Open Door Publishers, Inc.

[JMH]

Does anybody have any experience with Open Door Publishers Inc? Director / Owner Ladean Warner...

I know that they are vanity, but just wondered about anybody's experiences.

Thank you,

 

[aliceshortcake]

Does anybody have any experience with Open Door Publishers Inc? Director / Owner Ladean Warner...

I know that they are vanity, but just wondered about anybody's experiences.

Thank you,

I don't have any experience with them but their website doesn't fill me with confidence. Ladean Warner doesn't actually name the publisher of her first novel, The Keeper of Darkness, referring to it merely as "a POD (publish on demand)." In fact it was PublishAmerica. Not surprisingly she wasn't happy with their services, particularly the lack of editing and marketing, but thanks to her own press releases and her husband Joe Adamiszyn's help with author events the book

...was no. 1 on the publisher's bestsellers list for eleven months!

Joe Adamiszyn is listed as the CEO of Open Door Publishing, which according to Manta has 2-4 employees (http://www.manta.com/c/mvvdcsn/open-door-publishers-inc)

For the sequel, Beyond the Keeper's Gate, Ms Warner went with what she describes as "a small press". This turns out to be another pay-to-play, Melange Press:

A division of Word Alchemy, Mélange Press is a Partnership Publisher – we combine the best of traditional publishers and self-publishers to provide an optimal experience for new and experienced authors.

Traditional publishers have editors, designers, and publicists to tune a book to perfect pitch. At Mélange Press, our staff does the same, but on a more personal level. Since we are small we can focus on you as our partner in the process: you get hands-on, personalized attention from professionals who share your passion. And because you are a partner in the process, you get input and control in the editing and design process, as well as a hand in the marketing and promotional plans. But unlike traditional publishers, you retain the rights to your book, giving you options for negotiation other authors don’t have.

Working with Mélange Press means your book is produced, registered, and distributed by an established publisher – which means you are listed with major distributors like Baker & Taylor, listed with online retailers, and listed with eBook distributors. Self-publishers and print-on-demand firms leave you on your own to try to get placed in stores or distributed nationwide.

At Mélange Press, we partner with you on marketing plans, give you leads, design promotional materials, and work with you to devise the best targeted promotions for your book.

Much like the current self-publishing model, Mélange Press asks you to pay to publish, so you own the physical book. But unlike other self-publishing and print-on-demand models, you get a full-service staff, who will work with you no matter where you are in the
process. Whether you have a fully-formed manuscript or simply a great idea, we can work together to turn your ideas into the book of your dreams.

http://www.linkedin.com/company/melange-press

Apparently not having learned her lesson from PublishAmerica, Ms Warner wasn't happy with Melange's lack of marketing either and looked elsewhere:

While searching for another new publisher, Ladean and Joe talked to another publisher who was willing to publish her next two book projects. During that conversation, the publisher suggested that with all that we knew about [the]industry, the marketing that we had done, and the success we had with Ladean’s books, that we should consider opening our own publishing company. The publisher offered to do a joint venture and work with us to help the new company launch.

"All that we knew about the industry"? With respect, a couple of bad experiences with vanity presses hardly makes anyone an expert on the publishing business as a whole.

Although the Open Door website nowhere states that the company isn't a vanity press, it's worded in such a way that naieve new writers could mistake it for a small commercial publisher. Novices who haven't done their homework probably won't find it odd that they are asked to send their query letter AND manuscript at the same time! The company accepts all genres - not a good sign - and most of their covers look like a twelve-year-old's first experiments with Photoshop.

In short, Open Door looks like yet another well-meaning attempt by amateurs to play Publisher: the Role-Playing Game...

 

[CaoPaux]

Adding link: http://opendoorpublishers.com/

 

[priceless1]

The first giveaway to this publisher, opendoorpublishers.com, is the index page is geared toward authors, not readers.

Second giveaway is that they accept every genre under the sun. Most small presses specialize.

From their About Us page:

How are you different from other publishers?
What makes us different is that Ladean is a writer and writing is her passion. She knows what it feels like to want to write and be published. She knows what it feels like to hold that new book in her hand and knows how frustrating it is to not have the support needed in the process. Joe shares her vision of helping aspiring authors reach their publishing goals using their combined experience to make this a rewarding experience for each author. This is not a publishing mill where multiple books are being pushed out the door each day. But this is a family business where each author and book is treated with respect and care.

The implication is that this publisher is more caring and nurturing...all the typical wording we see with companies that know little about the industry. Love is nice, but it doesn't sell books. Note that they say nothing about their marketing, promotion, or distribution. It's all snuggy feel-good stuff.

Really, their About Us page really isn't about them and what they can provide for their authors in terms of distribution (which is NOT Ingram and Baker and Taylor), but an advertisement of how nice they are.

 

[jaksen]

You know some people watch horror movies to get their scares. Others bungee jump or ride roller coasters.

I get my scary thrills reading threads like these. Got a chill right now.

 

[aliceshortcake]

Note that they say nothing about their marketing, promotion, or distribution. It's all snuggy feel-good stuff.

Really, their About Us page really isn't about them and what they can provide for their authors in terms of distribution (which is NOT Ingram and Baker and Taylor), but an advertisement of how nice they are.

Considering that it was the virtual non-existence of PublishAmerica and Melange's marketing, promotion and distribution that inspired Ms Warner to set herself up as a publisher, it's richly ironic that she's being so coy about her own company's ability to provide these services!

 

[priceless1]

I'm not so sure it's about being coy as it is being woefully undereducated about how real publishing works. She has no solid frame of reference other than her myopic view of her own experiences, and that has prevented her from doing any research on the industry.

 

[JMH]

Thanks for all your input! As always your thought and experiences are appreciated.

 

[Maryn]

FWIW, someone at another writing site reports that s/he received an unsolicited email fro Open Door Publishers after being rejected elsewhere. No idea where they got the email address, but legitimate publishers don't buy email lists and contact writers out of the blue seeking manuscripts.

Maryn, aghast

 

[WriterInChains]

Looks like they're doing another blast e-mail campaign to solicit submissions. No idea where they got my e-mail addy (it's the one I use for school/personal stuff, not my pen name *shrug*). Hopefully this will bump the thread to the top of any Google searches by other writers in the "undisclosed recipients" list along with me.

AW saved me from sending a manuscript in to a similar "publisher" years ago. Thanks for the education, AW.

 

[CaoPaux]

No activity after '16.