- Joined
- Feb 12, 2005
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- gorokandwulf.blogspot.com
Some people I follow on Twitter seemed excited about this publisher, so I started following them as well. Now I'm wondering what all the fuss was about. Maybe it was because they promote themselves as "The Next Wave in Indie Publishing." But when I visited their website, I thought "Meh." Not a scam, and well-intentioned, but what makes them the "next wave"? I came here to see if there was a thread and decided to start one in case anyone else looks them up.
On the website, they advertise themselves as "Letting Indie Authors Have The Time To Do What They Do Best... WRITE!" But some of their covers are hideous (others are quite decent), and even good reviews of their books on Amazon mention bad grammar and bad editing (such as misusing "you're" and "your"). So far, all of their eBooks seem to be available on Kindle Unlimited, which is not a good fit for all authors. Also, their FAQ makes me wonder how little they know about publishing. For example, they accept reprints but warn "Keep in mind, however, that in many ways republishing a book is more difficult than publishing it originally since most of the "easy sales" (those to friends and family) have already been made." Uhm...What? They also take all genres (except erotica), and no publisher can specialize in all genres. Some of the text clearly comes from boilerplate text -- for example, "Perishable goods such as food, flowers, newspapers or magazines cannot be returned. We also do not accept products that are intimate or sanitary goods, hazardous materials, or flammable liquids or gases." Uhm...
On the other hand, they say that it can take up to six months to hear back from them, so they do seem to be making an effort, rather than doing like some companies and accepting everything. On the other hand, why wait up to six months to hear back from a publisher with bad editing, sometimes awful covers, and so-so marketing and sales.? I know everyone has to start somewhere, but there are also better places to start.
They're a subsidiary of Allegiant Publishing Group (here is something about their executives), and also have sister imprints, Wizards Keep Publishing and Centum Press. But why would you need "sister imprints" if you take all genres? Their marketing guy was previously with Helm Publishing -- here is our thread on that and with Something or Other Publishing.
On the website, they advertise themselves as "Letting Indie Authors Have The Time To Do What They Do Best... WRITE!" But some of their covers are hideous (others are quite decent), and even good reviews of their books on Amazon mention bad grammar and bad editing (such as misusing "you're" and "your"). So far, all of their eBooks seem to be available on Kindle Unlimited, which is not a good fit for all authors. Also, their FAQ makes me wonder how little they know about publishing. For example, they accept reprints but warn "Keep in mind, however, that in many ways republishing a book is more difficult than publishing it originally since most of the "easy sales" (those to friends and family) have already been made." Uhm...What? They also take all genres (except erotica), and no publisher can specialize in all genres. Some of the text clearly comes from boilerplate text -- for example, "Perishable goods such as food, flowers, newspapers or magazines cannot be returned. We also do not accept products that are intimate or sanitary goods, hazardous materials, or flammable liquids or gases." Uhm...
On the other hand, they say that it can take up to six months to hear back from them, so they do seem to be making an effort, rather than doing like some companies and accepting everything. On the other hand, why wait up to six months to hear back from a publisher with bad editing, sometimes awful covers, and so-so marketing and sales.? I know everyone has to start somewhere, but there are also better places to start.
They're a subsidiary of Allegiant Publishing Group (here is something about their executives), and also have sister imprints, Wizards Keep Publishing and Centum Press. But why would you need "sister imprints" if you take all genres? Their marketing guy was previously with Helm Publishing -- here is our thread on that and with Something or Other Publishing.