Red Adept Publishing

[lbender]

Red Adept Publishing – Don’t know much about them​

I submitted my novel to a mystery publisher. They liked it, but it didn’t fit the type of book they publish. They suggested I submit to Red Adept Publishing. I know very little about Red Adept. I’ve done some research, but I haven’t found much.


I can’t find a listing for Red Adept or its owner, Lynn McNamee (O’Dell), in Preditors & Editors or Query Tracker or the publisher’s listings of AgentQuery.com. Google isn’t much help. The only comments I’ve found in Absolute Write have been about Lynn O’Dell as a paid editor. The website (http://redadeptpublishing.com/), which seems professional, mentions their paid editing service, but also states that, because of conflict of interest concerns, anyone who submits a manuscript for publishing will not be accepted as a paid editing client. I find this attitude a definite plus.

Has anyone dealt with them? Anything you can tell me – good, bad, or in between – will be a help.


Thanks.

 

[LaylahHunter]

Hmm. Well, before you send them any books, I'd suggest sending them a few questions about things that aren't covered in their FAQ -- things like, "How are your books distributed?" and "What royalty rates do you offer your authors?"

Edited to add: I'd pay close, skeptical attention to the answer to the distribution question; looking up the name of their first release on Amazon, B&N and Kobo brings up a CreateSpace paperback at Amazon and ebook releases only at the other two.

They're also very new, to judge by their website (first blog posts March 2012, first book release May 2012).

May I ask what publisher suggested that you submit to them?

 

[veinglory]

The accept all genres, they offer paid services, publish via the Createspace platform. IMHO I would file them under 'wait and see'.

 

[Torgo]

Looks competent. They say they're a 'hybrid' company - offering editorial services but also publishing services, so they're up front about it. But, you know, wait and see sounds right, per veinglory.

 

[veinglory]

For me 'hybrid' makes me about as uneasy as 'family'.

In the wrong hands hybrid has come to mean 'we want to have our cake and eat it too'. IMHO you make money off customers, or you make money off authors--doing both divides the energy of the company in opposite direction even when done ethically. You are basically trying to run two new start up companies with competing needs at the same time.

And family (not referenced here) seems to mean: if this all goes to hell we will blame the authors and lawyers will become involved. Which, to be fair, is a lot like my family.

 

[LynnM]

Hi. My name is Lynn McNamee, and I am the owner of Red Adept Publishing.

I have updated our FAQ page to address a couple of the questions asked here.

I am also willing to answer further questions on this thread.

A little about me:

I started out as a book reviewer with a website called Red Adept Reviews.

Later, I realized that indie authors needed more good editors available to them. So I started my editing services. I have edited over 100 indie books.

To keep up with demand, I eventually hired more editors and proofreaders. Prior to being hired, all of my staff had to pass a grammar test, along with a proofreading or editing test, and go through a training process.

In March of this year, I decided to open our publishing side. So many authors with great books often say they can't afford editing or find a publisher.

I did some research to find out what commercially published authors did NOT like about their publishing contracts and patterned my contract accordingly.

We continued our editing services simply because we feel authors should have a choice. Self-publishing authors deserve quality editing as much as published authors do.

 

[LynnM]

I did forget to mention that we contract with Streetlight Graphics for our covers and formatting, but all editing and proofreading is done in-house.

 

[lbender]

Hmm. Well, before you send them any books, I'd suggest sending them a few questions about things that aren't covered in their FAQ -- things like, "How are your books distributed?" and "What royalty rates do you offer your authors?"

Edited to add: I'd pay close, skeptical attention to the answer to the distribution question; looking up the name of their first release on Amazon, B&N and Kobo brings up a CreateSpace paperback at Amazon and ebook releases only at the other two.

They're also very new, to judge by their website (first blog posts March 2012, first book release May 2012).

May I ask what publisher suggested that you submit to them?

A post in the mystery forum stated that Grey Cells Press, a new imprint, was looking for manuscripts. I assumed (I know - assumption is the mother of all screw-ups) the mods wouldn't have allowed obvious scam artists to post there, so I sent my work in.

