Napkin Books

[cameronknight]

Has anyone heard of Napkin Books? (Canadian publisher, appear to be quite new, can find them here: http://www.napkinbooks.com)

Their website is quite sparse (as well as being poorly edited, with many grammatical and punctuation errors).

Any reliable info, whether positive or negative, would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks!!

Cam.

 

[CaoPaux]

A cached "About" page is little help. The old address was an apartment and the current is a commercial space.

Without knowing who/what's behind the company, there's nothing worth pursuing, IMO.

 

[aka eraser]

The poorly written content on their site should be enough to earn a pass from any discerning writer.

 

[triceretops]

Canadian citizens only.

Tri

 

[cameronknight]

Thanks guys (I am a Canadian citizen, hence my interest). An acquaintance of mine has accepted a contract from these people, for her novel which is coming out in January. She has worked hard on the novel over a long period of time and is very excited about its imminent publication. She insists that Napkin Books are legit, however they do not appear to be members of the Association of Canadian Publishers - which, coupled with the poorly edited website, gives me pause.

I do hope she's not getting ripped off. I guess if, in January, her book is front and centre in my local Chapters, I'll have to eat my words.

Cam.

 

[astonwest]

She has worked hard on the novel over a long period of time and is very excited about its imminent publication. She insists that Napkin Books are legit...

Unfortunately, those of us who have been around long enough have seen that same sort of situation and author opinion from many others who have been taken up by some of the worst types of publishers.

Hoping for the best with regards to your friend, but not expecting good things. But then, I've been wrong before...

 

[Lainey Bancroft]

I wish your friend all the best, but I wouldn't be lining up at Chapters to search out her book.

January isn't all that far away, if her release is a sure thing, I'd expect the publisher site would have a cover, blurb and release date listed.

I know publishers large and small have to start somewhere, but it always baffles me when sites launch with NO content whatsoever.

 

[victoriastrauss]

It's always a good idea to avoid brand-new publishers until they've actually proven they can publish books.

- Victoria

 

[brianm]

Someone on this site sent a request for more information and received a response from Napkin Press. Here are a couple of excerpts from that response.

For yourself before you submit anything to anyone; you should mail
your own copy of the work to yourself. Leave it sealed and date
stamped by the post office, so if ever need be you could open it in a
court of law to prove it was yours.

Oy. This is an indication they are really quite clueless.

As for the name of a contact person, you state that "you are actively
interested in getting published". It is the policy of large publishing
companies not to accept unsolicited manuscripts, Most large publishing
companies require authors to have agents. Both Random House and
Penguin Group do not list contact person's for submissions but
discourage submissions. So we are not sure to whom you are referring
to that posts their editor contact details. We are a Publishing House
and our editors are employed to edit after our directors have selected
work which they feel they can promote and will be successful.

Okay, so you are a new company but you don’t want anyone to know who is behind the company?

If you are going to open a new company, it is expected that you would indicate who is behind the company in order that you can assure people you know what the heck you are doing. Not wanting to tell anyone who you are is a major red flag and usually indicates the people behind the company haven't got the experience and knowledge to open a publishing house. If they did, they would be posting that information smack dab in the middle of their homepage.

It also appears that their office is located in an apartment building.

 

[aka eraser]

How long, ya figger, before someone at Napkin Googles themselves and shows up here to rebut?

I'm gonna set the over/under at 10 days.

 

[brianm]

How long, ya figger, before someone at Napkin Googles themselves and shows up here to rebut?

I'm gonna set the over/under at 10 days.

Hmm... is there bingo in our future?

 

[herdon]

For yourself before you submit anything to anyone; you should mail
your own copy of the work to yourself. Leave it sealed and date
stamped by the post office, so if ever need be you could open it in a
court of law to prove it was yours.

Oy. This is an indication they are really quite clueless.

Just so everyone understands the meaning here, what Brian is eluding to is the fact that sending yourself a sealed copy of your manuscript is a copyright "myth" -- it won't hold up in a court of law.

Any publisher should know this.

 

[CaoPaux]

Any publisher should also know what an (acquiring) editor is/does. There's a whole new level of cluelessness at work here, folks: Don't just walk away, run.

 

[cameronknight]

By the way, I received the exact same form letter in response to my enquiry.

A fellow (published) writer friend suggested I check the Association of Canadian Publishers. Guess what? Napkin Books is not listed as a member.

