Regal House Publishing

[Hip-Hop-a-potamus]

Anyone heard anything about these guys or had any dealings?

Look like they might be a newer outfit.

http://www.regalhousepublishing.com/index.html
http://outofprintwriting.blogspot.ca/2014/04/small-press-pop-quiz-regal-house.html

Nothing at P & E yet. I'm highly suspicious.

 

[Thedrellum]

No dealings here, but the fact that they specialize in literary fiction and historical fiction makes me anti-suspicious, since lit. fiction at least isn't usually a giant money-maker (for most authors).

Then again, they have an "Author Services" section that mentions building a site and helping with marketing, all for free--except for "a minimal annual fee that covers domain renewal and hosting fees."

Overall, it simply doesn't inspire confidence in me.

 

[augusto]

A couple blog posts: http://regalhousepublishing.blogspot.com/

 

[Lmack]

Does anyone have information about this publishing house? They've expressed interest in publishing one of my novels, but they don't have much of a track record. There's also scant information about Jaynie Cox, the editor.

Thanks for your help!

 

[victoriastrauss]

My heart always sinks when I look at a publisher's website and see a tagline like "Publishing Reinvented."

There's a thread here already on Regal House Publishing: <snipped>

And this thread is related:

Literary Fiction Review: http://www.absolutewrite.com/forums/showthread.php?t=299983

- Victoria

 

[Lmack]

Regal House

I'm wondering why your heart sinks when you "look at a publisher's website and see a tagline like "Publishing Reinvented."

Thanks

Lily

 

[Filigree]

To be very blunt, variations of that phrase often seem to actually mean the publisher has little to no real experience in the field, has learned some bad habits from even more dubious publishers, and/or is counting on unproven or skimpy capitalization to run the business.

It's why a lot of people here wait a couple of years before querying any new publisher - that's usually enough time to see if the publisher is viable. Of course that means *someone* out there will take the leap of faith. I wish them well, and hope it works out for the best.

Regal's blog posts indicate enthusiasm, at least.

 

[MaggieC70]

Waste of Time and Space, on Many Levels

The real story on Regal House Publishing, LLC is this: It was registered as an LLC on 25 November 2013 by--you guessed it!--Philippa Royal, AKA PJ Royal, who was the only registered agent for this "company." She had left North Carolina for Sugarloaf Key, Florida, which is how I was able to check the existence of this publishing company on the Florida Division of Corporation's official website. The same site also shows that on 22 February 2015 Royal voluntarily dissolved this company, so it is no longer registered, at least in Florida.

Royal was/is the only author, but since it was her personal company, that is no surprise. While it is true a Dutch friend of hers is allegedly due to publish later this year, Regal House LLC won't be doing the publishing, or not as a registered Florida concern.

I had the misfortune to read Royal's book, Killing the Bee King, which rates as one of the very worst novels I've ever encountered--full of amazingly blatant historical inaccuracies and the most purple of faux literary prose seen this side of Bulwer-Lytton. All the promos for Regal House Publishing sound exactly the same.

Beware, to be sure. If you've been approached after February 2015 about being published by Regal House, it's more than likely a scam. Perhaps Royal couldn't find enough willing takers to fork over $90 for the privilege of being fleeced.

ETA: Jaynie Cox, who is/was supposed to be some sort of editor for Regal House, is exactly 19 years old. She intimates on her Facebook page that she is somehow involved in "publishing," and has thousands of friends who apparently think she is indeed "in publishing."

BTW, I'm new here, so forgive any lapses in protocol.

 

[Maddie]

I skimmed through Killing the Bee King just out of dark curiosity, and wondered about this following description, does blood actually seep "sullenly?" Lord, how I coulda used a good editor in my early days of writin'...

 

[MaggieC70]

Only the Seeper Knows...

Blood does not seep sullenly or in any other manner because it is largely inanimate. But people who fancy themselves as writers of "Litrachure" are overly fond of such purple--and unintentionally hilarious--descriptions.

My favorite was in the Historical [sic!!!!] preface, wherein the French army along the Channel coasts was called the Armee de l'Englaterre. Mon Dieu!

 

[victoriastrauss]

To be very blunt, variations of that phrase often seem to actually mean the publisher has little to no real experience in the field, has learned some bad habits from even more dubious publishers, and/or is counting on unproven or skimpy capitalization to run the business.

I couldn't have said it better!

- Victoria

 

[CharlieChalk]

Hi,

New here, but picked up this thread because I have been followed by another publisher who claims to be an offshoot of Regal House publishing. However, there seems to be some eery similarities -- charging for website hosting, only one author listed on the website, and no Google footprint.

