Zumaya Publications / Otherworlds

[Torin]

I checked them out on P&E, and it just says "Book Publisher". I THINK I've heard good things about them from other sources, but they're not turning up on searches of the forums here. I've just had an offer from them and their contract looks reasonable to me. Anyone had experience with them? I'm kind of psyched at the moment, and I believe they're good (one of the reasons I submitted to them) but I'm just double checking.

Torin

 

[veinglory]

I am about to add them to my erotic romance publisher database at http://www.veinglory.com/p.html. Give it a day or so or email me and I can send the info direct. If you look at the others you will be able to see how they compare to similar companies. There is also a link there to my forum specifically for discussing erotic romance e-publishers and some of the writers there might be able to tell you more. From what I can see it is a good to avergae contract, how good the deal is depends on how good their sales are which is always hard to judge, but they have been around for several years now and have a lot of books for sale which is a good sign.

 

[AnneMarble]

Anyone had experience with them? I'm kind of psyched at the moment, and I believe they're good (one of the reasons I submitted to them) but I'm just double checking. Torin

I haven't sold eXtasy anything. But I have bought romantica books from them. (They're not my favorite -- I tend to check out Ellora's Cave and Changeling Press first.) eXtasy's books are also available through Fictionwise.com (and probably some other distributors), which is always good for extra sale. They also seem to be quite involved with their readers -- they have a "chat" group on Yahoo. (If you are considering a publisher, it's always a good idea to join their chat group to see what's discussed, etc.)

However, I must say that I'm not crazy about their covers. I like the covers put out by the other romantica publishers better. If presentation is important to you, look at the other romantica publishers as well.

 

[veinglory]

Hmm. Poser or bryce covers, I find them very unattractive but what can you do? that and filing gay material under 'alternative lifestyles' -- very not PC.

There are a lot of ER epublishers and I would consider Ellora's Cave the best. But eXtacy looks fine too.

 

[Torin]

Unfortunately, Ellora's Cave wants the happy-ever-after ending, which this book doesn't have. They go their separate ways at the end and since it fits into a larger work, there is no way to change that. eXtasy is happy with it the way it is. I'm also waiting to hear back from Momwriters. I know I've seen several of them mentioning being published with Zumaya, so we'll see what they have to say as well.

Torin

 

[veinglory]

Loose-Id is another epublisher not wedded to a happy ending.

 

[Torin]

Well, I've got the contract in my email this morning. I'm going to read it over thoroughly, and make a decision today or tomorrow. It looks reasonable and I've heard some positive things about them, so here's hoping it's all good.

Loose-Id was next on my list to submit to, if eXtasy rejected me.

Torin

 

[CaoPaux]

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

 

[CaoPaux]

Adding link for parent co. Zumaya: http://www.zumayapublications.com/

 

[Nobilis]

Extasy books

I'm an author at Extasy Books, and I have nothing to complain about. My sales haven't been stellar but then my promotional efforts are still gathering steam, and I only have two titles there so far.

 

[Greenwolf103]

I have been working with Elizabeth Burton at Zumaya for some time now. She is definitely a good editor to work with and very helpful, too. That's about all I have to say so far. No contract has been offered YET.

 

[Donna Pudick]

Burton has a sense of humor, very personable. According to her website, she's nine months behind in her reading. That's about average for an editor these days. She takes submissions via e-mail, which is cool, and acknowledges receipt.

DP

 

[JohnB1988]

Ok, I started a thread in background checks on Zumaya back in late 2006. I can’t find that tread anymore, so I suppose it’s gone to that cyber-world in the sky. However, right after starting that thread, I sent Elizabeth a query and she responded with a request for a partial, which I sent. We’re talking late 2006 / early 2007 here. Since then nothing! I sent a polite request for an update at the one year mark, but it was ignored.

She’s off my list of decent publishers now. Yeah, the big boys also make you wait a year or so--but after that waiting they sell lots of books. I’m of the opinion that small publishers with limited sales should adopt a more author-friendly attitude. Being a publisher shouldn’t be just about massaging your own ego.

 

[victoriastrauss]

I thought we had a longer thread on Zumaya too.

At any rate, there are some not-so-great aspects to its contract, including paying royalties on net profits--defined as "retail cover price less costs of production, if applicable, and distribution other than shipping and handling charges."

Also, if the author wants to retain the edited version of his or her book after contract expiration (as opposed to having to go back to the ms. as originally submitted), s/he must pay a fee to the editor or copyeditor who worked on the book.

- Victoria

 

[triceretops]

Sent a query in on 5-8 and it bounced back. So I resent, and haven't heard anything back yet.

Tri

 

[triceretops]

Still waiting to hear on this publisher after a god-awful long time. Two polite reminders and still zip--nada.

Anybody in contact with them at all?

Tri

 

[Christine N.]

Tri, I will say that Liz DOES take a long time to reply. I love her to death, but she takes an eternity to get back to people on subs, mostly because she's buried beneath a mountain of them most of the time.

Once she replied to my submission after I had already sold the book, and then she missed the email I sent to tell her that I had sold it. LOL.

She's a doll, but an extremely busy one.

 

[David McAfee]

I sent a query about 9 months ago, and nothing yet.

 

[priceless1]

Christine, have they gotten distribution yet?

 

[Christine N.]

I'm not with them, so I don't know. I think they function much the same way as Mundania? I know they did, but I can't say if they still do or not. Their contract used to be up on their website - as far as I know it's still there for anyone to download and view.

That being said, I've read one or two of their books; they were good. I know Liz is extremely picky and she's inundated with subs.

 

[frandavea]

I queried months ago, too, but she sent me an update recently, acknowledging my query, and that she was behind. I appreciated that.

 

[priceless1]

After checking, they don't appear to have any distribution. Just so you know...

 

[citymouse]

I took a look at Zumaya's book covers. Awful! My youngest grandson could do better with finger paints!

Victoria also made a good point about Zumaya's contract. If you are thinking about signing with any publisher, Zumaya included, you may want to consult with an attorney who specializes in publishing contracts. I mentioned in previous posts that I had a contract that looked "reasonable" but was in fact riddled with subtle language that would have cost me $$$. I paid out $117 for the opinion and since the publisher went belly up it turned out to be money well spent.
c

 

[Christine N.]

Which covers? I've personally held some of the titles in my hands, and they were nicely done.

 

[citymouse]

I admit this is a matter of my personal taste. Here are three I looked at.

http://www.zumayapublications.com/title.php?id=47

www.zumayapublications.com/title.php?id=164

http://www.zumayapublications.com/title.php?id=64

Which covers? I've personally held some of the titles in my hands, and they were nicely done.