I am so lost

berylanne · Apr 27, 2008

Good day/evening. I have just finished two books that I started 20 some years ago; when my kids were little. I picked them up again this year while teaching in Korea. They are a part of an environmental series. There is so much information on the internet; who the heck do you trust? I have read about publishing on the web is this a good idea? I just want to go in the right direction to submit my manuscripts. My books are both factual and fiction environmental booksf or older adolescents, so I am not sure what category to put them under. Thanks so much!

Toothpaste · Apr 27, 2008

First of berylanne, welcome to AW!

Second, I don't know anything about Raider Publishing, but I'm sure others will, so I shall let them chime in.

Third, you don't need to worry about an illustrator. Illustrators are assigned to books once they have been accepted for publication. That isn't your responsibility. In fact submitting a MS with illustrations is actually a mark of an amateur.

So there you go! Hope I've been helpful some!

ETA: just found this thread here at AW about Raider Publishing, they don't look so good, but read for yourself and see what you think: http://www.absolutewrite.com/forums...76&highlight=Raider+Publishing+Company&page=1

Matera the Mad · Apr 27, 2008

Hiya! You're not lost, you found AW. All roads lead to and from here.

Welcome to our delightfully (insert word here) community.

CheriVixen · Apr 27, 2008

Congratulations on finishing your two books, berylanne!

aka eraser · Apr 27, 2008

Hi berylanne and welcome.

If you spent 20 years on those books, then spending a couple of months at AW researching the business end of writing will serve you well.

Start with reading the stickied threads in the Bewares and Background Checks board.

Good luck.

berylanne · Apr 27, 2008

Toothpaste said:
First of berylanne, welcome to AW!

Second, I don't know anything about Raider Publishing, but I'm sure others will, so I shall let them chime in.

Third, you don't need to worry about an illustrator. Illustrators are assigned to books once they have been accepted for publication. That isn't your responsibility. In fact submitting a MS with illustrations is actually a mark of an amateur.

So there you go! Hope I've been helpful some!

ETA: just found this thread here at AW about Raider Publishing, they don't look so good, but read for yourself and see what you think: http://www.absolutewrite.com/forums...76&highlight=Raider+Publishing+Company&page=1

Thanks sdo mcuh, that is kind of what i figured about an illustrator, just was not sure. NOw i just have to figure out which direction to go.

Daagzahav · Apr 27, 2008

I don't know Raider Publishing. May I ask why are you drawn particularly to them?

berylanne · Apr 27, 2008

Matera the Mad said:
Hiya! You're not lost, you found AW. All roads lead to and from here. Welcome to our delightfully (insert word here) community.

Thanks, that makes me feel much better. glad to have found you guys.

berylanne · Apr 27, 2008

Daagzahav said:
I don't know Raider Publishing. May I ask why are you drawn particularly to them?

HI, aI am not drawn to them, just trying to figure out the best way to get my books on the market. I am alwfully new to this; so I have been looking at all options. I found them browsing on the web

AnneMarble · Apr 27, 2008

berylanne said:
HI, aI am not drawn to them, just trying to figure out the best way to get my books on the market. I am alwfully new to this; so I have been looking at all options. I found them browsing on the web

According to Preditors & Editors, Raider is a vanity press. If you want the best for your book, don't use a vanity press because you'll spend a lot of money, only to learn that they can't get your book into the bookstores. Money flows toward the writer. Yes, I know, the Raider site says "Our extensive distribution system includes popular retailers such as Borders, Barnes & Noble and Amazon." That does not mean that they will be able to get your books in actual physical bookstores (which is still where most people buy their books). It only means your book will be listed on the websites for Borders, B&N, and Amazon.

Searching for publishers on-line is not the best way to find publishers. The first sites that will come up are vanity publishers such as Rain and companies such as PublishAmerica (also not recommended). This is because they use the Internet to lure new authors to their sites -- and thus get money from those authors. (Real publishers lure readers to their sites, not authors. Because their money comes from the readers. They actually pay the authors.) The best way to find a publisher is to go to bookstores and figure out which companies are publishing the type of book you want to publish. Then use sites like AW to learn how to contact them, or get an agent. (And don't pay reading fees, representation fees, etc. to the agent.)

You can learn a lot about publishing scams at Writer Beware:
http://www.sfwa.org/beware/
You can also learn a lot by the Bewares and Background Check board on AW.
There is a thread on Raider here:
http://absolutewrite.com/forums/showthread.php?t=22776&
It does not look promising at all. The company was founded by a former PublishAmerica author, which means their founder almost certainly knows as much as you do about publishing.

Also, their web design was terrible. Believe me, you can find a better publisher -- one that pays you.

