Ridan Publishing

[Terie]

No, the Amazon notice by Ridan is undated, and an unrelated third party posted about it on Goodreads on the 31st of August. So it could be that Ridan is lying, but equally it could be that Ridan posted about it on Amazon before June, the author submitted the manuscript in June, and the notice remains on Amazon where the third party spotted it on the 31st. In which case nobody is lying.

Ah, I see. But that doesn't change the fact that Ridan publically stated that it was awaiting a manuscript from an author, and I still contend that that is extremely unprofessional. That's simply not public-facing information.

 

[shaldna]

Robin has been pretty absent from anything online lately. Her blog seems to have been pretty much abandoned, and the Ridan website is barely updated.

I feel bad for the authors who are getting screwed around, but I do believe I predicted that other authors would suffer when Michael got his big deal. Seems I was right.

 

[Parametric]

Ah, I see. But that doesn't change the fact that Ridan publically stated that it was awaiting a manuscript from an author, and I still contend that that is extremely unprofessional. That's simply not public-facing information.

Now there we agree.

 

[thothguard51]

Yes, it's hard to say when Ridan posted that notice on Amazon and I should have clarified that point. Thank you Parametic...

 

[Sheryl Nantus]

Fifty Shades of Tacky, says I...

I'm not impressed.

 

[Sheryl Nantus]

A recent post on Lowell's blog from a disgruntled reader:
"MadGastronomer says:
September 10, 2012 at 4:50 am
This is not the only place Ridan is falling down on the job. Months ago, I ordered and paid for the StarBridge ebooks through Ridan’s site. I never received them, nor did I receive any response to my inquiries. Last week, I tried it again anyway. I have received no ebooks and no response to my two emails. Ridan doesn’t offer these books on Smashwords, only through Kindle and Nook services (neither of which is a reader I use). I paid at Ridan in an effort to get Ms. Crispin as much of the cover price as possible, but now in order to actually get the books I’ve already paid for twice, I would have to buy them a third time through a third party and then strip the DRM and convert the file to make it readable for me. At this point, I don’t care how many personal problems they’re having over there, they’re just massively unprofessional, and need to shut down until they sort their shit out."

Granted that there's no way to verify if this actually happened, but if it did... it doesn't seem to look good for Ridan.

Michael Sullivan's blog shows that he was on vacation last month traveling with Robin - no mention, obviously, of Ridan's problems (if they exist).

just fyi.

 

[nkkingston]

If he paid by credit card, he should get his credit card company on it. He's definitely owed a refund (and might even get the books out of it, who knows?)

 

[shaldna]

A recent post on Lowell's blog from a disgruntled reader:
"MadGastronomer says:
September 10, 2012 at 4:50 am
This is not the only place Ridan is falling down on the job. Months ago, I ordered and paid for the StarBridge ebooks through Ridan’s site. I never received them, nor did I receive any response to my inquiries. Last week, I tried it again anyway. I have received no ebooks and no response to my two emails. Ridan doesn’t offer these books on Smashwords, only through Kindle and Nook services (neither of which is a reader I use). I paid at Ridan in an effort to get Ms. Crispin as much of the cover price as possible, but now in order to actually get the books I’ve already paid for twice, I would have to buy them a third time through a third party and then strip the DRM and convert the file to make it readable for me. At this point, I don’t care how many personal problems they’re having over there, they’re just massively unprofessional, and need to shut down until they sort their shit out."

Granted that there's no way to verify if this actually happened, but if it did... it doesn't seem to look good for Ridan.

Michael Sullivan's blog shows that he was on vacation last month traveling with Robin - no mention, obviously, of Ridan's problems (if they exist).

just fyi.

It's the not returning emails/responding to folks that is worrying. I mean, it's bad enough when they ignore their authors, but ignoring customers.....that's just bad business.

 

[shaldna]

If he paid by credit card, he should get his credit card company on it. He's definitely owed a refund (and might even get the books out of it, who knows?)

But the issue here is that it sours the experience for the reader/customer, and they might then hold it against Ridan, but also might put them of buying more books by the author - especially if this is the only way they can get them.

 

[Sheryl Nantus]

But the issue here is that it sours the experience for the reader/customer, and they might then hold it against Ridan, but also might put them of buying more books by the author - especially if this is the only way they can get them.

*If* this is true it's more disturbing to me that this is money owed to A.C. Crispin - who, as we know, is dealing with major health issues and needs every penny she can get.

IIRC she appealed for her fans to buy Starbridge books through Ridan to help with the costs of her medical care - and if now Ridan isn't either delivering the books and/or holding back on the royalties due...



Meanwhile Ridan seems to be making a killing with "The Forever War" - high in the rankings and selling well.

 

[shaldna]

If it were the only report I've heard of Ridan ignoring emails and not responding to queries etc I would question it more. However, look back a couple of months and one of Ridans own authors was reporting the same thing - at that time though his book was due out and the date passed and no contact came from Robin or anyone in her camp.

Personally, I think this is the begining of the end for Ridan.

 

[thothguard51]

I wonder if Michael Sullivan has had the same payment trouble?

