Or, they could just accept hardcopy submissions only, as many still do, and avoid finding themselves perched atop that slope with an open bottle of olive oil in their hands.
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Brighter Books Publishing House
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Or, they could just accept hardcopy submissions only, as many still do, and avoid finding themselves perched atop that slope with an open bottle of olive oil in their hands.
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I went to submishmash.com to check it out. The homepage starts with a list of bullet points, the first of which is (bolding mine):
* Free, simple & secure online submissions
Of course, then bullet point number five says:
*Run contests & accept reading fees
Doesn't look like submishmash is connected to any specific publisher, so I doubt it's a kickback kind of thing with Brighter Books. The casual acceptance of reading fees is a bit off-putting, though.
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Now that it's clear that's exactly what it is, a reading fee, I agree it's off putting.
I think submishmash provides the ability to charge for submissions, doesn't require it.
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The Submishmash part didn't even bother me much because most publishers don't accept online submissions at all. I wonder how much money they make doing that. I'm so glad I asked about it here, because an agent at Curtis Brown has a full MS for a related project and I'd hate to destroy my chances there. :^) Thank you. I'll come back and post anything else I find out.
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Or they copuld accept digital submission and not charge a reading fee, which is what this is.
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In my experience almost all new small press not only accept, but mandate, digital submissions.
Actually I've noticed more and more of the big pro publishers are starting to take esubs. It makes sense really. They don't have tons of paper piled up, and don't have to foot the cost of getting rid of all those manuscripts that didn't come with return postage. It's a cost cutting decision for a lot of them I'd be willing to bet.
Brighter Books
I checked Pred-ed.com regarding Brighter Books a few months ago and they were good. They just started using submishmash.com to filter unedited poor quality submissions. I would bet that this is the reason the "not recommended", has come up. Why don't you ask Brighter Books or pred-ed?
I have since signed with them and have nothing but great things to say. They are green, their contract is good, and they are responsive and very involved with me. Also, I have hired professional editors in the past for other work and found that the editor at Brighter Books is better and has posed some very creative edits. I am very pleased with them! Good Luck
I checked Pred-ed.com regarding Brighter Books a few months ago and they were good. They just started using submishmash.com to filter unedited poor quality submissions. I would bet that this is the reason the "not recommended", has come up. Why don't you ask Brighter Books or pred-ed?
I have since signed with them and have nothing but great things to say. They are green, their contract is good, and they are responsive and very involved with me. Also, I have hired professional editors in the past for other work and found that the editor at Brighter Books is better and has posed some very creative edits. I am very pleased with them! Good Luck
They do accept hardcopy for free, it's the online submissions through submishmash that cost $3.
Care to tell us the name of the editor? You can ask first, if you like, but most editors don't mind being named. In fact, they often are thanked in books. I only ask because then we could look into the background of who they're hiring. Where their editors got their start. . . etc.
Sorry, I wasn't very clear. That's actually my point. If they feel hard copy is the only form of submission they can accept without charging a fee, then it's less dodgy to accept only hard copy and skip the fee altogether.
dottydog, what do you mean by they're 'green'? Are you referring to their publishing process or how new they are? I'm just looking for some clarification 
dottydog, what do you mean by they're 'green'? Are you referring to their publishing process or how new they are? I'm just looking for some clarification
hmmmmmm.....They're certainly Green in the process they use. As such, I will say this:
If this publisher plays to that point, and produces a well edited, well designed product, they have a very . . . no . . . VERY good shot of getting in shops on Vancouver Island. The island is the "greenest" place in Canada, in that stamping a "made with recycled material" on a product almost guarantees it will be bought regardless of the price. It's a place where having a compost is as trendy as wearing Manolo Blahnik's, riding your bike to work is more impressive than arriving in a BMW and not recycling is reason enough to be ostracized by your friends and family.
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Agreed. But it's obvious that they are marketing their greenness to authors as well as to readers.
Frankly I don't care how green a publisher is as long as they are experienced, professional, and able to actually sell books (in an area with a population greater than 750,000)
I don't see anything wrong with marketing their greenness to authors. Getting articles written in news-papers, local tv stations, etc, etc, will be easier (on the island) given their "greenness," so i hope that's part of their strategy and not something they pass off to their authors.
