Dorrance / Whitmore / RoseDog Books / Red Lead Press / I-Proclaim

They'll be listed in the next update of the P&E sites, but they'll merely be noted as a vanity publisher because they're being honest this time unlike how they handled Whitmore. Too bad PA isn't this open and honest.

James D. Macdonald said:

Registrant:
Whitmore Publishing (JZGHFDOXED)
926 Liberty Avenue
Third Floor
Pittsburgh, PA 15222
US

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...

Here's Dorrance's street address:

Dorrance Publishing Co., Inc.
701 Smithfield Street
3rd Floor
Pittsburgh, PA 15222, U.S.A.

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Decided to look at this a little more closely:

Here are two maps, from Mapquest:

One shows 701 Smithfield Street, the other 926 Liberty Avenue.

Notice that, at least on the map, they both seem to be at the same location. My guess is that it's an office building at the intersection of Smithfield St. and Liberty Ave., that Dorrance/Whitmore's offices are on the third floor of that building, and that this is a conscious attempt to deceive.

Update on Whitmore Publishing from Whitmore Author

Whitmore not as bad as the others, but know this:

First of all, IMO Whitmore Publishing is not for professional writers. But it might be right for certain writers - those who want absolutely no charges but still expect ARCS, limited promotion, and well made/refundable books.


I have a Civil War book out by Whitmore. They produced a beautiful, durable book for me April of 2005; charged not a dime; mailed out 30 ARCs with promo materials; sent promo materials to 250 bookstores in Virginia and Maryland (think Gettysburg, Antietum, Richmond); sent out two galleys in advance of publication, which got me an endorsement from a best selling author and the a Civil War org with 33,000 members; got me one radio interview, one newspaper and three national CW magazine reviews (two have not yet appeared). Whitmore books are fully refundable and are offered to brick & mortar and online book sellers at 40% off. I vouch for these things.
Their production manager answers all my emails and telephone calls. He does what he says Whitmore will do.
Also, their contract is only five years.

However: It has been nine months and I am not yet listed on Amazon or any other online stores other than theirs at http://www.whitmorebooks.com/hoofcohaciwa.html . They are just now getting around to saturating the Civil War area book stores with promo materials. They put a very high price on the book -- $29 for a 356pg trade paperback, but remember it is endorsed by a very famous writer and aimed at a very specific audience (Civil War history buffs). I'm getting positive responses (i.e. fan email) from readers across the country.

Yes, they are owned by Dorrance and yes -- if you are rejected by Whitmore -- you'll likely be contacted by Dorrance or its subsidary Rosedog.
But Whitmore is extrememly selective and carries some some very serious books by some very serious authors. Many of these were printed by the original "Whitmore" of the 50s, 60s, 70, and 80s. The current owner is making the earlier books available again, brand new, in storage since the original went bankrupt.
They have both a POD and an offset press. Your Whitmore book may come out POD, but will be fully refundable and offered to brick & mortar bookstores and online bookstores at 40% off. They use their offset press for guaranteed sales books and for any POD book that sells enough to warrant it. They have a distributer.

You can check up on me if you want to. I published another book with Overmountain Press - which is offset, established and respectable. My book there can be seen at http://www.overmountainpress.com/ne...iangenesis.html . I also have a PublishAmerica book out and can tell you from experience that Whitmore is not at all like them. PA won't even answer my emails; my book is not refundable; is absurdly priced; had absolutely no promo at all;competes with at least 4000 other PA titles; has a lousy reputation; and won't let me out of the contract unless I open myself to multiple lawsuit by posting on any forum which has ever spoken badly of them.
I've also self-published two books by using Lulu Press, which was free -- I highly recommend Lulu; I've acutally made money with them without spending a cent. You can see my free site there at http://www.lulu.com/LION .

Whitmore did not ask me to do this. I just don't like to see this press put in the same category as PublishAmerica and Tate. Whitmore is better, but still not mainstream. Try to find a major publisher first. Then try to find an established and respected small press. If that fails, then try Whitmore before PA, Tate, POD which charges, or vanity. IMO.

Richard,

Thank you for posting this. I am not personally familiar with Whitmore, but it sounds like they are honestly trying to do right by their people.

The advice to try to go thru a big/mainline publisher makes sense... I think it is almost without saying. However, if that does not work out, then finding a good company that does not charge their people like a vanity press, and puts their own money and efforts into selling the book says a lot about them.

William Andersen
Salem, Oregon

any info on Dorrance Publishing Company?

I recently got an unsolicited email from
Dorrance Publishing Company
Ray Nikolaison
701 Smithfield St.
3rd Floor
Pittsburgh, PA 15222
I don't know these guys but according to them they advertise on children's literary agency web site. I would appreciate any info on these guys. He's requesting a copy of my book, but my instinsts tell me it's not a good idea. Any feedback would be helpful.

thanksCpt B Bear

Cpt B Bear, run, don't walk. Your instincts are good. Check out Dorrance on Preditors and Editors and Writer Beware.

And here's a thread on the Children's Literary Agency:
http://absolutewrite.com/forums/showthread.php?t=8312

I posted a short story on Rosedog.com jimminy I bet 10 years ago-before it became some sort of pay to look site. It's still there and I don't get charged, but it is a horrible story! I would look into taking it down, but I don't want to get all the spam from Dorrance and whoever.

Kristin

Does Anyone Know Anything About Whitmore Publishing?

I've read all the "dirt" on Publish America and I was wondering if there is equal "dirt" on Whitmore Publishing. I'd truly appreciate any information.