To be honest, they also mentioned Poisoned Pen Press in conjunction with Red Adept. However, Poisoned Pen isn't looking for new submissions right now.

 

[chekzchevov]

You have an “Editing Service” where you charge for editing. Is there a charge to the author if you publish his or her book?

No. We are not a “vanity press.” Should we offer a contract, the author does not pay any portion of production costs. We never ask a publishing client for money.

Our Editing Service is for authors who choose to self-publish.

Ripped straight from the FAQ. That's hot, honestly. It's always hard to trust anyone who does paid editing but when you're this clear and this upfront about it, it really does help to make an impression and let everyone know that these are two entirely separate services that you offer.

 

[veinglory]

They are the same entity by name and branding, offering two products. That is not quite the same as being two entities.

 

[ChelseaWriter]

Hi Lynn - this sounds like an interesting press. Do you accept women's fiction submissions? (I see "Romance" listed, but wasn't sure about women's fiction...)

 

[herdon]

Here's a key part from the Publishing FAQ:

If my book is not chosen for publication, can I schedule it for editing?

No. In the interest of avoiding a conflict of interest, books not chosen for publication cannot be scheduled for editing.

I think that demonstrates a certain amount of integrity. I know of one person who both edits books and agents books that has the same solution to this ethical issue: if you choose to submit, he won't edit if you are declined. Good to see this in the FAQ in my opinion.

 

[thothguard51]

If my book is not chosen for publication, can I schedule it for editing?

Two thumbs up. A smart way to avoid conflict of interest...

 

[LynnM]

Hi Lynn - this sounds like an interesting press. Do you accept women's fiction submissions? (I see "Romance" listed, but wasn't sure about women's fiction...)

We accept all genres with the exceptions of Erotica and Children's books. (By "children," I mean middle grade and below.)

We are very new at publishing, so if there's not a tab for a certain genre, we simply haven't accepted or announced an acquisition of a book in that genre.

 

[RichardGarfinkle]

Here's a key part from the Publishing FAQ:

If my book is not chosen for publication, can I schedule it for editing?

No. In the interest of avoiding a conflict of interest, books not chosen for publication cannot be scheduled for editing.

I think that demonstrates a certain amount of integrity. I know of one person who both edits books and agents books that has the same solution to this ethical issue: if you choose to submit, he won't edit if you are declined. Good to see this in the FAQ in my opinion.

Two thumbs up. A smart way to avoid conflict of interest...

Only in one direction. The question needs to be asked in the opposite direction as well:

If a book has been edited by your service do you then consider it for publication?

If they do then there is a possible implication that editing should be paid for first then publication will be considered.

 

[LynnM]

Only in one direction. The question needs to be asked in the opposite direction as well:

If a book has been edited by your service do you then consider it for publication?

If they do then there is a possible implication that editing should be paid for first then publication will be considered.

No. Once someone pays for editing through us, we will not consider that book for publication.

 

[Ol' Fashioned Girl]

A post in the mystery forum stated that Grey Cells Press, a new imprint, was looking for manuscripts. I assumed (I know - assumption is the mother of all screw-ups) the mods wouldn't have allowed obvious scam artists to post there, so I sent my work in....

As of the moment I looked (about two seconds ago), there were:

Threads: 211,237, Posts: 7,330,903, Members: 46,265

We've got less than 40 folks modding... mostly volunteers. So... yeah. Assuming we've got enough to time to vet each and every person/company rep who comes here, would be foolish. In fact, we've welcomed the scammers and legitimate alike so they can represent themselves and our members can practice their own due diligence and make up their own minds.

Publishing is a business. Being an author is a business... YOUR business. You've got to run it by doing your research. AW is just one of your resources.

 

[herdon]

Only in one direction. The question needs to be asked in the opposite direction as well:

If a book has been edited by your service do you then consider it for publication?

If they do then there is a possible implication that editing should be paid for first then publication will be considered.

The Editing FAQ states that the editor can nominate a book for 'Red Adept Select' if they feel it is good enough and it will be sent onto a roundtable for a read and a vote. Red Adept Select isn't a publishing service (that I could see). It appears to be a bid to make the best books they edit more visible.

