Does it still mean the book sucks??

So if a publisher offers you a contract, and despite the fact that you did research them before sending out and thought they were okay, and then it turns out that they really aren't, so their motives may be questionable, does that still mean that the m/s that they said they would take really still sucks? If they will take just about 'anything' should I assume that mine was just a piece of garbage that they agreed to publish because it suited their needs? Do the questionable publishers take good books at all or just the ones that appear to come from desperate writers or do they still have some sort of selective process? I'm past the disappontment stage and the embarrassed stage, and I think, maybe unfortunately, that the really really angry stage is starting to wane as well. Guess that just leave blue funk on a really rainy day. Thank God this business doesn't have a 'three strikes and your out' clause.

I guess my real problem is that I don't understand what they have to gain, especially in this case. To me it just seems cruel, especially when the publisher is a writer as well. Why does a person open a publishing company, obtain writers who sign contracts, print books, and then do nothing to sell them? And although I clearly understand the negative aspect for the writer when it comes to these publishers demanding the copyright be transfered, if the publisher does nothing to market the book then how is having the copyright a benefit to them? This company did publish in my genre, did have ISBN's, but it wasn't until I saw the contract and then really started to look that I realized what was going on.

I totally understand the copyright thing and that was the reason I passed on the offer. It would be like selling my soul to the devil. It just totally escapes me why someone would go to all this trouble of setting up a company and acquiring m/s and for what? If they don't promo the book, its not going to sell so they aren't going to be rolling in dough. They could hold the best all-time ever m/s in their hands but it won't amount to anything because they don't do anything with it. The author may work to sell some copies, but if the book isn't available save through the publisher's website, and there are no reviews or releases or anything, what is the benefit to the publisher? The whole point of obtaining something by questionable methods is that you can make money from it. These guys do nothing with it, and then prevent you from doing anything else through another agent or publisher, so even when you die, you are still unknown to the world, so your work isn't worth spit. It seems that they go through an awful lot of trouble for virtually no return, and reap the benefit of destroying careers along the way. The company I was in contact with has taken copyrights from writers and makes it clear they can do anything with them, but in actual fact they do nothing. That's what confuses me. Not to imply that any publisher is criminal, that's sort of the world I know and a person doesn't plan to rob a bank simply because he coveted the pen that was chained to the counter.

Thanks, Janet!!!
I just think there are way easier (and cheaper) ways of making money. It seems like a lot of work for a little return.

I was always under the impression that a publisher carefully selected m/s to follow-up on based on, among other things, saleability, because they don't want to invest so much money in something that will not go anywhere. That makes sense to me. -- actually, yahoo for the publishers who are selective and demand the best from us. All the rest of this nonsense just seems to pointless though -- a nobody wins thing.

Okay, my little self-rigtheous snit is over!!! Thanks for bearing with me. Therapy -- more m/s submissions. Time to carry on!!!