Turn the Page Publishing

[all4you33]

Hello all,

Has anyone dealt with Turn the Page publishers? I came across them while researching my nonfiction book about relationships. They have a couple of highly praised books are their list.

 

[CaoPaux]

This one, I presume: http://turnthepagepublishing.com/

 

[all4you33]

This one, I presume: http://turnthepagepublishing.com/

Yes that's the one. I am wondering if anyone has had dealings with them, for some inside information. Stuff that's not on the website.

 

[aliceshortcake]

Their distributor is Midpoint Trade Books. From their website:

Turn the Page Publishing represents new authors with new ideas and refreshing new books. An independent, traditional publishing company based in Upper Montclair, New Jersey, Turn the Page Publishing strives to change people’s lives—one page at a time. Owner, Roseann S. Lentin, launched the company in 2011. The company launched six new books in 2012, and in 2013 Turn the Page published 16 new books...

Owner and President, Roseann S. Lentin, worked for 25 years as a Director of Administration for major, national law firms, where her writing and editing experience included an award-winning magazine published by the New York City Chapter of the Association of Legal Administrators, and a book published in 2010 by the New York State Bar Association, Best Practices in Legal Management, for which she was Editor-in-Chief.
http://www.midpointtrade.com/blog/m...distributing-turn-the-page-publishing-20.html

TPP's Bruce Springsteen in Focus 1980-2012 by Debra L Rothenberg was selected by the Wall Street Journal as one of the top five photography books for Fall 2013; Cloud City by Heather Spergel won the Gelett Burgess Children's Book Award, so the company has enjoyed some success.

Having said that, TTP's website is aimed at writers rather than readers and includes the following information:

Turn the Page Publishing is currently accepting submissions for our imprint! We publish in all available formats and assist our authors with editing and marketing. Turn the Page Publishing offers royalties on published works and will not charge fees to contracted authors under our imprint.

At this time, Turn the Page Publishing does not pay out advances, but royalties are paid on the net amount of each sale concluded within each month. As authors, you will hold the copyright for your work.
http://turnthepagepublishing.com/submissions/publishing/

I'd want to know more about how much editing TTP provides and how much help with marketing an author can expect. The royalties based on net sales would also put me off.

 

[Undercover]

Their covers don't look so hot. Some of the children's book covers look kinda scary IMO. just sayin'

 

[Torgo]

Some of the children's book covers look kinda scary IMO. just sayin'

Weirdly inconsistent. A couple are quite good, art-wise, and a couple are shocking. You wonder who is doing the art direction; are they just letting people find their own illustrators, or something?

(The How Many Feet in the Bed book in particular: cover design is awful, and the illustrator seems unable to draw feet.)

 

[Marian Perera]

(The How Many Feet in the Bed book in particular: cover design is awful, and the illustrator seems unable to draw feet.)

Pale blue-grey feet make me think of zombies.

 

[Torgo]

Pale blue-grey feet make me think of zombies.

It's a head-scratcher. I don't want to rag on the artist too much, but when you're publishing picture books you spend a long time getting the art exactly right - it's more important than the text in a lot of ways. This looks like not a lot of time was spent finding the artist, and I suspect the artist came in with the author (this is why we like to pick the illustrator ourselves.) It doesn't inspire confidence.

 

[Undercover]

The only really professional one I see is the poodle one. The rest leaves me wondering a bit too long. I don't particularly like those two books with the faces.

And in the adults section, anything with a border like that right away gets me leary, (just may be me) but it doesn't look professional that way. Looks like some were done at home on a basic computer. I want to emphasize these are only my opinions. It doesn't mean the publisher is a bad one. But the moment I see unfavorable covers, I immediately pass.

 

[Torgo]

The only really professional one I see is the poodle one. The rest leaves me wondering a bit too long. I don't particularly like those two books with the faces.

The poodle one is fine - would work in the UK too. Cloud City isn't a style I like, but is one that works in the US. The rest don't look professional, no. (Alessandro Vene's art might work in Italy - it has that sort of look.)

 

[Undercover]

Weirdly inconsistent.

...is the best way to describe it.

 

[EMaree]

The inconsistency of covers is very, very odd.

They used First Edition Design Publishing to put together the "How Many Feet..." ebook. This can be seen in the 'Look Inside' (there's no actual content from the book in the Look Inside) and they're the developer of an app.

There's an unrelated picture book with the same title.
There's also a 'First Edition Design' not to be confused with 'First Edition Design Publishing'.

I looked for other Turn the Page Kindle books that used First Ed. but very few of their titles have Kindle editions, and none of the others I looked at (including "Furry Claw") have mention of being prepared to First Ed.

So it seems like both formatting and whether a Kindle edition is produced are also inconsistent. I'm guessing "How Many Feet..." had a higher budget to get both a formatted e-book and an app?

 

[all4you33]

Thanks for your insights. I will keep you posted if I decide to pursue this publisher.

 

[all4you33]

To follow up on Turn The Page.

Before Christmas, the publisher made an appointment to speak with me about my book by phone after the New Year.
Never called. Claims to have "forgotten."

The publisher emailed to reschedule the appointment for next day, and called a hour after the time set. We never spoke.

Needless to say I will pursue this publisher no further. Just sayin.

 

[EMaree]

That sounds like a wise decision.

 

[CaoPaux]

Last books pubbed Fall '14. Site has read "We’re turning our page and looking forward to exciting changes. Stay tuned for updates." since early '15. (Last FB activity was in December.)