Village Green Press, LLC

[prsctrli]

That particular activity is loaded with landmines (as you've discovered ) and has some pretty specific "rules" (like about spamming).

But again, we can help with that.

Yay! Thank you!

Can I ask what your specialty is or what area of law you focus on? It's not relevant, really, I'm just curious.

Constitutional Law - primarily in federal court; contracts (LOL); tax (plech); bankruptcy (flourishing unfortunately); estate planning; civil rights/federal Indian law; and some family law/criminal defense. The good thing is at the ripe old age of 49 and with my own practice, I can pick and choose my cases. I don't take many cases on because I'm really focusing on building VGP and writing. But....gotta pay for the ads and help.

Yeah, I'm not going to comment on any of this. *cough*

Ahhh....hahahaha!!!!!! I don't know why I never got into romance because when I was growing up (translate - in high school), the only option for that was the then-most-awful Harlequin romance. I was hardcore into the Arthurian tales by E.B. White; Marion Zimmer Bradley; and others. I read Tolkien's cycle when I was very small and again when I could understand what some of the words meant (ha!). I was a huge fan of Arthur C. Clarke but as a general rule don't like sci-fi that much - although today he might not be considered sci-fi. And F. Scott Fitzgeral (or Zelda if one believes some of the latest revelations) remains a favorite. And on the list goes. But the trend would be: mythical; mystical; spooky creepy; ghosty; but no more vampires; and good storytelling. So who knows? Perhaps I should try a modern romance. Any suggestions? LOL

I'm so sorry that happened to you. I've heard too many stories like that (in fact I just got an email yesterday from someone with a similar tale with a different "agent;" I'm waiting for permission to tell the story in the relevant thread here). That's why we're here, and why we're so thorough and careful with new agents or publishers.

Man, all I can say is "live and learn." I just felt so stupid really. I mean, you want to just go after them, but even that does no good because they will not change. I had to change. And in the end, that was good thing. And learning about the "real," albeit dark side, of publishing/agenting obviously made me very conscious of authors' wariness.

I think before the internet perhaps such services had more value (you haven't mentioned a year). But now, five minutes at agentquery.com or litmatch.com would give you just as much if not more information, for free.

The year was 2007 and I discovered agentquery later. Love that site.

Surely not for all of them? Most publishers use POD for some limited runs, but it's just not economically viable to use it for most of them. I'm not saying you're wrong--again, I missed this announcement--I'm just expressing my initial thought.

You know, I don't really know the details. I read about it briefly on Publisher's Weekly when it first happened. So I am sketchy on the details as well.

Well, we all love writing here, so you're in good company. Welcome again, and I hope to see you elsewhere around the forum.

Cool

 

[IceCreamEmpress]

Re: Simon and Schuster and print-on-demand technology--

I think you may be thinking of this kerfuffle, in which Simon and Schuster wanted to deem a contracted book to be "in print" forever; once they stopped making regular print runs, they would run off copies on a print-on-demand basis, so the rights would never revert to the author.

 

[victoriastrauss]

I think you may be thinking of this kerfuffle, in which Simon and Schuster wanted to deem a contracted book to be "in print" forever; once they stopped making regular print runs, they would run off copies on a print-on-demand basis, so the rights would never revert to the author.

Off topic, but...it's interesting to be reminded of this, since a few months ago I discovered that S&S put out a POD version of one of my long-out-of-print YA books--despite the fact that I'd reverted rights just a few months earlier, and also despite the fact that my contract was many years pre-digital.

When all of this was pointed out to them by my agency, they apologized and immediately withdrew the digital file (though they had already printed copies--I know because I placed two separate orders)--evidently, the backlist re-issuing people weren't talking to the contracts people, and didn't realize they no longer had the rights. But I wonder how many other S&S authors with OP books who may not have reverted rights have POD editions out there and don't know it.

- Victoria

 

[Barbara R.]

Thanks for saying that, Victoria. I'm proud of the testimonials on my site from former students, and would hate to think they're automatically discounted or even suspect. Lately I've been asking students for permission to use full names and even email addresses, because it is so easy to fake these things.

 

[prsctrli]

Re: Simon and Schuster and print-on-demand technology--

I think you may be thinking of this kerfuffle, in which Simon and Schuster wanted to deem a contracted book to be "in print" forever; once they stopped making regular print runs, they would run off copies on a print-on-demand basis, so the rights would never revert to the author.

Yep - that's probably the one.

 

[prsctrli]

Off topic, but...it's interesting to be reminded of this, since a few months ago I discovered that S&S put out a POD version of one of my long-out-of-print YA books--despite the fact that I'd reverted rights just a few months earlier, and also despite the fact that my contract was many years pre-digital.

When all of this was pointed out to them by my agency, they apologized and immediately withdrew the digital file (though they had already printed copies--I know because I placed two separate orders)--evidently, the backlist re-issuing people weren't talking to the contracts people, and didn't realize they no longer had the rights. But I wonder how many other S&S authors with OP books who may not have reverted rights have POD editions out there and don't know it.

