Tico Publishing

[veinglory]

Buckeye Writer--what is your connection to Tico?

 

[mdin]

He says he's a reviewer for them.

Buckeye, you say they charge for editing. Have they charged for any editing of any books they've published or are publishing?

 

[veinglory]

He says he's a reviewer for them.

QUOTE]

I'm a little unclear what that means. He reads for the contest? Reads the slush? Paid staff?

I guess we come off as quite cycnical but the ratio of dubious start-ups to great new publishers has that dispiriting effect

 

[Julie Worth]

Tico is just a couple of people with no experience and no money. The “reviews” are abysmal. The covers are cartoonish, while the sale prices at Amazon are much higher than the authors could have established by going directly through the real publisher--Booksurge...that is, if the author (of 2 out of the entire catalogue of 3 books) wasn’t one of the principals. Don’t waste your time.

 

[JennaGlatzer]

Buckeye, this blows my mind, from the "submissions" page...

NOTE: This list is in order of review (first-come, first-served). By using our EXPRESS service with the $5 reading fee, you not only jump to the top of this list but you are included in the contest. Two stars (ie. **) signifies EXPRESS service author and contest entrant. Three stars (***) equals EXPRESS service author, contest entrant and FULL-REVIEW service. Four stars (****) indicate all of the above PLUS editorial services. The more stars you have, the faster your material gets reviewed.


NEW! If you've already submitted your work and and want to UPGRADE to a different service (ie. contest, review service, etc., you only have to pay the DIFFERENCE between what you paid, and what is due. (ie. You paid the $5 reading fee but now have decided you want a review. The review service is $29.95. Since you already paid $5. the amount due would only be $24.95.)


I just want to clarify that this list is only in order of submission with some exceptions: If you paid for the editing package ($39.95) you will be at the top of the list, then will come the review package ($29.95), then the submitters who paid the reading fee, then submitters who did not pay a reading fee. Whenever a NEW submitter submits and pays, they will be placed at the BOTTOM of the people in the same category (ie. If a new submitter payed for an editing package, they will be placed after the last person who did the same and before the person who only paid for the review package.

This is a bad breach of privacy even if it's not meant to be-- everyone can now know exactly how much a writer paid to be considered by this unknown POD company, thus effectively tattooing a "sucker" sign on his/her forehead.

But aside from that, Buckeye, no one here has anything against anyone for being "new." We have things against companies that...

-charge up-front fees
-pretend to be something they aren't (e.g., claiming to have distribution when they do not)
-have no experience and yet drag writers into their naive dreams of changing the whole industry
-hire editors who don't know how to use apostrophes, capital letters, etc., then claiming to do "professional edits"

From the "What our customers say" page (and notice that Tico thinks of writers as "customers"), I'm again reminded how easy it is to please new writers. They're all recommending this company with no solid reason other than that the editor was nice to them and responded promptly.

You know what? Some of my editors have barely remembered my first name. We don't all exchange e-mails every couple of days and they don't all hold my hand. But my books are in bookstores, and I've been making a living as a writer for many years. Honestly, whether or not an editor seems "nice" is just about irrelevant. It's a nice bonus to have a responsive editor, but if that's all it takes to make you happy, you're such easy bait for scammers and flakes.

Real editors are busy, and don't spend lots of time attending to questions from writers who've submitted unsolicited work, or doing long critiques. When you're on the other side (published), you'll be very happy about that, because you want your editor to focus on the work she's already acquired, not spend her work hours giving critiques to people she doesn't work with.

Buckeye, you and Arnold may have the greatest of intentions. But you are not doing any service to writers to offer them unprofessional paid critiques or reviews, and you are not doing them any service to "publish" them through Booksurge, whether you have some selectivity in place or not.

 

[James D. Macdonald]

If the Tico guys want to see where they'll be in a couple of years, they can try reading this thread from the beginning:

http://www.absolutewrite.com/forums/showthread.php?t=14303

 

[erinbee]

There are currently about 14 books on the list to be published, each of which has been read at least twice.

I sure as hell hope my editor would read my book more than twice!

 

[Forbidden Snowflake]

Got a lawyer somewhere amongst your friends or family? Let them look at the contract, otherwise hire one, let them look at your contract and see if there's a way out somewhere.

And in future remember never to sign a contract before you haven't checked it through carefully, knowing exactly what you're doing.

 

[Tilly]

Hi Amy

I think this is the company you are talking about:
http://www.ticopublishing.com/

They emphasise that they do not take money from authors.
But some of their language puzzles me. They call their authors customers and clients, they are particularly interested in new authors, and their concern is their authors' publishing dreams coming true. All this sounds like the vocabulary of a vanity press, not a commercial publisher.

I think either they get their money by knowing that their authors will buy their own book without being contractually obliged to (there are other vanity presses that do that), or they are what they say they are, a tiny independent. But if they are the latter, then it doesn't sound like they have good distribution.

I second the lawyer thing over the contract. Rights normally revert to an author when a book goes out of print, but it doesn't sound like that's in your contract, and I'm not sure how that would work in this situation.

In the future, I would look for publishers who have books on the shelves of bookstores. Look for books similar to your own and submit to those publishers.

Good luck

 

[MaryKaye]

If you have trouble affording a lawyer to look at this contract, contact local law schools and see if any of them are offering free or low-cost legal clinics. Also, Preditors and Editors has (mixed in with the agents on its Agents list) entries for various state groups which offer help to writers who have legal issues.

