Flying Pen Press

[Tigercub]

FYI: About three weeks ago, I did apply for the copyeditor position they were advertising for.

They blew me off. Never did get any sort of reply.

That makes it extremely unlikely that I'm going to submit my novel to them.

 

[Jamiekswriter]

I read that they're looking for steampunk novels. http://sixquestionsfor.blogspot.com/2010/07/six-questions-for-david-rozansky.html
Has anyone on here had any dealings with them in the last 6 months that can comment on the process? Anyone know what their distribution / marketing has been?

 

[coruscate]

I can't comment on how things are going with the books they publish, but I do follow the editor on Twitter. Today he said something that made my stomach turn:

Beginning to form competition concept based on newspaper experience. Get ARCs from competitors, then beat them to publication on same story.
​

This is shoddy business. Maybe not illegal, but unethical and squicky. I refuse to do business with a publisher who acts this way. Also, I will make sure my ARCs never get into his hands, if I can help it.

 

[M.R.J. Le Blanc]

They can do that all they like. One, an ARC means the story is coming out in a matter of months. So Flying Pen will show itself as a shoddy publisher by rushing publication of a story. Two, they can rush all they like but if the competitor's story is good, and Flying Pen's is crap, it won't matter what came first. If they want to be that stupid let them. They'd only be digging their own hole.

 

[colealpaugh]

They can do that all they like. One, an ARC means the story is coming out in a matter of months. So Flying Pen will show itself as a shoddy publisher by rushing publication of a story. Two, they can rush all they like but if the competitor's story is good, and Flying Pen's is crap, it won't matter what came first. If they want to be that stupid let them. They'd only be digging their own hole.

Maybe with some non-fiction subject matter...but stories? Plagiarize? A publisher with a stable of brilliant typists, knocking out chapters just like the ones in the ARC?

Newspapers editors hate to be beaten on a great story, but it's only the lazy ones who'd have his or her reporters rely on the competition for their scoops. You print great stories by hiring hardworking reporters who find and follow their own leads.

 

[coruscate]

If they want to be that stupid let them. They'd only be digging their own hole.

I agree. No way is a sneaky strategy like that going to work in the long run. In the short run, though, I'd rather not see the editor take down unsuspecting writers with him.

 

[M.R.J. Le Blanc]

Well plaigarising is going to open them up to lawsuits, in case that editor doesn't realize that. Like I said, if they want to be that stupid let them. I for one am not going to feel sorry for a publisher who resorts to this kind of thing and feels the sting when they get caught.

 

[Old Hack]

The pubilsher of the FPP asked me on Twitter why I disagreed with an article he'd written about the state of publishing today. I didn't have room to explain in 140 characters so asked if I could quote his article in full on my blog, and respond to it line-by-line. He graciously agreed, but he's not going to enjoy my blog posts. There's so much stuff to get through I'll be splitting it into numerous posts. Amazing, worrying stuff.

 

[coruscate]

Could you post links when you get those posts written? I would be interested in reading them.

 

[Old Hack]

I'll try to remember to do so, but if I forget, you could check my blog (there's a link in my signature) in a week or two.

 

[foreverstamp]

This pub just lost all credibility! What a joke of an editor. I kind of feel sorry for the authors who have their work associated with this guy.

 

[Old Hack]

Just to let you know, the first part of my response to David Rozansky is now up on my blog, with four more episodes to follow over the next couple of weeks (I know I am obsessive, but I didn't want to bore my blog-readers too much). You can read that first part here.

I've left Mr Rozansky a link to my blog post on Twitter, too, to ensure that he knows it's up--I don't think he's seen it yet, though, as I've had no direct response from him yet.

 

[Old Hack]

Last night on Twitter, in response to a question about an agent who had asked for an exclusive, Mr Rozansky wrote:

But I have to ask, are you getting any reimbursement for the "exclusive option to consider"? Because you should

Agents and publishers do not pay for the promise of an exclusive submission. He is completely wrong here, but when I challenged him (I tweet as @hprw if you would like to read our discussion) he insisted it was "unethical" for agents not to pay for exclusivity. In support of his argument he wrote this:

Well, the ASJA has very strong words about submitting material without a contract in place first. http://is.gd/6jP0w9 #askagent

But that link discusses articles commissioned by newspapers / magazines, has nothing to do with submissions to agents, and doesn't support his argument at all.