- Victoria

I am certain there are quite a few. The problem with the transition from paper to databases is always in the translation and details like rights reversion lost in the shuffle.

 

[Unimportant]

In one of the self publishing threads here on AW, someone recommended "The Self Publishing Review." Interestingly, their most recent review is of the Bertauski book edited by VGP.

The writer really needs to learn how to avoid constructions which make his sentences laugh-out-loud wrong. Mistakes like these add up quickly and have a very detrimental effect on the reader’s enjoyment of the book. It’s the sort of thing that a good editor would spot: and I can’t help thinking that if Mr. Bertauski had worked with a good editor, I would be recommending this book to you now.

Which, I suppose, goes to show that you really can't judge an editor's skills by looking at the published work. Sometimes the editor ruined a good book. Sometimes the editor was useless. Sometimes the editor was brilliant and turned a sow's ear into a silk purse. Sometimes the editor was brilliant but the author refused to listen, so the sow's ear remained a sow's ear.

 

[aliceshortcake]

In one of the self publishing threads here on AW, someone recommended "The Self Publishing Review." Interestingly, their most recent review is of the Bertauski book edited by VGP.



Which, I suppose, goes to show that you really can't judge an editor's skills by looking at the published work. Sometimes the editor ruined a good book. Sometimes the editor was useless. Sometimes the editor was brilliant and turned a sow's ear into a silk purse. Sometimes the editor was brilliant but the author refused to listen, so the sow's ear remained a sow's ear.

The Self-Publishing Review used the following tags:

clichéd, confusing, derivative, inconsistent, ineffective back cover copy, lacks clarity, lacks pace, misused words, nonsensical, not credible, overwritten, pompous, poor characterisation, poor continuity, problems with grammar, repetition, repetitive, sentence structure, spelling, spelling mistakes, typos

Perhaps the other books mentioned on VGP's "Testimonials" page are all silk purses and the Bertauski book is an atypical sow's ear. Of course, since we've been unable to find any trace of them we simply don't know.

 

[Unimportant]

Given that Teresa has professional editing experience with the big houses, it might be useful for her to contact the authors whose books she edited at those big houses and ask them for testimonials. "Teresa is great! Household Name, author of NYT BestSelling Title" would probably provide more cachet than self published authors whose books contain a lot of grammatical errors.

 

[priceless1]

I'll weigh in only to say that editing for a big six publisher does not a brilliant editor make - unless those books went on to be bestsellers and highly acclaimed. I've seen plenty big six books that were disarmingly awful, so I think this particular argument could be somewhat tempered unless we have more facts.

 

[Unimportant]

I'll weigh in only to say that editing for a big six publisher does not a brilliant editor make.

Oh, absolutely. But as Victoria said, it's perfectly normal for freelance editing services to have verifiable testimonials on their website for advertising purposes. Presumably, such testimonials carry some weight with authors looking to hire a freelance editor. In which case, IMO, a testimonial that from an author whose book is published with the Big 6 will carry more weight than a testimonial from an author with an unpublished book.

 

[pfinucan]

From the The Self Publishing Review —

It’s the sort of thing that a good editor would spot: and I can’t help thinking that if Mr. Bertauski had worked with a good editor, I would be recommending this book to you now. I read thirty-seven of two hundred and sixty-eight pages and am rather disappointed that this particular book couldn’t show itself off a little better.

This is a shame, because the author actually had an editor...

 

[Unimportant]

It may be a case of "you can lead a horse to water....."

 

[Old Hack]

The Self-Publishing Review blog which has been referred to is mine--you'll see it linked to in my signature below.

I don't like to be cruel to the writers who are brave enough to send me their books to review so I won't comment in detail about the writing in the book which has been specified here; but I will say that the book was not edited well.

The text was reasonably clean, in that it had relatively few errors in punctuation or spelling: but the book lacked pace, it was confusing, and it was heavily overwritten, and these are problems that a good editor would resolve.

Let me quote a couple of sentences from the book:

Mom waited at the office door. She pushed her hair behind her ear, it fell back, and took a deeper breath than usual.

Now, either Mom has alien hair which breathes nice deep breaths, or that bit of writing needs a better editor. If I'd only found that one example of that particular construction I wouldn't have even mentioned it in my review: but I found plenty of examples of this particular problem and it's not the sort of mistake that a good editor would let slip past. It's a howler. An absolute howler.

And as credentials have been discussed in this thread I'll give you mine: I've edited for some of the big six and for several independents, in this country (UK) and the US, I have worked in publishing in one way or another since the early 1980s, and I've written more than twenty books which have been published (and a few more which haven't).

 

[Unimportant]

Wow, I feel dumb that I totally missed that. Old Hack = Self Publishing Review. D'oh!

Yes, that example you cite is an illustration of appallingly bad writing. It's possible the editor caught it and the author refused to revise it; Golden Prose Syndrome is not uncommon. Or it's possible the editor did a poor job; editors who cannot edit are also not uncommon.

