Samhain Publishing

[Lillith1991]

Everyone seems to be forgetting than Samhain also had a horror line with some of the best authors in the business: Hunter Shea, Frazier Lee, Brian Moreland, Jonathan Janz, Kristopher Rufty, Glenn Rolfe, Matt Manochio, Christine Hayton, J.G. Faherty and many others will be looking for new homes. I just had the first book of a new series accepted by former editor Don D'Auria, a well-respected editor in the horror genre, before he was let go. Luckily, I have an agent and will likely find a new home for my book, but some won't be so lucky. I feel for the editors and staff at Samhain. I was so looking forward to working with my new editor, Tera Cuskaden, a really cool lady. A sad time in the publishing world. I hope everyone there finds a new home.

Thing is, if they had scaled down to fit the LGBT niche they probably could've kept their horror line. A lot of LGBT readers like myself love the Horror genre and would have enjoyed a publisher as well regarded as Samhain focusing on us.

 

[Captcha]

Thing is, if they had scaled down to fit the LGBT niche they probably could've kept their horror line. A lot of LGBT readers like myself love the Horror genre and would have enjoyed a publisher as well regarded as Samhain focusing on us.

Like, LGBT Horror? That's be pretty niche, I think... really, the romance line, het and LGBT together, seems like a more natural fit.

And honestly, in terms of sales, it's generally m/m that does well rather than the other letters of LGBT, right? So maybe they could have gone full on m/m, but based on the current listings at salesrank.com, it doesn't look like many of their best sellers are m/m, so... I'm not sure why it would have worked.

In general, I agree with you that Samhain would have been an attractive publisher for authors if they'd switched. But they were an attractive publisher for authors before switching, and that wasn't enough to keep them in business. They need to figure out a way to get more readers, and I'm not sure going to LGBT would do it.

 

[Lillith1991]

Like, LGBT Horror?

Not exactly. I'm not thinking just Horror, which is obviously a bad idea with how bad their Horror line was doing. I was thinking something more along the lines of Riptide's model. Riptide publishes LGBT fiction exclusively, though they're mostly known for the M/M Romance. This includes Horror, especially if the writer can include some aspect of romance in the story. They've done so well that they're launching a YA line this fall and have already launched a line dealing specifically with Lit/Genre crosses which feature LGBT protags. The idea is to be diverse while also having a specific niche.

 

[amergina]

I'm not sure growing smaller would have helped Samhain. It's hard to armchair quarterback this, because we don't know all the information (and will never know) about their finances.

Publishing is, has, and will be a tough business.

 

[andiwrite]

But if you're only selling 75-100 copies, you're losing money, assuming you paid for editing/cover/formatting/whatever else.

Its not uncommon for self-publisher to use free of cheap editing and cover options that are adequate for their purposes.

Yep, I'm planning on doing it all myself. I don't have money to put toward this anymore, and what little I do have, I'll probably save for marketing efforts. Viewing it as a hobby that could potentially pay off one day is a lot nicer than viewing it as a job that pays nothing.

 

[triceretops]

I'm not sure growing smaller would have helped Samhain. It's hard to armchair quarterback this, because we don't know all the information (and will never know) about their finances.

Yeah, this. I've got a burning curiosity in regard to what happened in a financial sense. You know, I mean like the rock bottom truth. Of course we'll never hear or read such a disclosure because it's such a private matter and really should not be revealed, for the sake of their authors. They're showing some dignity and class about this. I only have a submission with them that will go unanswered. But I feel for those stuck in a kind of limbo with them. For me, the news is so sad because there are so MANY AWers who have books with them, or who were scheduled for release. I hope they write to each other and support and bond together--helping each other out, sharing their feelings.

 

[Filigree]

What worries me more is the health of even smaller publishers.

 

[triceretops]

What worries me more is the health of even smaller publishers.

I'm surprised we haven't seen a gaggle of little pubs tank before these larger ones--kinda like the cluster tremors before a large quake. Of course, their demise is not often lime-lighted as much as the larger and more popular ones.

Just hypothetically, if the timing had been right, with an agreeable business plan and structure, and if the authors didn't suffer too much from the move, what are the chances that a merger between Ellora's Cave and Samhain would have been an ideal solution to staying afloat? I don't even know if they'd liked each other. And such a move really sounds complicated and time-consuming. Yet, could you imagine such a joint venture between these two heavy-weights? I guess such a combination would have been much more effective a few years ago before either of them felt the pangs of diminishing sales.

 

[amergina]

Just hypothetically, if the timing had been right, with an agreeable business plan and structure, and if the authors didn't suffer too much from the move, what are the chances that a merger between Ellora's Cave and Samhain would have been an ideal solution to staying afloat?

Not very likely it would have ever happened, given this: http://smartbitchestrashybooks.com/..._suit_against_elloras_cave_tina_engler_et_al/

 

[triceretops]

Not very likely it would have ever happened, given this: http://smartbitchestrashybooks.com/..._suit_against_elloras_cave_tina_engler_et_al/

Wow. And that article was 2008. So it's not bloody likely that they could have ever cooperated in any type of joint venture. I had a feeling for many years that they were in direct competition with each other, but had no idea about their personal and civil clashes. Thanks for that link.

