Malice Press

[Jeffrey Pace]

Started up in August of 2007. MD Miller is editor. Anyone heard of them?

 

[Uncarved]

ok HORRID website.
And a call to my local bookstores tell me that they carry No titles by them at all.

I'd pass, but we'll wait for the more informed to chime in.
t

 

[Jeffrey Pace]

Yeah, pretty blah, although they did just get started.

 

[brianm]

Jeffrey,

It helps to provide a link.

http://www.malicepress.com/

Appears to be a niche genre publisher/printer that wants books that shock and use the F-bomb?

No info regarding background, experience, distribution, marketing, etc.

There are two books shown in their bookstore. The first one is authored by Mike Sharlow whose first book was self-published.

The second book in the bookstore is also by Mike Sharlow using his pseudonym of Michael David. The book was originally published back in 1993.

I gathered that information at his website located here.

http://www.mikesharlowwriter.com/

I read a wee bit from the second book…

Lilith lowered her blouse sleekily over her shoulders…

I sleekily stopped reading at that point.

It’s possible Mike Sharlow is also Malice Press, but there really isn’t much to go on.

EDIT: The reason I think Mike Sharlow is Malice Press is based on his book being offered as a free download. I don't know any authors who would want their publisher giving their work away for free.

 

[allenparker]

PA published

One of the links for a book offered by this company comes back as a PA version of the book. 15.00 for a 90 page collection of short stories.

I am not sure if the owner of this company is a PA author turned publisher or just coincidence that the book was previously published by PA and that is what they linked to.

Allen

 

[Jeffrey Pace]

Thanks for that Brian.

Take care

Jeffrey

 

[Jeffrey Pace]

I sleekily stopped reading at that point.

LOL

 

[J. R. Tomlin]

EDIT: The reason I think Mike Sharlow is Malice Press is based on his book being offered as a free download. I don't know any authors who would want their publisher giving their work away for free.

Then you aren't acquainted with most of the Baen authors or Eric Flint.

Edit: I know nothing about Malice Press but giving away older works is a common marketing tactic and according to Eric Flint it is a highly successful one. I refer you to the long-standing Baen Free Library and Eric Flint's many articles in the Baen magazine on the subject, and he does include sales figures.

 

[Momento Mori]

Other warning signs to note from the Malice Press website:

We are open to novels, novellas, and volumes of short stories and poetry.

Whilst I love short stories and have a lot of admiration for poets, short story collections/anthologies and books of poetry don't tend to be money makers, which means that many publishers won't touch them.

We want writing that would be rated at least "R".

I've never heard of a publisher with a rating requirement before (oh okay, maybe some of the erotic literature publishers who want something steamy ).

Some of our publishing ideas may be unorthodox, but the goal is to exist and thrive in a very competitive environment.

Without distribution in place, you don't stand a chance in the publishing game. At the moment, its books are only listed as being available on Amazon and Barnes & Noble's website. That's not encouraging. They should have got the distribution sorted before opening to submissions.

Science Fiction, Horror, Mystery, thrilller, Western and any other genre, sub-genre, or cross-genre is appropriate for Malice Press.

Start-ups tend to specialise in one or two genres, where they can build up contacts and distribution. If they're accepting everything, then they're going to find themselves swamped with submissions (even allowing for the R rating requirement).

Then there's the fact that there's no previous publishing experience cited by the owner, other than a brush with PA. Whilst there's no shame with having been duped by PA it doesn't qualify someone to set up their own publishing house (although it seems that there are always some former authors who think it does).

I don't think the guy's a scammer or anything, he seems to be a well-intentioned but clueless amateur. I'd second the recommendations to avoid.

MM

 

[J. R. Tomlin]

Sorry to be argumentative, well being my usual self, but don't most erotic publishers such as Ellora's Cave have something similar? It's a genre requirement. But I'm nit picking. I wouldn't submit to these people. They don't look like they have the knowledge or background to be a success most likely. Or if they do, I'd let someone else be their guinea pigs while they prove it.

 

[Momento Mori]

Yes, J. R. Tomlin - that's why I made the point of saying that erotic publishers who want something steamy may specify a rating:

Me:
(oh okay, maybe some of the erotic literature publishers who want something steamy ).

Although as far as I know, Ellora's Cave doesn't carry a rating specification (although they do set out a list of things they don't view as erotica)

MM

 

[JerseyGirl1962]

I refer you to the long-standing Baen Free Library and Eric Flint's many articles in the Baen magazine on the subject, and he does include sales figures.

That's immediately what I thought of when I saw Brian's post. So giving away freebies doesn't necessarily mean a publisher is suspect.

However, Malice Press sounds like a publisher to avoid (esp. eye rolling is the fact that they take every genre known to humankind).

For those interested, the Baen Free Library is here.

~Nancy

 

[J. R. Tomlin]

Exactly. I want to emphasize my kind of pointing out weaknesses in a couple of statements does NOT equal thinking anyone should submit to these guys. But anyone who would hesitate to submit to Baen, for example, because they give away work is, in my opinion, getting the wrong information.

