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Flying Pen Press
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Just spotted this on Twitter https://mobile.twitter.com/DavidRozansky/status/429441300300300288?p=v
Apparently all SF titles have had rights reverted to the authors. (I'm not sure why. Mr. Rozansky sets off a bad vibe so I don't follow his Twitter feed much.)
ETA: I went back through his feed and it seems that the SF titles weren't making any money for Flying Pen. So he reverted all the rights yesterday in order to focus on regional books in the hopes that it will make the press profitable again.
Apparently all SF titles have had rights reverted to the authors. (I'm not sure why. Mr. Rozansky sets off a bad vibe so I don't follow his Twitter feed much.)
ETA: I went back through his feed and it seems that the SF titles weren't making any money for Flying Pen. So he reverted all the rights yesterday in order to focus on regional books in the hopes that it will make the press profitable again.
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I emailed an editor who had previously worked with Flying Pen about the recent rights reversion of the SF books.
She said that there was no prior notice that Flying Pen/Rozansky was intending to let go of the books. He notified the editors after he had made the announcement and that she actually heard about it from one of the other editors prior to receiving a letter from Rozanksy.
She also said he never publicized the books and didn't offer an advance. He didn't even want to pay her an editorial fee for her work putting together the anthology. It was only after she told him that she did not work for free that he said he would write in an "editorial bonus" for having delivered the manuscript on time.
She did say that the product itself, the books, were not bad and that if all you wanted was to see a title in print he did provide that service. But Rozansky didn't send royalties/statements on time, didn't list the books for awards, and didn't do publicity.
She also stated she did not want her name associated with Flying Pen or Mr. Rozansky in any way (which is why I'm reporting this second hand).
Since Rozansky is apparently pushing forward with the publication business with a focus on Colorado regional titles and guides, it seems worth noting these data points. He has also said that if they start making money again, he'll open back up to other genres.
She said that there was no prior notice that Flying Pen/Rozansky was intending to let go of the books. He notified the editors after he had made the announcement and that she actually heard about it from one of the other editors prior to receiving a letter from Rozanksy.
She also said he never publicized the books and didn't offer an advance. He didn't even want to pay her an editorial fee for her work putting together the anthology. It was only after she told him that she did not work for free that he said he would write in an "editorial bonus" for having delivered the manuscript on time.
She did say that the product itself, the books, were not bad and that if all you wanted was to see a title in print he did provide that service. But Rozansky didn't send royalties/statements on time, didn't list the books for awards, and didn't do publicity.
She also stated she did not want her name associated with Flying Pen or Mr. Rozansky in any way (which is why I'm reporting this second hand).
Since Rozansky is apparently pushing forward with the publication business with a focus on Colorado regional titles and guides, it seems worth noting these data points. He has also said that if they start making money again, he'll open back up to other genres.
I've had Mr. Rozansky follow me, then unfollow me, then follow me, then unfollow me ad nauseam on Twitter. I presume he's looking for some sort of follow back.
He also apparently likes to take #askagent tweets and "retweet" them for #askpub.
Uh, no, if I was looking for #askpub I'd use that tag....
The guy just seems skeevy
He also apparently likes to take #askagent tweets and "retweet" them for #askpub.
Uh, no, if I was looking for #askpub I'd use that tag....
The guy just seems skeevy
Yeah, he's given some really questionable advice on Twitter. Especially regarding authors bringing a platform for the publisher to use.
Oh, god, not this again. No. Bad publisher! Do your own marketing; the author platform may or may not be gravy, but you should not be relying on it. If you have to use your authors' hard work to make most of your sales, you are an ineffective publisher (or more likely, a vanity publisher getting money from your authors instead of readers.)
I've read some of his other Twitter advice. #GaveMeAHeadache
This one's downright precious:
[@DavidRozansky
Due to overspamming of it, I will not be attending Sept. 9 #PitMad, and I will block the hashtag. And reporting the worst offenders. Enough!
3:00 a.m. Wed, Sep 3]
This may be a good place for a link to a blog post I wrote about the dark side of Twitter pitches.
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He has done this with last night's #askagent, reposting the question and then his answer on #askeditor. I don't follow him, I only know because he reposted my tweets.
Yes, he just retweeted my #askagent question directed at a specific agent who'd said he'd be on the hashtag. David changed the hashtag to #askeditor and rephrased my question as though I asked him, then answered my questions. While I appreciate his answers, I got confused as to why he'd changed the hashtag. After reading this thread, I'm certain it was for his own promotion. Now, I wonder how accurate his answers were:-(
Anyone who wants to see the change for themselves can view it here--> https://twitter.com/pdpabst/status/604455532309512192
Anyone who wants to see the change for themselves can view it here--> https://twitter.com/pdpabst/status/604455532309512192
His advice runs counter to everything author friendly I've run across. And some of it is just downright wrong. Not to mention jumping on the #askagent hashtag and switching it to either #askeditor or #askpub
Personally, I would never work with him. The aforementioned incident where he tweeted a 'possible new business model' which involved getting ARCs from other pubs, then ripping their idea and publishing first via a stable of in-house authors was more than enough to make me think I would NEVER show him one of my MS.
MS or story theft is pretty rare, but the fact that he actually advocated it (in the form of sniping ideas/concepts/plots) is just wrong.
