Safa Publishing / Modern Publish (Safa Shaqsy)

[Raptor]

Was doing #IWSGPit today and got a like from an author named Safa Shaqsy, who has opened a publishing agency, by the looks of it.

However, they keep changing the name of the publishing company. This morning, it was Bright Future Publishing. This afternoon, it's Modern Publish.

Short of the self published books, I can't find anything about this author. No website (as of now) for either agency name. I wanted to get the name out there, because they liked a lot of tweets today.

For me, it's a hard pass.

 

[Round Two]

It's important to be clear with language. A publishing company is a completely different thing than an agency. "Publishing agency" isn't really a term.

 

[Polenth]

She also has Safa Publishing. It sells self-publisher services and does vanity publishing: http://safapublishing.com/

Safa Shaqsy's Twitter account is unclear about what's going on, with the sudden name changes and no clear idea what the new company is actually going to do. I can see why there was confusion about whether she's an agent or a publisher, because I can't really say for sure either. I'm leaning towards publisher from the most recent name and the previous business.

It should go without saying that a business that hasn't been set up yet is one to avoid. If there's nothing to analyse, because there's no website and they've only just sorted a name/logo, that's all anyone should need to know. They're not ready to be asking for submissions yet.

 

[frimble3]

They've only just sorted a name/logo, that's all anyone should need to know.

If they've changed the name from this morning to this afternoon, it can hardly be considered 'sorted'. More like 'playing with ideas'.
And if they're doing that in public, how will they treat the books entrusted to them? For that matter, if they can't pick a name, how on Earth will they write a contract?

 

[Gillhoughly]

If they knew what they were doing, they would have a solid name, a business plan, and know the language for the industry. I found a lot of generalizations and no solid info.

"We deal with great editors from different companies"

Names, please. Who are they, what are their work references? Otherwise it could be the cheapest wannabes posting on Goodreads, some willing to edit for free for the experience.

"We care about your book’s quality and your satisfaction."

Well, that's nice. What's your proof?

"We make sure to email you with every draft to make sure the process is going smoothly."

I think everyone uses email these days. There's WiFi in Tierra del Fuego now!

I looked up the founder's books, and they are in sore need of a professional edit. Backing away quickly now.

 

[VeryBigBeard]

It's important to be clear with language. A publishing company is a completely different thing than an agency. "Publishing agency" isn't really a term.

In this case, I suspect it's neither.

It's hard to know what a company is when the person running the company doesn't know what it is, either.

My guess is this place will be gone without a trace in two weeks.

 

[gckatz]

Here's what she told me when I asked about their business model:

We publish digital books first which means you get %50 profit. Then I'd the book is saleable, we'll publish those books as paperbacks internationally.

Not very confidence inspiring and leaves a lot of unanswered questions (what constitutes "saleable?" what royalties do I get from print book sales?).

I'm also very unimpressed that she's asking for submissions before there's even a website. You're really sending your manuscript into the void.

 

[Round Two]

There's so much wrong with that. Ask her what sort of "international distribution" they have. Ask her if she's working with a sub agent to sell translation rights.

 

[VeryBigBeard]

50% of the profits on nothing is still nothing.

Even assuming this isn't dressed-up vanity publishing, which I'm not charitable enough to assume, this is the usual silly mistake of thinking a higher royalty rate has to be better.

 

[gckatz]

Am I the only one who finds this concerning?

"If you're an author who wants to get published and suffering from depression, anxiety, etc Please query me with "SOS QUERY" on the subject line of the email. Remember that you're valuable. #mswl #amreading #amwriting #MentalHealthMatters #mentalhealth #MentalHealthAwareness"

https://twitter.com/safashaqsy/status/1023821862688759808

 

[frimble3]

Why does the emphasis on mental health issues remind me of Chipmunka? For information on that fiasco

https://absolutewrite.com/forums/sh...ipmunka-Publishing/page10&highlight=chipmunka

If ever there was a red flashing sign saying 'Run', this would be it: targeting the depressed and anxious.

(Oh, and reading their staff bios, most of them seem to be dabblers, for which 'publishing' seems to be fit in around a host of other activities.)

 

[Feriku]

I've seen this publisher posting with the #MSWL hashtag a lot lately, and I came here to see if anyone else was bothered by the tweets about looking for authors with mental health issues, and the latest one, a specific call for queries from writers who have felt like quitting after being rejected.

https://twitter.com/safashaqsy/status/1026158353653874688

 

[zmethos]

Now calling it Modern Publish: https://modernpublish.com/

 

[VeryBigBeard]

The "publishing agent" made it two weeks and two days.

