Shadow Line Press (Keith Spence)

[jeseymour]

Anybody ever worked with these folks?

http://shadowlinepress.com/index.php

 

[CaoPaux]

Let's just say it's rarely a good sign when the first and only book is by the owner.

 

[Deep Woods Writer]

Sample Contract

Before you do anything, have a lawyer ON YOUR NICKEL read the sample contract. From what I can see this thing has the author exposed and carrying the whole load in the event any legal action comes down against ShadowLine. Anyone one wanna' roll the dice on this one ?

 

[Unimportant]

Their guidelines say:

Unless you are willing to have 50 to 100 signings during your first year, there is little likelihood that your book will be successful. Therefore please don't submit your work to us unless you are willing to make this commitment.

This is probably a stupid question, but is it possible to do 100 book signings? Authors don't do book signings at the same book store week after week after week, do they? How far would you have to travel to hit 100 bookstores, assuming you don't live somewhere like NYC or Chicago or Tokyo?

 

[M.R.J. Le Blanc]

And given that many authors don't even go on many signings if any, and still manage to sell just fine, it makes me wonder just where they're getting their (mis)information.

 

[NinjaFingers]

I don't like the look of this.

They agree to send the book to three review sites? Whoopi-do. I'd imagine a reputable trade publisher (And by trade publisher, I mean publishers other than the huge conglomerates) sends out 20+ ARCs. At least. The anthology I was in earlier this year, they sent out a LOT of ARCs. Three is meaningless. And whoopi-do, they provide ONE review copy on request. So, if you want to get more than four *possible* reviews, you have to start buying books.

 

[BenPanced]

Before you do anything, have a lawyer ON YOUR NICKEL read the sample contract. From what I can see this thing has the author exposed and carrying the whole load in the event any legal action comes down against ShadowLine. Anyone one wanna' roll the dice on this one ?

Not just any lawyer, though. You'll want one who specializes in intellectual property; they'll know the whys and wherefores of a good publishing contract.

 

[Lainey Bancroft]

Hmm, the site says "Founded in 2009" and yet the sample contract reads:

SHADOW LINE PRESS SAMPLE AUTHOR'S CONTRACT


AGREEMENT
made this ________day of _____________, 19_________between _

 

[veinglory]

If you a signing a contract with them a SSN is needed, for their tax records.

 

[JulieB]

Depends on who asks and why. If you are under contract to a publisher, they'll need your SSN in order to issue 1099 statements. Blame the IRS. You may be able to apply for an EIN (Employer Identification Number) that you can use instead of your SSN. See the IRS site for details.

ETA: Veinglory beat me to it.

 

[triceretops]

Just who in the hell is going to furnish all those books for those signings? Here we go again with the unpaid saleforce. And they are very blatant about it It's sad but frightfully true that most PODs expect such efforts on the part of the author, and have roundabout ways of expressing this wish in their mission statements and company news letters. I can't tell you how many times I've run across this, having refused five contracts in just the past two years--publishers who told me "Now, if you're a serious writer, here's what you're going to do for us."

"Nah, if you were a serious publisher, here's what you should have ALREADY done for me."

Tri

 

[CaoPaux]

Their guidelines say:

Unless you are willing to have 50 to 100 signings during your first year, there is little likelihood that your book will be successful. Therefore please don't submit your work to us unless you are willing to make this commitment.

This is probably a stupid question, but is it possible to do 100 book signings? Authors don't do book signings at the same book store week after week after week, do they? How far would you have to travel to hit 100 bookstores, assuming you don't live somewhere like NYC or Chicago or Tokyo?

Ha, I knew I'd gone WTF over that before ...

Compare http://shadowlinepress.com/Submission-Guidelines.php and http://topmysteries.com/submissions.html.

 

[M.R.J. Le Blanc]

Hmmm....plaigarised content or same owners?

 

[JulieB]

Hmmm....plaigarised content or same owners?

Different whois info for each site...

 

[CaoPaux]

Website's stagnant, and only one (1) book published since '10. In April of this year, however, so ....