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Medallion Press, Inc. / Medallion Media Group

victoriastrauss

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Sakamonda said:
has been recognized as a professional market by the Romance Writers of America (RWA), which means that it pays competitive, industry-standard royalties and consistently achieves at least 5,000 copies sold of all its titles.
That's not quite right. A publisher must have sold a minimum of 1,500 hardcover or trade paper copies, or 5,000 copies in any other format (i.e., electronic or POD) of a single book in order to be recognized.

- Victoria


 

Sakamonda

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But. . .

Yes, but all the _romance_ titles Medallion publishes are mass-market paperback, which means they must meet the 5,000 copy criteria for RWA. RWA, to my knowledge, does not count a publisher's non-romance titles in the criteria.
 

victoriastrauss

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All a publisher has to do to qualify is to prove that one of its romance titles sold the minimum amount. They're not held to that minimum for all their romance titles. Obviously, it's a good sign for a small publisher if even one title can achieve that level of sales--but it doesn't necessarily mean that other titles sell in comparable numbers.

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Sakamonda

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OK

Yes, that's a good point, Victoria. But of note, I've also checked sales rankings on Amazon for Medallion's titles, and their titles consistently rank below 200,000, which is fairly decent for smaller-press genre titles. There are titles from major publishers that don't get Amazon rankings that high.
 
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Sakamonda

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clarification. . .

I should clarify that the above sales ranks are for the mass-market paperback romances at Medallion (that's my genre, so that's what I track). I can't speak for the sales rates on their other genres.
 

Stacia Kane

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Sakamonda said:
RWA is pretty rigorous about what it considers a professional market (and checks out all publishers who apply for that recognition), so the fact Medallion is one with RWA raises their credibility pretty high with me. I also find their titles on chain bookstore shelves consistently.

And my agent isn't hesitant about submitting to them, either. I guess what publishers legit agents will submit to really depends on the agent.

I wouldn't put so much faith in RWA's standards if I were you. All a publisher has to do is prove they sold over the required numbers of one title--they don't have to prove that their contracts are fair, that their editing is sound, that they work with instead of against their authors. A publisher could put out a charity anthology that sells well and use that to get RWA recognition, but that doesn't mean their other titles would sell anywhere near that well.

I'm not saying anything against Medallion. I've heard they're a good, legit small press and they're growing. I'm just saying, don't make the mistake of assuming that if RWA approved a publisher, they're worth your submitting your book to, because they don't vet contracts or ask writers their opinions, or even make sure all books are capable of getting the same kind of distro that their "qualifying" book got.
 

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Not true. . .

RWA also tracks royalty rates, contract terms, and editorial quality; they also require publishers to re-prove they meet the RWA standards each year, so if a publisher doesn't meet the criteria in another year after they were proved previously, RWA can then drop them from the approved list. (and does.).
 

veinglory

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They may track many things, but only that one thing (sales of a single title) is used to choose who as 'recognized'--I think that is the point being made here. You still need to research all the rest yourself.

(Is that the reason for the sudden burst of charity anthologies?)
 

Cathy C

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An anthology or collection doesn't qualify for meeting the definition of "novel" for RWA. The anthologies for charity are just able to get big names to them because they're asking for short stories or novellas, which authors often have the time to fit into their novel schedule.

DecemberQuinn said:
All a publisher has to do is prove they sold over the required numbers of one title

Actually, it's a yearly thing. Publishers have to resubmit their evidence each year to stay on the list. That was a major source of annoyance for a number of publishers this year, because they fell off the list and decided not to bother to reapply. Not every publisher CARES if they're on the RWA list. It's not the be-all/end-all of the business. It's just a useful thing if the publisher wants to submit a title for consideration in the RITA, and if the authors in the line ASK the publisher to apply so they can join PAN.
 

Stacia Kane

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veinglory said:
They may track many things, but only that one thing (sales of a single title) is used to choose who as 'recognized'--I think that is the point being made here. You still need to research all the rest yourself.

