Pocol Press

This one? http://www.pocolpress.com/

I glanced over the site and it looks okay. They do offer an editing service separate from their publishing, which is iffy. They want submitted manuscripts bound with a comb binding, which is just weird, but nothing to flip out over.

I read the first paragraph of a few of the "sneak peeks" of their novels, and saw a lot of passive voice. I don't see evidence that their books are in actual brick-and-mortar bookstores, and their reviews mostly seem to be local, but I do like the covers I saw.

I don't think they're scammers, but you should definitely aim higher.

They have an interesting specialty niche in publishing books about 19th century baseball, so if that's your subject, they might be a reasonable option. I would guess, though, that their marketing and distribution capacities (Baker & Taylor only, apparently) are pretty limited, and that sales and exposure would be small.

The comb binding thing is pretty weird, IMO.

- Victoria

From their FAQs:

Our press publishes only the highest quality writing.

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I judge differently.

…dedicated to producing high-quality books from first-time, non-agented authors.

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In addition, they have formatting problems with their long excerpts--the so-called Sneak Peeks--at times leaving us to guess at who is speaking to whom. They give no physical description that I can find of the books. $17.95 for what, exactly?

The owner is author of one of their books (not that there's anything wrong with that!) and the covers leave a lot to be desired, in my opinion.

Interesting that their specialty also includes short story collections. I was always under the impression that short story collections don't sell and you really have to be an author with a "name" to get away with getting a short story collection published these days. Kind of surprising, given the short span of attention people have these days (and only getting shorter... :::sigh::

That said, I would think that anyone who is looking to build a career as a novelist and only "dabbles" in short stories would probably not be the best candidate to publish with this publisher.

Ah, I'd love to sustain a career as a published author of short stories but it just isn't happening...

Tam

Submitted a query, got a form request for a full, and three months later I got a contract emailed to me accepting my M.S.

10% royalties but no advance. Contract language seemed pretty standards but it was a little light (only a two page contract).

I respectfully declined.

No advance and 10% royalties is an awful deal.

MM

Why would Pocol Press charge $17.95 for a trade paperback when most other publishers charge between $12.95 and $14.95? Since Pocol's books are 25% or so higher than the competion, Pocol's authors are at a distinct disadvantage in their marketing efforts.

That doesn't seem like a crazy price for a longer TPB to me.

And, if they're truly a specialty press, they usually can get away with charging more for a select and interested audience.

Author Girl said:

Why would Pocol Press charge $17.95 for a trade paperback when most other publishers charge between $12.95 and $14.95?

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It depends on the page count. What's the page count for the $17.95 book?

I work in baseball and have seen a number of titles from Pocol Press. They're a legit publisher and respected enough in the baseball community as a publisher of non-fiction titles. I wouldn't publish fiction with them though.

CaoPaux said:

180 to 280 pages. Standard POD pricing.

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Ohhh, yeah, that's high.

That's on the high side, but not unheard of for a niche market press. I wouldn't publish fiction with them, because you'd be competing with the latest Nora Roberts or whatever at a more attractive price point, but if I had a non-fiction manuscript about baseball history they might be a reasonable choice.

Pocol Press folks, if you're reading this: You have to price fiction attractively enough for it to compete with what's out there from already-known authors. If I wanted a biography of $Obscure 19th-Century Baseball Player, I'd pay the extra buck or two to get it from you because you'd be the only folks who had it; if I just want something to read on the airplane, I'm unlikely to pay over the odds for an unknown writer.