Fourteen per cent longer than I thought. Quite an achievement.

 

[VeryBigBeard]

I'd also like to wish the new company good luck in hiring interior designers to do their book layout.

It's good to know if I buy a book from them it'll go nicely with my new kitchen.

 

[gckatz]

I also noticed the call for submissions from authors tired of rejection. It's obvious that they're targeting vulnerable authors who are more likely to fall for a bad contract due to desperation or inexperience.

It would be cruel and irresponsible for a legitimate publisher who rejects 95% of their submissions to actively encourage people who were discouraged by rejections to apply, knowing that they would reject the vast majority of them. It seems likely that they're planning on issuing the same boilerplate vanity contract to every author who queries, regardless of the quality of their work.

 

[konstantineblacke]

Run, run, run as fast as you can!

 

[ctripp]

Having issues with fonts suitable for your story and images inside your books? Worry no more, we have the best team to get your book printed like a traditional publisher

I think "LIKE a traditional Publisher" says it all.
Her "About Us" page on Modern, reads the same as on "Safa Publishing".

Saw on Twitter a number of writers saying they have blocked her. Apparently she and her use of #MSWL has annoyed the heck out of them. I've tried to make sense of her book list. None of the books shown appear to exist on Amazon, other then her own. The Jane Eyer book, not by Jane Eyer, for $50 has me completely bamboozled!

 

[gckatz]

WHAT.

Want to win a publishing contract with Modern Publish? Retweet with the tagline of your book to enter to win immediate publication! #mswl #amreading #amwriting #books #Kindle #youngadultnovel #youngadultbooks #newyoungadult #publishers #publisher #publish #publishinghouse

https://twitter.com/safashaqsy/status/1028702057212063746

 

[Polenth]

Saw on Twitter a number of writers saying they have blocked her. Apparently she and her use of #MSWL has annoyed the heck out of them. I've tried to make sense of her book list. None of the books shown appear to exist on Amazon, other then her own. The Jane Eyer book, not by Jane Eyer, for $50 has me completely bamboozled!

Though some authors are seeing the problems, the strategy of flooding hashtags and reaching out to new authors directly is going to work. It already has, as the first author signed was one who was contacted directly. There are a lot of people looking for agents/publishers who don't know where to start, what to watch out for, or who to ask for advice. Which makes them easy targets for things like this, because someone showed an interested and asked them personally to submit.

 

[Sage]

WHAT.



https://twitter.com/safashaqsy/status/1028702057212063746

I asked her what "immediate publication" meant, and the tweet disappeared.

 

[Harlequin]

Her cover reveals are fairly bad.

Also:

"[FONT=&quot]We have a lot of authors who query us, but please remember to submit less than 70k words novels!"[/FONT]

 

[Sage]

From the blog on Modern Publish's site. This is "How to write a Bestselling Book"

Step five, professional editing and book cover. It is best if you send your manuscript to a professional editor and proof reader to edit your book, so your book is typo free. There are a lot of good editors online on a website called, UpWork.com and you can hire an editor with an hourly base or just a fixed price, 1 cent per word. Normally the editor will line edit, proofread and format your book with a reasonable price. As for the book cover I use Damonza.com as they designed my two books and readers kept raving about the professional covers of my books.

The last step, is to publish your book on Createspace or Ingram Spark. You can search more about them on google, it will provide you with a lot of information and you can decide from there.

These are the main steps to write a bestselling book. I can’t wait to read your comments and discuss about this topic. Feel free to comment below.

There's also a whole post about how to design a book cover.

So, like, I don't even know what her company is selling...

 

[VeryBigBeard]

If that blog post represents Shaqsy's knowledge of comm usage, I can see why she's recommending a professional editor.

Not that that's in any way a good idea for an author, but this publisher isn't a good idea for an author in any way whatsoever.

 

[Gillhoughly]

There are an amazing number of "raving readers" out there. For some reason they get pretty excited about writers no one's heard of. . . also a lot of readers "are clamoring for more--" (fill in the blank).

I'd like to get in touch with the ravers and clamorers. Does one need drugs, and if so, the OTC kind or meet-behind-the-Dumpster-at-the-Stop 'N Rob kind?