[Display site] PublicBookshelf

VeggieChick · Feb 22, 2008

Does this seem weird or is it just me? At first view, it looks like a vanity publisher, except that they only do online publishing AND they offer advances of up to $500. Something doesn't seem right.

http://www.publicbookshelf.com/hml/author-submissions.html

jamiehall · Feb 22, 2008

Looks to me like a manuscript display site combined with a vanity publisher, with maybe a little legitimate (but almost certainly incompetent) publishing thrown in as bait. I don't see any stories so far indicating who, if anyone, has received an advance.

...we do a general review to ensure the content is reasonably grammatically correct and makes sense.

In other words, they will display nearly anything.

Our publishing contract is for the online rights only. You are welcome to continue to pursue printed book contracts.

Normally, a legitimate print publisher won't touch a book which has its online rights tied up. This sentence is meaningless. It is like saying "You can bypass medical school and pursue a career as a doctor." Sure, you can pursue it all you want. It doesn't mean you'll ever achieve it.

VeggieChick · Feb 23, 2008

jamiehall said:
Looks to me like a manuscript display site combined with a vanity publisher, with maybe a little legitimate (but almost certainly incompetent) publishing thrown in as bait. I don't see any stories so far indicating who, if anyone, has received an advance.

I thought the same thing, but the advance part threw me off. If you go to the submissions page, it seems to indicate that ALL writers get some kind of advance after signing the contract. Would be interesting to know what kind of advance the authors got.

jamiehall · Feb 23, 2008

VeggieChick said:
I thought the same thing, but the advance part threw me off. If you go to the submissions page, it seems to indicate that ALL writers get some kind of advance after signing the contract. Would be interesting to know what kind of advance the authors got.

On first read I thought "up to" meant "and possibly including zero" but you're right, I do see this farther down the page:

We will review your manuscript and either offer you an advance with a publishing contract or reject it.

Which makes it sound indeed like every accepted submission receives an advance.

I don't understand how such a thing would be viable financially, unless nearly every advance is a token one such as $1. It would be nice to hear from the authors what they were offered as advances.

CaoPaux · Feb 25, 2008

http://www.publicbookshelf.com/about-us/

Revenue Sharing Policy

Authors receive an advance and a percentage of all revenues earned from the display of advertising on each book page. PublicBookshelf tracks the revenue earnings and pays the author directly. In the event PublicBookshelf decides to change the way revenues are earned by authors, a notice will be posted on PublicBookshelf.com.

Disclaimer

PublicBookshelf is not a publisher, rather a platform enabling authors and readers to connect. As such, the accuracy of the content is not thoroughly evaluated or edited by PublicBookshelf employees. The lawful nature, quality of the writing, and whether the content is original to the Internet are evaluated

They are a display site which pays "up to" $500 for content to earn ad revenue from. I'd sure like to know how that last sentence ends....

VeggieChick · Mar 6, 2008

CaoPaux said:
They are a display site which pays "up to" $500 for content to earn ad revenue from. I'd sure like to know how that last sentence ends....

My question is still over the advance. I get it about future revenues and the display part, but can't understand how they can afford to give out advances. I'd love to hear from one of their writers!

victoriastrauss · Mar 7, 2008

Claims to "pay up to" a certain amount can often be translated as "typically pay much less than" that amount.

So far, I know of one writer who got an advance offer of $50. The offer was made within a few hours of submitting her entire 170,000 word manuscript.

As many people who write for Helium.com can confirm, revenue sharing from ads is likely to amount to pennies.

- Victoria

CaoPaux · Jan 26, 2010

Site's been revamped ... no longer any mention of payment.

ETA: updating URL: http://www.publicbookshelf.com/index.html

[Display site] PublicBookshelf

VeggieChick

jamiehall

Bereaved Snarkling

VeggieChick

jamiehall

Bereaved Snarkling

CaoPaux

Mostly Harmless

VeggieChick

victoriastrauss

Writer Beware Goddess

CaoPaux

Mostly Harmless