Be sure to check that thread out. The publisher was founded by a former PA author

Note: Many vanity presses and similar scammers will try to contradict the information on Writer Beware, AW, and similar sites. Consider the source.

Who would you rather trust? A publisher that is nothing more than an overpriced printer? Or experts who have published books that you can find in stores?

chevbrock · Apr 27, 2008

Does Raider pub pay to put your work on the internet? If not, you may want to think very hard about submitting, because once the work is out there, it is "published", even in electronic format.

Personally, I would leave this as a last resort. Approach conventional publishers first. But of course, this is only my opinion.

AnneMarble · Apr 27, 2008

chevbrock said:
Does Raider pub pay to put your work on the internet? If not, you may want to think very hard about submitting, because once the work is out there, it is "published", even in electronic format.

They charge $699 for their basic package, which is a POD package. And they charged extra for services such as promotion and editing -- you know, the things commercial publishers do for free.

Charges can go as high as $1799 for the Silver package, and higher for the Gold package.

In other words, Ugh.

chevbrock said:
Personally, I would leave this as a last resort. Approach conventional publishers first. But of course, this is only my opinion.

Heck, I would avoid it even as a last resort. If you want to self-publish, fine, but why hire a middle man? Find a printer in your community, or if you want to use a service, use Lulu.com, which is much cheaper. (At least Lulu is honest about what they offer.)

berylanne · Apr 29, 2008

Can u tell me?

I was wondering how you go about finding publishers. I must not be looking in the right places. I have been looking for places that publish environmental books. also my book is fiction and non fiction so not sure how to classify it. Thanks, any info is appreciated.

Toothpaste said:
First of berylanne, welcome to AW!

Second, I don't know anything about Raider Publishing, but I'm sure others will, so I shall let them chime in.

Third, you don't need to worry about an illustrator. Illustrators are assigned to books once they have been accepted for publication. That isn't your responsibility. In fact submitting a MS with illustrations is actually a mark of an amateur.

So there you go! Hope I've been helpful some!

ETA: just found this thread here at AW about Raider Publishing, they don't look so good, but read for yourself and see what you think: http://www.absolutewrite.com/forums...76&highlight=Raider+Publishing+Company&page=1

berylanne · Apr 29, 2008

Thanks

Hi, thanks alot, you gave some valuable information. I am in korea so i do not have access to bookstores where I am. Any other ideas, please?

AnneMarble said:
According to Preditors & Editors, Raider is a vanity press. If you want the best for your book, don't use a vanity press because you'll spend a lot of money, only to learn that they can't get your book into the bookstores. Money flows toward the writer. Yes, I know, the Raider site says "Our extensive distribution system includes popular retailers such as Borders, Barnes & Noble and Amazon." That does not mean that they will be able to get your books in actual physical bookstores (which is still where most people buy their books). It only means your book will be listed on the websites for Borders, B&N, and Amazon.

Searching for publishers on-line is not the best way to find publishers. The first sites that will come up are vanity publishers such as Rain and companies such as PublishAmerica (also not recommended). This is because they use the Internet to lure new authors to their sites -- and thus get money from those authors. (Real publishers lure readers to their sites, not authors. Because their money comes from the readers. They actually pay the authors.) The best way to find a publisher is to go to bookstores and figure out which companies are publishing the type of book you want to publish. Then use sites like AW to learn how to contact them, or get an agent. (And don't pay reading fees, representation fees, etc. to the agent.)

You can learn a lot about publishing scams at Writer Beware:
http://www.sfwa.org/beware/
You can also learn a lot by the Bewares and Background Check board on AW.
There is a thread on Raider here:
http://absolutewrite.com/forums/showthread.php?t=22776&
It does not look promising at all. The company was founded by a former PublishAmerica author, which means their founder almost certainly knows as much as you do about publishing. Also, their web design was terrible. Believe me, you can find a better publisher -- one that pays you.

Be sure to check that thread out. The publisher was founded by a former PA author

Note: Many vanity presses and similar scammers will try to contradict the information on Writer Beware, AW, and similar sites. Consider the source. Who would you rather trust? A publisher that is nothing more than an overpriced printer? Or experts who have published books that you can find in stores?

AnneMarble · Apr 29, 2008

berylanne said:
Hi, thanks alot, you gave some valuable information. I am in korea so i do not have access to bookstores where I am. Any other ideas, please?

Read sites like Publishers Marketplace (sign up for their free e-mail) and Publishers Weekly to find out which publishers are buying books and which authors are selling books to which publishers. These sites cover commercial publishers, including some of the biggest names in the business.