Anyone know anything else about Regal House and/or Fitzroy (www.fitzroybooks.com)?

Thanks,

CC

 

[CaoPaux]

Welcome, Charlie. I've moved your post into the existing Regal House thread.

 

[ctripp]

Fitzroy's site reads like the parent co's does. You can tell immediately they are both to be avoided, just by reading the on and on and on explanations of how they actually offer Editing...

At Fitzroy, we pride ourselves on our open submission policy that doesn’t require an agent (though queries from literary or secret agents are welcome too), and on the in-house editing provided by our staff – a perk growing more unusual in the publishing world where the responsibility and expense of editing now routinely fall to authors.

Editing is a PERK now, since when? (perhaps that's part of their whole we are "reinventing publishing" thang

And this hardly a surprise...

Like other small presses, we are delighted to provide authors with multiple copies of their novels at the standard 50% discount, which can then be sold at retail value during the subsequent book signing – with all the profit from these sales retained by the author.

NO, even small presses send books for signings, the Author does NOT buy them!
Seems that since /15 they have one Author on board who's first book was published in /11 with the now defunct "Raintown press" but don't see any mention of a book with Fitzroy on the F site nor on Amazon (it's still on Amazon under Raintown pub).
The Authors site mentions the Raintown press title is being republished by F but there's no way of seeing when that is suppose to happen.

With the buying of your own books, it sounds like vanity.

 

[jennybhatt]

Update re. Regal House Publishing

Some information/thoughts:

It is very easy to find 2-3 "facts" online, piece them together, and make a narrative about something or someone. But it is also not that difficult to do just a bit more homework to get proper and relevant information.

Like another commenter here, I also found this press through my searches and I have been doing my due diligence.

1/ They have several authors listed on their website. https://regalhousepublishing.com/ourauthors/. A good number of these authors have their own websites. It is easy enough to reach out to those authors via those websites and get their feedback re. working with the press. I did. Got fairly positive feedback, I must add, about both the editing process and the marketing/promo efforts (which are in line with what a relatively small press typically will do; and, in fact, even what the large houses will do if you're a new or unestablished writer with them.)

2/ Recently, I received an offer to publish from them and asked the publisher to give me author referrals. I got prompt and positive feedback from 4 of these authors. So, in total, I connected with 6 different authors myself before jumping to conclusions.

3/ There is an origin story on their website that does say the press started initially as a self-publishing venture but has gone on to much more. This is not entirely a shady/scammy thing. Many small presses have started this way. https://regalhousepublishing.com/houseorigin/. The move of the business from Florida to North Carolina was, it appears, due to a family move. That makes sense. If I ran a small business, I would also want to register it in the state where I live (though there are times it does make sense to register in other states -- different discussion.)

4/ I checked the Linkedin profiles of both Jaynie Royal, Editor-in-Chief, and Ruth Feiertag, Senior Editor. While they do have other staff members, the top two set the tone, spirit, style. Jaynie Royal is not 19-years-old as someone has written here. She graduated with her Bachelor's around the same time as I did. And I'm in my mid-40s. So, unless she was able to time-travel, that's not possible. Ruth Feiertag has rather impressive editing credentials in her profile. A further google search turns up even more. As for the rest of the staff, they are not full-time -- as would be the case at any small press still working to break even -- but they do have literary credentials and I browsed through the social media profiles of some of them too.

5/ I looked up all 5 published books on Amazon. The more recent books felt more polished to me than the earlier ones. That's understandable because it shows they have had a learning curve and are improving. I would be more worried if the recent books were worse than the earlier ones.

All of the above is not necessarily an endorsement. Nor is it a defense. I have no affiliation with this press (yet). But, yes, I did my homework, then submitted my book to them. I may still end up working with them if I find the offer/contract suitable.

 

[aliceshortcake]

I looked up all 5 published books on Amazon. The more recent books felt more polished to me than the earlier ones. That's understandable because it shows they have had a learning curve and are improving. I would be more worried if the recent books were worse than the earlier ones.

But...they're dealing with the intellectual property of others. They shouldn't have had a learning curve in the first place.

 

[eqb]

Hi, Jenny,

Welcome to AW and thank you for your post. When you talked to these other authors, did you get a sense of what their sales are like?

 

[jennybhatt]

I think every publisher will have a learning curve and I would want even the big ones to continue growing and evolving. Of course, you are entitled to your opinion. I would think that, if the authors of those earlier books were satisfied, that's their concern then, right? They signed up, they're happy. Readers can choose to buy or not buy. Peace.

