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Amira Press

amber_grosjean

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I am keeping my fingers crossed on this but someone just asked to see my full manuscript and I heard about them through here. Amira Press? Please say they are lagit, I couldn't find anything on them from Editors and Preditors. It didn't quite fit the standards of a romance but the person who emailed me said they were intrigued by what I described so far. It took me a while to write this one because of the scenes so I hope they aren't too graphic. It is on the erotic side of romance which is something I would read if I read that type of book. I don't really read much (I am way too slow) but I have read a few good books. I am more of a visual kind of person which is how my mind works. I basically write what my mind's eye sees. Keep you fingers crossed that I will find a real publisher! I know I am!
 

underthecity

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I don't know anything about them myself, but I did check out their website. It's a small e-publisher, which means you'll have an e-book. That's fine if that's what you want. You just won't be in bookstores.

If it were me, I'd aim higher, but that's me.

allen
 

amber_grosjean

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When I sent the first email to them, I asked them if they printed books as well and they said they would be in about two months. I haven't signed anything so we'll see.

Anairplane-- I don't read Romance novels, never have, but if I would, I would want something that had some scenes that aroused me. I mean what's the point of having it there if it doesn't do anything for the reader, you know. That's what I meant on that.
 

CaoPaux

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http://www.amirapress.com/

How many of their books have you read?

Has anyone you know read any of their books?

How widely do you expect your book to be read?
 

veinglory

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Okay, back to Amira. This is a relatively new epublisher started by one writer, who has recently been joined to other staff for the recent 'grand reopening.' They have a multicultural focus. The founder is a member of Romance Divas and has posted her email there so people can ask her any questions they might have.

My two points would be:

1) There are many epublishers of romance, and few that sell more than a few hundred copies in the first year. There are fewer that are inclusive of non-erotic genres, but actually non-erotic material does better in print rather than ebook form.

2) A standard royalty amount in this area would be 30-45% of cover price. 50% of profit, however that is calculated, is likely to be drastically less than that.
 

Dreamer

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AMIRA PRESS IS ASKING TO SEE MY FULL MANUSCRIPT AFTER READING A PARTIAL. I CAN'T FIND MUCH INFORMATION ON LINE ABOUT THEM...ONLY THAT THEY ARE FAIRLY NEW IN EBOOKS. THEY ALSO DO PRINT AS WELL WHICH IS WHAT I AM REALLY LOOKING FOR.
.:)
 

Gillhoughly

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No need to shout, undo the caps lock!

This should be in the Bewares & Background checks, you'll get a better response.

I googled the name with the words "scam" then "rip off" and nothing popped up.

On first glance they seem to be a typical e-house with no advance, payment on royalties only, with means it's probably not a a qualifying professional market (AKA pro credit) to publish with them.

I found a blog with info on RWA's 2007 meeting on that topic.

It's not an original RWA posting, but I've not got the time to look that up.

I went to Amira's employment opportunities section and was unhappy that proofreaders are paid in copies, not money. WTF??

You could contact their writers and ask about their experience with them. They should have a contact mail on their websites. I noticed plenty of links, which is a good thing.

Read excerpts, if any, posted on their websites to see what level of writing they consider acceptable.

It'll take a few hours, but hey, research is part of the game!

The cover art I saw wasn't absolutely hideous, and some of it was pretty okay--so that's a plus.

And a quick scan of the website indicated that they hit the spellcheck button. That's always a plus with me!

Good luck, but take it slow.
icon12.gif
 

Harris

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Their print books are not returnable. They just changed that policy.
 

Mumut

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I'm intrigued that many writers send away to publishers or agents and only after receiving a reply do they try to find out about them. Is this usual?
 

jamiehall

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I'm intrigued that many writers send away to publishers or agents and only after receiving a reply do they try to find out about them. Is this usual?

Well, it isn't usual to be posting in threads like these with questions you already know the answer to (unless you're saying something like "I have good reason to believe such-and-such, can anyone point it out if I got bad information"). I suppose that people who have already obtained answers to their questions mostly don't ask them after the fact.
 

BarbaraSheridan

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It may not be usual but it certainly is foolish.

Dreamer--My advice is try the top tier e-publishers first, get a few titles out with them and then take a chance on the newer unproven companies. Do not be one of those who contracts everything they write to eh first place that offers a contract. If that place goes under you're screwed and if you get your rights back in a timely fashion you'll have a harder time placing "used goods".
 

Gillhoughly

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Do not be one of those who contracts everything they write to the first place that offers a contract.

Heh--it's like saying YES to the first guy who wants to have sex with you.

It's flattering, but not always the wisest route to take.

All worked up with your feet in the air is NOT the time to ask if he's got any STDs and brought condoms.

icon10.gif
 
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Khazarkhum

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Heh--it's like saying YES to the first guy who wants to have sex with you.

It's flattering, but not always the wisest route to take.

All worked up with your feet in the air is NOT the time to ask if he's got any STDs and brought condoms.

icon10.gif

You mean that's wrong??

Who knew??? :tongue
 

madmumbler

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re: Amira

I've been offered a contract with Amira, e-publishing with an option for print if the e-version hits their usual sales threshold (250), and depending on their schedule.

