suckers and was ready to move on. But just out of curiosity I looked at their website, and unlike many here, I was intrigued. It doesn't look like they take all comers and sell services, as the Craig's list posting made me suspect. Sounds more like a real if tiny and brand new small publisher. What's not so great is the lack of any info about their owners and staff. Still, if I had a book that fit their criteria, I wouldn't necessarily rule out submitting.

Edited to add: did a bit of further checking and it turns out that their Founder is also their sole author (or his identical twin brother.) Gotcha.
 
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aliceshortcake

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We’re now accepting submissions for short stories in the following genre’s: sci-fi, crime, romance, and thriller.
http://www.facebook.com/pages/East-64-Publishing/271070603012191

The call for short stories can also be found on www.jobhustler.com.

They also want recipes for two collections. I'm sorry, but I can't imagine anyone other than the authors' friends and relatives buying recipe books or collections of short stories by unknown writers.

Also, the East 64 representative posting on the company's Facebook needs to keep that apostrophe abuse under control!
 
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EMaree

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"We have a full time Editor with 30+ years of experience, so don't be afraid to send rough drafts."

Biggest red flag I've seen in a while. They might not be scammers, but they're certainly inexperienced. I really doubt the stated 30+ experience -- just a few weeks of experience with a slush pile or any other 'raw' work is enough to instill a terrible fear of rough drafts.
 
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calieber

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I have to be honest it surprises me that a small publisher is apparently trying to do a start up and do things the right way and people here are lining up to jump all over them.

What do you mean by "the right way"? And what do you mean by "trying"?

If you mean they don't know how reputable publishers do things, but they're trying to learn, good on them, but I'm not obligated to let them use my MS to do so.

If you mean every reputable publisher is Doing It Wrong ... er, perhaps you could elaborate on that a bit :popcorn:
 

aliceshortcake

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East 64 Publishing was founded on the belief that a great story lies within each of us.
http://www.e64books.com/about.html

I get the impression that East 64 has yet to be confronted by the awful reality of the slush pile.

How much money will I receive?

Authors received a fixed percentage of each book sold. This amount varies based on the type of publication. Royalties for novels are obviously much higher than those for a single story contained in an anthology or essay collection.
http://www.e64books.com/f.a.q.'s.html

Some figures, please.
 

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I learned about the slush pile in 1988, during a summer internship with a literary agent. Maybe everyone has a story. But the sad truth is that some folks may never be equipped or ready to tell theirs. The modern ranks of self-published and vanity-published works prove it.

Now, I have snagged great art gigs off Craigslist in the past, so I'm willing to give companies some benefit of doubt until I research them. But if that research turns up awkwardness like the aforementioned issues? Then no, I'm probably not going to allow them to learn their business with my work at risk.
 

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I joined this forum after googling this publisher. I too felt something was off.

Their website is absolute garbage. The writing on the FaceBook page is frightening. Anyone in the publishing industry should know how to use apostrophes.

With that said, I don't think they are scammers. I think they are very inexperienced. Someone mentioned they may have an academic background. One of them mentions they have an MBA. Great. Not sure that relates to publishing, but it is reassuring to know someone with some business training is running the company. If we creative folks ran it I can't imagine it lasting long. But what about the other guy? No credentials of any kind? Hell, it doesn't even say he went to college. I give the MBA guy a pass, but not the other. And their posts mention an editor, but nothing on the webpage? This all screams sketchiness.

This place will be gone in a month.