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Zumaya Publications / Otherworlds

Christine N.

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I think it keeps her organized to do it this way.
I believe that both she and her first readers read the 50 page partials and do the requests from that.

As far as P&E's NR rating, apparently she has tried to address those issues with P&E, and they seem to be at an impasse. I can't expect someone to change their contract because one website says they don't like it. P&E is a fine site, but sometimes things like this happen.

Things that seem to be problematic in the contract are only problematic if the author doesn't understand them. The kill fee for example. I can understand it - it's to protect the publisher if an author suddenly decides they'll get a better deal (or get offered a better deal) AFTER Zumaya has gone through the process of editing and making the book ready for publication. I understand it and it seems reasonable to me - I'd want to be compensated if someone screwed me like that.

The idea of paying to keep the edited version if the book reverts and the author wants to republish somewhere else also makes sense to me, again, how often does that happen. Why would they want someone to take their hard work and have someone else make money off of it?

I don't particularly have any real issues with the contract. It's of a fair length and the royalty rate is generous, even if it is net. Is it the same as a NYC contract? No, it's a small press/micropress contract.
 
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veinglory

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That seems to imply things like a kill free are standard for small press contracts, which in my experience is not the case.
 

rejectME

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I'd be curious what the percentage of full MSs are requested from the 50 page partials. If it's just she and another reader, that could make for some serious time consumption!
 

Unimportant

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The kill fee for example. I can understand it - it's to protect the publisher if an author suddenly decides they'll get a better deal (or get offered a better deal) AFTER Zumaya has gone through the process of editing and making the book ready for publication.
I can agree with this: if the author has contracted the book to Zumaya, then s/he has to honour that contract and let Zumaya publish it -- or pay to break the contract.


The idea of paying to keep the edited version if the book reverts and the author wants to republish somewhere else also makes sense to me, again, how often does that happen. Why would they want someone to take their hard work and have someone else make money off of it?
I can't agree with this one. Zumaya will suggest the editorial changes to make the book better and thus more profitable for both author and publisher, but the author does the actual rewrites. So when the contract expires and the rights revert, both original and edited versions belong to the author -- they're copyrighted to the author, and no publisher should ever try to lay claim to either version. The publisher will have got their money's worth out of the published book during the term of the contract, and should not hold the book for ransom once the contract expires.
 

Christine N.

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I honestly don't know. And, like most publishers and agents, I'm betting they don't read every fifty-page partial to the end. Most people know in the first five pages whether or not they're going to keep reading. Which is why you as the author have to have to hook them from the first paragraph.

Majority will be rejects at the query, or after page one. More after page five, just like in every other publisher or agent. If you make it to page 50 and they're still reading, you'll get a request for the whole ms.

I'd say the percentage is very low.

I can't agree with this one. Zumaya will suggest the editorial changes to make the book better and thus more profitable for both author and publisher, but the author does the actual rewrites. So when the contract expires and the rights revert, both original and edited versions belong to the author -- they're copyrighted to the author, and no publisher should ever try to lay claim to either version. The publisher will have got their money's worth out of the published book during the term of the contract, and should not hold the book for ransom once the contract expires.

On one hand, I see your point. On the other, another publisher is probably going to want to do their own edits anyway - most places have different styles, and a new publisher is going to want to make their mark on the work. I BELIEVE one of my other publishers has a similar clause in their contract; it sounds familiar to me. To me it's not a huge deal, but I haven't had the situation arise that it might. To others, it may be a bigger deal.
 
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bohololita

Christine, do you happen to have the address to request information on a partial submission?
Since they've removed the submission guidelines, I'm hesitant to trust that the one I've got is the correct one for that.
 

bohololita

Just checking in to see if anyone's heard anything from Zumaya lately. It's officially been 9 weeks since I've sent in my requested partial, and I've yet to hear anything.
I'm getting a little anxious to start sending out queries to some other places.
 

A.P.M.

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Is there any more recent news on this publisher?
 

Christine N.

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Zumaya put out my latest series book, and they've contracted the final two in the series and two reprints.


They are pretty picky about their manuscripts.
Liz uses an unusual editing process - not bad, actually I rather like it, but you probably should know that going in. She and the author 'live edit' using Google docs. So each chapter is pretty much a one-and-done type of thing, since both of you are there at the same time, there's no wasted time going back and forth with editing notes.

Contract terms are pretty run-of-the mill for a micropress, but read yours carefully.

So far I've had an enjoyable experience with them, but know that you're not going to sell a million zillion copies, any more than you would with any other micropress. Liz was nice enough to pick up my series on the third book when the previous publisher dropped it. Some reviews say it's the best book of the series so far, and I know Liz's rigorous editing is part of that.

All the books are available in all the usual places and ebook formats, and if you're willing to do a little work, Liz is willing to help you out as far as marketing. She was a big help on my virtual book tour. Zumaya does actually market the lines/brands, and the books, mostly to the general public as opposed to bookstores. There's a facebook page and Twitter if you'd like to follow them. And I think their covers are much improved over just a year or two ago - but you can certainly check them out on Amazon and the Zumaya site. Liz puts a lot of work into her business, and she's very author-supportive.

Again, Zumaya is a micropress, and you need to understand what that means before you submit. If you understand and can be satisfied by what they offer, you'll be happy.
 

Tamarind

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I did some work for Zumaya and am having trouble collecting payment. I came here to see if anyone was experiencing the same -- happily they do not seem to have that reputation, so I'm hoping this is a fluke. So frustrating though.
 

Tamarind

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Over a year after completing cover work for Zumaya, I still have not received any of the contractually-agreed-upon three payments, though they are still using my cover. When I first wrote to the publisher/editor about the late payments, she made a thin excuse about having been too busy to send it, and promised to send it immediately (but didn't). A couple of months later she sent out this group email to all authors/designers about how she just didn't have the money to pay anyone, and that's when this community thing started, as a sketchy way to supposedly recoup our money (basically 'Do more work, I'll promote you, and maybe you'll be paid for the work you've done already'.) I understand from authors that Zumaya and its imprints were a small but reputable company at one time. However at this point it seems to have basically devolved into a scam.
 

mrsmig

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Tamarind, I'm so sorry this happened to you.

The main problem I've discovered with small publishers (through bitter experience) is that so many of them are under-capitalized, understaffed and inexperienced. Consequently, there's no infrastructure in place if sales don't go well, or if the principal operator has personal problems, including health or family issues. A single big issue can sink even the ones that started off promisingly and with the best intentions.
 

CaoPaux

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(Housekeeping note: I've split out the last few year's posts for former imprint eXtasy Books, Inc. to make its own thread, here.)