I didn't see anything to suggest that edited books could go on to be published books by the publishing arm, but I agree, spelling that out in both FAQs would be a good thing.

 

[CaoPaux]

As of the moment I looked (about two seconds ago), there were:

Threads: 211,237, Posts: 7,330,903, Members: 46,265

We've got less than 40 folks modding... mostly volunteers. So... yeah. Assuming we've got enough to time to vet each and every person/company rep who comes here, would be foolish. In fact, we've welcomed the scammers and legitimate alike so they can represent themselves and our members can practice their own due diligence and make up their own minds.

Publishing is a business. Being an author is a business... YOUR business. You've got to run it by doing your research. AW is just one of your resources.

Not to mention that the pub in question took permission to post their sub call as permission to spam the board with "Mac said I could!". I find that rather telling. YMMV.

 

[lbender]

As of the moment I looked (about two seconds ago), there were:

Threads: 211,237, Posts: 7,330,903, Members: 46,265

We've got less than 40 folks modding... mostly volunteers. So... yeah. Assuming we've got enough to time to vet each and every person/company rep who comes here, would be foolish. In fact, we've welcomed the scammers and legitimate alike so they can represent themselves and our members can practice their own due diligence and make up their own minds.

Publishing is a business. Being an author is a business... YOUR business. You've got to run it by doing your research. AW is just one of your resources.

Understood. As I said, that assumption thing is a bitch. Unfortunately, it's tough to evaluate new imprints.

No. Once someone pays for editing through us, we will not consider that book for publication.

Good.

Two thumbs up. A smart way to avoid conflict of interest...

Here's a key part from the Publishing FAQ:
I think that demonstrates a certain amount of integrity. I know of one person who both edits books and agents books that has the same solution to this ethical issue: if you choose to submit, he won't edit if you are declined. Good to see this in the FAQ in my opinion.

I agree. That's why I stated this in the initial post.

 

[RichardGarfinkle]

No. Once someone pays for editing through us, we will not consider that book for publication.

Thanks for the clarification. You're walking a tricky ledge having both of those services.

 

[LynnM]

The Editing FAQ states that the editor can nominate a book for 'Red Adept Select' if they feel it is good enough and it will be sent onto a roundtable for a read and a vote. Red Adept Select isn't a publishing service (that I could see). It appears to be a bid to make the best books they edit more visible.

I didn't see anything to suggest that edited books could go on to be published books by the publishing arm, but I agree, spelling that out in both FAQs would be a good thing.

The Red Adept Select program is solely for self-published books edited by us. We just wanted a way to recognize books that we found "outstanding."

We do not take any money from authors for that program. If a book is selected, we list it on the Red Adept Select website, along with an author page, and give the author a badge to put on his or her book.

That's all we do, but as I said it's free of charge, and gives the author a nice marketing tool.

 

[LynnM]

Thanks for the clarification. You're walking a tricky ledge having both of those services.

I do realize we are walking a tricky ledge.

I strongly feel that it can be done if everything is handled correctly and ethically.

Self-publishing is a huge part of the book world these days. Instead of ignoring that, we are embracing it. But we also think there is still room for publishers.

 

[veinglory]

There certainly is. But putting paid services, publishing and reviewing under the same name and brand is going to cause some optics issues.

 

[herdon]

I don't see any problem with it if done right, and it looks like they are doing it right.

For example, John Jarrold is a well-respected U.K. agent and acts both as a literary agent and edits-for-a-fee, which is something that is often a 'red flag'. He has the same policy: choose one or the other but he won't do both.

So long as there is a clear separation of the business, there isn't a problem. It's only when one can lead to the other that it becomes an ethical issue.

I do agree with Veinglory that it would be much better if the two sides of the business operating under different names, like Red Adept Editing vs Red Adept Publishing.

And as stated above, I do think it should be spelled out more clearly in the FAQ pages with the publishing FAQ mentioning that authors using the paid editing service will not be considered for publication and the editing FAQ saying the same.