[Publisher] Loose Id

That, I agree with. Scarlet's email issues happened long before this server snafu. I'm waiting to see how they do with domestic mail - but then I have an agent who takes no guff.

Yes, I have heard that they had problems with their e-mails. I believe they said so in their press release.

I live in the states and I've gotten my check every month at around the same time. They've probably been one of my most reliable pubs as far as paying on time.

Ann_Mayburn said:

I live in the states and I've gotten my check every month at around the same time. They've probably been one of my most reliable pubs as far as paying on time.

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Same here. I've also never had a lag in replies via email from them.

Maybe a check of the author's junk mail folder is in order. I've found emails from both Loose-id and Liquid Silver dumped in the junk folder from time to time by Yahoo's brilliant spam filter. (Too bad it doesn't get rid of actual spam!)

nkkingston said:

I wonder if the recent server outrage has affected their emails. I tried replying to the usual payroll one recently and it kept bouncing back, and now my most recent statement has arrived it's a different address. I emailed them to let them know about a change of address back in March that doesn't seem to have taken root (actually, I've emailed them about my address before without affect - my cheques are still being sent to New Yorkshire rather than North Yorkshire!), so now I'm wondering if ScarletPeaches missing emails are actually a problem at their end they weren't aware of.

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My emails didn't go missing; Doreen, the Chief Financial Officer, told me I hadn't replied to emails sent to me by Jo, another staff member. How she had access to Jo's emails, I don't know. I told her I had replied to Jo's emails and I know Jo received them because we had an ongoing conversation about the matter.

Doreen then said I had agreed to being paid quarterly with "Perhaps you forgot this email?" and pasted the message in which I'd said to Jo that I agreed. I pointed out to Doreen that my reluctant agreement came after months of trying to find out why I hadn't been paid, and certainly after my last post on AW in which I'd said I did not agree to being paid quarterly.

Once I made this point, she reverted to accusing me of not having replied to emails from Jo. I ignored Doreen's last email to me as we were just going round in circles and I didn't feel like I was getting anywhere. Every time I said "I have proof that what you're saying isn't true," they changed the subject.

However, I've been paid. Thankfully.

VanessaNorth said:

I really am turned off by the way they told scarlet peaches to come in here and change her story and tell us it was a misunderstanding.

They didn't pay her, didn't communicate with her, then scolded her for being upset about it and told her to come here and lie to make them look better?

Scarletpeaches, thank you for sharing your story with us and for not caving under pressure to change it.

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Let's face it, I'm never going to sub there again so I don't really care what they think of me, just as long as they cough up what I'm owed. With conference season coming up, word may get around, but I'm happy with the other publishers I have, they know the full story and if editors at another publisher ever judge me adversely I shall just tell them straight: lack of payment and lack of communication on the part of the publisher caused this. Not bad author behaviour.

Which is what makes the following so interesting...

I was "accidentally" (I think) forwarded some emails in which staff members at Loose Id discussed how difficult I was being.

All along, I just wanted to be paid. If that makes me difficult, so be it. I have proof of everything I said and when I said it. I replied to all relevant emails, and did not agree to quarterly payments until the end of June.

Filigree said:

That, I agree with. Scarlet's email issues happened long before this server snafu. I'm waiting to see how they do with domestic mail - but then I have an agent who takes no guff.

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I've never had email issues with them (apart from my asking Treva, the owner, for help, and receiving no reply). It's always been regarding payment.

However, the week of 12th July when I started receiving "You never replied to our emails!" emails, I also got a message from Treva out of the blue saying she didn't normally get involved with payroll, and another in which she said she didn't know what was going on.

So that's reassuring. The owner doesn't know what's going on.

michael_b said:

Same here. I've also never had a lag in replies via email from them.

Maybe a check of the author's junk mail folder is in order. I've found emails from both Loose-id and Liquid Silver dumped in the junk folder from time to time by Yahoo's brilliant spam filter. (Too bad it doesn't get rid of actual spam!)

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I've never had a problem with publisher emails being classified as spam. Besides which, even when I do receive spam emails, the spam folder is highlighted, and a number appears telling me how many unread messages I have in that folder.

For a while now, I've been communicating with Writer Beware behind the scenes and they speculate that it was perhaps negative publicity which prompted the arrival of my cheque. That may or may not be the case, but I should not have to go through this bother every time I am due to get paid.

Taking Total-e-Bound as an example; they pay royalties straight into my bank account. The first month I was paid, there was a blip in the process. I emailed Nicki to say the money wasn't in my account. She apologised profusely, tried again, and asked me to go out to check my balance at the nearest ATM. I did so, and emailed her back to say it was all fixed. This happened on a weekend night. My publisher was willing to work on a weekend night to ensure I got paid. No excuses, just an apology, which is far more professional. And, more importantly, they pay me the fuck on time EVERY MONTH.

scarletpeaches said:

Taking Total-e-Bound as an example; they pay royalties straight into my bank account. The first month I was paid, there was a blip in the process. I emailed Nicki to say the money wasn't in my account. She apologised profusely, tried again, and asked me to go out to check my balance at the nearest ATM. I did so, and emailed her back to say it was all fixed. This happened on a weekend night. My publisher was willing to work on a weekend night to ensure I got paid. No excuses, just an apology, which is far more professional. And, more importantly, they pay me the fuck on time EVERY MONTH.

