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Dailey Swan Publishing (Casey Swanson)
- Thread starter doctri
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RE:daileyswanpublishing
I just found this site. As the publisher, dailey swan publishing, now 3 years old, i'm still amazed by the feedback we're still discovering.
We're still a mom and pop operation, trying to create a publishing family, not just a publishing house. Do try to get back to people, right now about 6 months behind. We ask for random pages, If we like it, then we ask for a full manusript. From non-agents we accept about 1 in 200 submisssions. But a lot of the rejects do get notes explaining why.
When we luanched this, we never dreamed of how much material we would recieve. It's been overwelming at time. And unfortunately, our fist master ditributor went under costing us a lot of money. Forced me to return to work full time to support what we were trying to do. Back to full time this next month, so by the end of the year I should be caught up with all submissions.
Celebrated our 3rd anniverasry in new york. A lot of fun and a lot more notice for us. About 100,000+ books are published each year by legitimate distributors ( as opposed to vanity press's, though I love them, found a few titles we've published through iuniverse among others). Of those 8-12,000make in to some extent into the bookstores. I've been lucky enough, all of our titles have made it to a book store somewhere.
And now Deadline was named best fiction 2009 by the Hollywood book festival.
Anyway, that's enough for now. I just thought this would be a good chance to thank all of you who have submitted stuff to us. I will get to it.
Casey
I just found this site. As the publisher, dailey swan publishing, now 3 years old, i'm still amazed by the feedback we're still discovering.
We're still a mom and pop operation, trying to create a publishing family, not just a publishing house. Do try to get back to people, right now about 6 months behind. We ask for random pages, If we like it, then we ask for a full manusript. From non-agents we accept about 1 in 200 submisssions. But a lot of the rejects do get notes explaining why.
When we luanched this, we never dreamed of how much material we would recieve. It's been overwelming at time. And unfortunately, our fist master ditributor went under costing us a lot of money. Forced me to return to work full time to support what we were trying to do. Back to full time this next month, so by the end of the year I should be caught up with all submissions.
Celebrated our 3rd anniverasry in new york. A lot of fun and a lot more notice for us. About 100,000+ books are published each year by legitimate distributors ( as opposed to vanity press's, though I love them, found a few titles we've published through iuniverse among others). Of those 8-12,000make in to some extent into the bookstores. I've been lucky enough, all of our titles have made it to a book store somewhere.
And now Deadline was named best fiction 2009 by the Hollywood book festival.
Anyway, that's enough for now. I just thought this would be a good chance to thank all of you who have submitted stuff to us. I will get to it.
Casey
priceless1
Banned
Hi caseyrobert, I had mentioned upstream that you are with Midpoint, and I wanted to ask if they are doing just your fulfillment or whether you signed a full contract with them. For those who don't know what I'm talking about, Midpoint, along with all the other independent distributors, have a fulfillment side their businesses, and many smaller publishers sign on with that side so they don't have to deal with fulfilling orders and doing the bookkeeping.
The other option is the full service side, where their sales forces pitch their catalogs to the genre buyers and libraries. You have to be accepted by meeting the distributor's guidelines - lineup, cash flow, advertising and promotion, and earnings.
It's an important distinction because in one case, Midpoint is simply acting as your fulfillment center, and the other is getting the books on shelves.
The other option is the full service side, where their sales forces pitch their catalogs to the genre buyers and libraries. You have to be accepted by meeting the distributor's guidelines - lineup, cash flow, advertising and promotion, and earnings.
It's an important distinction because in one case, Midpoint is simply acting as your fulfillment center, and the other is getting the books on shelves.
priceless
We we Midpoint in many different capacities. They are both a distributor and master distributor, providing our product to all of the major distributors and well as independent and chain book store buyer.
We use their warehouse as a fulfillment center. All of our product is printed through digital press ( not on-demand) and we beleive in just in time manufacturing.
By midpoint providing our logistical support, we are able to invest more in time and marketing.
We just won our second book award, best fiction for 2009, from the Hollywood Book Festival. For Paula Tutman's book Deadline!
Currently we have distibution through north america, and english speaking europe and africa. We are curently speaking with possible ditributors in the middle east and southeast asia.
best wishes.
casey
We we Midpoint in many different capacities. They are both a distributor and master distributor, providing our product to all of the major distributors and well as independent and chain book store buyer.
