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Black Lyon Publishing

CaoPaux

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Nope, but I see they've got RWA's nod of approval.
 

Stacia Kane

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RWA doesn't "approve" publishers anymore. They just have a list of non-vanity, non-subsidy houses. Being on it only means you don't make writers pay to publish; it has nothing to do with sales levels, quality, contracts, policies, etc.

Just FYI. ;)
 

CaoPaux

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True, but recently tightened standards make their "acknowledgement" more meaningful than the "approval" they gave previously, IMHO.

As always, make sure a publisher provides for their current books what you want for yours.

:e2apple:
 

seaaircarol

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No, but good idea.

I noticed that some of their titles are available on Amazon--that's good, right?
 

Stacia Kane

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True, but recently tightened standards make their "acknowledgement" more meaningful than the "approval" they gave previously, IMHO.


:e2apple:

What recently tightened standards? Did I miss something, because the only standard I'm aware of that they have for listing a publisher is that it pays authors and not the other way around. That's all.

They tightened their standards for PAN, but that has essentially nothing at all to do with their list of publishers.
 

CaoPaux

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What recently tightened standards? Did I miss something, because the only standard I'm aware of that they have for listing a publisher is that it pays authors and not the other way around. That's all.

They tightened their standards for PAN, but that has essentially nothing at all to do with their list of publishers.
*dredges memory* Ah! Sorry, "recent" as in "within the last year". http://absolutewrite.com/forums/showthread.php?t=70255
 

Stacia Kane

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Right, those are the ones I thought. Thanks! :) Like I said, though, while the standards for a writer to be included in PAN have gotten stricter as far as earnings, RWA's standards for publishers themselves have actually fallen a bit, IMO, so while being listed as "RWA Approved" at one point had some sort of meaning, now it just means you're not charging writers to publish.
 

CaoPaux

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Right, those are the ones I thought. Thanks! :) Like I said, though, while the standards for a writer to be included in PAN have gotten stricter as far as earnings, RWA's standards for publishers themselves have actually fallen a bit, IMO, so while being listed as "RWA Approved" at one point had some sort of meaning, now it just means you're not charging writers to publish.
Huh, I'll have to plough through the thread again for what I missed. 'Course, I could be conflating it with MWA's changes; wouldn't be the first time. :rolleyes:

No, but good idea.

I noticed that some of their titles are available on Amazon--that's good, right?
Anything with an ISBN can get on Amazon. If you want your books on shelves, you'll need to determine if BL can do that.
 

Deb Kinnard

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RWA has to make sure their PAN club stays elite. Too many riffraff got in before they changed their "standards"

I believe you're spot-on, Jersey. This PAN/non-PAN thing was part of the reason I dropped out of RWA. I was tired of being neither fish (small press published) nor fowl (unpublished). There were local contests I'd like to have entered, but since my publishers weren't recognized, I couldn't enter as pubbed, yet since I'd contracted, I couldn't qualify as unpubbed either. And as far as the Rita or GH, I knew better even than to ask! I ran the local-chapter-contest question around the block a few times; nobody gave me a straight answer or even seemed to care.

That wasn't the only reason; there are others, including some stuff at the local level that I won't go into here.
 

AllieB

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I've read 2 of the books they've published, Cast in Stone and For Kicks, and thought the quality was good, overall. I actually read CIS in ebook but then bought the paperbook because I loved the story and thought it was really well-written. The quality of the actual print copy was good, too, so that's always a positive sign.
 

seaaircarol

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Good to know, Allie.

I submitted to them yesterday, actually. They just reopened to subs.
 

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Does anyone know what their sales numbers are like? Is an author likely to sell 200, or 2000, or 20,000 copies of their title?
 

BarbaraSheridan

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Does anyone know what their sales numbers are like? Is an author likely to sell 200, or 2000, or 20,000 copies of their title?

Obviously I have no figures to back it up but my educated guess is that the sales are on the low end of your scale because

a) they're a very new company-- only a year old from thei site info
b) their pricing for both e and print seems on the high side with regards to the book length stated in their guidelines--$8 for an ebook in the 60k range

I have books almost twice that length with large e-publishers that retail for under $7
 

Glenda

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The price of a book is a factor on sales. If you are an unknown author and the book is over priced, people will not dish out the cash to read it when they can buy one cheaper.
IMO, the paperback shouldn't run over 12 bucks for a full length novel.
 

Pookee

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Do they have bookstore placement...not just availability?
Are they a pod publisher?
I am interested in this publisher. I've been trying to find an agent for two years with no success. So, I thought I'd try a small press. I was previously printed with Publish America, (got my rights reverted) and that experience taught me to be very cautious.
 

Donna Pudick

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They are a bunch of nice folks. They are quite small, but treat their authors well. I know of one person who has published with them, and she is pleased. She does do a lot of self-promotion, but that's part of her nature.

Kerry Black is quite glamorous. She publishes a lot of her own books. She recently signed on with Kindle. No fees--ever. Their contract is author friendly.
 

ChelseaWriter

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Popping in to see if anyone's had recent dealings with Black Lyon (since the last post here was in 2010....)

Thanks in advance!
 

RedWritingHood

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ChelseaWriter, I just went in to look at their guidelines and a little about the press. They are listed in Predators and Editors, and nothing bad is said about them there. A web search shows numerous titles. I do know a number of people who have recently started their own publishing companies because they wanted to publish their own work, which is apparently the way this one started.