 

[shaldna]

I wonder if Michael Sullivan has had the same payment trouble?

what do you think? ::

 

[Terie]

To be fair, no one has reported here that authors have reported not receiving royalties. I don't think we ought to jump to the conclusion that order fulfillment problems = non-payment of royalties.

 

[Sheryl Nantus]

I wonder if Michael Sullivan has had the same payment trouble?

To be fair, he no longer publishes with Ridan according to his blog. He has another contract with Orbit for more books so I think he's doing okay.

I can't see Ridan going down for a good long time thanks to Robin's getting big-name deals like "The Forever War" for them to reproduce in ebook form. That title alone generates a ton of cash. And I'm sure that Halderman gets paid.

As for the other authors we did speculate that when Ridan got some big-name deals that the others would fall by the wayside, such as Lowell who almost built the company's rep single-handedly. It's sad to see it coming true.

What's even sadder is that I suspect that RS is still being touted as a self-pubbed success story thanks to her husband's hard work and her ability to sell, sell, sell. Meanwhile the authors who made her rep are being left to swing in the wind, as it were.

I do hope Crispin is at least getting her royalties.

 

[thothguard51]

OK...lets try this,

I wonder if Michael Sullivan's FANS have had the same troubles with payments and no books.

Not all of Michael's books are with Orbit. I believe some of his pre-orbit days are still with Ridan.

 

[shaldna]

OK...lets try this,

I wonder if Michael Sullivan's FANS have had the same troubles with payments and no books.

Not all of Michael's books are with Orbit. I believe some of his pre-orbit days are still with Ridan.

Good question

 

[James D. Macdonald]

Let's not indulge in too much speculation, 'kay, folks?

Facts when y'all have 'em.

 

[Hazcat]

Good day, authors.

I registered to make a specific response, to the portion of this thread discussing the extensive edits posted on Nathan Lowell's site for Double Share. You see, I posted them - and none of the remarks here have identified why.

Simply put, I was making a point. Ridan was not only failing their obligation as a publisher in a business relationship (publishing books), but they were completely failing to conduct even the most rudimentary editing - a primary part of their job.

I was one of multiple readers who were making that point, and our objective was and is simple: to encourage Nathan to find a new publisher or self publish.

Could I have made the point in a private email to him? Yes. I even considered doing just that. I have been and remain in direct correspondence with Nathan. And I have provided similar detailed edits at his request to help with a work he is preparing to self publish. Could I have notified Ridan? Yes, again. But to what point? They had already proven their lack of professionalism or desire to produce even minimal quality.

Ridan is, simply put, scamming their authors. If you visit Nathan's site you will discover that Ann Crispin has terminated her relationship with Ridan. Hopefully Nathan and the other authors will follow her lead. Nathan has a large following, and we will happily support him - if we are able to do so. Ridan is not selling or producing his books, however. So we can't.

The post was not "kicking him while he was down," as one of you stated. Unless said kick was aimed at his posterior, to encourage him to move on so I and his other fans could enjoy his work.

Besides... The editing was really obnoxious. It made reading the novel tedious. Had it been my first book with him, I would have stopped after a chapter or two and never purchased his work again.

Something an author should know, I suggest.

As a reader, thank you for your work. You enrich my life through your writing.

 

[MacAllister]

Here's a link for the comment thread Hazcat is referencing.

 

[thothguard51]

Thank you Hazcat for the explanation/clarification.

Just checked Ridan's website and they are still listing Ann Crispin's series as for sale. Last updated June 2012.

I remember when Ann first went with Ridan, I bought the series from Amazon. I knew Ann would receive less, but I did not want to buy directly from Ridan at the time. It was a personal decision based on the publisher and not the author.

The same is true for Nathan Lowell's work, in that I will not purchase directly from the publisher, (Ridan). For me, this publisher has burnt too many bridges for me to buy directly from them. It has nothing to do with the authors, and I suspect I am not alone in this feeling...

 

[Sheryl Nantus]

I'm so sorry about Ann Crispin. She didn't need or deserve this and I do hope she recovers from this boot to the head.

I'd advise legal intervention at this point if anyone's in this situation. At some point it's important enough to call in the lawyers.

I wonder if Haldeman is getting his money from "Forever War"?

 

[thothguard51]

For anyone interested in what Ann is doing, read the link Mac provided and scroll down to AC's comment where she advises customers not to purchase her work from Ridan. To me, that is a big slap in the face to Ridan for not doing their job.

I am so glad I did not purchase Ann's Star Bridge series directly from Ridan. But now I wonder if Ann even got paid for the books I bought on Amazon? I hope she did.

Looking forward to Ann's Oct 5th announcement...

 

[Old Hack]

Ridan's blog, Ridan's Twitter feed, Ridan's Smashwords profile, Ridan's website, and Robin Sullivan's own Twitter feed are all dormant. If this dormancy also applies to the publisher it's very sad for the authors who signed up with them.

 

[shadowwalker]

Maybe this is covered in another thread, or could go in one - but how long should an author give a publisher in this sort of situation before going to an attorney? Loyalty issues aside, when do you (anybody) think they should have sought legal remedies?