The aforementioned acquaintance is now apparently engaged in meetings with a graphic designer, provided by Napkin, for cover art and promotion. I certainly hope she has not paid any money to them for this service. As well, they are creating a Youtube trailer for promotion of her book. ?? Is this normal practice for a publisher?

I too, would have expected the website to at least have a listing of published works. That is of course, unless they don't have any ...

Re: copyright - you are absolutely correct regarding the old "quick and dirty" copyright myth - the only way to secure legal copyright is to register your work (the Writer's Guild of Canada can help with this - there is a small fee, around $50) and it is a simple process. You are given a copyright number and a dated certificate which is legally valid. Anything else is just not good enough.

Thanks to all for your excellent thoughts - I will wait to see what happens with my acquaintance's novel ! In the meantime, I just signed up for NaNoWriMo so I'd better get cracking!

 

[victoriastrauss]

As well, they are creating a Youtube trailer for promotion of her book. ?? Is this normal practice for a publisher?

The YouTube trailer is now the gold standard of pseudo-book marketing. It's free, it requires no special expertise, and because it's very Web 2.0, it lets the publisher act all savvy and cutting edge. In reality, there's no evidence that book trailers sell books, or that anyone is going to pick out your YouTube book trailer from among the gazillion other things on YouTube. When well-done, which many aren't, trailers are a neat idea and can be a part of an integrated promotional plan. But they are no substitute for real marketing and distribution.

Re: copyright - you are absolutely correct regarding the old "quick and dirty" copyright myth - the only way to secure legal copyright is to register your work (the Writer's Guild of Canada can help with this - there is a small fee, around $50) and it is a simple process. You are given a copyright number and a dated certificate which is legally valid. Anything else is just not good enough.

By law, you have copyright from the moment you write down the words. Nothing else--including registration--is required. Registration is an extra step you can take, in the very few countries that offer a formal registration process--but while registration may confer extra evidentiary benefits (and in the USA is necessary in order to file an infringement lawsuit), it provides no additional protection.

- Victoria

 

[Momento Mori]

Email from Napkin Press:
We are a Publishing House and our editors are employed to edit after our directors have selected work which they feel they can promote and will be successful.

Uh-huh. So they don't have acquisitions editors - the selection work is done at board level. That kind of suggests that they don't have many personnel in their company.

MM

 

[cameronknight]

It's funny that when I did a Whois search, the Napkin website came back registered to an address in Dublin, Ireland (although their "office" address is listed as Burlington, Ontario, Canada).

And Victoria, I understand and agree with you that copyright automatically resides with the author as a matter of law, but in general, registration would be preferable in the event of any kind of plagiarism attempt or legal challenge of ownership. Ownership of intellectual property is notoriously difficult to prove in the courts, and to have a publisher suggest the old "mail it to yourself" trick smacks of the worst kind of amateurism.

 

[Karen_Dales]

I just LOVE it when folks I don't know, who don't know ANY of the Facts fabricate information, especially when said individual claims they are an 'acquaintance' of mine.

On that note, please let me introduce myself...

I am Napkin Books' debut author in Canada. The contract is still being negotiated and if signed soon, my novel will NOT be out in January. I don't know where this January date came from. It will be out in May 2009 if all goes well.

Since they are a small house publisher, finding my novel in Chapters/Indigo nationwide is not realistic. Chapters/Indigo's take on any book is too great on a national level for an emerging publisher and author. It will be available by independent book sellers and online.

As for not being a member in the Association of Canadian Publishers, not all publishers are. For example, Edge Publishing in Alberta and Penguin Press in Ontario is NOT and they are quite reputable. Membership in a non-government body that does not bestow publishing privileges does not mean a publishing house is disreputable.

As for their website...well, wait until the contract is signed. Also I have seen MANY author websites and small publishing houses that were hack jobs. Theirs is just more of a holding place.

I have also never paid one cent to them for anything, graphics or otherwise. As for what other misinformation that is going on, if you anyone here has any questions, I'd be happy to answer them in so far as I am able to.

Yes, Napkin Books is brand new in Canada, and a small publishing house. MANY small and medium sized publishing houses have one or two people in them. To expect the same level of business practice as one of the Six Sisters is ridiculous.

Oh....and I checked with my intellectual rights councilor (yes I have one...my brother in law) and if one can't legitimately copywrite their work in Canada, mailing oneself a copy works and holds up in Canada. EACH country has their own copywrite laws and therefore when a book or other intellectual property crosses boarders, copywrite needs to be maintained for that country within their country's copywrite laws.

