[Pub] Winding Road Stories

[MarlynnOfMany]

Does anyone have insight into this new publisher? They liked my PitMad pitch on Twitter, and I'm hesitant. They seem very new, run by someone whose experience isn't exactly in the same ballpark. The website is very bare-bones: no information about contracts or authors they rep. According to this tweet, they appear to have published their first book just two weeks ago.

Every publisher has to start somewhere, but this is very new. I'm hoping somebody has info to add?

The links:
their website
their Twitter account
their Editorial Director's account

PS: as someone on Reddit pointed out, that new book has been up on Amazon for two weeks, and it hasn't gotten a single review. Surely there should have been ARCs sent out at least.

 

[frimble3]

The more experienced and knowledgeable will be along soon, but, as I'm awake, here's my two cents:
1)The site is brand new- maybe let them experiment on someone else's books?
2) 'By authors, for authors' suggests a lack of experience in the business of publishing.
And, possibly, a conflict of interest.
3) And, on the website, there's talk about 'we' but only information about 'he'.
Maybe wait and see how they shake out after a few other books and some time has passed?

Their first book is on Amazon for two weeks and nothing?
That's not just 'no ARCs', that's 'couldn't even persuade a friend or relative (of the publisher) to take a copy and write a review'!
What makes you think they might be a good choice for your book, that you've put some effort into?

 

[mrsmig]

Hmmmm.

A six month-old press, publishing nonfiction and all genres of fiction, with a website geared to authors rather than writers. Not a good start.

Their founder, Michael Dolan, is the force behind a luxury magazine aimed at upper echelon athletes; his LinkedIn profile shows a background in magazine editing and publishing. So there's that. However, no other staff is listed, although they've got a boatload of authors on board already.

However, periodical publishing is not the same as book publishing. The fact that their first book has been released on Amazon but nowhere else (an internet search turned up nothing but the Amazon listing and an ARC offer on Booksprout) and has zero reviews since its 11/15 release tells me that this press does not have marketing or promotion in place for their books.

Maybe they'll get their act together in time. If you're still interested, I'd recommend keeping your eye on them for now, but hold off submitting.

 

[MarlynnOfMany]

Yeah, that's kind of what I figured: there's nothing that says they won't turn out to be good eventually, but there's also nothing that says they're good now. And a few key details that say they're probably not.

 

[Unimportant]

At least wait til you can see what their cover art looks like

 

[mrsmig]

At least wait til you can see what their cover art looks like

I wasn't terribly impressed with their first book's cover. I mean, it's got the right feel for the genre, but otherwise it seemed a bit generic.

 

[Unimportant]

I wasn't terribly impressed with their first book's cover. I mean, it's got the right feel for the genre, but otherwise it seemed a bit generic.

The cannabis one? Agreed. It seems weird that all these books listed as 'forthcoming in fall of 2021 onwards' (with fall/autumn being in the past), all they've got are photos of the authors. No book covers.

ETA: there is one book from them listed on Amazon. With a book cover.

 

[MarlynnOfMany]

Two months later, they've liked a pitch of mine in a different pitch party, and despite hoping that they look more reputable now, I'm disappointed. Their website doesn't have links to their books, and that first book still only has four reviews. I've done better by self-publishing.

Is there anything I'm missing, or is this still square one?

 

[Anna204]

They liked a pitch of mine as well. And what irks me is the total lack of any books or links on their website. A pass for me.

 

[MarlynnOfMany]

I totally missed the books the first time I looked at their site; there's a blurb section at the very bottom, under the part that looks like the end of the page. No links, nothing useful, just short descriptions with a photo of each author. There aren't even covers visible, except for the last one, which is written by an anonymous cannabis mogul, apparently.

And the one above that is a how-to for cryptocurrency, which is a turnoff of a different kind.

 

[frimble3]

I totally missed the books the first time I looked at their site; there's a blurb section at the very bottom, under the part that looks like the end of the page. No links, nothing useful, just short descriptions with a photo of each author. There aren't even covers visible, except for the last one, which is written by an anonymous cannabis mogul, apparently.

And the one above that is a how-to for cryptocurrency, which is a turnoff of a different kind.

No covers, but big pictures of the authors. Who but the author or the author's mother, would rather see a picture of the author than a picture of the cover (or a sample of the book)?
If the story is good, I'm not going to judge the author's looks. And if the story isn't good, I don't care what the author looks like.

 

[XhesikaV]

Michael Dolan liked a pitch of mine late last year during one of the events, and I went ahead and tried submitting regardless of my reservations.

I was rejected; however, he did give me the most valuable feedback on my MS that I'd ever gotten.

 

[Brigid Barry]

Link

Founded by Michael Dolan and they gave me a like during PitDark today (10/20/22). Looked up a couple of their books and the covers aren't terrible even though the sales rankings and reviews are not good.

No previous thread - anyone know anything about these folks?

ETA: I submitted my materials around 6 and got a confirmation email from the director about an hour and a half later.

 

[mrsmig]

Yeah, I thought that name sounded familiar. There's a previous thread here.

 

[Mevrouw Bee]

I recognize that one. Liked a pitch of mine about six months ago. I didn't submit after looking at the website. Doesn't sound like they/he's made much progress in the past year.

 

[Brigid Barry]

Yeah, I thought that name sounded familiar. There's a previous thread here.

Thank you, I asked Maryn to merge. I didn't see it on the index when I looked again? I even used the search...

 

[Brigid Barry]

I got a like during PitDark (I was one of about 60 that got likes from WRS). The site is still pretty bare bones but I checked out a couple of their books on Amazon. I'm not going in with high expectations but I did go ahead and submit. Better than the burn pile for this MS.

I will see how things go and I'll post as things develop.

 

[Maryn]

[Merged two threads. I suspect the first didn't get a hit in the search because of the word [Pub] in its title. Anyway, carry on.]

 

[Brigid Barry]

Submitted on 10/20/22, got a reply from Michael within 90 minutes; personalized rejection 11/1/22, so at least it didn't take long.

Personalized feedback wasn't specific enough to be helpful.

 

[Mevrouw Bee]

I recognize that one. Liked a pitch of mine about six months ago. I didn't submit after looking at the website. Doesn't sound like they/he's made much progress in the past year.

So I did #IWSGPit yesterday. And he was the only industry type to like my pitch. Again. Still not querying him.

Twitter pitch events are such a crapshoot. I never got a decent bite then...but suddenly, for #CanLitPit and #PitchToDA last summer I got likes and full requests...Now back to dodgy small pubs like his.

It's not like agents on my query list weren't participating at all...at least three were, according to my Querytracker updates...

*licks wounds*