Bliss Books / Portals Publishing

Vanya said:

Their ranks are quite bad. Got a contract from them but not sure yet. It says a percentage of net sales. Net sales bothers me as there is no way to determine the costs which they can deduct. Are net sales an industry standard?

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No, net sales are not an industry standard. When that's included in contracts, it is essential to define exactly what "net" is and that needs to be locked down in the contract. If it's not, run. Given the other issues on this publisher's page, I'd already be running.

I know it's hard to have a contract offer in hand only to find the house doesn't look very promising, but it's the better choice for the long game. This house/agent/whatever is unlikely to sell your book. Taking the risk will cost you at the least the rights to your book and possibly actual money in the future--small houses that don't sell books can't keep the business afloat and have to find income somewhere. Sadly, too many turn to their own authors. Or they close, taking the rights with them, forever locked in creditors' hands.

It's hard, but keep trying with agents and well-known, established small houses that specialize in your genre. If your first book doesn't find a home, trunk it and write another one. Never hurts to have other books on hand anyway.