Zumaya Publications / Otherworlds

[Cyia]

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

Those are pretty bad.

 

[Christine N.]

These are better:

http://www.zumayapublications.com/title.php?id=37
http://www.zumayapublications.com/title.php?id=17
http://www.zumayapublications.com/title.php?id=103
http://www.zumayapublications.com/title.php?id=14

A couple of these are those I've seen in real life - I don't think they look as good on screen. Granted, their art isn't as good as some others.

 

[David McAfee]

These are better:

http://www.zumayapublications.com/title.php?id=37
http://www.zumayapublications.com/title.php?id=17
http://www.zumayapublications.com/title.php?id=103
http://www.zumayapublications.com/title.php?id=14

A couple of these are those I've seen in real life - I don't think they look as good on screen. Granted, their art isn't as good as some others.

Two of those are Elizabeth Burton's books...isn't she the owner/publisher?

 

[Greenwolf103]

She is Executive Editor. You can read up on her on PM here.

 

[Christine N.]

Yes, Liz's books are published by her publisher. (wait, that didn't come out right, but you know what I mean). She has four books, out of the many more that Zumaya has published. It's not like her books are the majority. I was only using them because their art was a little better than some of the others.

 

[citymouse]

The cover for Quilt As Desired is okay. The best of the samples is Shadow Of The Scorpion.
I wonder if Zumaya allows authors to have their own professionally designed covers? Does anyone know? I know Michael Jensen has his own cover designer in NYC. Michael's book Frontiers is with Pocket Books, a division of Simon & Schuster.
C

 

[RJLeahy]

I can't speak for anyone else, but both my covers (Tigra and The Obsidian Seed), were created by artist Brian Hamner http://www.brianhamner.com/#img/mercy.jpg

 

[rejectME]

I read this thread today and wasn't able to get a good grasp on whether this publisher is considered legit or not. Is Elizabeth Burton the only one running the show? If someone published with Zumaya, would it be considered a publishing credit?

 

[triceretops]

The response to several of my book queries to the this publisher have gone unanswered. Crickets. As for their profile, I guess they're okay for a POD joint. They've been around for a bit. Ms. Burton has a fine rep, far as I know.

Tri

 

[Christine N.]

Tri, if you're on twitter, drip Liz a quick line - @zumayabooks. Or send her a PM through Twitter, which is probably better. Sometimes I think her email eats things.

We follow each other so 'talk' all the time. I just had a lovely online chat with her last evening regarding my recent sub (long story), and I know she was busy inputting and organizing her subs and doing some rejections and whatnot. They are legit, but they are small - so know that before you sub.

As far as the previous discussion re: covers. It was a concern of mine too before I subbed to them, but their most recent covers from this year are much improved.

http://www.zumayapublications.com/title.php?id=54
http://www.zumayapublications.com/search.php?q=Milky+Way&Submit=Go#title.php? (though this one has a different cover on Amazon, which makes me think they changed it to this: http://www.amazon.com/dp/1934841293/?tag=absolutewritedm-20, which I like better)

 

[Marva]

I see a Not Recommended on P&E because of the contract terms. I read the contract and there are a few gotchas. I could live with those. Shoot, the publisher of my first two books can't seem to find Amazon even, so anything would be better than that. Oh, well. Young (ha) and foolish, but older and wiser now.

My concern is more about the publishing dates being put off for years. That's a bad limbo land to be in. However, the contract specifies pub by dates, so how can that be?

Anyway, I'm on the borderline here. I did query her after reading this thread, but only saw the P&E Not Recommended after doing so. I did get a prompt auto-reply.

Maybe I needn't worry since many here haven't heard back on partials or fulls.

Anybody else have good or bad experiences lately?

 

[frandavea]

I see a Not Recommended on P&E because of the contract terms. I read the contract and there are a few gotchas. I could live with those. Shoot, the publisher of my first two books can't seem to find Amazon even, so anything would be better than that. Oh, well. Young (ha) and foolish, but older and wiser now.

My concern is more about the publishing dates being put off for years. That's a bad limbo land to be in. However, the contract specifies pub by dates, so how can that be?

Anyway, I'm on the borderline here. I did query her after reading this thread, but only saw the P&E Not Recommended after doing so. I did get a prompt auto-reply.

