• Guest please check The Index before starting a thread.

Freedom Forge Press

Terie

Writer is as Writer does
Super Member
Registered
Joined
Jan 18, 2008
Messages
4,151
Reaction score
951
Location
Manchester, UK
Website
www.teriegarrison.com
The founder has no publishing experience, and although the editor appears to be generally qualified, she also has no actual experience working for a publisher and has a difficult, time-consuming day job (English teacher).

'Publisher' is not a part-time job, and people with no industry experience tend not to end up with successful presses.
 

kaitie

With great power comes
Super Member
Registered
Joined
Sep 10, 2009
Messages
10,994
Reaction score
2,525
It reads very 'Tea Party' to me, but that was at a cursory glance.

Yeah, it basically sounded that way to me, too. You can't say you want something "nonpartisan" and then basically ask for stuff of a particular party. It doesn't get to be nonpartisan just because you left off the name.

Anyway, annoyance at their dishonest mission statement aside, I'm not sure even if they had the experience that I'd want to go for a publisher like this. They're looking for books that promote a particular ideology. They might actually sell well among people who believe the same thing, but in my experience books written to make a point aren't usually very good books.

From a personal perspective, because they have a very narrow definition of what they're looking for (reading the comments on their blog is enlightening as well), I wouldn't want to be associated with them because I'd worry about alienating readers in the future.
 

Filigree

Mildly Disturbing
Super Member
Registered
Joined
Jul 16, 2010
Messages
16,441
Reaction score
1,529
Location
between rising apes and falling angels
Website
www.cranehanabooks.com
I actually give them points for being fairly honest about the kinds of submissions they want. They are far from nonpartisan, and the terms they use are standard 'code' to attract attention from like-minded writers and readers. I am not likely to send them anything, but I appreciate a publisher who gives fair warning.
 

robjvargas

Rob J. Vargas
Banned
Joined
Dec 9, 2011
Messages
6,543
Reaction score
511
I'm reaching, but could references to non-partisan be an attempt to deny any formal relationship with an actual political party? It occurs to me that such a relationship could have tax ramifications they don't want.
 

Terie

Writer is as Writer does
Super Member
Registered
Joined
Jan 18, 2008
Messages
4,151
Reaction score
951
Location
Manchester, UK
Website
www.teriegarrison.com
I don't think the discussion about what kind of material they're looking for is actually relevant. If a writer writes that kind of material, what they need to know is whether this is a good publisher for them to submit to.
 

Samsonet

Just visiting
Super Member
Registered
Joined
Sep 5, 2012
Messages
1,391
Reaction score
184
Location
See my avatar? The next galaxy over.
True. Looking at the store page, it doesn't seem like they've got much out. I don't know whether or not that's a good thing? But the covers look kind of amateurish to me.
 

AdrianLynn

I haunt QLH
Super Member
Registered
Joined
Aug 13, 2011
Messages
630
Reaction score
155
Location
U.S.
If this ideology is your cup o' tea then the things I see that they're not clear on are what rights they're taking and how much they're paying on the anthologies, novels and novellas. I'm assuming that would all be covered in the contract, but I would just make sure that the part under "Unpaid Submission Opportunities" that says "FFP is looking for people who want to write stories (real or fiction) about freedom and liberty" is truly only referring to blog posts.
 

Hoplite

Return of the Coffee Shield
Super Member
Registered
Joined
Dec 20, 2013
Messages
1,367
Reaction score
203
Location
On a mitten surrounded by big lakes
Thought I drop a note in here and provide an update for anyone looking at this press.

I sold a sci-fi short story to them for their 1st anthology back in 2013. The anthology has since been published. Authors received a $10 check advance against royalties (which cleared!), contributor's copy, and we all have a (very, very small) royalty. Perhaps no surprise, but almost a year later and the royalty isn't anywhere near the $10.

The editors were prompt to emails, questions, friendly, etc. Edits I received to my story were mostly grammar, few word choices, no major changes to the story. Overall it was easy to work with them. However, as others have noted here, they do have a certain political philosophy. I haven't had any dealing with them since so I don't know if my information is out of date.
 

Maggie Maxwell

Making Einstein cry since 1994
Super Member
Registered
Joined
Jun 21, 2013
Messages
11,682
Reaction score
10,343
Location
In my head
Website
thewanderingquille.blogspot.com
Oh, huh, this is the press of a guy in my critique group, wrote the non-anthology book on their sales page. He seems happy with them and his experience so far. I can update if anything changes.
 
Last edited:

Topaz044

Resident Zombie
Super Member
Registered
Joined
May 19, 2008
Messages
508
Reaction score
49
Website
www.warofthesoulites.com
Hi guys,

I have a story in their upcoming anthology. At first I wasn't sure if it would be considered because the setting behind it was apocalypse themed, but they did take it. Also, they set deadlines, meeting them, and follow up if the author is late on response. Considering that I am also waiting on two projects that are overdue with other publishers this is a huge plus. I'll let you know how it goes :)
 
Last edited:

David B

Ironhide
Registered
Joined
Aug 18, 2014
Messages
8
Reaction score
1
Hi, just thought I might help here.
My fist book was just published (June 16) by Freedom Forge, and I can tell you without the slightest reservation, they're very good people to work with. If they can be said to have any sort of fault at all it is in a lack of experience, but they are learning fast, and hell... even Random House had to start somewhere. Eric and Val are the BEST, and i would not hesitate a moment to recommend them to anyone.
 

dondomat

Banned
Joined
Mar 9, 2011
Messages
1,373
Reaction score
225
I checked out Amazon, saw an interesting book "Grandchildren of Liberty" which looks like something I would have devoured when 15.

The author seems a "Heinlein cover band"--but so many people are, it's a legitimate subgenre. The general output of world class respectable publishers like Baen reads like nothing happened after Poul Anderson, Murray Leinster, and Heinlein, and this is fine.

(...I wish there were more Brian Aldiss and Philip K Dick and Clifford Simak cover bands, though, but it's one thing to be influenced by and to reproduce AC/DC, and quite another--Hendrix...)

The Kindle version appears to be selling...not well...thus far, and the paperback is priced somewhat surprisingly, considering these are people from a subgroup that is known to claim to grasp clearly and deeply the glorious mechanics of supply and demand. Could be early day miscalculations, or a general counter-productive turbo-ego thing, time will tell.

I wish the author all the best, and the publisher too. Quite likely this one will stabilize as another 'demo publisher' where one makes one's chops before moving on to bigger venues, or where one publishes one's hobby joys--it's good to have such ventures. As long as what's what and what's not is clear to all new authors.
 
Last edited:

David B

Ironhide
Registered
Joined
Aug 18, 2014
Messages
8
Reaction score
1
Thank you so much for your kind good-wishes. but my opinion of the company stands.

As to the cover price, it's a function of a small print run... as i said, we are both just getting started.

Any other gems of wisdom you would care to bestow from your elevated position of great experience?
 

dondomat

Banned
Joined
Mar 9, 2011
Messages
1,373
Reaction score
225
Temper, temper, sentence number three ruins everything :D

This is a writer's forum, and people will constantly give advice and opinion--asked and unasked, for your sake and for other people's sake, neutral and biased--so get used to it, clamp down on the knee-jerk, and sift for useful stuff and ignore what you deem useless.

Want it or not, as an enthusiastic author, you're currently a public representative of the publisher, and what you say and how you behave will color everything.

Good luck.
 

David B

Ironhide
Registered
Joined
Aug 18, 2014
Messages
8
Reaction score
1
Sorry i thought i was simply replying in kind... and perhaps your right. sentence three might have been a tad over the top.