 

[Filigree]

That ship sailed a long time ago, and was pretty easy to discover even for a total newb like me in 2012. Of course, I learned most of that stuff two weeks after querying EC, Musa, Samhain, and some others. EC and Musa are two of the rejection letters I cherish. It came down to a choice between Samhain and Loose Id for my debut...for various reasons my agent and I chose LI.

But I always wanted to send something else Samhain's way.

 

[triceretops]

I can remember how obsessed I've always been in making a hit at EC and Samhain. I took their rejections very hard, which told me that they were highly selective.

 

[gingerwoman]

Just hypothetically, if the timing had been right, with an agreeable business plan and structure, and if the authors didn't suffer too much from the move, what are the chances that a merger between Ellora's Cave and Samhain would have been an ideal solution to staying afloat? I don't even know if they'd liked each other..

lol Samhain grew out of EC as a way to try and do what EC was doing better, and be more author friendly. (And yes EC did try having a main stream line that wasn't erotic, but that by all accounts was a failure certainly compared to Samhain's success with non erotic books.)

Even if they didn't hate each other, a merger would have been no help at all, EC and Samhain were about using the new technology of ebooks to publish primarily romance.

Romance readers took to that like ducks to water, and EC and Samhain held court over the market. The easy access to self publishing ebooks for everyone destroyed that strong hold on the market that made them so sucessful.

 

[gingerwoman]

The Samhain online store will still be open, and authors will still be getting royalties, there just won't be any more NEW books coming out, after the currently scheduled releases all come out. Buying Samhain's backlist will still be good for the authors and the owners as they slowly wind down.

 

[Deirdre]

FYI, Samhain's running their leap day sale today, 40% off titles.

I can see I've missed a handful here and there and have about $70 in my cart so far.

 

[Sheryl Nantus]

FYI, Samhain's running their leap day sale today, 40% off titles.

I can see I've missed a handful here and there and have about $70 in my cart so far.

Bumping this for importance.

If you'd like to keep supporting Samhain authors through this difficult times, please check this sale out. They're doing the right thing keeping the company going so that they can close down properly and honorably, paying off all their debts and making sure everyone gets treated as professionally as possible - and sales will help make this happen.

Please pass on the news to anyone you know who has liked a Samhain author or series - and if you've ever considered picking up a bunch of books for your TBR pile... today's the day!

Thank you.

 

[Rebekkamaria]

It's like Christmas again. I already have a huge pile of books in my cart. Will be looking for best ones all day long. These have been recommended: KJ Charles (of course), Joanna Chambers, Heidi Cullinan... And much much more (http://joyfullyjay.com/2016/02/favorite-samhain-books/). And if an AW writer would like me to buy a favorite book of theirs, please recommend one (M/M, and I mean your own books). Preferably a stand alone, but first of a series is fine too.

 

[Marian Perera]

I enjoyed Summer Devon's and Bonnie Dee's historical M/M The Gentleman's Madness. I don't normally read ebooks (prefer paperbacks), but I had to find out what happened to the characters so badly that I caved in and bought it.

 

[JasonWrites84]

Thanks for this. I've been browsing the Samhain site (have never purchased books from them before) and I am finding some very great finds in the horror line. Looks like I will be having a spending spree today.

 

[Rebekkamaria]

I enjoyed Summer Devon's and Bonnie Dee's historical M/M The Gentleman's Madness. I don't normally read ebooks (prefer paperbacks), but I had to find out what happened to the characters so badly that I caved in and bought it.

Added it and another book of theirs. Thank you for the rec.


More?

Edit. Okay I've done my shopping. 8 books total and some freebies.

 

[Cassie Knight]

Samhain is my first publisher and I hold them near and dear in my heart for giving me the chance after I was rejected many, many times (like tons, really). I'm saddened but not surprised. I've been in the publishing side of the industry (not author) for years now and in the last three, have seen the market get glutted with not only just more books but bad books as well (I define bad as in that no matter how good the story is, if it's poorly written, I'm done). Anyway, that's not really why I posted.

I just wanted to say I'm filling my cart up with fellow Samhain authors not only to help them as I can but to show support for the house overall. I will really miss calling myself a Samhain author.

Best of luck to all my fellow Samhain authors!

 

[Saoirse]

Am going to the site monetarily. I'd somehow missed this.

 

[Captcha]

And the plot thickens...

Just got an e-mail from Christina Brashear suggesting she might have a Hail Mary in mind--she's asking authors to not make too many plans elsewhere in case she's able to figure something out.

Intriguing... and my rights aren't eligible for reversion anyway, so it's no harm to wait and see what she's up to!

 

[triceretops]

And the plot thickens...

Just got an e-mail from Christina Brashear suggesting she might have a Hail Mary in mind--she's asking authors to not make too many plans elsewhere in case she's able to figure something out.

Intriguing... and my rights aren't eligible for reversion anyway, so it's no harm to wait and see what she's up to!

Hmmm...okay, then let the nail biting begin. She might have been flooded with some practical, alternative plans.

 

[Captcha]

Hmmm...okay, then let the nail biting begin. She might have been flooded with some practical, alternative plans.

I'm wondering about a buy-out or something... you'd think she'd have been able to come up with practical plans on her own...