Thanks, Emily, that is indeed what I meant. RWA recognition is based solely on sales. It does not mean RWA considers that publisher's contracts to be good for authors, it does not mean RWA approves of their royalty rates, and it does not mean RWA approves of the quality of its stories or editing. In short, it doesn't mean you should sign the contract without vetting it carefully and finding out exactly what the publisher has in mind for your book.

From RWA's policy and procedure manual:

"To be an "RWA-Recognized Publisher," a publisher must be a royalty-paying publishing house that (1) does not offer subsidy or vanity publisher contracts to RWA members, (2) has been releasing books on a regular basis via national distribution for a minimum of one year, and (3) has sold a minimum of 1,500 hardcover or trade paperback copies or 5,000 copies in any other format, including print on demand, of a single romance novel or novella or collection of novellas in book form, in bona fide
arms-length transactions, and continues to sell a minimum of 1,500 hardcover or trade paperback copies or 5,000 copies in any other format of a subsequent romance novel each year."


(Is that the reason for the sudden burst of charity anthologies?)

I believe so, yes.
 
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Lauri B

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I seem to remember there being some discussion about Medallion losing some of its funding. I can't remember anything about it, though. Anyone else remember?
 

jkorzenko

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One of the founders separated themselves from Medallion due to personal health issues. Not sure if that had an impact on funding or not...I don't think so, though.

J.
 

UrsusMinor

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I'm not an expert on this, but Helen Rosberg--the original source of capital for the company--was the President, and continues in that role.

A few months ago, Leslie Burbank, Marketing VP, and her sister or sister-in-law, Wendy Burbank, left Medallion in some kind of shake-up (I have no idea what happened, only that the Burbanks vanished without a trace). At that point, Medallion closed their doors to submissions (except to authors alredy with the company) for an indefinite period.

They are now open to submissions again, and, as far as I can tell, things are back to normal and Helen Rosberg is still at the helm.
 

Memnon624

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Wendy is Leslie's mother-in-law, and though I have two books with Medallion I have no clue what caused the shake-up either. Otherwise, things are as Ursus mentioned: back to normal.

Scott
 

UrsusMinor

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Yikes, Scott--I didn't read below your signature line. Congrats on your deal with Dunne/St. Martin's. Dunne's list is quirky, but a real class act.
 
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Memnon624

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Thanks again, Ursus ;) I'm still trying to acclimate myself to the differences between publishers (communication works a bit differently, and my editor at TDB wanted an extremely detailed synopsis for the book -- it came out to 37 pages).

It's been an interesting journey so far . . .


Scott
 

Robin Bayne

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Cathy C said:
Actually, it's a yearly thing. Publishers have to resubmit their evidence each year to stay on the list. That was a major source of annoyance for a number of publishers this year, because they fell off the list and decided not to bother to reapply. Not every publisher CARES if they're on the RWA list. It's not the be-all/end-all of the business. .



That's true--for example, New Concepts made the sales # to qualify and applied---but were told that their trade paperbacks weren't quite the right physical size to be considered. (Nothing cold be cited in writing, this was just an arbitrary decision by RWA). NCP became so disgusted they will never apply for RWA recognition again. Which is sad, because their books are now in Borders and Waldens stores.
 

triceretops

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I think that any limitations and guidelines set by the RWA, or the SFWA for that matter, is a good thing and keeps the industry in check. Kind of like the AAR. Most agents and publishers want to aspire to organizations that reward professionalism and success. It's bragging rights, and adds a little prestige.

Tri
 

jkorzenko

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I agree, Tri.

Congrats, Scott. Very impressive.
 

Roger J Carlson

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Last night, I was thumbing nostalgically through my rejections and I came across one by Medallion. I didn't even remember submitting it to them. It was rejected because the word count was too low. Now, my novel is a YA SF novel. Generally YA novels run between 40-60,000 words and mine was 59,000. But apparently, they will only consider works between 80-120,000 words, period. No exceptions.

While I grant them their right to have any submission requirements they want, some of them seem a little...um...inflexible. If you are thinking of submitting to them, follow the submission requirements to the letter.