Wild Wolf Publishing

You can't just rely on social networking to sell books - you have to have a robust sales and distribution network. For example, a self published author will not get books on shelves in chain stores such as Waterstones because you need to set up accounts with both Gardners and Waterstones central purchasing hub (in 99.9% of cases only traditional publishers can do this). We have books on shelves in Waterstones and we arrange regular book-signings for our authors at their branches up and down the UK. Our books are also in Forbidden Planet and various other stores. A self published author may get a few of their books into the odd independent, but other than that they are relying solely on internet sales.

We also regularly advertise online and in publications, sponsor events and attend festivals etc.

Not paying an advance allows us to invest more in the promotion of the book and therefore help the author earn more royalties in the long run. Afterall, an advance is just that - the title has to make that advance back before the author sees another penny.

The covers on some of our earlier titles weren't great, but we took on a fantastic designer (Peter Fussey) who is a genuis with covers and has created the covers for around 20 of our recent titles.

priceless1 said:

Secondly, all authors are bound tightly to their publisher, not because of the advance/earn out, but because they signed a contract. There is nothing unusual or egregious about that arrangement.

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True, but what I heard seemed to go above the contractual obligations, encroaching upon the author themselves and their creative aims as a brand.

blackdogtales:
True, but what I heard seemed to go above the contractual obligations, encroaching upon the author themselves and their creative aims as a brand.

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Without an example of what this means, I'm not sure I understand what you're getting at. Authors have a contract for one (or more) books with potential options on further books. The obligations are set out in the contract. The book will go into royalties or not depending on sales - if it doesn't, then the author will have had the advance. I don't see how any publisher can see to impose extra contractual terms on an author or their "creative aims as a brand". Anyone who is being so pressured should seek out a lawyer.

MM

Wild Wolf Publishing has a stall at the Newcastle Winter Book Festival this weekend and two of our authors (Ricki Thomas and Rod Glenn) are on a writing discussion panel at the city library from 12.30 on Saturday. We also have a stall at the Hexham Christmas Market the following Saturday (3rd Dec).

New titles being released on 1st December:
I'd Sooner Starve by Mark Sinclair
Night Fighters by Rob Smith
Dorothy: The Darker Side of OZ by Scott Stanford

Wild Wolf Publishing's zombie anthology, Holiday of the Dead has won the best horror anthology award in the 2011 This is Horror Awards.

Unlikely Killer by Ricki Thomas has also made the top 50 best-selling ebooks of 2011 list. She came a highly impressive 29th out of ALL ebooks sold during 2011. Well done, Ricki!