you guys are idiots:
If that's the case, why do all these authors in question bother with small publishers? Why don't they all jump at Random House or whatever and try and get to the big leagues first then? If these small publishers can't be trusted, then why are all these idiot authors even bothering with them? Seriously, if your dream is to make a living as a writer, yes, you should be sending your manuscripts to the "big league" publishing houses? So why are all these self-professed great writers sending their works to a small house?
You misunderstand - perhaps willfully, perhaps not.
There are some excellent small presses out there, e.g. PS Publishing, Quercus and a host of others that I'm sure other posters here can point you to. What they have in common is the fact that:
- they will pay an advance to the author (maybe not a million pounds, but usually a respectable amount);
- they have a track record in sales;
- they comprise people who have experience in the publishing industry (genuine experience, e.g. with the bigger publishers, or significant experience with bookselllers or agents - NOT people who failed to be published and decided to set up their own press in retaliation);
- they will be known by legitimate agents, who will be happy to submit a client's manuscript to them;
- they tend to be genre-specific and recognised within their genre; and
- they can get your books into stores and know how to market it effectively to reviewers and other interested persons without expecting the author to do all the work.
Unfortunately, there are a lot of other small publishers out there who can't say the same and whether they were set up for genuine reasons or specifically to scam people, they are unable to do as well by their authors. It's because there are so many of these, that the general advice to newbies is to research them first in order to ascertain what they can do and what their track record has been like to date.
From everything reported to this thread, Cacoethes has been less than impressive and it certainly doesn't seem to offer any of the things that Quercus or PS can do.
you guys are idiots:
The author stated she believes in herself and is happy with her choice of publishers - so why this need to pick on her decision? Sounds like second-guessing to me.
Not so much second-guessing as trying to find out why
Canadian writer made the decision she made. That's pretty much why discussion threads like this exist - to ask questions and raise potential concerns that other writers thinking of approaching Cacoethes may want to bear in mind.
As regards
Canadian writer's belief in herself - self-belief is only part of the battle. As I said in one of my earlier posts - you can have a tonne of belief in your own abilities, but it won't translate into a successful writing career if your publisher cannot get books in stores - and from the information shared here, Cacoethes cannot get books into stores. Perhaps you have information to the contrary.
Either way, it's difficult to see why it matters to you so much that people are asking questions and raising potential issues with this company. Have you been published by them or do you have some other involvement?
you guys are idiots:
And you "don't understand what [her] hurry is to get published" - why does that matter to you?
Because people who are in a hurry don't always make informed decisions.
Take a look at the Publish America Forum. Unfortunately a lot of people who get suckered into that company's web do so because their only research on the publishing industry consisted of typing "publisher" into Google. As a result, they end up submitting their manuscripts to PA or i-Universe or Authorhouse, thinking that this is what all publishers are like and then end up considerably out-of-pocket 6 months down the road, wondering where it all went wrong.
you guys are idiots:
Anytime you say "I'm not ~~~~~, BUT...." = yes, you ARE ~~~~~. Thus, yes, you are knocking her.
No. I'm pointing out the many problems with her publisher. These problems include:
- that they do not appear to be geared up to sell books to the public;
- that they appear to be accepting authors on the basis of partials (something which is not standard practice in the industry);
- they have actively gone out to solicit submissions from people via the web (legitimate publishers don't need to generate a slush pile for themselves); and
- they're submitting incorrect details on the websites where they are selling books.
Anyway you look at it, this all leads to a conclusion that Cacoethes are not a professional outfit that know what they're doing. That has to be worrying for any author thinking of going with them and it needs to be pointed out.
It's a shame that you apparently don't like reading about potential issues that can cause real problems for an author further down the road. Given your aggression and rudeness, I have to wonder why it bothers
you so much.
MM
.
