AuthorHouse / WordClay / Words of Belief / Author Solutions, Inc.

Trying to figure out sales from sales rank is a squirrel cage.

Thanks everyone. appreciate it.

Hmm?

James D. Macdonald said:

Trying to figure out sales from sales rank is a squirrel cage.

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A "squirrel cage"?

I understand the sentiment you wish to express, but ... you're losing me with that idiom. Care to explain?

Much motion, lots of running around, but essentially meaningless.

Ah, I see ... and will basically drive you (to) nuts, I imagine.

warriorbadge said:

I look forward to promoting my book now

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Why not start here? You have certainly piqued our interest.

He was "looking forward to promoting his book" in December of '03. It's been nearly 2 years. I wonder how it did, too. I wonder who the publisher was.

It's always interesting to see these posts from the past.

Thanks for the word count idea. I have 75,000 words.

Rose M said:

Thanks for the word count idea. I have 75,000 words.

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In that case, you have a novel-length manuscript that you may want to cut off about now. Save the rest for a later book. If worst comes to worst and the publisher feels that some of the stories are too weak, you'll have replacements you can use instead so that it will be a stronger book. Or you can add some of those if the publisher feels more is needed.

Now you should do what James suggested. Get the names of publishers who have published works similar to yours. Read their guidelines. Follow those closely and submit to them. They won't charge you for publishing. That's only how vanity publishing works. Instead, they'll pay you for the rights to publish your book. That's how it works and that's what you want. The most you should put out is for some stamps to mail copies of your query letters and any requested copies of your manuscript. Beyond that, nada, zip, zilch.

Money comes to you once you get an acceptance. You do not pay for editing. The publisher sees to that provided you have written to the best of your ability and they like what they see.

Dave, thanks again. That was my opinion also. I am at a stopping point, and have started part two, another book. My story is about my life's journey with animals. It is a lot like James Herriots stories and more recently I read one by James Kaatz titled "The Dogs of Bedlam Farm". [I think that was the title] He did thank his editor and he actually had two of his email address listed. I emailed him and sent one of my chapters. That was only a few days ago, obviously don't know if I will hear, but it was worth a try. My book will be stories that teach lessons I learned in owning, training and raising animals, but it is not a teaching book per se. The stories are humerous, touching and some are sad. I am a grandma and not the most computer literate, but I am trying.

This is my first experience with forums, and you all have been helpful. So far I have not had any luck checking for publishers guidelines, [my computer illiteracy!]but will keep trying. I have learned I should stay away from pods if at all possible! I do not want to have to do a lot of publicity for my book myself. I do have a few ideas that might help, such as friends with horse websites that I am sure would add it. I guess I could do this even with a regular publisher. I am not in a hugh hurry to publish, my stories are timeless. I do want to do it right! Thanks again

Ah, I recall this thread. I found the Ingrams info helpful.

Rose M said:

I emailed him and sent one of my chapters.

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Oh, dear. Rose, I hate to tell you this, but sending unsolicited manuscript samples to an author's or editor's e-mail address is considered bad manners and doesn't make a professional impression. Your best bet is to gather information on possible publishers by finding books similar to yours and noting who published them, then research the submission guidelines for those publishers, and only then submit to appropriate ones.

Good luck!

Don't sweat it that much. It's only when newbies send me their Entire Flippin' Novel that I ... well, I usually don't read 'em.

The Missing Posts

tomw1021 said:

Hi. I came accross the publishing company Author House. They claim to have had 27,000 titles in print. They also say they will work with anything...
seems somewhat odd to me...does anyone here have any experience with them?
Thanks

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Sakamonda said:

Author House is a POD (print-on-demand) vanity publisher. They are more honest in their business dealings than PublishAmerica, but are still a POD vanity publisher. I believe they charge about $450 or so to publish your book. And they will take just about anything.

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victoriastrauss said:

For more on companies like AuthorHouse, see the Print on Demand page of Writer Beware.

- Victoria

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James D. Macdonald said:

Have you, personally, ever read an AuthorHouse book? Has anyone you know ever read one? Have you ever heard of one? Is any AuthorHouse book on the shelves of your local bookstore?

No?

Then you should consider that no one will read your book, either.

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tom1021 said:

Ah...thank you all for clarifying that for me. I think i will stick with my POD for now(lulu!)...although they dont charge upfront fees...im still looking for a legit publisher! Thanks for the info everyone!

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AuthorHouse

I checked the index on AuthorHouse, and the most recent posts were from 2005.

Anybody have any recent dealings with this POD company?

The base price they quote seems reasonable, but I am concerned about the "optional" services they offer. The salesman who drew my name seems to be a little high pressure.

I haven't decided to go POD, but I want to keep my options open. Should I keep AH on the possible list, or delete their messages with due haste?

I would not have them in my personal top 5 for self-publishing. You should also add this to the exisitng thread rather than start another--it will probably get moved there in due course

Hi Ann,

AuthorHouse is a vanity press. If you plan to self-publish, that certainly wouldn't be your cheapest option. There already are several threads on the company:

<obsolete links snipped>

They just got their tails ripped for a $200,000 law suit. They're full on vanity with no distribution--the worst possible printer you could go with. Well, second worst.

If you must, try Lulu. No pressure there. You take what you want.

Tri

Thanks for the info, all. The high pressure sales tactics put up the red flags for me.

Sorry about starting a new thread on them, but the other threads were so old, I didn't know if they were still relevant, and none of them seemed to say if AH was good, bad or indifferent. As you can see, I'm still kinda new at this stuff.

Hey, there's no harm in asking.

I'm with Tri: They're next to the bottom on the publisher list.

triceretops said:

They just got their tails ripped for a $200,000 law suit.
Tri

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Absolutely true, Tri! Here's a link (via Miss Snark's blog), on the details. Note that one of the key points to the judgment was their incredulous admission that they "cannot be expected to read every book cover to cover."

I have a book out with them. They are very friendly but I wouldn't use them again. iUniverse is a better bet if you go POD. There are other options. One I'm considering for my next book is BookSurge. They're owned by Amazon so you don't have to negotiate a contract with Amz if you use them. You also may want to try a small press.

AnnMB said:

I checked the index on AuthorHouse, and the most recent posts were from 2005.

Anybody have any recent dealings with this POD company?

The base price they quote seems reasonable, but I am concerned about the "optional" services they offer. The salesman who drew my name seems to be a little high pressure.

I haven't decided to go POD, but I want to keep my options open. Should I keep AH on the possible list, or delete their messages with due haste?

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Cathy C said:

Note that one of the key points to the judgment was their incredulous admission that they "cannot be expected to read every book cover to cover."

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OMG! They didn't really say that, did they???

Hi Ann,

I merged your thread into an existing AuthorHouse thread. We try to keep things streamlined 'round here.