If the moderator of a forum is biased as well, there is no point of clicking on the bottom to complain about harassment.
I'm a moderator at AW but I don't moderate this room, so your report wouldn't come to me.
I'd appreciate it if you'd explain how you think I'm biased here, and what form my bias takes, because I suspect you've misread me and I'd like the opportunity to clarify things. My intention is not to upset or sneer at you.
It is unfair for a moderator to express strong opinions against the topic of discussion without sufficient proof.
Please quote the comments I've made which you consider unfair. Give me a chance to apologise for mistakes I've made, and correct them--or to provide the proof you say is required.
I could quote spelling and grammatical errors I’ve found during my recent research from the top publishers in the US book market. I’m sure I’d find errors in your books, if I studied them long enough.
I'm sure you would too. Editors are only human, after all. But I'll bet there is a far less troubling ratio of words:errors in the books I've edited than in the books you've published--just as there is in the posts we make here.
The point of these replies I’m posting here is to educate those curious about the publishing industry about concepts like copyrights and reprint rights that you guys clearly don’t understand, as you repeatedly keep asking me to explain them to you. I explained that there is a difference between copyrights registration and registering a new book with the Library of Congress for an identifying LCCN#, so that it can be shelved in libraries across America. I’m reading very closely everything that has been said in this forum so far, and so far I haven’t read anything that I either didn’t already know, or were erroneous and misleading statements. So, I’ve worked to correct these errors, rightfully so I believe. The person that’s being attacked by the mob, is usually the victim in a saga.
But you haven't explained anything clearly; you've contradicted yourself; you're mistaken on several points; and you're taking offense where no offense is intended or due.
You've been asked some difficult questions which you've found difficult to respond to. We've highlighted your lack of knowledge, your poor editing, your odd interpretation of copyright, rights, publishing and other stuff, and that's made you uncomfortable. But that doesn't mean we're a mob, or that we're attacking you.
In response to some of the writer’s concerns:
1. If a writer wants to be edited, I’m delighted to edit them
I have never, ever worked at a publisher where editing was optional, depending on the whim of the author.
and always do the final check and the major part of the editing myself
But in the
Intern Editing Guide which you have on your website, which I linked to earlier, you state this:
General Editing Advice: Keep in mind that I might not be reviewing all your edits after you make them – but the writer will – so only change things that have to be changed – and re-read sentences after you edit them.
How do you marry up these two conflicting statements?
(the interns just help out – I’ve had interns from Harvard, NYU grad school, and other Ivy League schools, so their ability to edit shouldn’t be disregarded either. I typically have 30 interns working with me in an average year cycle).
You run your business alone, but employ 30 interns a year? That's a huge number. How can you run your business while simultaneously training and guiding so many temporary employees?
Further, are you aware of the strict laws regarding intern employment? I've seen several small publishers fall foul of them over the years. You might want to check them out.
The Intern Guide on the website is not current because I’ve created a 150+ page book “Book Production Guide,” on sale online, and which I email to all of my interns as a PDF, which gives details on my marketing, editing, design and other policies.
It might not be your current edition, but it's on your website. And it is riddled with errors, both in fact and in style.
I passed my cycling proficiency test when I was at infant school. That did not qualify me to work as a cycling coach.
and I’ve been working as a college English professor for over 3 years,
"Professor" has a very specific meaning, and I often see it used to mean "lecturer" or "tutor". Based on a quick Google of your rather distinctive name, I wonder if you're also using it in this context. Could you clarify, please?
so if I do a close edit of a book, it becomes a great product.
Having a PhD in English literature and teaching English, whether literature or language, does not mean that you're automatically a good editor. Editing well is a very specific skill. And bearing in mind the numerous errors I've seen on your website and in your books, I suggest it's a skill you don't have.
2. Writers should always review a publisher’s covers to determine if they match their personal preferences.
Writers don't usually get approval on their book covers. But your point is a good one: when a publisher's covers look unprofessional it's usually a sign that the publisher is unprofessional in other areas too.
If you look over the 60+ books I designed so far and just don’t like them, you really shouldn’t submit your work to Anaphora, and move on with your research to other publishers.
I do not like the covers you have designed. They are amateurish in the extreme.
It would save me a lot of time in MS reviews if writers did do initial research. The cover you point to uses a classical public-domain image, which is credited inside the book and on the back cover, if you check on Amazon Look-Inside. I use a lot of public-domain images, and occasionally draw the images myself, or use other strategies.