Maybe I needn't worry since many here haven't heard back on partials or fulls.

Anybody else have good or bad experiences lately?

I submitted to them over a year ago, and got lots of automated responses MONTHS later. It is my impression that whoever is running this at this publisher is a flake.

 

[Christine N.]

I'll be sure to tell Liz that when I speak to her tomorrow.

She's not a flake, only very busy. She stopped taking simultaneous subs because too many flakey authors would sell books she was reading and NOT tell her.

Zumaya gets TONS of subs. They are a small press and so have a small staff (of one, if I'm not mistaken) and yet they seem to put out several books a year. Yes, I've had long times with no communication when I've subbed to them before, but that's publishing. It's a lot to juggle, and Liz does a pretty good job of it. Months to hear back is pretty standard on a submission. If you're a contracted author, that's another story.

 

[Christine N.]

Just an update from the publisher at Zumaya (who I spoke to this evening): Liz does not run eXstasy. Her partner in Zumaya does, but she has not personally had anything to do with that imprint since 2003. They aren't even listed as an imprint on Zumaya's website anymore.

In the interest of full disclosure, since eXstasy is listed in the title of the thread.

 

[bohololita]

I submitted a query and got a request for a partial. I sent in my partial, but have not heard back yet except for an auto-response. I'm not too worried though, since it's only been about a month since I sent in my partial, and I know one of her readers quit so she's behind on reading.

 

[frandavea]

I'll be sure to tell Liz that when I speak to her tomorrow.

She's not a flake, only very busy. She stopped taking simultaneous subs because too many flakey authors would sell books she was reading and NOT tell her.

Zumaya gets TONS of subs. They are a small press and so have a small staff (of one, if I'm not mistaken) and yet they seem to put out several books a year. Yes, I've had long times with no communication when I've subbed to them before, but that's publishing. It's a lot to juggle, and Liz does a pretty good job of it. Months to hear back is pretty standard on a submission. If you're a contracted author, that's another story.

Perhaps flake was too strong a word, and I'm also used to long waits when it comes to submissions, particularly manuscripts. What I'm talking about was a simple query & synopsis. She may very well be busy, but even the big publishers I've submitted to at least responded to inquiries within a reasonable amount of time, even if it's just a form rejection.

And with regard to Zumaya's policy of not taking simultaneous subs...to expect an author to tie up a submission for nearly a year with one publisher is unreasonable.

I've since withdrawn my query submission from consideration and placed my novel elsewhere.

 

[Christine N.]

Well that's true - a year is too long to wait on a non-sim sub. I agree. I actually didn't know until recently that she had several readers on board, so I'm not sure who exactly checks the original sub messages. I've had trouble in the past with missed messages as well, but eventually she does get back to me.

You have to do what's right for you and your book, frandavea, and I respect that.

Incidentally (and unofficially, since I haven't signed the paperwork), I've been offered a contract with Zumaya for the third book in my series. Samhain decided to drop the series (based solely on business-they're no longer publishing tween fiction. I still love them and think they are an awesome publisher.) and Zumaya has picked it up.

As far as this goes: I know what's involved. I've watched Zumaya for awhile; they're still around when so many others have gone into the sunset. They put out very few books a year but receive hundreds of subs. They are extremely choosy.

They don't have distribution, which means the books won't be on shelves. Lemme tell ya, being with a publisher that has distribution does NOT guarantee your book will be on shelves. Neither of my Samhain books were picked up by stores. I have a friend with a major house whose book was not picked up by stores. So in that department I'm no better or worse off than I was before.

The biggest difference between Zumaya and say Samhain, is the size of the staff and the money in the marketing. They do work hard there on that. I learned a lot at my time with Samhain, so perhaps I'm in a little better position to be going somewhere like Zumaya than a first-time author would be. I know what to expect.

I like Liz, and she's very sensible about her business. She wants to sell books to readers, she works very, very hard to put out the best product she can.

If anyone chooses to submit to them, just be aware of all the angles. If you can work with what they can give you, then submit. They won't be right for everyone.

 

[EgyptianGoddess]

Well that's true - a year is too long to wait on a non-sim sub. I agree. I actually didn't know until recently that she had several readers on board, so I'm not sure who exactly checks the original sub messages. I've had trouble in the past with missed messages as well, but eventually she does get back to me.