[Above was in response to comment #16.]

 

[jennybhatt]

Hi, Jenny,

Welcome to AW and thank you for your post. When you talked to these other authors, did you get a sense of what their sales are like?

3 of the 5 published books only came out earlier this year. So, while these authors said it's early for them to judge, they did not express dissatisfaction with the sales or royalties or editing or marketing work. Of the 2 books before this year, 1 was a Dutch-to-English translation by the author himself and he said it was more to test the waters with translation than to make money. And, of course, the very 1st book was the founder's own historical novel as she has described openly in her origin story. Yes, it has mixed reviews on Amazon. And, yes, I also winced at a couple of things when I scanned the preview. But, as I said, the more recent books read better to me.

Again, I'm not defending them here. I am simply saying -- it's not easy to start a press in today's world, especially not one focusing on literary fiction. It takes several years to get established and build a strong catalog. Even the big presses publish at least 10 duds for every bestseller. That said, I did find the last 2 books interesting. And, checking out some of the authors of the future releases (shared in confidence), I am glad to see they are upping their game. Again, this is hard work, mostly unpaid, and takes time.

Speaking personally, when I see someone making a big effort, I want to champion them and help them rather than put them down. It's not always the smart thing to do. But, sometimes, if I've done my homework, my instinct has paid off. Anyway, let's see what happens, I suppose.

 

[eqb]

Oh this is interesting. I did some poking around and unless I missed something, Jaynie Cox is Jaynie Royal, who is also PJ Royal, author of Killing the Bee King.

Here is Jaynie Cox's Facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/jaynie.cox.73

And here is Jaynie Royal on Regal's staff page: https://regalhousepublishing.com/regalstaff/

And here is PJ Royal's Amazon page:

 

[eqb]

3 of the 5 published books only came out earlier this year. So, while these authors said it's early for them to judge, they did not express dissatisfaction with the sales or royalties or editing or marketing work. Of the 2 books before this year, 1 was a Dutch-to-English translation by the author himself and he said it was more to test the waters with translation than to make money. And, of course, the very 1st book was the founder's own historical novel as she has described openly in her origin story. Yes, it has mixed reviews on Amazon. And, yes, I also winced at a couple of things when I scanned the preview. But, as I said, the more recent books read better to me.

Again, I'm not defending them here. I am simply saying -- it's not easy to start a press in today's world, especially not one focusing on literary fiction. It takes several years to get established and build a strong catalog. Even the big presses publish at least 10 duds for every bestseller. That said, I did find the last 2 books interesting. And, checking out some of the authors of the future releases (shared in confidence), I am glad to see they are upping their game. Again, this is hard work, mostly unpaid, and takes time.

Speaking personally, when I see someone making a big effort, I want to champion them and help them rather than put them down. It's not always the smart thing to do. But, sometimes, if I've done my homework, my instinct has paid off. Anyway, let's see what happens, I suppose.

Thanks for the feedback, Jenny. We're not actually trying to put any publisher down. We just want to lay out all the information about them, so that authors can make an informed choice based on their personal goals.

 

[C Alberts]

Considering they are focused on literary fiction, I would think that sales through bricks-and-mortar bookstores should be considered essential. Regal House Publishing does not appear to make their books available to stores in a meaningful way. While they do have several titles that can be ordered through the wholesaler Ingram, they are all listed at a very short discount and non-returnable. At best, a bookstore may special order a copy of one of their titles at a customer's request, but with the short discount many stores won't even do that. A store certainly wouldn't order a copy to put on the shelf at those terms.

I also hunted around to see if they have any real distribution. There is nothing I can find on their website indicating that they are part of a distribution group. I checked around online for other clues that they may work with IPG or some other publisher groups and found nothing on Edelweiss or elsewhere. It is possible they are willing to work directly with stores, but if so they should make that clear on their site. With a catalog so small it would be hard to make this cost-effective anyway.

This all leads me to believe that most of their sales are online (which, given their books' ranks on Amazon, does not bode well) or are sold through the author, meaning that the author is buying their own books from their publisher. I could be wrong; this is my educated guess. I have worked with countless publishers of all sizes, distribution groups, and wholesalers to procure books. If anyone knows anything more specific about their distribution I would love to be corrected in my assumptions and conclusions.

I am not making a judgment on the quality of the books at all but rather their ability to get them in the hands of relevant readers. This will *always* be a struggle for small independent publishers, but if the basics aren't in place then it is impossible.