We use their warehouse as a fulfillment center. All of our product is printed through digital press ( not on-demand) and we beleive in just in time manufacturing.
By midpoint providing our logistical support, we are able to invest more in time and marketing.
We just won our second book award, best fiction for 2009, from the Hollywood Book Festival. For Paula Tutman's book Deadline!
Currently we have distibution through north america, and english speaking europe and africa. We are curently speaking with possible ditributors in the middle east and southeast asia.
best wishes.
casey
- Joined
- Dec 12, 2007
- Messages
- 634
- Reaction score
- 94
- Location
- Cambridge, England
- Website
- www.emilywinslow.com
Hi Casey--Thanks for answering questions!
Can you clarify--do you use Midpoint to pitch your catalog to bookstores and libraries? That part of Priceless's question interested me, and I didn't see that specifically addressed in your answer. It sounds like you use them for providing product, but not pitching product. Do I understand that correctly?
We use midpoint to reach bookstores and libraries, as well as the IPBA, and the the Jenkins Group Review direct. We also do our own direct marketing pieces.
By the way, i did notice a few posts referring to me 'she'. Afraid that would be news to my wife and family 
. Get that confusion a lot. Not sure why, name means brave or valient warrior in old celtic. Not sure why somebody would name their daughter Casey with that in mind, but c'est le vie.
By the way, just to clarify.
I ask for sample pages and a synopsis to see if 10 the idea is one were interested in, and 2) is the manuscript ready. If those two are a yes, when then ask for the hard copy. If it's not worth the authors time to submit, then we figure their not somebody we want to deal with.
I read the manuscripts at the local coffe shop and make notes on them, both for future edits if we decide to publish, and for the authors review if we thinks it's something worth doing in the future, but not yet ready. We currently have 4 authors under contract, coming out between 2010-12 where we saw something worthwhile and spent time working with the author to make it happen.
I know in the first 25 pages of a manuscript what we will do with it.
Then it goes to my wife for review if I like it.
rejections are then notified,
acceptance are offered a contract, with an approximate published date.
We are currently working on 2011-12.
It cuurently takes 12-18 months to get a titles ready for publication.
Interior design and edits, cover design, and marketing.
We have so far won 2 awards (we do not pay for submissons to award contests--we feel there is way to much of that, to much like POD/Vanity Press's)
We won in 2006 a Golden Duck Award for Young Adult Science-Fiction with Apers by Mark Jansen (since discontinued)
We won the Hollywood Book Festivals Best Fiction Award for 2009 for Deadline! by Paula Tutman.
Thanks
. Get that confusion a lot. Not sure why, name means brave or valient warrior in old celtic. Not sure why somebody would name their daughter Casey with that in mind, but c'est le vie.By the way, just to clarify.
I ask for sample pages and a synopsis to see if 10 the idea is one were interested in, and 2) is the manuscript ready. If those two are a yes, when then ask for the hard copy. If it's not worth the authors time to submit, then we figure their not somebody we want to deal with.
I read the manuscripts at the local coffe shop and make notes on them, both for future edits if we decide to publish, and for the authors review if we thinks it's something worth doing in the future, but not yet ready. We currently have 4 authors under contract, coming out between 2010-12 where we saw something worthwhile and spent time working with the author to make it happen.
I know in the first 25 pages of a manuscript what we will do with it.
Then it goes to my wife for review if I like it.
rejections are then notified,
acceptance are offered a contract, with an approximate published date.
We are currently working on 2011-12.
It cuurently takes 12-18 months to get a titles ready for publication.
Interior design and edits, cover design, and marketing.
We have so far won 2 awards (we do not pay for submissons to award contests--we feel there is way to much of that, to much like POD/Vanity Press's)
We won in 2006 a Golden Duck Award for Young Adult Science-Fiction with Apers by Mark Jansen (since discontinued)
We won the Hollywood Book Festivals Best Fiction Award for 2009 for Deadline! by Paula Tutman.
Thanks
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Hi Has anyone had any personal experiences with this publisher? Or know why this publisher is listed as a Not Recommended by P&E? The authors I spoke with, who are published by him, seem very happy with him.
priceless1
Banned
Casey, I'm still unclear as to your relationship with Midpoint due to the ambiguity of your statement. Midpoint, like other distributors have two sides of the biz. One is order fulfillment and getting titles listed with the online databases - hence "reaching bookstores and libraries."