Intellectual property is easy to prove in the courts if one is properly protected through a well devised contract. Case in point. J.K. Rowling.

Sincerely,

Karen

 

[Old Hack]

(snippetty-snip:
Oh....and I checked with my intellectual rights councilor (yes I have one...my brother in law) and if one can't legitimately copywrite their work in Canada, mailing oneself a copy works and holds up in Canada. EACH country has their own copywrite laws and therefore when a book or other intellectual property crosses boarders, copywrite needs to be maintained for that country within their country's copywrite laws.

I think you mean copyright, Karen.

(PS: Welcome to the cooler. There's lots here that you might enjoy.)

 

[victoriastrauss]

Oh....and I checked with my intellectual rights councilor (yes I have one...my brother in law) and if one can't legitimately copywrite their work in Canada, mailing oneself a copy works and holds up in Canada.

There's a very simple reason why mailing a copy to yourself and retaining it unopened (a.k.a. poor man's copyright) probably won't hold up in court (anywhere): it's too easy to fake. You could have mailed the envelope empty, and filled and sealed it later.

Retaining drafts, notes, synopses, query letters, and other material relating to the work will establish ownership much more effectively.

- Victoria

 

[IceCreamEmpress]

I just LOVE it when folks I don't know, who don't know ANY of the Facts fabricate information, especially when said individual claims they are an 'acquaintance' of mine.

I would suggest that it's probably not you who is being discussed here, but someone else who actually is having a book published in January and meeting with cover designers now, as cameronknight describes.

Why do you think that cameronknight's post is about you?

Oh....and I checked with my intellectual rights councilor (yes I have one...my brother in law) and if one can't legitimately copywrite their work in Canada

Canada has an Intellectual Property Office through which authors may easily register copyrights on their intellectual property.

mailing oneself a copy works and holds up in Canada.

It really doesn't. And it's ridiculous for a publisher to suggest that someone follow the outmoded "poor man's copyright" canard rather than registering a copyright with the Intellectual Property Office.

EACH country has their own copywrite laws and therefore when a book or other intellectual property crosses boarders, copywrite needs to be maintained for that country within their country's copywrite laws.

This is completely false, and I refer you to the Intellectual Property Office's own website for confirmation.


I don't know anything about this Napkin Books, but refusing to give the acquisition editor's name to a prospective submitter is bizarre. And, Canadian folks, please familiarize yourself with the Intellectual Property Office's FAQs on Canadian copyrights rather than going with the guidance of Napkin Books or its authors' brothers-in-law.

 

[Stacia Kane]

I would suggest that it's probably not you who is being discussed here, but someone else who actually is having a book published in January and meeting with cover designers now, as cameronknight describes.

Why do you think that cameronknight's post is about you?

That was my thought, too.

 

[brianm]

CopyRIGHT is automatic in Canada, just as it is here in the USA. Meaning your work is protected by Canadian law the minute you place pen to paper. I expect Karen is confused about registration when she uses the word "legitimately" in her response.

Again, any publisher who advises a writer to mail themselves a copy of their manuscript to protect copyright is clueless.

 

[ejket]

Oh....and I checked with my intellectual rights councilor (yes I have one...my brother in law) and if one can't legitimately copywrite their work in Canada, mailing oneself a copy works and holds up in Canada.

What is your brother-in-law's profession? Under what circumstance couldn't one "legitimately" copyright one's work in Canada? (I guess if it's not yours you couldn't...) Sorry for all the questions, but what you're saying makes no sense to me. One thing is certain: the "poor man's copyright" was never effective for anything except wasting postage.

EACH country has their own copywrite laws and therefore when a book or other intellectual property crosses boarders, copywrite needs to be maintained for that country within their country's copywrite laws.

Also incorrect. Read this.

You can register copyright in Canada here, and if you're interested, the WGC also offers a registration service. If I were you I'd be concerned that my publisher doesn't know any of this stuff---which is the original context in which the subject came up.

 

[Lainey Bancroft]

((HUGS)) Karen!

Sorry you were introduced under questionable circumstances. Please don't misunderstand. No one here wishes You (or your publisher) ill-will. It just is...what it is...And what it is, is 'questionable circumstances' with some newer publishers. But I hope you don't leave here thinking 'negativity' is a theme. There is soooo much great information (for not only new writers, but also new publishers) I hope this hasn't soured you on the value of research and I wish you the very, very best!