 

[jennybhatt]

Considering they are focused on literary fiction, I would think that sales through bricks-and-mortar bookstores should be considered essential. Regal House Publishing does not appear to make their books available to stores in a meaningful way. While they do have several titles that can be ordered through the wholesaler Ingram, they are all listed at a very short discount and non-returnable. At best, a bookstore may special order a copy of one of their titles at a customer's request, but with the short discount many stores won't even do that. A store certainly wouldn't order a copy to put on the shelf at those terms.

I also hunted around to see if they have any real distribution. There is nothing I can find on their website indicating that they are part of a distribution group. I checked around online for other clues that they may work with IPG or some other publisher groups and found nothing on Edelweiss or elsewhere. It is possible they are willing to work directly with stores, but if so they should make that clear on their site. With a catalog so small it would be hard to make this cost-effective anyway.

This all leads me to believe that most of their sales are online (which, given their books' ranks on Amazon, does not bode well) or are sold through the author, meaning that the author is buying their own books from their publisher. I could be wrong; this is my educated guess. I have worked with countless publishers of all sizes, distribution groups, and wholesalers to procure books. If anyone knows anything more specific about their distribution I would love to be corrected in my assumptions and conclusions.

I am not making a judgment on the quality of the books at all but rather their ability to get them in the hands of relevant readers. This will *always* be a struggle for small independent publishers, but if the basics aren't in place then it is impossible.

So this was something I specifically asked about because I am friends with a bookseller and she looked them up too. I then went back to ask questions directly rather than make assumptions. Being relatively new, Regal's discount to booksellers and their deal with Ingram isn't that great yet. However, they are making specific changes in the coming months, including w.r.t. IPG. Clearly, this kind of thing takes time. Ingram, IPG, etc., all also want to see some performance criteria met. It's a bit of a chicken and egg, if you ask me. This part of the publishing industry needs fixing, as we all know.

They have been making a concerted effort with authors and local bookstores, though. Follow the recently-published ones on Twitter and you get to see the events they're attending. That said, ALL small publishers struggle with getting mindshare. I've got writer friends who've published 4-5 books with small presses and they have to get their local indie bookstores to stock their books on consignment (meaning, the author buys the books, gives them to the bookstore to stock, and the bookstore pays the author if a copy is sold.) Here's more of their efforts in this area. Still new, but at least they're trying unlike many others: https://regalhousepublishing.com/2017/08/15/quail-ridge-books/.

 

[jennybhatt]

Thanks for the feedback, Jenny. We're not actually trying to put any publisher down. We just want to lay out all the information about them, so that authors can make an informed choice based on their personal goals.

I agree, understand, and appreciate the need to lay the information out. It's when the information is incomplete and extrapolated into incorrect conclusions that we turn a service into a disservice -- a harmful one at that. This is why I am providing more details, links, etc. The earlier posts I read were so sketchy on actual facts but rather long on dismissiveness and negativity. That's all.

 

[jennybhatt]

Oh this is interesting. I did some poking around and unless I missed something, Jaynie Cox is Jaynie Royal, who is also PJ Royal, author of Killing the Bee King.

Here is Jaynie Cox's Facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/jaynie.cox.73

And here is Jaynie Royal on Regal's staff page: https://regalhousepublishing.com/regalstaff/

And here is PJ Royal's Amazon page:

Yes, I looked all of these up when I submitted to them. I do this with all my submissions, even to literary magazines. I'm not going to speak to or even ask the EIC about her personal FB pages as that is entirely her choice/decision.

Yes, I saw right away that she has used a pseudonym for her book. But I have many writer friends who do that and for various different reasons (to hide gender, to hide from their full-time job, to enjoy an alter ego, etc.) Again, this is a personal choice that I have no right to question, so I have left it.

I did ask about why the social media presence of the press overall is not more well-known. They are still getting their catalog to a place where they have more to share about those books. So, OK, I get that. I know small presses that do absolutely very little on FB and focus on Twitter. Others are 1-2 person operations and don't have the time to do as much social media because they'd rather focus on the editing, layout, promotion, marketing, etc., for their books while holding down other full-time jobs that pay the bills. I'm not saying this is right or wrong. Circumstances alter cases. We ALL know it's hard for small presses. Yet, I absolutely believe we need them because they're the ones refusing to bow down to "conventional tastes" and publishing marginal voices that no one else wants to take a chance on.

To me, any small press that says they want to champion marginal voices and diversity in today's political climate is worthy of our support to help make them better and achieve those goals. And that does not mean we support everyone who puts up a website and states that claim. But when someone is making a concerted effort, let's allow some room for growing pains and rookie errors. Let's gently help them out if we have the time and knowledge to do so. That's my thought process.