Victory Graphics and Media / Yorkshire Publishing Group

[Rolling Thunder]

Most will recognize what they are: http://www.victorygraphicsandmedia.com/publishing.php

But, this is how I found them:http://www.transworldnews.com/NewsStory.aspx?id=24771&cat=14

 

[JulieB]

I saw that yesterday as well. We probably found it linked from the same web site. ;-)

 

[BarbJ]

You mean in order to sell books I have to visit every bookstore in the country? But I don't drive! How am I supposed to get all those lollipop trees on the bus! Woe, woe...

 

[batgirl]

"Publishers today are looking for authors with existing platforms of notoriety. They know that if an author brings a platform to the table they can simply publish and print the book, set up distribution, and make a significant profit while paying the author a small portion of the revenue in the form of a royalty. Authors also give up the rights of their book to the publisher. The publishing house then has complete control over the work. Our belief is that if the author brings notoriety to the table then the author should make the most money."

Do they own a dictionary? Do they use it? "Platform of notoriety", that just stumps me. Unless they mean to publish books only by rehabbing celebs and criminals?

-Barbara

 

[Khazarkhum]

Authors also give up the rights of their book to the publisher. The publishing house then has complete control over the work. Our belief is that if the author brings notoriety to the table then the author should make the most money.

There are more levels of wrong in that passage than Micheal Jackson hosting a cub scout weenie roast.

 

[CaoPaux]

Updating link: http://www.victorygraphicsandmedia.com/

 

[James D. Macdonald]

If you have ever dreamed of publishing that one book that burns within you, or you have a list of books that you have written and would like to pursue book publishing, we would like to introduce you to the qualified book publishing team at Victory Graphics and Media.

Victory Graphics and Media is a team experienced with book publishing who are committed to helping authors and speakers self-publish quality books that will inspire the reader, are very attractive and will fit within the author’s book publishing budget.

With more than 50 years combined experience in the book publishing industry, members of this team have developed projects for many New York Times best-selling authors.
We have the book publishing experience, you have the manuscript, and we can help you with all of your book publishing needs. Let us prove to you what we can do!

Wow. That seems to be an exercise in how many times they can get the phrase "book publishing" onto one page. Going for the SEO.

Later, on another page, they say:

Publishing is defined as the steps required when taking a book from the manuscript stage to being ready to print. The steps include but are not limited to: editing, formatting, typesetting, proofreading, and cover design.

No. Sorry, wrong answer, but thanks for playing anyway.

Publishing is defined as "making public." Printing is only one step, not the ultimate goal. Publishing includes distribution, promotion, and marketing. If you don't have those all you have is a garage full of printed objects.

“I finally finished my manuscript and I’m ready to publish my book, but I’m not sure what to do next. Where do I go? How much will it cost? How many books do I need? How long will it take?”

Go to a bookstore. Find books already on the shelves that are similar to yours. Find out who published them. Get those publishers' guidelines and follow them to the letter.

How much will it cost? The price of postage. The publisher pays you, not the other way around. (And not any measly one dollar, either.)

How many books do you need? Just one, but it has to be a good one.

Oh, you mean "How many copies should I carry in the trunk of my car?" None.

How long it takes depends on a lot of things, none of them under your control. Plan on months-to-years, and write another book while you're waiting.


=========

These guys charge $1K and up. Vanity press. Forget 'em.

 

[CaoPaux]

Adding link to parent company, Yorkshire Publishing Group: http://www.yorkshirepublishing.com/

 

[HMQ]

are they still vanity

Hello Absolute Writers. I have just received a press release for a book published by Yorkshire Publishing and would like to find out whether it's a self-published book or not.

I can't see anything that would indicate vanity press on their page now, but I wouldn't know all the signs. http://victorygraphicsandmedia.com/ysp/submissions.shtml

Are they no longer a vanity press? Thanks so much for your thoughts. Jan

 

[Momento Mori]

Yorkshire Publishing Website:
Yorkshire publishing was founded with a passion to discover and publish unknown authors with potential.

It's targeting new authors.

Yorkshire Publishing Website:
Yorkshire Publishing is proud to represent a carefully selected family of authors.

You're looking to be published, not to join a family.

Yorkshire Publishing Website:
Unlike many publishers who require an agent to act as a middleman in the publishing process, we accept submissions directly from authors.

Commercial publishers generally want to hear from agents because they know that there's been a quality filter for the material. The agent is also there to negotiate terms and the advance.

Yorkshire Publishing Website:
If you are a retailer, our product is available through Ingram Book Distributors.

Suggests to me that they don't have instore book placement set up.

