Moongypsy Press

[para]

Saw this advertised recently on a loop.
http://www.moongypsypress.com/

Hot bed of conflicts there from the looks of things.

 

[C.M. Daniels]

Too many red flags for my taste. We'll see if they last.

 

[Marian Perera]

The CEO, senior acquisitions editor, layout editor and cover artist are all listed under "authors" as well.

The CEO's bio mentions that she's an "award-winning, published author", so I looked her up on Amazon. She has two books there - one from CreateSpace and the other from iUniverse.

 

[M.R.J. Le Blanc]

The CEO's bio mentions that she's an "award-winning, published author", so I looked her up on Amazon. She has two books there - one from CreateSpace and the other from iUniverse.

*headdesk* It boggles the mind how people can think they can lie on the internet. On the INTERNET!

 

[Momento Mori]

Moongypsy Press Website:
We value the true artistry that exists here, be it staff, authors, or cover and tech artists. For they are ALL artists in their own right. Not just good at their craft, but true artisans. Artistry rises above the masses to climb the heights and never stops striving for the pinnacle. That is who we are.

Unfortunately in publishing it's business and sales that matters as much as art - unless you plan to be subsidising your product and making a loss.

Moongypsy Press Website:
It is a place where we value the humanity of each individual and treat everyone, even outsiders, with the respect they deserve as fellow participants in the dream of life. We are all people who care deeply about each other and give encouragement, support, and shoulders to lean on in times of distress.

That's all lovely, but how does it sell books?

Moongypsy Press Website:
Moongypsy Press is accepting submissions in the following genres:
Military Fiction
Science Fiction
Paranormal
Suspense/Mystery
Animal Stories
Young Adult
Graphic Novel

Moongypsy Press is accepting non-fiction submissions in the following genres:
Self-Help
New Age
Paranormal
Family and Social Issues
Young Adult
Comedy/Humor/Satire/Parody

Apart from the fact that I'm not aware of "animal stories" as being a genre, that's a wide variety of genres that they're looking to accept. Given that their primary focus appears to be on romance, I'd usually expect to see a new publisher focus on a particular genre and gain a reputation within it before moving into other territory.

There appears to be a lack of publishing, marketing and editorial experience within the editorial and marketing staff. It would not surprise me if all marketing is via Twitter and Facebook.

There is no information on book distribution or availability, although it seems that they're contemplating doing printed books and ebooks.

There is no information on whether advances are payable or whether authors are remunerated via royalty payments only.

There is no information on the rights that Moongypsy Press take.

I'm sure that they're all a great and enthusiastic bunch of people, but I'm not seeing a lot there that would make me want to trust them with my manuscript.

MM

 

[jensoko]

If they value the humanity of each individual, then why are there "insiders" and "outsiders?" Honestly--I don't need a support group, a therapy group, or a group hug from my publishers. I need savvy business relationships and the ability to sell my books.

 

[kristin724]

Are there any pubs out there that aren't a bunch of well intentioned authors failing at bucking the system? Anymore a new epub seems like a who you know club floundering in the dark. There's a great bunch here, but not a lot of know-how or capital.

 

[HapiSofi]

Their self-description sounds like a pretty decent writers' group, but nothing at all like a publishing house.

 

[Donna Pudick]

Their website is still up the last time I looked, but methinks they are floundering. Or maybe just overwhelmed with work. They don't answer their emails and a good buddy of mine was offered publication, but the contract never arrived.

 

[jennontheisland]

Their website is still up the last time I looked, but methinks they are floundering. Or maybe just overwhelmed with work. They don't answer their emails and a good buddy of mine was offered publication, but the contract never arrived.

Lucky him.

 

[Donna Pudick]

I got a sneak peek at their contract to my friend, which came a full month after they made him an offer. It's a very poor one.

And from what I've learned from him and others, there seems to be a serious lack of communication between the editors, principals, etc., and the authors, with unanswered emails, etc.

They even sent an edited manuscript back to this author who hadn't signed the contract, but rather had withdrawn his work. Another (better) publisher had made him an offer at the same time, and he took it, then notified Moongypsy that he was passing. They paid no attention to his notification.

Despite the fact that he had withdrawn his work, Moongypsy went ahead and edited it.