Cheers!

There's an index topic just above. Open it and scroll down. Should be in alphabetical order by category. They should be listed.

Anytime you have a question about any publishers, you should first try our Index of Agents, Publishers and Others. It's a sticky on the main Bewares forum and offers links to discussions about many, MANY other companies. But in answer to your question, here you go:

Whitmore Publishing (see Dorrance Publishing)

Dorrance Publishing (par. of Whitmore Publishing, Red Lead Press, Rosedog.com)
<obsolete links snipped>

I merged Necropolis's question with the longer Dorrance/Whitmore/RoseDog thread.

- Victoria

Necropolis said:

I'd truly appreciate any information.

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Whitmore claims titles that they didn't publish. That's dishonest.

Whitmore has the same address as Dorrance, but attempts to conceal it. That's misleading.

Whitmore appears to have the same business model as PublishAmerica. The difference is that their advance is ten times bigger than PA's. That's pathetic.

Listen: If you've written a book that a lot of people want to read, you can get it legitimately published. If you haven't, no half-baked vanity publishing scheme on earth will help you.

Thanks!

ever hear of Whitmore publishing co.?

I was searching online for legit writing contests of full length fiction (lots of Short story stuff out there but not over 3000 words), and came across this Whitmore publishing website that stated they were looking for new authors.

Yeah, I don't get my hopes up that easily. Is this another P.O.D. like Pub America? Scamstuff or? -thing is, I recognized some of the titles in their featured works and these books have copywright dates in the 1970's. Maybe they were a one-time legit business that went out of business? or still are legit but small? I don't know.

Everyone's heard of Whitmore. It's a POD author mill run by old-time vanity press Dorrance. The difference between Whitmore and PublishAmerica is that Whitmore's advance is ten times higher.

The Whitmore that published those books you've heard of went out of business in the early 1990s. The current incarnation doesn't have any apparent connection with the previous company by the same name.

A.REX, you can always check out agents and publishers on the Bewares and Background Check board here on AW. Start with the Index.

those evil vanity scum. I wish they'd just come out and say they were POD. Subhumans.

You get what you get at Whitmore

I've got a book out on Whitmore. Though it's free and they do produce a well made, durable book -- you're basically getting a free vanity press book. They sent out 30 ARCs for me, which got me some important reviews a great endorsement. Their books are discounted 40% for booksellers and their books are fully refundable. The high price on the book, however, means you are unlikely to see your book in brick & mortar bookstore. Mine isn't even online, except where I sell them myself on Amazon. I do sell lots of books at events I attend which are related to the subject of the book. I get 30% off and have to sell them at the lowered price. So I make nothing. My only hope is to wait out the contract (2009) and try to place it with a legit publisher. So, go with Whitmore if you want a free, well-made book with advance ARCs, copies to reviewers, good contact response with the publisher. But remember that you only get 15% of net and have to sell them yourself. I happen to be doing okay with my Whitmore book but that's because it's a niche book and I'm good at public speaking. I'd avoid them, if I were you.

Read Lead Publishing

Has anyone done any form of business with them? They're a POD company in Pittsburgh.

They contacted me last year with the news that my novel had been accepted by them. Of course, I was estatic. Naturally, I assumed that they'd read my words and ate it all up. I can be naive at times in my desperation.

In any event, I paid the fee and they printed my novel. There were innumerable mistakes but they don't have an in house editor. The font is small and the price was incredulous, but I got caught in the euphoria of actually being a published author. By Any Means Neccessary, my baby, was finally available for purchase.

At least that's what I assumed. I have gotten no promotion, been running around in circles in an attempt to be taken seriously by those who sneer at self publishing. Worse yet, I received my first stipend from Red lead and it was beyond insulting. They claim I only sold three books but that is a blatant lie! I may be no Dan brown, but I sold more. I got at least a dozen of my friends to buy my book even at it's outrageous $26.00 asking price. I got consumed with rage and demanded that my contract be terminated. (I retain the copyright and can cancel my obligation at any time)

Now I am frantically sending the copies of my book I purchased to be publishing houses. It all just seems like I can't catch a break. It's one glorious high to a sinking low.

I write abot human emotion. I don't feel the need to search my imagination and talk about goblins, kids named Harry or blasphemous concepts in order to have my work appreciated.

I'm sorry. I didn't know a post about this company already existed.

http://absolutewrite.com/forums/showthread.php?t=20365

I was approached by them and believed their intent. They published my book, for which I am thankful, but I have spent the past six months living on a dream.

I know the no-fees start is tempting to many, but I think self-publishers who do charge can be better. Fultus, Holy Fire, Poseidon, or X-Libris for example. The "marketing" support is the same, but you can cut contract any time. A friend of mine is with PA and they take book rights for 7 years. The others are non-exclusive so you can still look at traditional publishing options. I was scared off after a rejection by an agent five years ago, thinking I wasn't good enough to pitch to large firms. Now I've learnt about the industry in self-publishing and that I am good enough to submit, I'm trying to go traditional. One major retailer in Australia carry my book in their catalog, so I can't be too bad!

One of these days an agent will see my work and be passionate about my message as much as I am. Publishers are already looking at the work and agents have shown promising feedback.

As for Red Lead Press, I would suggest potential customers wanting to self-publish check the contracts. If they are non-exclusive, and an author wants to risk the cash, maybe it will be worthwhile.

I recieved the same exact e-mail. Hmmm, what do you think the odds are?