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Torquere Press

Eriador117

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I haven't published with them, but I've read some of their books, which I enjoyed. I read a fantasy m/m trilogy, which had a couple of typos in the first book, but nothing I haven't seen before from some of the 'big' publishers.
 

michael_b

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I haven't published with them, but I've read some of their books, which I enjoyed. I read a fantasy m/m trilogy, which had a couple of typos in the first book, but nothing I haven't seen before from some of the 'big' publishers.

Frankly, as far as the big publishers and typos goes, I've seen some that have left me shaking my head. I couldn't tell if they were typos or if the editor simply didn't know the difference between 'laved' and 'lathed'. Either way that one sure as heck should have been caught.
 

michael_b

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Anybody have any experience with/thoughts on Torquere's YA imprint, Prizm (http://www.prizmbooks.com/)? A friend of mine is working on a gay YA book and looking at them as a possible place to submit.

Since they're the same outfit as Torquere I'd guess anything posted here applies.
 

TamMac

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LaylahHunter: I was offered a contract with Prizm in October but I rejected it. There was a major issue with the contract - the rights I was selling were not the same as the rights I was going to be paid for. I could have negotiated with the editor, and she did offer to send a revised contract, but I felt too put off after that. YMMV.
 

OC#50

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Info on Prizm???

LaylahHunter: I was offered a contract with Prizm in October but I rejected it. There was a major issue with the contract - the rights I was selling were not the same as the rights I was going to be paid for. I could have negotiated with the editor, and she did offer to send a revised contract, but I felt too put off after that. YMMV.

TamMac,

I've just been offered my first contract for my novel, and it comes via Prizm. Can you offer any specifics of why you were displeased with your contract? Since I read on the net last week that Prizm had gone through a relaunch in September, any other info on Prizm would be appreciated.
 

CAMDevil

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I just got offered a publishing contract with their Prizm imprint in mainstream fantasy, and I have a couple questions for any authors with them: how is their marketing? Do they push their titles well, or are you supposed to do a lot of the work? Do their titles tend to sell well? Are you happy with them?
 

michael_b

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I'm not with the Prizm imprint, but the answer to all your questions is yes from the perspective of their normal lines. So far I've sold 4 stories to them with plans to send more as soon as I have additional works completed for a few of their specific line calls. As far as promotion, I've done a bit, not a huge amount and my first story with them reached #41 in Gay and Lesbian on Amazon back in January. YMMV since I have an established readership in place.
 

CAMDevil

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Thanks. You're info is appreciated. Now to look over the contract!
 

LaylahHunter

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I have a piece forthcoming with Torquere (not Prizm) later this month, and in my experience it does look like they expect authors to be involved in promoting and marketing their work. They provide some outlets for this, with blog post opportunities and some reviews arranged by the press, and give authors an "Author Marketing Supplement" document with suggestions for things you can do on your own.
 

CAMDevil

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The email I have been using to converse with the people at Prizm was recently hacked. I have no way of knowing if my responses to them were actually received, and I may very well have to switch to a new address. What's the best way of informing them of this?
 

michael_b

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The email I have been using to converse with the people at Prizm was recently hacked. I have no way of knowing if my responses to them were actually received, and I may very well have to switch to a new address. What's the best way of informing them of this?

Set up your new email address and contact them, explain what happened. I'm sure they'll be okay with it.
 

CAMDevil

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Contract signed, sealed, and delivered. I'm officially a Prizm author!
 

samschooler

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I published a 5k short with Torquere in their Masks Off Too! anthology, which was released this past March. Torquere was the first publisher I worked with, so I had no experience and no idea what I should have been expecting.

Now that I have a little more experience and now that I'm working with another publisher, I can kind of see how... not good my experience with Torquere was? Their contracts are fair and their royalty rates are okay (aside from the fact that authors earn zero royalties on print copies), but the editor who worked on my story was not thorough and didn't seem invested in the story at all. The main issue I had with them, however, was promotion.

Torquere's marketing packet for authors lays out Torquere's general marketing attitude: they offer guest spots and guest days on their blogs, Romance for the Rest of Us and their LiveJournal. The packet also states that they send books out to forty review sites, and while not all books are chosen, they "do try." They also suggest promoting on their Yahoo social group, which is the main way that Torquere authors communicate.

Essentially, they give authors ways to promote... to other Torquere authors. There is almost no promotion that goes out outside of Torquere's blogs and social groups. They do not organize blog tours and they do not offer promotional materials to their authors. They suggest that their authors pay to take out ads on various book-related websites or purchase romance trading cards and bookmarks from places like Vistaprint.

I organized a short blog tour for myself when MOT! came out. Aside from a few tweets, Torquere was mostly mum on the release day. The book was listed on Goodreads the week it came out, as opposed to before. The book was not sent out to review sites prior to its release. Authors were given one free print copy, but print copies of the book didn't arrive until almost a month after the publication date.

Five months after MOT!'s publication, it has fourteen ratings on Goodreads, three reviews, and has been added by thirty-four people. Contributing authors were paid $50 each. There were eight of us, so $400--plus the cost of formatting, cover art, and ISBN. Looking at those costs, I can't see how Torquere is making money off the book.

I'm forever going to be grateful that Torquere gave me a chance, since they were the ones who kicked off my publishing career, but I think a lot of their publication process needs work.
 
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WriterInChains

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Anything new in the word of Torquere/Prizm?
I'm polishing a YA novel and am thinking about sending it to them.
TIA! :)
 

Jerboa

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Anything new in the word of Torquere/Prizm?

I know that their min word counts for their anthologies has gone up to 10k. Doesn't effect what you're after though! Submit to them!

I have a novel out with them later in the year, but I was in their Men in Uniform anthology and was very impressed with the way the story was edited and dealt with. Enjoyed working with them.
 

wordsmithy

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Marketing plan

Torquere is the only e-publisher I've seen in my genre who requires a marketing plan as part of the submission package (though I admit I haven't done an exhaustive survey).

I'm very much willing to do write-ups and blog entires, just not on my own social networking sites. My book is M/M erotica - I'm not exactly going to be selling it to my friends and family on Facebook. So what kind of marketing plan do they expect? Would they still be willing to work with me if I don't have an extensive online presence?
 

veinglory

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I've done this for another epub but I can't remember which one. I basically just said, hey I have a blog, I use social networking, occasionally I go to cons. I will mention the book in these places. That seemed to be all that was needed.