Yorkshire Publishing Website: (BOLDING MINE)
To submit your work for consideration, please submit a query letter with the following:

Title
Subtitle (if applicable)
Author Contact Information
Manuscript Length
Anticipated Manuscript Completion Date
Summary (250 words or less)
Book Target Market
Comparative Works
Author Background
Previous Writing Experience and/or Education
Possible Endorsements
Personal Marketing Plan and/or Platform Explanation

I wouldn't be comfortable with the fact that they're prepared to look at incomplete manuscripts.

The emphasis on marketing and endorsements would also make me uncomfortable - suggests that the author will have to do a lot of this themselves.

While they've lost the information on up-front charges, there's nothing to indicate that these won't be asked for after you've submitted your manuscript. There's no information on distribution or marketing. There's nothing to suggest they're playing an advance. There's nothing on royalties that authors can expect.

They've got a history of being a vanity press and the best you can say about them is that they're no longer making that information available.

The question you need to ask is whether you can find any books put out by this company on the shelves in your local book store.

MM

 

[Richard Falk]

Hello Absolute Writers. I have just received a press release for a book published by Yorkshire Publishing and would like to find out whether it's a self-published book or not.

I can't see anything that would indicate vanity press on their page now, but I wouldn't know all the signs. http://victorygraphicsandmedia.com/ysp/submissions.shtml

Are they no longer a vanity press? Thanks so much for your thoughts. Jan

Classic vanity press. Several phrases spell it out. Especially this one:

After publication, your book will be available to you on an “as needed” basis. The benefit is that we will print precisely the quantity that you need. This means you won’t have any money tied up in inventory that will sit in your garage waiting to be sold.

Commercial publishers print books for readers, not authors. Nor do commercially published authors have any "money tied up in inventory" as they don't pay for their books to be printed (or indeed store them in their garage).

 

[Momento Mori]

On further investigation, the really damning stuff is found on a blog run by Todd Rutherford, the VP of Yorkshire Publishing. He seems to be billing the company as a self-publisher and in doing so touts all the old myths about traditional publishing being under hard times and how hard it is to now get a 6 figure advance (like, it was never hard before) and how really authors and publishers must be prepared to market and promote together (read, author does most of the effort).

There's also the laughable Publishing Guru site, run by Ryan Sheehan of Yorkshire Publishing, which touts more myths. I see that they recently ran a writing competition where first prize was your very own POD book.

Gosh. How can I contain my excitement ...

Check out his post on the importance of authors registering copyright.

Yeah, there's nothing to suggest that going with Yorkshire Publishing would count as a professional credit.

MM

 

[HMQ]

thanks!

Thank you Memento and Richard. It used to be easy to weed out these releases - I'd just delete the ones that mentioned iUniverse. But it is getting more difficult. I appreciate your replies and the tips on the red flag phrases. Thanks again. Jan

 

[gingerwoman]

Yeah the fact that they tweeted me on Twitter inviting me to send them manuscripts made me suspicious.

 

[Stacia Kane]

Today's Publishing Guru post is called "Sentence Fragments - It's Everyone's Problem."

http://askthepublishingguru.com/

Discounting the fact that it should read "They're everyone's problem," it's astonishingly bad advice, implying that sentence fragments are always bad writing and to be avoided, when in fact they are often useful and an element of authorial voice and style, and most readers see that.

Yet another indicator, if one was necessary, that not only do they not know much about publishing, they don't know much about reading.

 

[CScottMorris]

M3 Publishing / M3 Kids / M3 New Media

Have no idea who these people are. They just started following me on Twitter. Seem a little shady. Im not considering them, just wondering if anybody has heard of them. A search for 'M3' turned up nothing in this forum.
They have a good sized catalogue, mostly through Amazon. Nothing on google.
They just seem a little too eager for new authors for my comfort.
Anybody have any experience with M3 Publishing?

 

[Old Hack]

I had a quick look at their books on Amazon and although some of the covers looked OK, the three blurbs I read were pretty dreadful.

I would be wary, but then I am a nasty suspicious kind.

 

[Momento Mori]

:sighs:

Why is it that these places always spout the same old crap?

M3 Publishing Website:
M3 Publishing was founded with a passion to discover and publish unknown authors with potential.

It would be better if they were founded with a passion for selling books to the book buying public. This statement makes it sound as though they are pitching their services at authors, which isn't right.

M3 Publishing Website:
M3 Publishing is proud to represent a carefully selected family of authors.

I'd be interested in knowing how long the company's been going because their Amazon store has 15 pages with 9 books per page. 195 books isn't much if they've been going for say 5 years, but if they only started up recently then it points to a mill.

