Reuts Publications

[seun]

Just came across this company (well, they started following me on Twitter). Looks like they're very new. Anyone had any dealings with them?

http://www.reuts.com/about/

 

[Thedrellum]

1st sentence & red flag: "Simply put: we’re authors."

2nd sentence & red flag: Use of term "traditional publishers."

3rd red flag: Use of POD as their main model.

Also, they call themselves a "publishing agency" (their own italics) to differentiate themselves from those publishers concerned with publishing (i.e., printing).

I was going to say that, despite all that, the covers on display are pretty nice -- very nice, actually -- however there's a little disclaimer that says those covers "don't necessarily represent our catalog."

Lastly, their tag-line really bothers me:

Join the movement – Get REUTED in a good book.​

Or maybe it's just early and I haven't had any coffee. You decide.

 

[mirandashell]

Hmmm.... They call them themselves a 'publishing agency' and say that their main focus is on the look of the book. I think they are a POD, myself.

 

[seun]

The odd alarm went off for me, too, but I thought that might just be me not knowing enough about the whole thing.

 

[mirandashell]

Yeah, the whole 'we are a new way of doing things' vibe set off alarms for me too.

 

[mirandashell]

And they are all extremely young so how much experience and knowledge can they have?

 

[aliceshortcake]

The founder and creative director of REUTS (pronounced 'roots') is Ashley Ruggirello:

I started REUTS to try to change the experience authors have whilst publishing their most prized possession, and have really spilled my heart and soul into making it the exact opposite of the experience I had publishing my debut novel, Morningside (Ashley Madau).
http://blog.reuts.com/

Morningside was published by Cambridge Press US:

Cambridge Press US is part of the Womack Family Publishing Group which includes Charles River Press, Whiskey Creek Ptess, and Whiskey Creek Press Torrid.
http://www.cambridgepress.us/publishing.html

So far it sounds like another 'author had a bad publishing experience and felt she could do better' press.

With Print-On-Demand services, books now have the same opportunities for recognition and distribution as they once only had with a traditional print run.

I really, really don't think so.

Through these services, we take advantage of both print and electronic distribution, and work hard with authors to get their novels in physical bookstores.

Something tells me the authors will end up doing the donkey work:

SOME THINGS OUR TEAM PROVIDES.
Multi-round editing made by multiple eyes.
Cover jacket design driven by author input.
Standard 5.5”x8.5” book size typesetting for print and digital formats.
Custom author website hosted on REUTS.com, with complete author access (ex. http://yourname.REUTS.com)
Basic digital PR kit, including: press release, high quality print files, promotional material, etc.
Assistance establishing an online fan base via social networks and blog tours.
An exciting experience from manuscript start to paperback finish.
And more!
http://www.reuts.com/about/

Says editor Gabrielle Upshur:

I’m Gabrielle, an editor at REUTs. That means I get to read all the awesome books that we acquisition and help the writers make them even better.
http://blog.reuts.com/

Shouldn't that be 'acquire'?

 

[gingerwoman]

They started following me on Twitter too.
I am confused about what they are looking at their site. They say they are a "hybrid" between self publishing and traditional publishing. (?)
They say they will never charge authors and aren't vanity. They seem to say on one page that they will only take young adult fiction, but don't say that on other parts of the site. They say they will take unfinished manuscripts if you have a synopsis and 20,000 words!!! (???)

 

[eternalised]

Where did you find the info about them taking unfinished manuscripts? I can't find it in their Submission Guidelines.

 

[dondomat]

Hey, you never know, Fifty Shades came out of a similarly weird outfit, didn't it? Before being picked up by the big dogs.
But IMO, if one feels one has exhausted the big and middle-level publishers, one best try first the established small ones like Musa, Musitup, Wildchild, Zumaya, Rogue Phoenix Press, Solstice, World Child, Divine Destinies, Mundania, Eternal, and the rest who, in spite of their various issues, have actually survived more than a year or two and do have verifiable well-sellers on Amazon, before moving on to new outfits who will do this awesome radical thing and totally help you make it.

 

[gingerwoman]

Where did you find the info about them taking unfinished manuscripts? I can't find it in their Submission Guidelines.

http://blog.reuts.com/faqs-2/

There is a lot about the site that seems cool, but I don't understand why they are mentioning self publishing at all. That was what put me off because it sounded like something a vanity would say.Though they have said they don't charge. I wonder too how discriminating are they in what they take, and if they aren't discriminating then WHY?

 

[eternalised]

Thanks for the link I hadn't found that the first time I looked.

 

[A.P.M.]

Yeah, I got a request from them from PitMad, but I don't know. They're just too new for my tastes. I'll wait until they have a bit more of a track record.

 

[Saanen]

They followed me on Twitter too and I checked out their site. I didn't look too closely but I was confused that they claim they're some kind of self-publishing service, but not a vanity publisher. I'm not sure they know what they're doing at all. Certainly their site is geared toward authors, not readers.

 

[seun]

They stopped following me on Twitter shortly after I started this thread.

 

[Marian Perera]

Some of their covers are attractive.

With others, though... there's one where the title is transparent and distorted by the image, and another where most of the cover is just a plain sky, with the title in such a pale color that it doesn't stand out at all.

So their covers are kind of a hit and miss, for me.

 

[kaitie]

Where do you see covers? I'm seeing a "our debut novel hasn't been released yet" message and a blank page.

 

[veinglory]

Cover design "examples" are on the about page http://www.reuts.com/about/

 

[kaitie]

Oh, you can click it! I just saw the one, so I was confused. Thanks!

A couple are kind of weak, but a couple are really nice.

 

[Undercover]

I saw that too. It sounds contradicting mentioning self-publishing and saying they don't charge. I would be interested in hearing more about them though.

 

[gingerwoman]

They stopped following me on Twitter shortly after I started this thread.

Oh I think they stopped following me too. I didn't think I'd said anything offensive. :-(
Just trying to figure out how they work.

 

[DreamWeaver]

Oh I think they stopped following me too. I didn't think I'd said anything offensive. :-(
Just trying to figure out how they work.

Sometimes anything that falls short of "this is the best thing since the flush toilet!" is seen as offensive. It's not ideal for company principals to be that sensitive as far as professionalism goes, but there are worse faults. I'd be in the watch and see brigade, myself.

 

[gingerwoman]

Sometimes anything that falls short of "this is the best thing since the flush toilet!" is seen as offensive. It's not ideal for company principals to be that sensitive as far as professionalism goes, but there are worse faults. I'd be in the watch and see brigade, myself.

Yes I personally think their website and their covers look very fine and I'm hopeful they will turn out to be something good. I couldn't put them on my market news blog because they haven't been around two years yet (I don't think?) And the bit about hybrid with self publishing is just very confusing. I was hoping they would come here and explain that part.
I think some people get confused about this section because the first word is "Bewares" and then they don't notice the recommendations part and the fact that there are publishers threads here where most of the posts are just people talking about submitting. Being listed here means more writers will find out about your press so people shouldn't freak out. I for one am not here to bash any press that isn't exploiting people.

 

[writer1709]

Has anyone heard of this publisher, or have experience with them before?

They sound nice, and are quite new.

http://www.reuts.com/

 

[veinglory]

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