I don't think Mr Rozansky is malicious in intent: but he is not at all well-informed about publishing, and he seems unable to present a coherent, logical argument. I would not even consider submitting to this publisher based on this twitter exchange alone.

 

[eqb]

I tried to visit the Flying Pen Press website today and got this message:

Account for domain flyingpenpress.com has been suspended

(NOTE: The WHOIS record shows the domain registration hasn't expired.)

 

[priceless1]

Last night on Twitter, in response to a question about an agent who had asked for an exclusive, Mr Rozansky wrote:

But I have to ask, are you getting any reimbursement for the "exclusive option to consider"? Because you should

Agents and publishers do not pay for the promise of an exclusive submission. He is completely wrong here, but when I challenged him (I tweet as @hprw if you would like to read our discussion) he insisted it was "unethical" for agents not to pay for exclusivity.

Ach, why does this man continue with his ignorance? It's not like authors don't encounter that enough on their own? Now we have a supposed "professional" spouting off all the wrong stuff? Ugh Makes me want to drink Draino.

 

[CaoPaux]

Parts of the site are stale, but it's up, and they've been publishing steadily. Of the last half-dozen or so books, sales rank ranges from 200k to 2 mil.

 

[Cassiepoe]

There was a huge blowup with this guy on the #askagent hashtag on Twitter tonight. Several agents called him out on giving bad info on Twitter, and using the tag for increasingly large amounts of self-promotion.

His response was, to say the least, ungracious:
"I've been giving #askagent advice for over a year, get nothing but thanks & kudos. Tonight, I'm blasted by agents. Must have hit a nerve."

He also then basically took his toys and left:
"OK, you guys win. I'm taking leave of #askagent. 25 years of success and advice in publishing, now my secrets."

I have to say, I'm both shocked (as a newbie writer, I was following him on Twitter and he seemed to be giving decent advice - but what do I know, I'm a noob!) and relieved - I had been just about to ask him for a private consultation on where I could take my work next!

Needless to say, after those Twitter posts, I unfollowed him immediately.

 

[Old Hack]

Cassie, I've watched much of the advice he's dished out and it's poor. Do please read the blog article I linked to above, which might explain a bit.

 

[Cassiepoe]

Cassie, I've watched much of the advice he's dished out and it's poor. Do please read the blog article I linked to above, which might explain a bit.

Yeah, I'm picking at it now (it's in my Firefox tabs, but my brain is melting at this hour of the night.) Still, that'll teach me to always crosscheck here first before making any business dealing with 'writing people' on Twitter, hmph.

 

[KalenO]

Yup, actually agents have given him flack for it before in the past, but he's insisted on coming back. But really, its in the name of the hashtag. If you're not an agent, don't act like you are.

 

[michael_b]

One of their authors is going to be a 'guest' at an upcoming convention in Denver.

They also haven't released any new titles since September.

Glancing at their book covers made me flinch. The Western genre are the worst and appear to be cobbled together from professionally published covers with elements clipped out and Photoshopped together. (I could be wrong, but those western covers have very familiar looking cover art elements.)

 

[JulieB]

Which convention is this? To be fair, different conventions have different criteria for guests.

 

[michael_b]

Which convention is this? To be fair, different conventions have different criteria for guests.

Starfest.

 

[JulieB]

That author has some other, solid writing creds. (That is, if you and I are thinking of the same one.)

You know, I know people with similar creds who have gone with smaller presses. Sometimes they do well. Sometimes it's a mistake. I'm not going to make a call either way, but I think his publisher isn't doing him any favors with a web site that hasn't been updated in ages.

 

[eqb]

Aaaaand, David Rozansky (FFP's owner) is trying to cash in on the Nightshade debacle:

https://twitter.com/DavidRozansky/status/320232996684849153