The contract has a 90-day author cancellation escape clause before the original 3-year term is up, 30-day after that, and I feel comfortable with that. No cause needs be stated, so I wouldn't be stuck if something went wrong. (I've heard horror stories about other e-publishers that writers couldn't get their rights back when they folded, so this would negate that issue totally.)

So far, they've been great answering my questions, they've been prompt with replies, and I feel comfortable dealing with them.

I'll keep everyone posted, but so far, they seem professional to deal with and I've had no red flags pop up that would make me worry. (And considering my dh used to practice law, believe me, he would put the brakes on it if he thought there was a problem. *LOL*) The editor who's working with my ms had some very good suggestions for my prologue and I really think the overall ms is better as a result, so that's a huge plus too.
 

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Good luck. I haven't heard anything bad about them. You should check what the average sales are per month, as well as website hits.
 

brianm

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I just read five paragraphs of one of their free downloads. Within those paragraphs were extra words, clumsy sentence structure, an adjective that stopped me in my tracks (not because it was a dirty word, but because it jumped off the page), some punctuation and grammar problems, and one sentence that made absolutely no sense, even after I read it four times. Slowly.

If this is a sign of the quality of work they produce, I am not impressed.
 

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It's a foot in the door. I know my work is well-edited before it goes out the door, because I've spent months on it with both peer review crits and my husband (a former editor for a local daily newspaper) going through it with a fine-toothed comb. Some of the previews I read were good, some average. But I've seen previews on other sites that are the same; some good, some average. (Not to mention I remember cruising one of the "big" houses, I want to say it was Avon, and found several typos on one of their pages. *LOL*)

Like I said, your mileage may vary, but so far I have no complaints, and I'll keep everyone posted.
 

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I love epublishers but most are not the antechamber to major publisher--more a place to practise, which would involve practising working with an editor.
 

amber_grosjean

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I just wanted to let everyone know that the process finally ended in Feb of this year. I was very impatient but I think it was really worth it. I was signed to their lead editor and she really did a great job on working with me. She made great suggestions and really improved my story. The second book is a little longer than my first book and is a little cheaper so I was happy about that.

Even though this is a new publisher, it did get my foot in the door. Because of the process, I learned to really write better and edit better so I'm very thankful to them. I am now working on a few books and have joined a new company that is starting the publishing road.

I'm not going to go into too much detail about this new company just yet because all the kinks aren't out but I will be handling the newsletter for them and writing some articles so I will be on the staff and they're publishing some of my books too which is really cool. I can have as many free copies as I want, in paperback or hard cover so that's really cool. I don't think I want hard cover but that could change later down the road depending on the book. A friend of mine is the founder and we have been talking very closely before it became official so I'm excited about this new adventure. He has already helped me market the two books I have and we have bounced ideas at each other. And he will be paying me too which is a good thing lol.

Amber
 

madmumbler

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Update - we're in the editing phase with "Love & Brimstone" and my editor seems to be very sharp. She picked up things I'd missed, made excellent suggestions. I'm going through my revisions now so I can send it back to her for round two. I love my cover art, and the author liason has lined up several group promo sessions for authors and appears to be actively doing her job.

In other words, so far, so good. No red flags, and I'm happy with the process so far.

I'll keep you posted.
 

Lainey Bancroft

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I'll throw my hat in the ring! I agree with Amber and Leslie. So far, they have been wonderful to deal with. BUT, I only have one recently released novella there (and forgive me, Leslie, but you will NOT be paying ANY bills on the sales they generate....so far)

As far as epubs go, they are on the up and up. As far as I (in my admittedly limited experience can tell)
 

madmumbler

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I'll throw my hat in the ring! I agree with Amber and Leslie. So far, they have been wonderful to deal with. BUT, I only have one recently released novella there (and forgive me, Leslie, but you will NOT be paying ANY bills on the sales they generate....so far)

As far as epubs go, they are on the up and up. As far as I (in my admittedly limited experience can tell)

Hey, any money coming in helps pay the bills. *LOL* I know one book isn't going to make me Stephen King. *LOL* I have other mss in various stages of the query process all over the place in different genres. But now that I can honestly say, "I am published," it helps. Every legit publishing cred helps. And I've met a great group of people in the process.

Did I see that you've got one with BookStrand? How are they? Are they legit? I'm wondering if I should query them with my "wheelchair romance" story? I found the thread here about them and looked on Piers Anthony's site but there's not a lot.
 

Lainey Bancroft

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Did I see that you've got one with BookStrand? How are they? Are they legit? I'm wondering if I should query them with my "wheelchair romance" story? I found the thread here about them and looked on Piers Anthony's site but there's not a lot.

Hey Lesli (sorry about the extra 'e' earlier) ;)

I pm'd you with details. Can't speak to the sales at BookStrand,(have a January 2009 release date) but so far I've been impressed with the business end of things.
 

madmumbler

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Update: So far, so good! My book comes out with Amira on 08-08-08, the editing was, imo, professionally handled, and I now have my ISBN number. They've been great to work with, and answered questions as I've had them in a timely manner.

Can't speak to sales/payments yet because, duh, coming out on Friday. *LOL* However, I have not heard any negatives from other writers about that. At this time I'm happy with them and looking forward to a long relationship with them.

I will update again as warranted, but still so far, so good. Very nice group of people to deal with and I've enjoyed the process to date.