Thanks for putting up the link to the free library which I didn't think of. Eric Flint has written a number of articles about how giving his work away has affected his sales figures. I recommend reading those. I think it might surprise some people. Baen started doing this back around 2000.

I'm a long way from one of the forum experts, but these guys seem to have several red flags that at the least they're clueless.

 

[veinglory]

I think giving away work to sell a backlist is quite different to giving away one of the only two books you have? Something can be fine in one context and a red flag in another.

 

[J. R. Tomlin]

Context would certainly be a factor, Veinglory. But if it's a series, giving away the first might be a good way to spark sales of the second, which is what Baen has done a lot. You'll notice, for instance, that on the Free Library only the first of the three books that make up Elizabeth Moon's Deed of Paksenarrion is given away. However, that would mean that Malice had Baen's marketing savvy which seems less than likely.

 

[herdon]

Backlist or not, first part of a series, or all of the series, it's a decent bet that an author at one of the big publishers can sell more physical copies by having a free electronic version available on the web. Not that the people reading the e-book would buy the physical book, though I am sure some would, but mainly because word-of-mouth is one of the top selling points of any product.

 

[Mike Sharlow]

Malice Press is a new small press publisher. They've agreed to publish one of my novels. The website isn't full of bell's and whistles, but there are alot of self-publish websites that look very professional, probably operate professional, but at the same time take your money to publish you. If you're an unknown or beginning writer, publishers like Malice Press are an opportunity to acquire exposure. Given the level of competition, it seems most new writers somehow believe they are destined to make a living writing. Personally, knowing the editors of Malice Press, I've been informed that they've received about 200 submissions since openeing in August. They've only accepted a couple for publication. More than likely these writers that submitted probably first began with the bigger, paying, publishers, then worked their way down to Malice Press, like me. Malice Press is legit.

 

[Momento Mori]

Hi, Mike and welcome to AW.

Mike Sharlow:
If you're an unknown or beginning writer, publishers like Malice Press are an opportunity to acquire exposure.

Are you able to tell us what sort of distribution Malice Press has in place? Are they actually able to stock your books in bricks and mortar book stores or will your books only be made available over websites like Amazon?

What sort of exposure do you think Malice Press can give you over and above what you could do via a self-publishing site like Lulu? Do they have a marketing plan in place for your book? If so, what sort of things are they going to do to help you promote it?

Mike Sharlow:
Given the level of competition, it seems most new writers somehow believe they are destined to make a living writing.

I'm not sure that's true. You do get some new writers who think that they're going to be as rich as Rowling or Dan Brown, but I think that most people who are serious about the craft acknowledge that they'll need a day-job to supplement the advances and royalties. However, even mid-list writers do make money from their writing, which leads me to ask whether Malice Press paid you an advance for your book (and if so, are you able to share the ballpark figure) and what sort of royalties they're paying you and how those royalties are calculated.

Mike Sharlow:
Personally, knowing the editors of Malice Press, I've been informed that they've received about 200 submissions since openeing in August. They've only accepted a couple for publication.

Well, that's a better sign that some publishers out there because it suggests some kind of quality control is being operated. However, it's difficult to see what sort of deal those authors are getting if Malice Press can't get stores to physically stock those books and given the fact that the owner of Malice Press doesn't seem to have any credentials within the publishing industry, it's hard to determine whether the company has enough knowledge to do right by those it is taking on.

Mike Sharlow:
Malice Press is legit.

For what it's worth, I don't think Malice Press is a scammer - they're not asking for money up front and they're not suggesting an editing service (from what we've seen so far). However, I'd certainly want to see some assurances as to distribution before I'd recommend signing them. Whilst there's nothing wrong with start-up publishers, as an author it's usually better to wait for a year or so before submitting a manuscript to them so that you can see what their track record is.

MM

 

[CaoPaux]

It’s possible Mike Sharlow is also Malice Press, but there really isn’t much to go on.

Start with the payment info for "Michael Miller" on the book page.

 

[Donna Pudick]

What worries me about this press is the large number of typos and grammatical errors on their website. As one of my fellow authors said, "I could do better drunk and left handed."

Makes you wonder how well their books will be edited, if they ever get around to actually publishing books.

DP

 

[brianm]

As one of my fellow authors said, "I could do better drunk and left handed."


DP

You just described me. I'm Irish and left handed.

 

[Donna Pudick]

Come to think of it, Sharlow's spelling and grammatical mistakes are strangely familiar. Oh, yeah. I read them on the Malice website.

And Brianm, I never said anything about being drunk and Irish!

 

[CaoPaux]

I'd forget this page was so, um, wack. http://www.malicepress.com/submissions.htm

In any case, no activity since 2008.

 

[CaoPaux]

Addendum: Name/domain bought by the folks at BuyZombie.com, who (per FB) tried to relaunch it in '12, but apparently without success.