Also, selling books in a few dozen stores, where the market caps at 750K people is a lot better than most POD's. Especially in Canada where you only have CHAPTERS/INDIGO to choose from, and where notable sales in Nanaimo and Victoria may be noticed by stores in Vancouver. Or by the chapters crew who picks the titles that are distributed nation wide.
All that said, I'm now a tiny bit encouraged (though cautiously) and see them as a 'to watch' publisher. Lets see their first couple titles. The quality, the editing, etc. Lets see if their marketing efforts bear results.
What does a trade paperback, printed on recycled paper, look like? maybe the pages will be off-white, which would be unlike most POD books.
This assumes that the bookstores will stock their books, which appear to be POD. According to the website, they only print books as needed.
The store I frequented when I was in Ladysmith wouldn't even order a POD book.
We do have more options than just Chapters and Indigo. Online orders can come from anywhere. I've bought through Amazon more often than I've gone to Chapters.
If they stick to local interest titles, and local marketing, they might be able to find a semi-profitable niche on the island.
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I recently had a chance to evaluate a contract and various supporting materials from Brighter Books. The contract seems very fair (something I don't often get to say about small press contracts), and they have some interesting, ambitious ideas. It would be lovely to see this publisher succeed.
However...the standard caution about new small publishers still applies here: unless you're certain the staff have genuine publishing industry experience, it's best wait at least a year to see what happens. In this case, the owners do not appear to have a professional writing or publishing background. Ms. Jurgensen describes herself as a writer and illustrator, but unless she writes under a pen name, I can't find any published work. Her husband is an engineer. They are business owners--but the business is a clothing alterations shop: http://prostitch.info/about
Is it possible for an inexperienced publisher to build a thriving business? Absolutely--our own Lynn Price is a shining example of that. But the odds are really stacked against such an endeavor, and there's a very, very high rate of attrition for inexperienced publishers--even with high enthusiasm and the best of intentions.
I'd give Brighter Books points for good intentions, interesting ideas, and an effort to be fair to authors. But I'd still suggest that authors wait to approach it until it has proved that it is capable of getting books to market, and has demonstrated some stability.
- Victoria
However...the standard caution about new small publishers still applies here: unless you're certain the staff have genuine publishing industry experience, it's best wait at least a year to see what happens. In this case, the owners do not appear to have a professional writing or publishing background. Ms. Jurgensen describes herself as a writer and illustrator, but unless she writes under a pen name, I can't find any published work. Her husband is an engineer. They are business owners--but the business is a clothing alterations shop: http://prostitch.info/about
Is it possible for an inexperienced publisher to build a thriving business? Absolutely--our own Lynn Price is a shining example of that. But the odds are really stacked against such an endeavor, and there's a very, very high rate of attrition for inexperienced publishers--even with high enthusiasm and the best of intentions.
I'd give Brighter Books points for good intentions, interesting ideas, and an effort to be fair to authors. But I'd still suggest that authors wait to approach it until it has proved that it is capable of getting books to market, and has demonstrated some stability.
- Victoria
Well, their cover art for two of their books is on their facebook page. I have to admit, it's not half bad, quite impressive actually. Here's the link to one of their author's blog where one cover is displayed--for those cave-dwellers among us who do not have a facebook account. http://cjgosling.blogspot.com/
Let's see: Fair contract, real artists doing cover art, show us the editing (which we'll no doubt be able to see when their site is up and running) and this pub might just score a hat-trick. *See what I did there? HAT TRICK . . . get it? the hockey reference for the canadian publisher . . . I'm so freaking witty!!!
They still need plans for getting books to readers, but that part I think we're going to have to wait to gauge. At least it seems they're on the right track after all.
Let's see: Fair contract, real artists doing cover art, show us the editing (which we'll no doubt be able to see when their site is up and running) and this pub might just score a hat-trick. *See what I did there? HAT TRICK . . . get it? the hockey reference for the canadian publisher . . . I'm so freaking witty!!!
They still need plans for getting books to readers, but that part I think we're going to have to wait to gauge. At least it seems they're on the right track after all.
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They seem to have removed their $3 submission fee; I bet the P&E rating will be changed soon.
Based on Victoria's endorsement of their contract, their apparent openness to revising their process based on criticism (assuming they heard about this thread and removed the fee because of it), as well as their cover art, I have some sincere hope for this press.
Based on Victoria's endorsement of their contract, their apparent openness to revising their process based on criticism (assuming they heard about this thread and removed the fee because of it), as well as their cover art, I have some sincere hope for this press.
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