M3 Publishing Website:
M3 Publishing is a general trade publisher, while M3 Kids is our children’s book division.

I'd want to know what they mean by "general trade publisher" if their books are only shown as being available on Amazon.

M3 Publishing Website:
As a team of talented editors, designers, and publicists, M3 Publishing is missing only one component in our team based approach – our next author.

No mention there of the book buying public. That's reassuring ...

There's also no details at all on who these "talented" people are or where they gained their experience.

M3 Publishing Website:
If you are a retailer, our product is available through Ingram Book Distributors.

So that's no in store presence then. Great.

M3 Publishing Website:

M3 Publishing is currently accepting submissions in the following categories:

• Adult Fiction
• Adult Non-Fiction
• Children’s Fiction
• Children's Non-Fiction
• Christian Fiction
• Christian Non-Fiction

So they basically accept anything and everything. That's never a good side - particularly if you can't find this publishers books in stores.

M3 Publishing Website: (BOLDING MINE)
To submit your work for consideration, please submit a

query letter with the following:

• Title
• Subtitle (if applicable)
• Author Contact Information
• Manuscript Length
• Anticipated Manuscript Completion Date
• Summary (250 words or less)
• Book Target Market
• Comparative Works
• Author Background
• Previous Writing Experience and/or Education
• Possible Endorsements
• Personal Marketing Plan and/or Platform Explanation

No publisher should be accepting uncompleted manuscripts for publication so that isn't a good sign.

The emphasis on author marketing also suggests to me that authors will be left to do a lot of that themselves. That's not good news for authors because the more time you're trying to schlep your books, the less time you're spending writing the next one.

MM

 

[CaoPaux]

Parent company: http://www.m3newmedia.net/ where under Services we find:

Write Your Book

We help you Write Your Book now! It will look great and be filled with outstanding content (yours) Become the "Default Expert" in your field. Write Your book NOW! We can help. We will mentor you, coach you, and take you through each step from concept to Best Seller! We would be honored for you to "partner" with us.

Uh huh. Yeah.

 

[Momento Mori]

:face palm:

If I had a quid for every one of these I'd seen since joining AW I'd have enough for a very nice dinner for one in a decent restaurant (not including wine).

MM

 

[James D. Macdonald]

Out of Broken Arrow, Oklahoma.

M3 Publishing was founded with a passion to discover and publish unknown authors with potential. M3 Publishing is proud to represent a carefully selected family of authors. M3 Publishing is a general trade publisher, while M3 Kids is our children’s book division.

As a team of talented editors, designers, and publicists, M3 Publishing is missing only one component in our team based approach – our next author.

Their website is aimed at authors, not readers. Publishers should not be looking for "unknown authors with potential." They should be looking for good books.

When you go to Amazon, the publisher is listed as "Yorkshire Publishing," "Victory Publishing," (and perhaps others), not as M3. (There are several books that a search for "M3" turn up at Amazon, but it's unclear as to whether they're the same guys; M3's bookstore on their webpage lacks a search function.)


They ask authors to state, in their submissions, "Anticipated Manuscript Completion Date." This suggests they will consider books that haven't even been written. This may be acceptable in non-fiction (and they do accept non-fiction), but it is out-of-bounds for first time fiction authors.

They also ask the authors to list "Comparative Works." I think they meant "comparable."

All in all, I find this disheartening.

 

[brianm]

I'd be interested in knowing how long the company's been going because their Amazon store has 15 pages with 9 books per page. 195 books isn't much if they've been going for say 5 years, but if they only started up recently then it points to a mill. MM

Apparently its owner, Michael D. Butler, Sr., hung out the open for business shingle in http://www.linkedin.com/in/michaeldbutlersr] June of 2010. in June of 2010.
~brianm~

 

[CaoPaux]

When you go to Amazon, the publisher is listed as "Yorkshire Publishing," "Victory Publishing," (and perhaps others), not as M3.

Indeed, the Contact form on the M3 Publishing site routes through http://www.victorygraphicsandmedia.com/, aka http://www.yorkshirepublishing.com/, home of Thorncrown Publishing, Victory Publishing, and Yorkshire Kids.

 

[Old Hack]

Yorkshire Publishing? I know that organisation from Twitter, where Todd Rutherford AKA @PublishingGuru spends a lot of time participating in writers' chats, talking about how Big Publishing Is Dying And Self Publishing Is Going To Take Over The World. He's wrong on both counts.

 

[CScottMorris]

Yeah, it seemed to me that they were targeting new authors instead of book buyers. Makes you wonder where they make their money.
I think they are doing searches for any twitter account that lists itself as a writer/author, and then following them as a form of spamming. Not the most professional behavior.