I completely agree! Red flags were raised when he switched the hashtag and removed the @name of agent I'd directed my question to. I definitely will never submit. I'm not new (so-to-speak), just finally made a profile. I've stalked the Absolute Write threads for some time, for this exact reason...to find the weasels. Figured I'd better start participating since AW has kept me from some bad dealings. I hope no one thinks I promote David since he RT'd as though I'd asked him. I feel rather bad for thanking him now because he RT'd that too with a message to ask him anytime.
He used to participate in the #AskAgent discussions, but several of the literary agents who also participated began pointing out his many mistakes. He withdrew (I think he complained that he was being trolled, but that might have been with regard to something else, I'm not sure) and has avoided that hashtag ever since.
He knows very little about publishing, he makes lots of misleading claims, and I wouldn't touch him or his services with a ten-foot pole.
He knows very little about publishing, he makes lots of misleading claims, and I wouldn't touch him or his services with a ten-foot pole.
Site stuck in '11, 'cept for a "Flying Pen Press is changing! Check back soon to see our new look!" tag that appeared in '14 .... Put out some Kindle editions in '14, but nothing new since '13.
The editor still gives out spectacularly bad advice on Twitter on a regular basis. Frequently hijacking questions with the #AskAgent #AskPublisher hashtags. He also solicits submissions via Twitter.
He's still at it. This week I had a #askagent Tweet that he hijacked, gave bad/confusing advice, and is now acting like he knows better than agents and publishers alike. My encounter with him is how I ended up on this thread. Good to know it wasn't just me that thought his tweets were "off" (and website is horribly unprofessional and amateur-looking).
Basically my question was how to count page numbers when agents/publishers ask for it to be in the body of the email (no attachments, which makes complete sense to me). He talked about typewriter settings, margins, etc (none of which matter in an EMAIL), but then goes on to say this:
"As a publisher, I’m real leery of working with anyone who doesn’t know that an rtf or txt file is always virus free or that a doc can be sterilized of macros when opened. It shows a lack of basic document-handling skills. I expect agents to be experts at this. Few are. "
I had a real long discussion with my 'computer guy' other half, who also talked to his IT brother, and both decided this guy really doesn't know anything about computers/documents/viruses. In fact, one pointed out his poor grammar ('an' in front of rtf)! Not a publisher I'd want to work with, that's for sure.
No worries, agents and publishers. I'm not leery AT ALL if you don't accept attachments. I get it COMPLETELY! And since most don't accept them for VERY good reason, what's he playing at here?
Mr. Rozansky is flat out wrong.
Malware can and does reside in plain .txt files, including .rtf files and this has been known for more than twenty years.
.txt can contain malicious code. Easily. So can .rtf (which basically .txt with markup tags, much like .html).
Moreover, there are potentially other kinds of malware besides MS Macros in MS word files. Lots and lots of them.
Finally, particularly with email attachments, you can name the file anything you want; so an executable file (.exe or .app, for instance) can be named anything, including .rtf or .text.
Yes. Rozansky still does weekend #askeditor/#askpublisher/#askagent sessions on a nearly weekly basis. Plus the weekly #scifichat. His advice in the former ranges from really mundane to actively harmful. And almost all of it boils down to shilling for new submissions. None of it ever makes me think he is a professional who really understands the industry at any level and he's pretty quick to suggest that agents and trade publishers are out of touch and interested only in preserving the status quo and authors should look for out of the box thinkers (like himself) if they expect to succeed in the "new marketplace".
I used to follow him around the various Twitter publishing chats and refute much of the nonsense he tweeted. He ended up blocking me, rather than engaging in conversations about how things really work in publishing. I can imagine that if anyone asked him what his sales were, as a result of his out of the box thinking, he'd block them too.
This is pretty much the same conversation I had with my IT guy this morning.
As a new submitting author, even I was leery of Rozansky's nonsensical advice, so I can't imagine how anyone at all is taking him seriously. I'm glad I dug further on him, and know to disregard anything he has to say.
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I thought for sure there had been a thread on this publisher before, but I can't find it. (I tried both the search and looked through the Agent/Publisher index. If I missed it, a mod can feel free to merge this thread with that one.)
Apparently, Mr. Rozansky is starting FPP back up some time in the new year. In the past his publishing practices were... against the grain, so to speak. (He runs a weekly-ish chat and is a frequent user of the AskPublisher hashtag on Twitter. His advice is also frequently against the grain.) I would approach his relaunch with a lot of caution.
Apparently, Mr. Rozansky is starting FPP back up some time in the new year. In the past his publishing practices were... against the grain, so to speak. (He runs a weekly-ish chat and is a frequent user of the AskPublisher hashtag on Twitter. His advice is also frequently against the grain.) I would approach his relaunch with a lot of caution.
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Ok. So I might be blind, but at least I'm not imagining things. (Well, outside of the book-writing, that is.)
- Joined
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- In my head
- Website
- thewanderingquille.blogspot.com
It's pretty far down in the index, post 7. No biggie. I knew as soon as you described the hashtag situation that we definitely had a thread on it here. XD
Now I've got the Sesame Street song in my head: "One of these things is not like the others, one of these things doesn't belong...."
(my bolding)