You can look up titles on Amazon. That will give you a good idea of who the publishers are, especially for the kind of book you want to publish. But before sending anything to a publisher, ask about them on this site or on Preditors & Editors.

Also, this site has free (and paid) market listings for writers here:
http://www.absolutemarkets.com/

This page has a few guidelines about submitting to markets:
http://www.sfwa.org/writing/faq2.htm

The protocol for submitting fiction is different than that for submitting nonfiction. If you're submitting nonfiction, publishers want to see a proposal rather than the whole manuscript. If you're submitting fiction, most publishers want to see just a query letter and synopsis, and sometimes sample chapters, and if they like that, they'll ask to see the rest. But you must have a completed manuscript ready, or you'll be out of look if the publisher requests it.

berylanne · Apr 29, 2008

Writer's Digest Forum?

Hello again, just looking around the internet and was wondering if it is a good idea to go to the Writer's digest Forum, they say Once an item is posted, it is considered published and public information. I am not sure if that is good or not. Thanks so much!

AnneMarble said:
According to Preditors & Editors, Raider is a vanity press. If you want the best for your book, don't use a vanity press because you'll spend a lot of money, only to learn that they can't get your book into the bookstores. Money flows toward the writer. Yes, I know, the Raider site says "Our extensive distribution system includes popular retailers such as Borders, Barnes & Noble and Amazon." That does not mean that they will be able to get your books in actual physical bookstores (which is still where most people buy their books). It only means your book will be listed on the websites for Borders, B&N, and Amazon.

Searching for publishers on-line is not the best way to find publishers. The first sites that will come up are vanity publishers such as Rain and companies such as PublishAmerica (also not recommended). This is because they use the Internet to lure new authors to their sites -- and thus get money from those authors. (Real publishers lure readers to their sites, not authors. Because their money comes from the readers. They actually pay the authors.) The best way to find a publisher is to go to bookstores and figure out which companies are publishing the type of book you want to publish. Then use sites like AW to learn how to contact them, or get an agent. (And don't pay reading fees, representation fees, etc. to the agent.)

You can learn a lot about publishing scams at Writer Beware:
http://www.sfwa.org/beware/
You can also learn a lot by the Bewares and Background Check board on AW.
There is a thread on Raider here:
http://absolutewrite.com/forums/showthread.php?t=22776&
It does not look promising at all. The company was founded by a former PublishAmerica author, which means their founder almost certainly knows as much as you do about publishing. Also, their web design was terrible. Believe me, you can find a better publisher -- one that pays you.

Be sure to check that thread out. The publisher was founded by a former PA author

Note: Many vanity presses and similar scammers will try to contradict the information on Writer Beware, AW, and similar sites. Consider the source. Who would you rather trust? A publisher that is nothing more than an overpriced printer? Or experts who have published books that you can find in stores?

AnneMarble · Apr 29, 2008

berylanne said:
Hello again, just looking around the internet and was wondering if it is a good idea to go to the Writer's digest Forum, they say Once an item is posted, it is considered published and public information. I am not sure if that is good or not. Thanks so much!

Do you mean you want to post your work there for critiques? If the critiques are password-protected, then that is supposed to protect you because the work is not considered published. (Also, if you just use a forum to ask questions, even specific questions about your work, you're fine.)

By the way, this site has a critique section called Share Your Work. It's password-protected, and their are forums for a number of genres. The passwords are given on the site. However, if you're new to a site, it's considered good etiquette to critique other people's work before posting your own. That way, you're more likely to find people who will be willing to critique your work.

berylanne · Apr 30, 2008

Thanks again

As before you info is really helpful, thanks!

AnneMarble said:
Do you mean you want to post your work there for critiques? If the critiques are password-protected, then that is supposed to protect you because the work is not considered published. (Also, if you just use a forum to ask questions, even specific questions about your work, you're fine.)

By the way, this site has a critique section called Share Your Work. It's password-protected, and their are forums for a number of genres. The passwords are given on the site. However, if you're new to a site, it's considered good etiquette to critique other people's work before posting your own. That way, you're more likely to find people who will be willing to critique your work.

I am so lost

berylanne

Toothpaste

THE RECKLESS RESCUE is out now!

Matera the Mad

Bartender, gimme a Linux Mint

CheriVixen

Blushing Furiously

aka eraser

Fish Whisperer

berylanne

Daagzahav

berylanne

berylanne

AnneMarble

Nefarious Ghost Fan

chevbrock

AnneMarble

Nefarious Ghost Fan

berylanne

berylanne

AnneMarble

Nefarious Ghost Fan

berylanne

AnneMarble

Nefarious Ghost Fan

berylanne