acadia1997:
It's disappointing that you have made a public judgment about whether SSP is professional or not without ever emailing them or even speaking to one of their many happy authors and asking them what they think of the company.
You've been a member here since November 2010. You should therefore know that this is a site where writers ask questions to ascertain whether a publisher is the right one for them and for people to identify potential issues that they should be aware of (if only so that they can ask questions about the same) and therefore make an informed decision about who to sign with.
You should also know that the people posting here do know what they're talking about either because they work in the industry, they're known commentators on the industry or they've got a lot of background experience to identify potential pitfalls.
If Sapphire Star put information on who was running it, what their experience was etc etc on their website then it would go a long way to alleviate concerns because it would show that the people standing behind and working for the publisher know what they're doing and so can help a book to be a success.
I've just taken a quick look at the site and I still can't see that information. Nor can I find any information on there about what rights they take or what type of deal they're offering new authors (i.e. advance or royalty only). This is all information that they can and should be up front about given that they're new and so have no significant track record.
acadia1997:
I can attest to the fact that they are indeed legitimate, very professional, pay competitive royalties, allow their authors a significant level of control, and promote their author's titles.
Okay. So you're one of their authors? When did you sign with them? Has your book come out? What kind of support have you had? What marketing activity has Sapphire Star done for you? What kind of sales figures have you had? How has that translated into royalties?
If you don't want to go into specifics then can you share what their "competitive" royalty rates are? Are they paid on net or gross? If they're paid on net then how is net calculated? Are they just taking electronic rights or do they take a print option? Are they limiting rights by territory or do they want worldwide rights? Who are the professionals behind the company? What is their expertise? Have they worked in publishing before? If so, who did they work for and in what capacity? Are the people behind the company also authors being published by them? What marketing activities do they do for their authors? Do they make promotional material available or is it confined to internet promotion?
acadia1997:
SSP is not a vanity press. Nor do they charge for their services in any way.
That's all good to know. Thank you for making that clear.
acadia1997:
To all those interested, please check the SSP website for submission standards.
I did. SSP apparently takes all genres. That worries me because it suggests they don't have a targeted marketing plan. Normally start-up publishers start in one particular genre to build up expertise, contacts and reputation before moving out. It also enables them to concentrate marketing spend. A publisher who is publishing any genre is unlikely to be able to concentrate marketing efforts, which can hurt authors.
CarrieAnn:
To ease some of your concerns, SSP is a legitimate small press and very professional in their handlings. This not a vanity pub, co-op, joint venture, etc. They do not offer any kind of service that requires the author to pay a fee.
That's all good to know but again, I'd like to know who is involved with it and what their background is.
CarrieAnn:
There’s a strong sense of community within our ranks. The owners are knowledgeable, attentive, and very willing to share their experience. The other authors have been nothing but supportive of me since day one. (If you follow any of us on Twitter, you know we like to think of ourselves as a family.)
Okay. So what is the owners' experience?
It's good that the other authors have been supportive but what's important is how that translates into sales. Do you cross-market each other? Are you encouraged to that yourselves or is it co-ordinated by SSP?
LisaLRegan:
My first novel is due out 12/6/12. I have found them to be exceedingly professional and courteous. They are very well-informed as to what's going on in the publishing industry and clearly they know exactly what they are doing.
Cool. So what's their background in publishing?
LisaLRegan:
They have very well-defined marketing plans for each one of their books and they are very author-oriented.
Great. Can you share examples of what those plans include?
LisaLRegan:
Also, FYI two of their first three titles have reached bestseller status on the Amazon Kindle list in their respective genres (one in the US and one in the UK) and their first title, Pulled by A.L. Jackson was in the top 300 in the paid Kindle store last time I checked and continues to climb.
That's great. How long were they in the bestseller lists and do you know what number they got to?
MM