The other side is full distribution, for which you must qualify and have large print runs. This side has their clients' titles listed in their cataloge and their sales teams pitch the titles in a personal meeting with genre buyers of the store chains, indies, and the libraries.
Now, if you're using Jenkins Group Review direct mailing services that's available through IBPA, this makes me believe that your relationship with Midpoint is for the fulfillment side. Otherwise you wouldn't use the Jenkins Group Review mailing services because you'd be doubling up on what Midpoint's sales teams are are already doing. And you know what the bookstores do with those big white boxes? They toss them. I can't tell you how many store managers I've talked to about this expensive program, and all they do is laugh. It's sad.
Since you're using digital runs, this tells me that you're not printing large enough numbers of books to meet potential purchase orders from Midpoint's sales side. And this is what makes me believe that you are contracted with them for order fulfillment only.
Can you please clarify?
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priceless1
Banned
Dont know if it helps or not, but I can tell you that one of Dailey Swan's titles, "Deadline" has been on the shelf of my local Barnes and Noble. It's currently out of stock, but it has actually, physically been in the store, on the shelf. And I live about 1800 miles from Dailey Swan's headquarters in San Francisco.
Is this helpful info?
priceless1
Banned
Sure it's helpful. It means one of his books is on a store shelf. This is a good thing! And not to stick a fork in anyone's eye, I once saw a PA book on a shelf, too. So my question is focused on how the book got there - hence my questions regarding his relationship with Midpoint. One can get a few books out here and there, and the other can get many copies out to a widespread area.
Sorry it took a while to get back to this site regarding questions.
As far as our status with midpoint, we avail ourselves of all of there services. From distribution, to marketing, to sales. It's been a wonderful relationship to have.
The IPBA and Jenkins group are seperate entities. We use the services of the IPBA ( A Trade association) for all of it's marketing on a direct basis to book buyers (Bookstores, Libraries, and schools). The Jenkins Group is a marketing group that helps us expand our reach. Much the same can be said of our relationship with Publishers Weekly. Somewhat of a cross between the other two. We are also a supporting affiliate of the Indi-Bound Independent Bookstores organization.
Among others, our books are distibuted by Baker and Tyalor, Ingram Books, Gazelle, and other fine regional distributors.
Hope this helps.
As an aside, we are cuurrently looking for short stories to post on our website. Authors will be paid a nominal fee, and the best, as voted by the readers, wil be published in a compilation each year.
Casey
As far as our status with midpoint, we avail ourselves of all of there services. From distribution, to marketing, to sales. It's been a wonderful relationship to have.
The IPBA and Jenkins group are seperate entities. We use the services of the IPBA ( A Trade association) for all of it's marketing on a direct basis to book buyers (Bookstores, Libraries, and schools). The Jenkins Group is a marketing group that helps us expand our reach. Much the same can be said of our relationship with Publishers Weekly. Somewhat of a cross between the other two. We are also a supporting affiliate of the Indi-Bound Independent Bookstores organization.
Among others, our books are distibuted by Baker and Tyalor, Ingram Books, Gazelle, and other fine regional distributors.
Hope this helps.
As an aside, we are cuurrently looking for short stories to post on our website. Authors will be paid a nominal fee, and the best, as voted by the readers, wil be published in a compilation each year.
Casey
I sent a query and 5 pages on August 27 and received a full request on September 25. Mr. Swanson called to offer me a contract less than a month later. I got an agent for another story about a week before, so I had to put his request on hold. He went ahead and sent me the contract and it is a lot better than most of the small press contracts I have seen or heard about.
DSP is looking for 2012 placements.
DSP is looking for 2012 placements.
Vandal,
My experience with DSP to date has been very good. I have a book pending release in 2011 with them and according to may agent, Al Longden, the contract with DSP is a good one. It bears mentioning that I actually secured the publishing deal with DSP before I signed on with Mr. Longden. He has decades of experience as a literary agent and is very satisfied with DSP's marketing plans and distributorship. I am very pleased.
My experience with DSP to date has been very good. I have a book pending release in 2011 with them and according to may agent, Al Longden, the contract with DSP is a good one. It bears mentioning that I actually secured the publishing deal with DSP before I signed on with Mr. Longden. He has decades of experience as a literary agent and is very satisfied with DSP's marketing plans and distributorship. I am very pleased.
Thanks, that's good to know. We're going to shoot for the moon, but this just may be where it ends up.