You have to do what's right for you and your book, frandavea, and I respect that.

Incidentally (and unofficially, since I haven't signed the paperwork), I've been offered a contract with Zumaya for the third book in my series. Samhain decided to drop the series (based solely on business-they're no longer publishing tween fiction. I still love them and think they are an awesome publisher.) and Zumaya has picked it up.

As far as this goes: I know what's involved. I've watched Zumaya for awhile; they're still around when so many others have gone into the sunset. They put out very few books a year but receive hundreds of subs. They are extremely choosy.

They don't have distribution, which means the books won't be on shelves. Lemme tell ya, being with a publisher that has distribution does NOT guarantee your book will be on shelves. Neither of my Samhain books were picked up by stores. I have a friend with a major house whose book was not picked up by stores. So in that department I'm no better or worse off than I was before.

The biggest difference between Zumaya and say Samhain, is the size of the staff and the money in the marketing. They do work hard there on that. I learned a lot at my time with Samhain, so perhaps I'm in a little better position to be going somewhere like Zumaya than a first-time author would be. I know what to expect.

I like Liz, and she's very sensible about her business. She wants to sell books to readers, she works very, very hard to put out the best product she can.

If anyone chooses to submit to them, just be aware of all the angles. If you can work with what they can give you, then submit. They won't be right for everyone.

Btw....my daughter loved your books

 

[Christine N.]

Yay! I'm so glad And now the series gets to continue, which I'm super happy about.

 

[bohololita]

I was just wondering; what is an appropriate time to wait before sending a check in email when it's to Zumaya or anyplace actually that's only accepting non-sim subs?

I don't want to send an email too early (Zumaya's submission page says a minimum of three weeks to hear back), but I don't want to sit around six months waiting to hear back on a non-sim sub when it's only a partial request either.

 

[frandavea]

I was just wondering; what is an appropriate time to wait before sending a check in email when it's to Zumaya or anyplace actually that's only accepting non-sim subs?

I don't want to send an email too early (Zumaya's submission page says a minimum of three weeks to hear back), but I don't want to sit around six months waiting to hear back on a non-sim sub when it's only a partial request either.

Well, based on my experience, you're going to wait longer than six months.

 

[Christine N.]

I wouldwait a month to six weeks, just to make sure. Make sure you send it to the proper address as well: Zumaya has several addresses. Are you asking about a query or a requested manuscript? There are two different addresses.

Also put the name of your manuscript in the subject header and write STATUS CHECK.

She realizes, as all places that don't accept sim-subs do, that you don't want to hold up your manuscript with one place. I remember when they used to accept sim-subs, but there were too many problems.

 

[Marva]

She realizes, as all places that don't accept sim-subs do, that you don't want to hold up your manuscript with one place. I remember when they used to accept sim-subs, but there were too many problems.

I've assumed that a query is not on the simsub restriction.

It's a shame that P&E gives Zumaya a Poor Contract Not Recommended. Christine, since you have Elizabeth's ear, maybe you could suggest she address whatever contract problems makes them a NR.

Now that Query Tracker is carrying publishers as well as agents, I suggested Zumaya and Patrick regretfully wouldn't include them because of that NR on P&E.

Also, Zumaya's Submissions page indicates it is now closed to subs, so I guess some catching up on people's submissions is in the works.

 

[bohololita]

I would wait a month to six weeks, just to make sure. Make sure you send it to the proper address as well: Zumaya has several addresses. Are you asking about a query or a requested manuscript?

I wanted to ask about a requested partial manuscript. I emailed it in on August 23 and got an auto, but nothing else yet. I'll probably wait another two weeks to email though.

 

[rejectME]

I wouldwait a month to six weeks, just to make sure. Make sure you send it to the proper address as well: Zumaya has several addresses. Are you asking about a query or a requested manuscript? There are two different addresses.

Also put the name of your manuscript in the subject header and write STATUS CHECK.

She realizes, as all places that don't accept sim-subs do, that you don't want to hold up your manuscript with one place. I remember when they used to accept sim-subs, but there were too many problems.

Hi Christine:

Why do they use two separate addresses for queries/partials and full MSs? Does she read all the 50-page partials and full requests or does she request the full MSs based on reader recommendations?

Thanks! Jerry