I am not a lawyer, but I certainly wouldn't encourage you to give this publisher any more than he already has--look for legal advice first if you possibly can.

Good luck!
Mary Kaye

 

[victoriastrauss]

Amy, in your contracts, is there a time period for Tico to publish? Some contracts give the publisher a set period of time to publish the book, after which all rights revert to the author. Have a look through your contract and see if you can find a clause like this. If it's there, and the time period has expired, you should be able to terminate the contract yourself.

If not, it probably would be a good idea to get legal advice on how to extricate yourself. On the Overview page of Writer Beware, there's a section on Legal Recourse that provides links to the American Bar Association Lawyer Referral Service and Volunteer Lawyers for the Arts (a volunteer organization that specializes in providing legal assistance for people in the arts). Either service will arrange an initial low-cost or pro-bono consultation for you to discuss your situation, after which you can decide on what further action to take.

- Victoria

 

[citymouse]

I'm in the US and I almost signed on with a Canadian Company. They had their contract posted on line. I contracted for an attorney who specializes in publishing contracts to look it over. I paid $200 for a one page opinion that literally saved me thousands. The contract was a masterful piece of double speak.

 

[Ink Slinger]

Victoria, may someone like Amy post the full text of the contract here, if she wishes to do so? In light of her experience with Tico, it might be quite instructive for others to compare what's in the contract to what's happened. Something may look reasonable at first glance. (Full text--the standard part, not any personal details like names and addresses, of course.)

 

[James D. Macdonald]

I'd love to see the full text of the contract.

 

[victoriastrauss]

I don't know what the legalities of posting a full contract would be. Also, some publishers--rightly or wrongly--feel that publishing contracts are proprietary documents and shouldn't be made public. They can get quite pissed off.

Amy, if you'd like to send me a copy of the contract, I'll be glad to give you experience-based (not legal--I'm not a lawyer) commentary. PM me here, or drop me a line at [email protected].

- Victoria

 

[Ink Slinger]

Article on publishing contracts

I came across a short article by Lloyd J. Jassin on publishing contracts. It does not include suggested wording, but it does have a list of the clauses that he thinks should be included in any publishing contract.

What Not to Miss When Drafting and Negotiating Your Book Publishing Contract
http://www.copylaw.com/new_articles/final.three.html

Amy said that Tico made promises to her about when her second book would be published--but now the publication date has been pushed to a much later time.

Everyone who is negotiating a contract of any kind should make sure that promises are in writing, in the contract, not just verbal agreements. Be very, very, suspicious of anybody who tells you what you want to hear--but won't put it in writing.

 

[James D. Macdonald]

Thanks, guys. Y'all can stop sending me copies of the Tico contract now.

 

[Sonarbabe]

They just want to make sure you have it, that's all.

 

[James D. Macdonald]

I'm not sure about anything. One more copy won't hurt.

Please remember that Victoria wants 'em too.

 

[ticopublishing]

Message from TICO Publishing

Our vision was to start a publishing company that sought out new talent.
There are a lot of authors who have the skill and ability of the John
Grisham's and Nora Robert's of the publishing business, but they don't have
agents or connections and struggle to find publishers willing to take a
chance on them.

We wanted to be different. We wanted to give the new voices of tomorrow a chance.

Our intention was to start a publishing company that could find the new
talent and get their books in print. We also wanted to provide assistance
to new writers, needing feedback.

We never required authors to pay for publication.

Some of the other services we offered have led to misperceptions about
Tico's philosophy, and thrown our reputation into question.

As a result, we've cancelled those other services. Our exclusive focus will
be on receiving submissions from aspiring authors and finding the best new
voices to put into print.

Sincerely
Arnold Tijerina
Editor-In-Chief

 

[CaoPaux]

The estimable Lee Goldberg hosts some interesting comments re: Tico and its subsequent change of heart.

http://leegoldberg.typepad.com/a_writers_life/2006/09/small_press_vs_.html

http://leegoldberg.typepad.com/a_writers_life/2006/09/tico_changes_co.html

 

[Jana]

I am back-patting self after reading Lee's comments. Tico's website raised a lot of red flags for me from the get-go, and it's good to know people with a lot more knowledge about the publishing industry saw the same warning signs.

I really hope, for the sake of the newbie authors who have invested their hopes and (for some) their $$ in Tico that the owners are really just naive/rising to the level of their incompetence, and not maliciously taking advantage of that one-born-every...

 

[James D. Macdonald]

Hi there, Ticopublishing.

If you'd like, can we discuss your grant-of-rights, your option clause, your reversion clause, and your indemnity clause?

 

[ticopublishing]

Hi there, Ticopublishing.

If you'd like, can we discuss your grant-of-rights, your option clause, your reversion clause, and your indemnity clause?

I'd be happy in participating in any discussion that is not a slam-fest nor agressively attempting to disrepute our company.

I would have participated sooner in this thread/discussion had it come to my attention at an earlier date.

If your contractual questions specifically address content that is the same in all of our contracts, I'll do my best to answer (keeping in mind that I'm not an attorney).

I cannot speak of or about any of the authors nor their contracts without their permission, however, for confidentiality purposes.

Arnold Tijerina

 

[James D. Macdonald]

No slamming. Pure information exchange. I'm not an attorney either, nor am I an agent. But I have been in this business for a while.