Writer's Edge Publishing

[Cristelle]

Just wanted to present to you Writer’s Edge Publishing http://writersedge.wix.com/publishing

I was dubious when I queried them, but though ‘What the hell, let’s try it...’
They wrote back in a matter of days, saying they’re very interested in seeing my complete manuscript.

Before sending out anything, I asked a few questions (simple ones, like ‘where are your offices at’, ‘can I see your catalogue to know what you’ve published’, etc).

Needless to say, I never heard back from them.

My advice: don’t even waste your time on them (whoever/wherever they are), go drink a cup of tea or coffee instead.

“At Writer's Edge Publishing our take on the industry is different. We understand that we are here to serve authors, not take advantage of them. That is why we invest in each of our clients, and offer them all of the services below, ABSOLUTELY FREE OF CHARGE.

Cover art
Editing
Revisions
Formatting for digital media
Formatting/typesetting for print
Audio book production by industry professionals
Active social media marketing campaigns
Cross promotions with other work we have published
Paid advertisements and marketing campaigns
Sponsored giveaways and contests
and much much more

At Writer's Edge we believe every author we take as a client deserves the success they crave and we won't charge a cent to publish you. That's right, we cover all the costs. We can do that because not only do we believe in our author's work, but we promote it and market it. We don't charge you anything because we plan for you to be successful and we will only get paid when you are getting paid. We also offer unprecedented royalty percentages. Here at the edge, our authors earn 50% of all net proceeds derived from their work.

If you want a publisher that works for you, instead of taking advantage of you, then it is obvious that you need The Writer's Edge.”

 

[James D. Macdonald]

Publishers do not exist to serve authors. Publishers serve readers.

That list of things they do "free": I'd expect all that and more from any publisher, and thousands of dollars in advance, too.

 

[aliceshortcake]

Writer's Edge was designed for the modern publishing landscape with authors in mind. Employing Industry professionals, consultants, and even talent scouts, we decided to turn the publishing game on it's head. We mix proven publishing methods with new cutting edge ideas to give all of our clients the edge they deserve. Our business model is all about our authors. Their dreams are our goals. Come and see what success feels like.
http://writersedge.wix.com/publishing#!about/c1nke

Publishers should be interested in selling a writer's book, not making their dreams come true. And I don't suppose Writer's Edge would care to name some of these industry professionals?

Have you received more than your share of "just not right for us" letters? Are you tired of publishers who want you to pay them to publish you? Weary of an outdated model where corporations decide who gets published? Read a book lately and know for a fact that you have written better?
http://writersedge.wix.com/publishing

I'm going to risk a wild guess here: Writer's Edge was founded by someone who couldn't get commercially published and stumbled across a lot of vanity publishers along the way.

Though our client list is growing daily, Here is one of the most recent members to join the Writer's Edge family. Jeremy Laszlo was already a successful Indie published author, but decided to let us handle his work to allow him more time to write. More amazing however, is the fact that he also agreed to come on board as a consultant, joining a handful of other successful authors we bounce ideas off of and use as talent scouts.
http://writersedge.wix.com/publishing#!clients/c24ol

Mr Laszlo is the author of four books, three of which also appear in a single volume. I don't know exactly how Writer's Edge is "handling" Mr Laszlo's books as they can't be purchased via the website, but they were all published through CreateSpace (not my idea of an "indie publisher") between February and October this year. This leads me to suspect that Writer's Edge is yet another self-publisher trying not to look like a self-publisher.

I'm willing to bet that the founder of Writer's Edge also had a bad experience with a phoney agent, or at least doesn't understand how real agents work:

Yes of course we accept authors without agent representation. Why should you pay a middle man if you don't have to? Here you will receive the same contract with or without agent representation.
http://writersedge.wix.com/publishing#!contact/czpl

Something tells me that Writer's Edge won't be getting any agented submissions!

As for these mysterious "talent scouts", I suspect they'll be the sort of people who lurk on sites frequented by newbie writers, praise their work and offer them a publishing contract. Real publishers are inundated with submissions; they don't need to actively go in search of new talent, new talent comes to them.


 

[LindaJeanne]

It's not very often that the publisher's NAME sets my alarm bells ringing -- but in this case, it did. Looks like it's exactly the sort of operation the name made me fear it would be.

 

[Gynn]

Not a big fan of faceless websites. Who are the people that work there? Why is their website hosted by a free service, complete with annoying ad bar at the bottom of the screen?

 

[JulieB]

If you received a $5,000.00 advance, you will have to sell an alarming 17,857 copies just to pay off the advance, and you will have to do it without the publisher's support.

Where do people get this sort of misinformation? I've NEVER had to pay off an advance. If the book doesn't earn out, I won't see another cent. If it does, then I get more money.

An advance is not an installment plan. It's money up front to an author. The publisher arrives at that amount based on the number of books they expect to sell. An author should never be required to pay back any portion of their advance unless they breach the contract. (If they fail to turn in a manuscript, or if they misrepresent it, for example.) If the author fills their end of the contract, then that nasty NY publisher will fill theirs by handing out an advance. What a terrible situation for an author to be in. (/sarcasm)

The very next sentence:

Most do not market a new author.

Then how in the world do they expect to sell those 17,857 copies? Just like any other business, a publisher needs to make money. They're going to go out of business very fast if they pay out $5K advances and don't work to make sure those books get into the hands of readers. Just because you don't see billboards or TV or magazine ads doesn't mean the publisher isn't working hard to make back the money they've invested.

 

[aliceshortcake]

They missed out the bit about selling books out of the trunk of your car! To nuns and truck drivers!

 

[OhTheHorror]

They missed out the bit about selling books out of the trunk of your car! To nuns and truck drivers!