A certified letter seems to be the only way to communicate with these people. Fortunately, their address and telephone number was on the contract. They don't publish either on their website.

A near miss, but with a good ending. I hope.

 

[Momento Mori]

Donna Pudick:
They even sent an edited manuscript back to this author who hadn't signed the contract, but rather had withdrawn his work. Another (better) publisher had made him an offer at the same time, and he took it, then notified Moongypsy that he was passing. They paid no attention to his notification.

Sounds like your friend had a near-miss.

Having read through a selection of excerpts on the Moongyspy website, the standard of editing doesn't seem to be that great. I've spotted punctuation and grammatical errors in 4 or 5 books that they're advertising, which doesn't instill confidence.

MM

 

[michael_b]

Their website appears to be down/gone.

Edit: Nope, just painfully slow to load.

 

[Donna Pudick]

The edited manuscript was forwarded to me by the author and was edited with track changes. Most of it was for content, rather than grammar. The content changes were decent, and I actually agreed with most of them. The manuscript was so clean, there was only one typo (an extra word) that I could find. But then I'm not a proofreader.

Still, sloppy business practices won't win them any fans.

 

[Donna Pudick]

Recently this company has cleaned up its act. They are prompt with answering queries and other communications. Their authors are also editors, which seems to be the case with many very small publishers. They are beginning to delve into other genres, such as mystery and thrillers. Their present contract is much better and is highly negotiable and author friendly. I'm going out on a limb and say that I feel they deserve a chance. Time will tell.

 

[Jamiekswriter]

I see you don't need an agent to submit to them.

Anyone know if they offer advances and how much royalties are they taking?

 

[Donna Pudick]

You don't need an agent to submit to them, but my client requested it, so I sent in a ms that had made many rounds to the big and small publishers. A lot of pre-formatting is needed with many of these small publishers. They want a synopsis, bio, marketing plan, etc., up front, and my client didn't have the time or inclination to prepare all that stuff. So I did it for him. No advances, but what they offered (decent) and what we got him (much better) made him happy he had an agent backing him. Everyone is content at the moment. Of course our client will have to be much more agressive in promoting his book, but that's the price of doing business with a very small publisher.

 

[priceless1]

Recently this company has cleaned up its act...I'm going out on a limb and say that I feel they deserve a chance.

Having a better, negotiable, author friendly friendly contract is certainly a good thing. But I don't see how contractual changes and diving into additional genres (which is risky for a small publisher) equate a potentially successful company.

Seems to me authors and agents should look at a company's ability to market, promote, distribute, and sell books as to determining whether they deserve a chance. Moongypsy doesn't list a distributor. Just sayin'...

 

[victoriastrauss]

On Amazon, their books are listed as published by CreateSpace...so it's wholesale only.

You could publish to CreateSpace yourself, and avoid being tied to an exclusive contract.

- Victoria

 

[priceless1]

Yikes. Then I really do have to ask Donna what makes her believe these guys deserve a chance. How or what can these folks do that will benefit author's writing careers?

 

[veinglory]

Frankly the involvement of agents in the sales of books that will make a few hundred sales continues to bemuse me. I assume this is not their only source of income...

 

[kaitie]

Honest question here, but if that's what the client wants, can the agent really say "No, I absolutely refuse?" Someone else in another thread recently had a similar situation, and I was under the impression that it was the client's decision, not the agent's. I'm just wondering if an agent can really force a client's hand if they want something specific?

 

[Sheryl Nantus]

Frankly the involvement of agents in the sales of books that will make a few hundred sales continues to bemuse me. I assume this is not their only source of income...

I might be awfully dense, but I can't see the benefit of having an agent to submit to publishers that'll take subs WITHOUT agents.

Without any advance and small sales, where's the benefit for the agent? And what's the benefit for the author, who ends up paying for services that he/she could do her/himself?

Nothing against agents but I'm not seeing why there's a flood of agents racing to represent authors for small and, in some case, questionable publishers.

???

 

[veinglory]

I am speaking of the agents that have appeared recently (at least 2 of them) that actively specialise in epublishers, and not the top-selling ones either. Like Sheryl, I don't get it.

 

[kaitie]

Maybe they're betting on epubs being the next big thing, and think that if they can get in on the ground floor their authors will skyrocket?