 

[Old Hack]

There are other problems with the book too, though: the punctuation and spelling is reasonable throughout, but the writing itself (for example the grammar, sentence structure, and blousiness) still needs a lot of work.

If the editor was competent but the author resistant I'd expect the editor to want to distance herself from the text, because it's really not a good advertisement for their work. Instead, they're using the book to promote their services.

 

[Indefatigable]

Advice

I'd like some advice about Village Green Press. A book showed up on my author page on Manic Readers with my name on it, from VGP. The copyright was registered in another name (the look inside the book feature at Amazon shows this). I contacted VGP and suggested they change the new author's name to something else, but they don't seem to see the problem because we write in different genres. They must have been aware of this problem because when they tried to upload the book to Smashwords under "my" name, they could not. It's now listed as written by one of the publishers at VGP at Smashwords, but "my" name is still on the cover. I deleted this book off my author page at Manic Readers and they are working with me on this. Additionally, I have filed for trademark protection on my name since I've been using it on my books since April, 2010. Has anyone else ever had this happen to them? I'm hopping mad because I've spent a great deal of time and money developing my "brand" and I don't want to see it diluted. Outside of pursuing legal action, which I am prepared to do, does anyone have any other suggestions for me? I'd appreciate some advice.

 

[robjvargas]

A cease and desist letter, via registered mail. Make this clear in NO uncertain terms that you are not a participant, and that you object to this.

I think pen names are covered under trademark, not copyright (which may be a fine distinction from your perspective, but important). However, I'm not a legal expert, so you're definitely going to want an Intellectual Property lawyer to investigate your options.

 

[Indefatigable]

Cease and Desist Letter

A cease and desist letter to VGP?

 

[Terie]

Additionally, I have filed for trademark protection on my name since I've been using it on my books since April, 2010. Has anyone else ever had this happen to them? I'm hopping mad because I've spent a great deal of time and money developing my "brand" and I don't want to see it diluted.

Say what???? Cart before the horse much?

There's almost no such thing as a unique name.

Although I understand the need to disassociate one author from another on Smashwords, to attack this issue as if it's a legal problem and not one that probably crops up every week -- because, after all, there's almost no such thing as a unique name -- and simply needs to be straightened out is, um, weird.

Also? I know several NYT bestselling authors, and none of them have trademarked their names.



ETA: There is some interesting information about trademarking personal names here, including the following quote from the Seventh Circuit Court of Appeals:

The third concern ... is that preventing a person from using his name to denote his business may deprive consumers of useful information.

And in another ruling from the First Circuit Court of Appeals:

Personal names are included in the class of common words that may not secure protected trademark status until secondary meaning has attached.

To wit, you can't legally stop someone from using their own name as their byline, and personal names can't be trademarked.

 

[James D. Macdonald]

There are several James D. Macdonalds writing and publishing right now. It doesn't bother me, and so far as I can tell it hasn't made a difference.

Publishing isn't like the theatre, where you can't call yourself Laurence Olivier even if that's the name on your birth certificate.

 

[Indefatigable]

I appreciate the feedback, one and all.

 

[JulieB]

Yep, there are others with the same name as I in the publishing industry. I also work as a photographer, and there's a photographer (a darned good one, too, but we specialize in different subjects) with my name. It did cause some confusion when I tried to put my work in an art show at an SF convention, but the confusion was soon straightened out. In this region (where I sell most of my photographic work) people know who I am, and that's what matters. I work to differentiate myself from the others with my name in the fields where I do work - even if I was there first. The planet is big enough for all of us.

Now, if you had reason to believe this publisher was deliberately trying to capitalize on your name, then that's a different situation. And if that's the case, you should get some competent legal advice before you go forward.

 

[Indefatigable]

It's hard for me to say whether or not the publisher was trying to capitalize on the name deliberately. But I did a lot of research before settling on my pen name to make sure it was unique. I am bewildered why another author wouldn't do the same. Nevertheless, this is why I'm asking for advice here, to make sure I'm not overreacting. So far, what I've heard has been very informative. It's very good to know I'm not the only one and that I can learn to live with it.

 

[Terie]

It's hard for me to say whether or not the publisher was trying to capitalize on the name deliberately. But I did a lot of research before settling on my pen name to make sure it was unique. I am bewildered why another author wouldn't do the same. Nevertheless, this is why I'm asking for advice here, to make sure I'm not overreacting. So far, what I've heard has been very informative. It's very good to know I'm not the only one and that I can learn to live with it.

You are anonymous here (which isn't criticism, just stating the fact), so we don't know what your pen name is. But somehow I doubt you're some huge name that's popped onto the scene within the last two years. (And if you're Amanda Hocking, well, that's fair enough.)

Have you considered that it might be a bit egotistical for you to think some podunk little micropublisher is capitalising on your name? Have you considered that it's highly probable they've never even have heard of you?