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Shanti Publishing

Fantasyart

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Hi there,

Can someone please enlighten me on this publishers services?

http://shantipublishing.com/services/

They charge a heavy amount for there services and I wanted to know if that was a normal part of publishers to be charging for services? I can't seem to find any books under there publishing name and it's a confusing site with regards to there sales pitch, they are saying they are not self publishing and that they are an actual publisher but I'm just not sure so would like your opinion.

Thanks :)
 

Maggie Maxwell

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They charge a heavy amount for there services and I wanted to know if that was a normal part of publishers to be charging for services?

Nope nope nope nope nope. Don't even need to click. This is called vanity publishing, and, for the most part, is a scam. Publishers are meant to pay the writer for their book, even if it's just royalties. It's the motivation for them to market it as best they can, getting you readers and sales = their own income. If you pay the "publisher", why should they bother selling your book? They've already made their money. Back away as fast as you can.
 

Kerosene

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Standard issue Vanity press.

Here's the gist: A Vanity press is where you pay the "publisher" for services listed. The problems with this include: You don't know who's editing, if they have experience in editing whatsoever, if they have experience editing your genre, or even if English is their native language. You don't know who's creating your cover, nor (in terms of what I can see with this press) any example of what this cover will look like. They will do the easy/free stuff you can do yourself, as in creating a digital file of your book and putting it on Amazon and promotional stuff. And of course, you pay them--whoever they are, if they're real or not since no actual person with references often backs these presses. Most often these places are scams that either do shitty work, try to sell you higher "packages" before your book has "potential" or just run with the money.

The problem with this press also goes into the fact that they state, "The professional editing of your work including up to 30,000 words in length [...] ($60 extra for each increment of up to 10,000 additional words)" and most people who look for publishers are looking to sell novellas or novels which word counts are higher. And their higher-end services include website design and hosting, which is odd when their website is a pre-packaged Wordpress theme.

I did a search and didn't find this place. I suggest you edit the title of this thread for with the press's name so people can find it.

Rule of thumb: Money should flow to the author. Large publishers will pay you advances upon contract signing and MS submission with small royalties. Small/electronic publishers might pay advances, but often don't and will pay larger royalties. Publishers should edit, provide a cover, typeset, and promote your book in the hope to make money off it with you.

If you're looking for self-publishing services, don't look for a company to do it. Hire highly recommended freelance editors who have experience in your genre and a professional background. Hire artists or independent cover designers who show examples of good work. Do your own formatting and promotion (perhaps hire a publicist).
 
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Fantasyart

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Thanks for all the answers it's really clued me in a lot more of what to look for :) If any of you would like to recommend a horror publisher I'd be very grateful :) Thanks

Thanks all of you for your time :)

Fantasyart
 
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aliceshortcake

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This is not a self-publishing or vanity publishing arrangement. Shanti Publishing offers to publish only those manuscripts which it believes have merit.
http://shantipublishing.services/

SP is owned by Deanna Shanti, who also runs a New Age shop.

Rather oddly, of the 41 volumes listed in the 'A Few of Our Books' section no fewer than 23 are self-help guides written and self-published by Kat Loterzo - Shanti is named as the editor. Six more are by Gary Thaller. Only two books on the list are novels.
 
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