Hello, I came across this link after googling the publisher and Casey Swanson and I am curious if those of you who had pending book deals and have had contact with Mr. Swanson are still satisfied. I see that P&E has not recommended this publisher yet this thread sounds positive and I also have found that they are ITW recognized.
I sent a query and subsequently had a request for a full MS. I tried PA once, just for the fun of it, with a very inferior MS and sure enough, I received a an offer to publish. I am just hoping this one is legit. Any updates or new information on them?
I sent a query and subsequently had a request for a full MS. I tried PA once, just for the fun of it, with a very inferior MS and sure enough, I received a an offer to publish. I am just hoping this one is legit. Any updates or new information on them?
shops4cash,
I can give you a little more info as my situation moves forward. Casey Swanson of Dailey Swan Publishing continues to have intermittent contact with me, keeping me up to date with any news regarding the company. They are presently "gearing up" for 2011 releases. They tend to publish about 10 new titles per year and though it is a small, independent publisher, nothing either I or my agent can find suggest that they are anything but a legitimate, royalty paying publishing house. They're just relatively new and small. In addition to their prior marketing strategies, Dailey Swan has begun much more aggressively utilizing social networks (scribd, facebook, etc) as a way to market their books. Of course, I don't have access to their numbers, but according to Casey, this has paid dividends to the extent that the last few months of sales have been some of their best ever. It is apparent to me that they don't offer every MS a publishing contract and it is also apparent that they are trying to do things the right way. I have been asked to deliver an edited version of my initial MS (due within 30 days) and I expect things to really speed up pending a May 15, 2011 release date. Again, they're small but they're not POD or vanity publishing. They don't pay advances (which are typically given against future book sales anyway, unless you're John Grisham) but do pay royalties in a manner that my agent describes as "standard". He goes on to advise me that their initial delivery of free books to the author is "generous". I am encouraged that, as a first time author nobody has ever heard of, Dailey Swan will turn out to be a nice place to have landed.
I can give you a little more info as my situation moves forward. Casey Swanson of Dailey Swan Publishing continues to have intermittent contact with me, keeping me up to date with any news regarding the company. They are presently "gearing up" for 2011 releases. They tend to publish about 10 new titles per year and though it is a small, independent publisher, nothing either I or my agent can find suggest that they are anything but a legitimate, royalty paying publishing house. They're just relatively new and small. In addition to their prior marketing strategies, Dailey Swan has begun much more aggressively utilizing social networks (scribd, facebook, etc) as a way to market their books. Of course, I don't have access to their numbers, but according to Casey, this has paid dividends to the extent that the last few months of sales have been some of their best ever. It is apparent to me that they don't offer every MS a publishing contract and it is also apparent that they are trying to do things the right way. I have been asked to deliver an edited version of my initial MS (due within 30 days) and I expect things to really speed up pending a May 15, 2011 release date. Again, they're small but they're not POD or vanity publishing. They don't pay advances (which are typically given against future book sales anyway, unless you're John Grisham) but do pay royalties in a manner that my agent describes as "standard". He goes on to advise me that their initial delivery of free books to the author is "generous". I am encouraged that, as a first time author nobody has ever heard of, Dailey Swan will turn out to be a nice place to have landed.
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Their website plays music. Ick. You can turn it off, but every time you go to a new page it starts again. That screams "amateur website" to me.
Their covers are pretty horrible and they don't have any kind of preview of first chapters or pages. Based on those two things alone, I'm giving them a miss.
Their covers are pretty horrible and they don't have any kind of preview of first chapters or pages. Based on those two things alone, I'm giving them a miss.
Saanen- just because you don't like music with your web sites is no reason to cast dispersions uspon this publisher. If you think it's amateurish, fine - you don't need to look at it. Probably good you gave them a miss. I like what Casey has done and the fact that he is encouraging first time authors. Maybe you haven't run into this problem, but it's hard to get your material in front of a publisher if you are an unheard of author. Remember, John Grisham - he was unheard of at one time and started with a small publisher. I guess my point is don't knock someone who is trying to get his business growing and is willing to take on first time authors, unless you have personally had a bad experience with them. I personally have found them very easy to deal with and willing to work with me on refining my manuscript and hopefully publishing it. That is still to be determined, but he is one of the few that responded to me and gave me ideas on what he'd like to see changed to make the book more readable. I applaud what he is doing and I would encourage any author - especially a new author to check out Dailey Swan publishers.