Bouncing Ball Books

I'm concerned by the unprofessional look of some of the books. For instance, this one, which looks as if they just printed up the author's own notebook. Or this one, complete with spelling error. Distributor or not, there seem to be quality issues, and that doesn't bode well for the company's future.

- Victoria

victoriastrauss said:

I'm concerned by the unprofessional look of some of the books. Victoria

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You mean that I shouldn't have signed my latest non-fic to Crayola Publishing? They promised to use only pastel peach as the color ?!?




Jeez, I could dirty up a cleaning party...

I'm being quite confused by this:
"[FONT=Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif]We give our young readers books that are more personalized because the vibrant illustrations are drawn specifically for Bouncing Ball Book’s characters."

As opposed to what? Are they suggesting that other publishers use clipart to illustrate children's books?
-Barbara
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BBB subsidy publisher or not?

I wrote Bouncing Ball Books recently to ask for their submission guidelines and got this reply:


"BBB is not accepting any submissions at this time.

Try checking out www.lulu.com, this is a recommended company by one of our translators.

Thank you."



Would that imply that they are a subsidy publisher?

Thanks --

jublke said:

I wrote Bouncing Ball Books recently to ask for their submission guidelines and got this reply:


"BBB is not accepting any submissions at this time.

Try checking out www.lulu.com, this is a recommended company by one of our translators.

Thank you."



Would that imply that they are a subsidy publisher?

Thanks --

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Well, considering Lulu is a do-it-yourself printer, I would assume that this company is subsidy. That's just me and I could be wrong. However, any "publisher" that uses Lulu, probably isn't going to get your book into bookstores.

Just my humble $.02

Hello there. My novel was published by Bouncing Ball and is set to debut in the next two weeks. It is my first book, a murder mystery--THE QUARTERBACK'S DEMONS. Bouncing Ball is a small, but growing publisher, and DEMONS is the first adult mystery in the catalogue.
I am writing to let other authors know that Bouncing Ball has been upfront and honest about every part of this experience and has done everything that was promised and more. They have held my hand and walked me through each part of the process, including the first time an editor got his hands on my manuscript (yuck). It has been a pleasure from start to now, and I look forward to seeing my book on the shelves of major book stores. Bouncing Ball has scheduled book signings and a booth in the November 2007 Book Fair in Miami. (The book looks terrific, by the way!)
Please don't assume that because it is a fledgling operation, it can or will not take care of authors that have been signed. As for the "not accepting any new work"--there are, I believe, seven authors' books (different genres) debuting at the same time as mine. Would you rather have a publisher accept your manuscript and let you wait until it was ready to publish it, keeping you in limbo, or to have the opportunity to shop it around and perhaps submit it at a later date when they are accepting work? As for "LuLu"--I am sure it is not a subsidy of Bouncing Ball Books.
By the way, the two books sampled in a previous message here, were written in the style the author wished. If you go to Bouncing Ball's website, you can take a look at their other authors' work. The quality is excellent!
I am not a sock puppet, and I did not even mention to my publisher that I had seen this thread or that it exists. I know how discouraging shopping a first manuscript can be for a new author, and I wanted to let people know that Bouncing Ball is a viable and caring publisher.
I have a website - www.miamidemons.com. Please visit.

cklaurence said:

Hello there. My novel was published by Bouncing Ball and is set to debut in the next two weeks. It is my first book, a murder mystery--THE QUARTERBACK'S DEMONS. Bouncing Ball is a small, but growing publisher, and DEMONS is the first adult mystery in the catalogue.

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So, all the other books published by them are for children?

I don't know anything about this publisher and I'm not going to comment on the company, but in response to the 'unprofessional' look of some of their books, I just wanted to say that...well, I like it, quite frankly. I don't think the issue should be whether or not the pictures, or, hey, even the writing, are done in color, and without seeing complete projects I don't think anyone can judge the quality of a book.

Sorry I haven't posted sooner, but I have been really busy with events related to my book.
No, I paid nothing to the publisher. They paid for everything involved with my novel and it is now up and out there. They had me in the Miami International Book Fair and have a great media package coming out in January. Book signings are being scheduled as I write this post.
There was a problem with their distributor, Bookworld--it closed its doors unexpectedly and left all its publishers in a pretty bad place from what I understand. It caused a delay in distribution, but they now have a new distributor, and things are moving quickly. The QUARTERBACK'S DEMONS is up and running at pretty much all of the dot com sites now and within the next two weeks I am told back orders will be filled and any glitches will be taken care of in that time. In-store stocking is next.
I'd love for you to take a look at my website www.miamidemons.com and learn more about me, my novel and Bouncing Ball Books. Let me know if there are any other questions I might answer for anyone. I continue to be thrilled with the way Bouncing Ball has handled my novel and me. C.K.

C.K, sales figures would be good

And have you been encouraged to purchase any of your own books?

Bouncing Ball

There was a delay because of changing distributors, but I have been shown the pre-order figures, and I'm very excited about them. Distributor will be catching up the back orders within the next week or so and stores will be current.
They have not encouraged me to buy books. I was given a number of them, however, by the publisher for my own use. Of course, if I want more, I can purchase them at my publisher's cost--but they gave me more than enough to hold me for a long time. c.k.

cklaurence said:

Hello there. My novel was published by Bouncing Ball and is set to debut in the next two weeks.

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We'd love it if you keep us informed about your progress. This board is all about gathering information.

Who's the new distributor, c.k.?

- Victoria

Victoria ... the website says Baker and Taylor.

Can we take that to mean a sales team is actively promoting BBB's wears to book shops? or is this the same old same old, their works are merely listed on the catelog and available as a special order?

Staying Informed

I will be sure to keep you informed--especially if I have any problems. I always check here before I make a move, so if I can be of help anyone else, I'm here.
Victoria: Am I dumb, or what? I was so happy to know that the books were on the move, I paid no attention to the name. I will find out and let you know. c.k.

Baker & Taylor was taking care of back orders. The signed with another distributor, however, and it is doing the work now.
Yes, Kiwi--a sales team is actively promoting BBB to book shops. If they are as efficient as I was told, my book will be pretty much everywhere. I will let you know if anything goes awry.
As I said, things have been great up to now, and I am not anticipating any changes...but we all know that the best laid plans...

victoriastrauss said:

Who's the new distributor, c.k.?

- Victoria

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Vic, iPage reports Bookmasters as the distributor

Thanks, priceless. They are reputable?

cklaurence said:

Thanks, priceless. They are reputable?

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Um...I'll let you PM me on that one, okay?

Of course...just thought you might be in the know.

cklaurence said:

Of course...just thought you might be in the know.

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Well, yes, I am in the know, but I don't have anything very nice to say about them. That's why I suggested you PM me.

Sorry to hear that...I hope you're wrong. I will keep in touch.