[Publisher] Speaking Volumes LLC

[K. Trap Jones]

I did a search of the forums and didn't find this one listed. Anyone have any positives or negatives?

Appears to be a variety of different media with a focus on ebooks, but they also mentioned print.

Speaking Volumes:
http://www.speakingvolumes.us/indexflsh.asp

 

[K. Trap Jones]

mindless bump to see if anyone had any workings with this publishing group

 

[CaoPaux]

Specialize in audio books, actually, but are growing into ebooks and print. Looks like authors are using them to publish their OoP back lists (e.g., Pronzini).

 

[TWErvin2]

They started out with audiobooks, as CaoPaux indicated, re-releasing a lot of out of print/audio titles at first. I've purchased a few of their audiobooks. They do a decent job with those, but I cannot speak to any print or ebooks, or working with them as a writer/author.

 

[K. Trap Jones]

yeah, what peaked my interest was that they have been working towards both print and ebooks

 

[veinglory]

So they are working towards what a lot of publishers are already doing? I am not sure that I see the appeal unless they make very good sales which a top Amazon rank of #866,409 (Kindle #221,568) doesn't really suggest.

 

[Christyp]

Anyone know anything knew about this publisher? They've appeared on my radar (aka Facebook, yeah, I'm lame) and I'm always interested in checking out new pubs.

 

[Vermithrax1]

[Publisher] Speaking Volumes / Zenerji Media Group

Anyone know anything about or had any experiences with this company?

 

[James D. Macdonald]

These guys?

Speaking Volumes is a traditional publishing house that represents many New York Times, USA Today, National Best-Selling and Award-Winning Authors. We publish a wide spectrum of genres which include Science Fiction, Fantasy, Action Adventure, Horror, Mystery, Suspense, Thrillers, Westerns, Poetry, and more. Speaking Volumes publications are available as eBooks, Print Paperbacks, and on Audio.

 

[Vermithrax1]

Yep!

 

[Vermithrax1]

Seriously, no one has any experience with this publisher?

 

[Richard White]

Honestly, never heard of them before. Where did you find them? Have you ever read a book they've published?

If you check the B, R, &BC index, you'll see we've discussed hundreds of publishers and more get founded (and go belly up, or change ownership, or change their names) every day. While we have a wide and varied membership, it is not beyond the realm of possibility that no one has encountered this publisher before.

Is there something specific you'd like to know about them? Research can be done if we know what to look for.

 

[Vermithrax1]

I merely wanted to hear of any experiences anyone has had with them, positive or negative.

 

[CaitlinJans]

An author who subscribes to the newsletter I run emailed me that he had submitted to Speaking Volumes and been accepted to a new imprint of theirs, Beeline Press. They are billing it as a hybrid imprint. They are offering to publish books as long as the author pre-buys 75 copies (at a 55% discount). The author said that he had turned Kurt Mueller (the owner/publisher) down.

I looked online and couldn't find anything about Beeline (aside from an empty link in the imprints section of SV's site). I wrote Kurt Mueller, and he confirmed that they are taking submissions from general submissions at SV and re-directing some to Beeline and to their other new hybrid press Razzdoodle, that operates the same way but is focused on children's books. He says that they are not accepting just any work for Beeline and Razzdoodle, and that they are rejecting some authors. They are planing to publish between 36-48 books through the Beeline imprint next year. They have 38 books signed so far through the original SV imprint.

I have a real problem with the fact that they are redirecting submissions to a traditional publisher to their hybrid imprint.

 

[zmethos]

Uh, yeah. Authors make that decision for themselves--whether to submit to a hybrid or only to publishers who foot the entire bill. I'd be pretty irritated if I subbed to a publisher and they channeled me in the direction of a hybrid, particularly their own. Because then I'd feel like the publisher is only interested in making money from authors, not from readers. That the publisher was using its "traditional" brand as a front to snare the unsuspecting. That may or may not be true, but that's what it looks and feels like to an author.

 

[veinglory]

"We don't want your book but we do want your money" is not a good look. And "we don't hate your book but will pass unless you sweeten the deal with money" is not much better.

 

[Richard White]

An author who subscribes to the newsletter I run emailed me that he had submitted to Speaking Volumes and been accepted to a new imprint of theirs, Beeline Press. They are billing it as a hybrid imprint. They are offering to publish books as long as the author pre-buys 75 copies (at a 55% discount).

That is not what a hybrid means at all. If they're asking anyone to pre-purchase books, that's not only a vanity press, it's, in my opinion, a predatory one. That's very similar to Tate Publishing saying, "Put up $4000 and we'll put $4000 in too." I'll wager they've figured out just how much it costs to publish and those 75 copies not only covers all their overhead, but there's already profit built into that number. So, the publisher makes their money back before they print a single book.

Pure, unvarnished vanity.

 

[CaitlinJans]

That is not what a hybrid means at all. If they're asking anyone to pre-purchase books, that's not only a vanity press, it's, in my opinion, a predatory one. That's very similar to Tate Publishing saying, "Put up $4000 and we'll put $4000 in too." I'll wager they've figured out just how much it costs to publish and those 75 copies not only covers all their overhead, but there's already profit built into that number. So, the publisher makes their money back before they print a single book.

Pure, unvarnished vanity.

I have yet to find a "hybrid publisher" that isn't what I would consider vanity. They are giving the author a discount of 55% off cover price. But still, very clearly this is a problem.

 

[veinglory]

55% off probably leaves them a nice profit margin.

 

[Richard White]

I have yet to find a "hybrid publisher" that isn't what I would consider vanity. They are giving the author a discount of 55% off cover price. But still, very clearly this is a problem.

I agree.

Hybrid author (one who is both trade published and self-published) is not uncommon these days, especially as authors get the rights back to their older works and re-release them.

Hybrid publisher is almost always synonymous with vanity or reverse vanity (a much sneakier, version) publishing.

 

[Scythian]

I see they publish Roger Zelazny, Fritz Leiber, Ian Rankin, Ed Gorman, Barry Malzberg, Max Collins, and a bunch of other pretty big names.
Perhaps if the submission is on this level, it doesn't get funneled into the quasi-vanity pipeline... I hope.

Or, maybe they prefer to coast along on pre-established reputation of older names, and not invest in the new ones. I guess without input from a new author there it's difficult to say.

 

[Harlequin]

Well, Zelazny is dead 23 years dead (as I am sure you know) so they're not publishing him per se, but have presumably bought some kind of reprint license? I am totally guessing here. Don't know how the legalities of these things work. Or perhaps are just making audios of his stuff?

 

[Scythian]

/.../

*EDIT* Upon further investigation, when some more free time appeared, it turned out that Speakingvolumes clearly state "we are a reprint publisher". And sometimes they publish first editions, in a specific "original publications" imprint http://speakingvolumes.us/products-sv-original-publications.asp
So that's that. Whoever muses on trying the publisher out should see if they've published similar stuff in the "original publications" line, and if yes--do the covers and design work, and how it fares on Amazon and similar venues, sales-wise and review-wise.