You made me spit coffee all over my computer screen, Alice.

One of my mates calls these kinda places the "act now and receive the insta-chop for free!" publishers. Basically, if their website makes it sound like they belong on the Home Shopping Network, quickly turn and walk away.

 

[romancewriter]

I came across a link to this publisher on Twitter and immediately after visiting their website I was getting this seems like a scam vibe. The fact that their homepage is mostly about putting down all other publishers just screams stay away to me. I posted a link to this discussion in reply to their tweet on twitter.

 

[Deb Kinnard]

Writer's Edge has been around a long time in the Christian fiction community. They were (when I was last aware of them) a submission service who supposedly would send out your proposal to places where it might fit. Not one author I know ever sold a single project through Writer's Edge, and agents and editors have mentioned they don't look at projects proposed that way.

If you want to self-pub, there are better, faster, easier, and cheaper ways to travel that path.

 

[CaoPaux]

Writer's Edge has been around a long time in the Christian fiction community. They were (when I was last aware of them) a submission service who supposedly would send out your proposal to places where it might fit. Not one author I know ever sold a single project through Writer's Edge, and agents and editors have mentioned they don't look at projects proposed that way.

If you want to self-pub, there are better, faster, easier, and cheaper ways to travel that path.

That's a completely different company: The Writer's Edge Service.

 

[Jeremy Laszlo]

peculiar

I find it odd that I stumbled across this post. That's Google for ya. In any case, as my name is mentioned here I thought it only appropriate that I respond to some of the comments herein.

I have 9 novels currently published, the majority of which are under contract with Writer's Edge Publishing. Now I can see where some might be cautious, especially with your hard work, but fear mongering with no research is a bit extreme. Be careful when searching, for as far as I am aware (using a google search in another tab) there is a Writer's Edge Publications, Writer's Edge Service (christian service mentioned above), The Writer's Edge (agent service), and The Writer's Edge Press. None of these are my publisher, and there are probably several more.

Though I have no way of knowing the circumstances of the OP's query with Writer's Edge, I have always received a response from them within a few days, though sometimes their replies end up in my spam folder (even though I have several of their email addresses in my contacts). Perhaps this was the case with the OP, and the reply was simply overlooked.

It is indeed a fact that their website highlights many undesirable qualities of some other publishers, such as charging fees for services, but then again, these forums do the same thing. I am uncertain how educating an author of what to be wary of is a negative thing.

Though I cannot answer many specific questions, I can fill in a few blanks from my own experience. WEP is located in Michigan. That's where I have had to send all of my contracts. They promote my work actively, and have created for my family an income that for most would be enough to substitute a decent full time job. They have also started the production of my fantasy series in audiobook format. Beyond that, I know they are a small publisher with a limited client list, though I am uncertain how many authors they have under their label.

Perhaps this will help to shed some light. I personally am quite happy with Writer's Edge, and know a handful of other authors who are as well. That's how I did my homework after all, asked those who had tread the path that I was considering.

Good luck to each of you in your writing endeavors.

-Jeremy Laszlo-

 

[Theo81]

Hi Jeremy, thanks for stopping by.

We do our research here as well as we can, but we can only go on what publishers chose to make known about themselves. Errors, such as the confusion between Writer's Edge Publishing and Writer's Edge services above, are usually caught pretty promptly - again, as above. It's useful to have representatives of the publisher stop by to straighten out anything we're getting wrong, as well as letting them know how their website is being interpreted.

From WEP's website:

Unfortunately the majority of publishers out there take advantage of authors, either luring them in with an "advance" on their royalties and then paying the author a pathetic 4-15% after they reach the amount of the advance. Or charging an author vast amounts of money to publish their work. Here are a few examples.

Cover art ($200-$1500)
Editing ($1200-$3000)
Formatting for digital media ($100-$300)
Formatting/typesetting for print ($200-$600)
Revisions ($500-$1000 per instance)
Audio book production ($4000-$10,000)
passive marketing/image and link on their site (up to $100/month)



I wouldn't call this highlighting the undesirable qualities of other publishers. *Most* publishers don't do this at all.



The other scenario is where a publisher offers you an advance. Usually they do this as a ploy, giving themselves leverage to negotiate a low royalty percentage. In this scenario it can be months, even years before the author sees another cent. Often, due to lack of marketing, the author never pays off the advance and ends up owing the publisher money.

This is wrong. If the advance does not earn out, that's the publisher's problem. You do not have to pay it back. You do not owe them money.

This is also disingenuous - the reason you don't see any money from the publisher for months etc is because you have already been paid.


At 4% net royalties, on a marketplace such as Amazon, if your title is priced at $9.99 then the publisher gets approximately $7.00 of which you will get your 4% which is a mere $0.28


I won't comment on this, but I hope somebody who knows more about these things than I do will.

If you received a $5,000.00 advance, you will have to sell an alarming 17,857 copies just to pay off the advance, and you will have to do it without the publisher's support. Most do not market a new author.


Again, this *most*. If most didn't market a new author, they'd swiftly be out of business, or only publishing established ones.




So, can you tell us who runs WEP or anything about their publishing experience?

 

[kaitie]

He's figuring 14% on net. 14% of the $2 you'd get after Amazon's figure is cut out. Which is COMPLETELY wrong because most publishers pay on gross, not net. In fact, authors shouldn't sign contracts on net. It's too easy to get screwed over and, as this illustration shows, get paid hardly anything per copy.

The actually royalty the author would be receiving on that is $1.40 per copy. Not bad at all on a book that's selling for under ten dollars.

 

[CaoPaux]

Updating URL: http://www.writersedgepublishing.com/

ETA: site gone, last book pubbed '15.