Warren Publishing

[Just Me 2021]

I didn't see a thread on this one yet in the index.

Does anyone know anything about Warren Publishing? I just met a son in law of Cathy Brophy (CEO of Warren Publishing) at a party and he was willing to put me in touch with her or be helpful with my query process (If I never get an agent and get to the point where I'm approaching publishers on my own.)

Their website says they've been in business since the 1980s. They charge a reading fee of $500. I know that's a no-no with agents - is it also with Publishers? I'm brand new to this and not even close to the point of approaching Publishers (am querying agents and have several full and partial mss out to agents now), but just wanted to throw this one out there.

I didn't see them on P&E.

Thank you in advance for comments.

 

[Novelust]

Yog's Law also applies to publishers.

 

[victoriastrauss]

Reputable publishers do not charge reading fees--or any fees at all, for that matter. That $500 is a major warning sign.

For someone who knows the pay-to-publish vocabulary, it's clear from Warren's website that it's a vanity publisher, or perhaps I'm being ungenerous and should say a book manufacturer; at any rate, it provides fee-based publishing services (a.k.a. "full service publishing") to writers. However, they don't actually say right out that you have to pay to publish, so an inexperienced author might not realize this. Since the reading fee is a prerequisite for submission, people might wind up paying $500 without realizing that they were submitting to a vanity publisher.

Not for nothin', but if you want to pay to publish, even Dorrance will look at your ms. for free.

- Victoria

 

[Just Me 2021]

Victoria,

I knew you'd know the answer! Thank you so much for the information.

No, thank you to Warren Publishing... I'll query agents on my own... then Publishers on my own if I need to.

Thank you, Victoria!

 

[HapiSofi]

Pay-to-publish can be relatively honest. When it is, the service offered is more on the order of "pay to format and print; optionally, pay to assign an ISBN and submit to Ingram." The dishonest versions make unsupportable claims and promises, and/or charge for services that are useless, valueless, irrelevant, or badly overpriced.

A $500 reading fee is inexcusable. Not only will Dorrance read your book for free, as The Mighty Victoria points out, but totally depraved outfits like Publish America will do the same.

I also doubt your book will get read even if you do pay the fee. Why should a vanity publisher read your book? It's not like they're going to edit it, or package and market it. I'm guessing that's more of a submission fee.

Finally, $500 is ridiculously high even if they do read it. That's several times as much per manuscript as the real publishing industry pays its qualified, competent freelance readers.

 

[James D. Macdonald]

They charge a reading fee of $500.

That's all you need to know.

You don't pay publishers. Publishers pay you.


Here's their URL: http://www.warrenpublishing.net/

 

[Just Me 2021]

You all on this forum are great. I truly appreciate your wealth of information. Thank you, all of you.

 

[CaoPaux]

Dropped reading fee by '13. Now it's just another "hybrid" publisher asking you to invest in the partnership. And don't forget to set aside funds for marketing.