I note that on the book I linked to in my previous post (called either "The Sloth And I" or "The Sloths And I"--you've used both variants several times, so it's difficult to be sure which is the correct title) you not only wrote and published the book, you also drew all the illustrations. The standard is not good, I'm afraid (and before you ask, I've worked on several illustrated books for children, and I trained as an illustrator and have won awards for my artwork, so I have some knowledge here).
Occasionally I use cover art and interior illustrations and photographs by current artists, all of whom submit their work for free.
I am troubled when I hear of publishers using artwork without paying for it. It's exploitative. I assume that you make money out of your books: why should the people who help create them not receive a fair wage for the work they do?
3. Anaphora’s website is designed by me. It is not a simple Bueno theme, as the background, foreground, logo and various other parts are entirely photographed, drawn, arranged and designed by me. I was certified as a webmaster at the Indiana University of Pennsylvania, and I know some HTML, but I chose to leave the framework of the theme because it works very well as-is, and I have a long list of other things to get done.
What you've done, then, is you've taken the Bueno theme and dropped your images into the boxes provided for backgrounds, headers and so on. That isn't the same thing as creating your own website, as you should know if you "know some HTML".
Yes, I can do it all myself: design, marketing, editing, etc. – I don’t need to hire people to help me,
You use artwork without paying for it, and depend on interns--who often work for free--to do your editing. Why hire people when you can get graduates to work for free?
and I couldn’t have started my own publishing business if I did hire somebody for each of the numerous tasks that have to get done for a publisher to launch and stay in operations. A business person has to make decisions about which costs are essential and which are luxurious and wasteful. If I threw my money away, I would be a terribly business person.
You don't have to throw money away to "be a terribly [
sic] business person". All you need to do is throw yourself into a business you don't understand and have no real experience of.
4. Most Anaphora titles sell over 40 books via distribution channels on their own. Some sell over 400 copies. As was discussed earlier in this exchange, my website states clearly that authors who cannot demonstrate that their book will sell at least 100 copies, are asked to buy 40 copies at a discount rate.
Christ on a bike.
Excuse me, but really? Most of your books sell over 40 copies? That's pitifully low. Couple it with your requirement that authors buy 40 copies for themselves and we can all see where you earn your money: by selling books to the authors you publish.
You know what that makes you? A vanity publisher.
Please read the earlier posts before repeating the same comment. Readers who read the string closely already understand that this is my policy, and can make a logical decision if they choose to submit to Anaphora or not, when it comes to this point. When you ignore the fact that these books are sold at 25% off with shipping included, you are deliberately misrepresenting the policy, as all major publishers allow writers to buy discount copies of their books, and the discount rate allows for re-sale at a profit for the author.
I can buy my books direct from my publishers at around 45% off cover price, shipping included. However, there are clauses in all of my contracts forbidding me to sell them on.
5. I’m 31 years old. Typically I swim or exercise for one hour every day. I’m in great physical shape. It’s unlikely that I’ll “fall ill” in the upcoming 60 years. Most of my relations live to be over 90.
Excellent! Does your exercise regime or the longevity of your relatives also protect you from accidents and emergency?
6. I haven’t hired a “promoter” to “sell” my books because in my experience nobody is willing to sell books via cold-calls on a commissions-basis only. I’ve done commissions-sales jobs before, and I wouldn’t wish it upon one of my employees. I do sales myself, and have a good distribution mailing and email list for libraries and reviewers.
In an earlier comment, I think you said you had full distribution. If that's the case, then you'd have a sales team working on selling your titles, but now you say you don't. Which one is it?
Dear Old Hack: Are you Sarah Jane Smith, the fictional character? That’s what a Google search turned up at the top of the page…
Are you Mickey Mouse?
FFS.
Readers will be able to judge whose attempts at “discrediting” are true and logical and who is in the wrong. I think I did a great job pointing out errors and biases that were clouding the judgment of the critic ridiculing my publishing business.
Where's the ridicule, Anna? Quote the specific phrases you're referring to, please, so that the mods can deal with the offending people.
I can tell you that my profits, after royalty payments (50/50% split), from Anaphora are around $15,000 per year, which are a nice reward from all the hard work I put into this venture. What difference should this figure make to authors who are considering publishing with Anaphora? Will they make $1,000 a year in royalties? Perhaps. Does this lift the load of anticipation off your shoulders? If an author just wants to sell a bunch of copies and make a bunch of money, I would be delighted to help them.
If you pay royalties based on profits then your authors could find themselves earning no royalties at all no matter how many copies their books sell.
Old Hack: Seriously, please don’t submit anything to Anaphora. I don’t like working with confrontational and insulting writers, and prefer to start business relationships on an optimistic note for both parties.
Don't worry, there's no chance at all that I would submit my work to you.
