• Guest please check The Index before starting a thread.

United Press Ltd. / Short Story Society

blinkbelle

I have been published around 11 times with United Press, I always had the slight inkling they were a not-so-good option but I had nothing to lose as I have never purchased a book from them.
Does anybody else have any information on them or history with them?
Thanks,
Bryony
xxx
 

Richard

13th Triskaidekaphobe
Super Member
Registered
Joined
Feb 12, 2005
Messages
1,868
Reaction score
316
Location
England
Website
www.richardcobbett.co.uk
You mean these guys?

http://www.unitedpress.co.uk

If so, they're a self-publishing group which trots out gibberish like "One other unique thing about United Press is that we can produce a minimum of just 50 copies of a book" and "Most other publishers charge £4,000 to £9,000 to put you into print." I wouldn't touch them with a bargepole.

You can self-publish for free, if that's what you really want to do (http://www.lulu.com), most publishers not only don't charge you thousands of pounds, they pay YOU up front, and don't have websites written to sap the hope of potential writers by making the writing industry sound like the big bad wolf. Look elsewhere.

(Apologies if it's the wrong United Press ;-))
 
Last edited:

pete-awes

United press good or bad???

I saw this advert in my local mag for a poetry comp in United press ltd in uk, and sent off an entry. They now sent me a letter saying they loved my work and wanted to include me in their latest publication.
All I really want to know is, does anyone know anything about them and if they are good or bad???

thank you people
 

CaoPaux

Mostly Harmless
Staff member
Super Moderator
Moderator
Super Member
Registered
Joined
Feb 12, 2005
Messages
13,948
Reaction score
1,728
Location
Coastal Desert
This one, I presume? http://www.unitedpress.co.uk/

Vanity publisher. While there's no entry fee, only winners get a free copy (value ₤9.99). They expect you'll buy for friends and family.
 

Old Hack

Such a nasty woman
Super Moderator
Absolute Sage
Super Member
Registered
Joined
Jun 12, 2005
Messages
22,454
Reaction score
4,956
Location
In chaos
Short Story Society [publisher]

A writer/editor friend of mine has just received a press release by the Short Story Society. She used to edit a literary magazine and knows her stuff: she was not pleased with what she saw at the website.

The Short Story Society appears to be part of the UK-based vanity poetry publisher United Press. Submission to them is free, but a fee becomes due when you're accepted for publication.

They've only published one anthology so far, which I haven't yet seen. But I'd still avoid them, for all the usual reasons.

(Mods: I don't know if you'd prefer this to be included in the United Press thread, but as the Short Story Society is promoting itself actively right now, I thought it wise to start a new one. I've asked for a copy of the press release to forward to Victoria.)
 

waylander

Who's going for a beer?
Super Member
Registered
Joined
Oct 24, 2005
Messages
8,263
Reaction score
1,560
Age
65
Location
London, UK
They charge £89 to publish a story.
I'll bet they don't reject many
 

Old Hack

Such a nasty woman
Super Moderator
Absolute Sage
Super Member
Registered
Joined
Jun 12, 2005
Messages
22,454
Reaction score
4,956
Location
In chaos
I feel tempted to submit one of my really bad stories to them and see what they think of it.
 

Fallen

Stood at the coalface
Kind Benefactor
Super Member
Registered
Joined
Jun 9, 2009
Messages
5,500
Reaction score
1,957
Website
www.jacklpyke.com
[Anthology Publisher] United Press

Hmmm, I submitted both a bad poem and a good one for U P's national poetry contest (English Publisher), and both poems were accepted for publication in their anthology books. (The bad poem was written well before my I undertook my hons degree (and knowing how to analyse a text both linguistically as well as stylistically, I can honestly say my first poem really was rubbish). The second was written after, (so I at least know my grammar's better)). Now, you have the choice to buy copies from UP at a reduced rate(which I'm not keen on) or they'll print them anyway even if you don't buy a copy (but, yep, you get no royalties). Books go on sale over the UK and beyond (so they say) etc, etc...

In the proof they've sent, I'm not keen on how they've cannabalised my sonnet: form's been messed with so much it's lost any sense of function.

So I was wondering how cautious I should be of the offer? Even if does have my favourite in word in there - free. :)
 

James D. Macdonald

Your Genial Uncle
Absolute Sage
VPX
Super Member
Registered
Joined
Feb 11, 2005
Messages
25,582
Reaction score
3,785
Location
New Hampshire
Website
madhousemanor.wordpress.com
They're sending you copies for free?

If not, I'd think that their source of income was in books sold back to the authors themselves.

Books go on sale over the UK and beyond (so they say) etc, etc...

Have you personally ever seen a copy on a bookstore's shelves?

URL for folks who want one: http://www.unitedpress.co.uk/
 

Momento Mori

Tired and Disillusioned
Super Member
Registered
Joined
Sep 25, 2006
Messages
3,389
Reaction score
802
Location
Here and there
Fallen:
Now, you have the choice to buy copies from UP at a reduced rate(which I'm not keen on) or they'll print them anyway even if you don't buy a copy (but, yep, you get no royalties). Books go on sale over the UK and beyond (so they say) etc, etc..

If I'm reading this correctly, your choices are:

1. buy a copy at the "reduced" rate (you don't mention what the price is, but I'd be surprised if you have much change from a tenner); or

2. don't buy a copy and don't receive any royalties.

Neither option seems particularly attractive to me but at least option (2) just means you don't make or lose any money, while option (1) means parting with cash.

Unfortunately, there isn't much of a market in the UK for poetry collections and few book stores stock collections from unkown poets, so I'd be surprised if United Press have any kind of distribution in place for these collections. In fact, given that they offer a self-publishing arm that solely seems to rely on authors buying and selling their own books (link here for anyone interested, I'll go out on a limb and say that the chances of them having any kind of distribution for placement of books in stores is slim.

If you're interested in publishing poetry, then magazines and poetry slam events are probably the best route to go down.

If you're still able to withdraw your poems from publication then I'd do that in the first instance. If not, then check out your contract for when the rights revert to you and chalk this one down to experience.

MM
 
Last edited:

Fallen

Stood at the coalface
Kind Benefactor
Super Member
Registered
Joined
Jun 9, 2009
Messages
5,500
Reaction score
1,957
Website
www.jacklpyke.com
Thanks James D. and Momento (and I really should have looked past tehh first page to see if UP had been mentioned.

James: no, you only get a copy if you buy (or win one) so, yes, their income comes from the money taken from contributing authors. You can put your work in there and not buy a copy, but that's turning out tobe just as bad an option been as I haven't seen them in shops.

Momento: they state copyright and so forth remains with the author, but I suppose it's of little use if it's published with them and you do then want to take it elsewhere, I think.

Thanks for getting back, though, you two. I think I'll shy away from it...
 

CaoPaux

Mostly Harmless
Staff member
Super Moderator
Moderator
Super Member
Registered
Joined
Feb 12, 2005
Messages
13,948
Reaction score
1,728
Location
Coastal Desert
The Short Story Society lasted through '11, but is gone now. In its place, The UK Poetry Library (http://www.ukpoetrylibrary.co/) launched April '12.

ETA: And closed in '15. (The UK Poetry Library, that is. Parent continues, alas.)
 
Last edited:

CaoPaux

Mostly Harmless
Staff member
Super Moderator
Moderator
Super Member
Registered
Joined
Feb 12, 2005
Messages
13,948
Reaction score
1,728
Location
Coastal Desert
United Press site went down late '16. Corp. entered insolvency in '17, and liquidation was finalized a couple months ago.