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More and more Total-e-Bound sounds like a publisher that should go to the top of my 'submit here' list.

TEB liked my work but ultimately passed. I - or my agent - might try them again with something else. I'm currently more interested in U.S. publishers, because I don't want to get into international mailing snafus.

michael_b said:

More and more Total-e-Bound sounds like a publisher that should go to the top of my 'submit here' list.

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I'd definitely recommend them and no, I don't work for them as anything other than a writer!

But as this is the Loose Id, not the TeB thread...

Each publisher has its own way of doing things, its own quirks and foibles. I will say that I love LI's editing process. It's hella-stringent, just the way I like it. Done months in advance. But there are other things I cannot deal with, which is why I cannot recommend them.

Other authors may say differently, and that's pretty much all I can say on the matter; other publishers suit me better.

It's been three years since my last book came out with Loose Id. I've got something else I want to sent to them, but I don't know whether to send it to my previous editor, or sub as fresh. The link to the editors isn't working, so I'm not even sure if it's a genre she works in.

nkkingston said:

It's been three years since my last book came out with Loose Id. I've got something else I want to sent to them, but I don't know whether to send it to my previous editor, or sub as fresh. The link to the editors isn't working, so I'm not even sure if it's a genre she works in.

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If it were me, and she still works there, of course, I'd submit it to her and explain in your email to her that it's been three years and you're not sure she likes the genre. I'm sure she'd be happy to tell you if she does or if you should contact someone else. You could even just email her first and ask her.

I've found the LI crew rather approachable. If your old editor's email still works, talk to her and see what she thinks.

So far, I've been very happy with LI. The one mailing issue I had got ironed out smoothly. My sales have been reasonable. I love all my editors, and both fear and look forward to seriously tight editing on the next book.

For anyone interested in Loose Id, I sent a partial to them two weeks ago and got a request for a full 9 days after I sent it, despite the confirmation email saying not to expect a response for at least 6 weeks. I don't know if this means that their slush pile is small right now, or if they are specifically looking for MM shifters, but if anyone's debating a sub, now might be the time to try it.

I should add I sent the MS I was talking about above to my current editor, who was great about it (see avatar for the outcome!). Sadly she's now left Loose Id, but the Quad have done a great job organising new editors for her current authors.

amergina said:

I should probably update that my novel came out this past November and that I have a Spring Fling (short story) coming out in two weeks.

The editing has been fantastic. I've been paid every month. All the questions I've had have been answered promptly.

In short, I've had no issues with them whatsoever, and am planning on sending more books their way.

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Same here. Editing, sales, and cover art have been solid for all of my books (three under one name, one under another), payments have always been on time, and though my editor has left, I've been assigned to a new one who I really like so far. I've got another book due out from them later this year, and will definitely be sending them, more.

I've always found their turnaround time pretty speedy. Both when I was unknown to them for my first one and later when I was submitting direct to my editor. Even the longest was weeks rather than months.

Ann_Mayburn said:

I live in the states and I've gotten my check every month at around the same time. They've probably been one of my most reliable pubs as far as paying on time.

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Good to know thanks Ann. I had a rejection on a requested full in 2007 with very detailed feedback so I think they are very generous with feedback. They appear to be a top notch publisher.

I'm chiming in with the others. My 4th book with LI will release later this year. Loose is a great publisher. They are very professional. When something goes wrong, they fix it... without all the drama you sometimes see with other publishers. I've had only very minor issues with LI and all of them were resolved with extreme care, courtesy and professionalism. And quickly, I might add. I very much recommend them, especially if you write m/m, which has become their strongest market.

Quick update: 6 weeks from initial query to acceptance. I already know what plot points they want strengthened and when they're looking at releasing it. Easy to talk to, I feel right at home already.

Yeah! I loves them. Met one of the owners, Treva Harte, at RT. She is super duper nice and very down to earth. Luckily she also has a very good sense of humor because authors in large numbers tend to be full of shenanigans.

PS- She's also wicked smart. I sat in on a panel with her and all of her answers were well thought out.

+1 for great editing and Treva being down to earth and smart

Another vote for Loose Id.

Yep, I agree. Really happy with them. Just contracted another MM contemporary with them a few weeks ago and am doing edits. Very thorough

Just chiming in and saying still love the folks at Loose Id. Treva is awesome, so is Christy. My editor Antonia is amazing and their staff is stellar and highly professional.

I went through a surgery while editing my latest two releases. They worked around me without any pressure on me.

Hi Everyone, I'm brand new to posting here, although I've been gathering very useful info from these boards for the past two years. I currently have an MS being considered by Loose Id that I resubmitted after their requested changes. So nice to read about all the positive experiences with them. My contact is Mindy, who seems to be a Jr. Editor? She has been a pleasure to communicate with. I hope to get the thumbs up soon, especially after hearing so many good things about this publisher. Thanks to all of you for sharing your experiences. It's because of what I read here, that I took their suggestion to revise and resubmit. Although they obviously put a lot of time into reading over my manuscript and gave very specific suggestions, so I like to think I would have been sharp enough to revise and resubmit anyway, but the posts here, also encouraged me.