Dorrance / Whitmore / RoseDog Books / Red Lead Press / I-Proclaim

[GothicKnight]

I just got an unsolicited email from David Braun at Dorrance. How does he even know I have a manuscript? I never contacted that company. P&E doesn't have a good opinion of them. I will not pay to have my book published. I would rather not be published at all.

 

[CaoPaux]

Did you register copyright on your manuscript? That'll paint you as a target for the likes of Dorrance and worse.

 

[GothicKnight]

Not as such, no. I did the old "mail it to myself" thing, but haven't registered formal copyright. I have no idea how they even knew I had a manuscript. I didn't send anything to any of the other Dorrance companies. I told David Braun not to email me anymore, and, so far, he hasn't. Hopefully that'll be the end of it.

 

[brainstorm77]

If they do, mark them as junk in your email filter.

 

[gcarlberg]

Publishers Weekly
Library Journal
Booklist
Kirkus

I would also include on that list a new online book review site called the New York Journal of Books as they are fast becoming a very creditable publication that publishes many reviews each week.

 

[CaoPaux]

Uh huh. FYI, spamming message boards is a great way to lose credibility.

 

[Pistol Whipped Bee]

Dorrance Publishing (merged into BR&BC thread)

Hi - What can any of you tell me about Dorrance Publishing? I've been contacted by someone in their office who expessed interest in reading my entire manuscript.

Best,

Jenn

 

[Soccer Mom]

Go ahead and read this thread, Jenn. I would think that could answer your question.

 

[Maddie]

I received one of those letters from Dorrance yesterday (and continue to about once a year). Apparently they peruse the Library of Congress for author copyrights (I have seven manuscripts lodged there, plus one pending). Having used AuthorHouse many years ago, and vowing to never self-publish again AND having read through this thread, I can easily say to Dorrance...no thanks!

 

[singsebastian]

Whitmore Publishing Company

Does anyone know anything about these guys?
They don't even have the rules for submitting to them. They just want you to tell them all about your book and then they'll e-mail you submissions but they promise the they are a traditional publisher.

Any opinions on these guys?
I didn't find them in my search. Maybe there is a really, really old thread?

 

[IceCreamEmpress]

Does anyone know anything about these guys?
They don't even have the rules for submitting to them. They just want you to tell them all about your book and then they'll e-mail you submissions but they promise the they are a traditional publisher.

My opinion is that you should stick with the publishers you know can sell books, not take chances on publishers about whom you know nothing. In other words, look for green flags to rule publishers in, not red flags to rule publishers out.

In this case, the current business known as "Whitmore Publishing Company" is owned by vanity publisher Dorrance. It is not related to the defunct small press that published in the 1970s.

 

[Sagitt1965]

I'm half scared to get into this again. I have no clue where to look for a publisher. My book is like a histrical romance. But been told it shouldn't be put there. Yeah, Dorrance publishing is trying to get me too

 

[aliceshortcake]

Sagitt1965, which companies publish the historical romances on the shelves of your local bookshop?

 

[AC Crispin]

In my experience, Whitmore is mostly a "bait and switch" to get the names of authors that Dorrance can then solicit. Whitmore does publish a few books, but I think they're mostly for show, and to draw potential customers to Dorrance.

I queried Whitmore myself a couple of years ago, just to see what would happen, and next thing I knew, Dorrance was emailing me and sending me literature.

-Ann C. Crispin

 

[AnneMarble]

Is Rosedog Press the same as Rosedog.com? If so, a Rosedog author is in big trouble with the law -- for allegedly attempting to hire a hit man.

Nancy Gelber, Crime Writer, Arrested In Botched Murder-For-Hire Plot

I'm annoyed at the tacky headline and the usual lack of research. She published one thriller with a vanity press, and that makes her a "crime writer"? A better headline would be "Vanity Press Author Arrested In Botched Murder-For-Hire Plot." Instead, they call her a crime writer, and that makes some people look funny at other crime writers (both nonfiction and fiction writers).

From the article: "Prior to her split with her husband, Gelber had her sights set on becoming a career writer. Her first novel, Temporary Amnesia, was published in August 2010." Yeah, great research on that publisher.

This is the book on Amazon:
http://www.amazon.com/dp/1434992063/?tag=absowrit-20

 

[James D. Macdonald]

Is Rosedog Press the same as Rosedog.com? If so, a Rosedog author is in big trouble with the law -- for allegedly attempting to hire a hit man.

Temporary Amnesia was published by RoseDog Press: http://rosedogbookstore.com/mys.html

That is a vanity press: http://rosedogbookstore.com/info.html

And is a part of Dorrance: http://www.rosedog.com/pod-services.asp?id=89B5FF5D-81F9-11D6-9829-0090277A4ED5

 

[AnneMarble]

Temporary Amnesia was published by RoseDog Press: http://rosedogbookstore.com/mys.html

That is a vanity press: http://rosedogbookstore.com/info.html

And is a part of Dorrance: http://www.rosedog.com/pod-services.asp?id=89B5FF5D-81F9-11D6-9829-0090277A4ED5

Thanks! That's what I thought, but I wanted to be sure.

 

[James D. Macdonald]

Much as I love mocking Dorrance, this one really isn't their fault.

 

[AnneMarble]

Much as I love mocking Dorrance, this one really isn't their fault.

That's true. They can be blamed for the cover, though. And the original cover price of $30. Yikes!

 

[kymalie]

Dorrance Publishling Co., Inc.

Hello everyone! Has anyone heard of Dorrance publishing Co., Inc.? It is soliciting writers with ads in USA Today. Thanks for any remarks

 

[Old Hack]

We do know about Dorrance here, and we have a thread all about them. With apologies to the BR&BC room mods, I'll merge this with the existing thread right now. Whoosh!

 

[James D. Macdonald]

Vanity press.

We know that any publisher that buys ads to solicit your book, whether in USA Today, the New York Times, or via Google Ads, isn't a publisher you want to have anything to do with.

I expect that Createspace and Lulu, Kindle and Smashwords, will put them out of business.

 

[kymalie]

Thank you so much for responding and leading me in the right direction.

What do you think of Amazon saying they will accept your publication? But you must upload it to them through Kindle or a computer that is Kindle friendly.

 

[AllyWoof]

They tried to take advantage of me some years ago. Thankfully, my friends here on AW asked me who was "interested" in my stuff and warned me away from them before I wasted peoples time and money on a bogus company.

 

[James D. Macdonald]

What do you think of Amazon saying they will accept your publication? But you must upload it to them through Kindle or a computer that is Kindle friendly.

We have a couple of entire sub-forums devoted to electronic self-publication. You'll want to make sure you know what your objectives are, and you need to be aware that while electronic self-publication can be "free" it isn't necessarily "easy."

I don't have a Kindle, and have no idea what a "Kindle friendly" computer might be, but I've had no problem uploading to either Amazon or Smashwords.