• Guest please check The Index before starting a thread.

Indigo Sea Press (formerly Second Wind Publishing)

veinglory

volitare nequeo
Self-Ban
Registered
Joined
Feb 12, 2005
Messages
28,750
Reaction score
2,933
Location
right here
Website
www.veinglory.com
The press is three months old and started by unpublished authors as a "lark".

I doubt anyone outside the founders has really had time to gain any direct experience with them. But as they sell only through their own site, via paypal, I wouldn't expect to make huge sales via this press.
 
Last edited:

xXFireSpiritXx

Killing my darlings...
Super Member
Registered
Joined
Jan 22, 2009
Messages
359
Reaction score
59
Location
Tampa, FL
I have been solicited by them via Facebook just because I mentioned I was a writer. Sorry, when someone solicits me I tend to look the other way. Also this really freaks me out:
"We are storytellers. We have fulfilled an integral role
for the human race ever since there was a spoken
language. Storytelling is time travel and teleportation;
it is prophecy; it is philosophy; it is not just the
elimination of barriers but the co-mingling of
perceptions; storytelling allows us to emotionally,
spiritually and intellectually suspend barriers and
relearn our humanity."
– Mike Simpson, Publisher

I get what they are saying but damn.
 

Kayley

Someday.
Super Member
Registered
Joined
May 9, 2009
Messages
1,188
Reaction score
254
Location
Los Angeles, CA
I wouldn't choose them. For the reasons in both veinglory's and JasonRobert's posts, and the fact that the covers of their books look like they were made in MS Paint in only a few minutes. The cover of "Night and Day" might even be using a copyrighted image found on Google. And the "See Jane Not Run" is nothing but a white page with text.

The "School of Lies" cover is almost laughable to me. It's obvious that they were trying to emulate the use of graffiti, but graffiti does not look like the spray tool in MS Paint. Again, that image looks like it could have been Googled (although, in their defence, they could have taken the image themselves or purchased rights to it).

I'm not meaning to diss the author or the company, but the covers of the books really are below par. Much below par.http://secondwindpublishing.com/SchoolofLies.html

This could work for some authors who just want to make their materials available for their own use, but I think that, if you are serious about making your work widespread, another publishing house would be a better choice.
 

Gillhoughly

Grumpy writer and editor
Absolute Sage
Super Member
Registered
Joined
Feb 12, 2006
Messages
5,363
Reaction score
1,761
Location
Getting blitzed at Gillhoughly's Reef, Haleakaloha
Started the business as a "lark"... :eek:

When I started my business(es) the goal was to make money.

Happily, I have achieved that goal and continue with it.

Start at the top with the biggest publishing house you can find and give this one a pass.

I've seen better covers on Publish America books. Really, I have.

Like PA, they don't seem to have a preview feature, either, and I've no interest in checking the writers' websites to find out more.
 

CaoPaux

Mostly Harmless
Staff member
Super Moderator
Moderator
Super Member
Registered
Joined
Feb 12, 2005
Messages
13,952
Reaction score
1,746
Location
Coastal Desert
Now available through Amazon and Kindle, and their freebies page has both short stories and first-chapter samplers.
 

mhender668

Registered
Joined
Dec 27, 2011
Messages
1
Reaction score
0
If you look at what they publish, it's terrible. Someone above complained about the covers, which is sign that something is wrong, but the real test is the quality of the work. I looked at one short story they had published as part of their anthology, and the author used the words "was" or "were" seven times in the first paragraph. The mark of someone who has not studied writing, but also the mark of a publisher that does not edit.

The other thing that worried me was that they say right off that they never charge a fee. Do you think Little Brown says on their site that they don't charge a fee? Any "publisher" who has to tell you that is a manifestation of a vanity publisher.

Even small publishers whose sites I have visited say either, we aren't accepting submissions, or we only take them through agents. Even agents say that they are not accepting queries until half way through next year. As brilliant as your work might be, you will play hell getting an agent, let alone a publisher. No publisher is going to solicit you. Trust me.

I don't necessarily think they are a scam, because I don't know what their program is. And I'm sure they will publish you book in some way. But you should know you're not dealing with Harcourt.
 

woodtop255

Heather Topham Wood
Registered
Joined
Feb 15, 2012
Messages
47
Reaction score
1
Location
Trenton, NJ
Website
authorheather.wordpress.com
I sent in a partial to Second Wind Publishing and they responded only a few hours later. They asked to see the full and had even made some suggested edits on my first chapter. The super speedy reply made me leery, but the suggestions were nice-much better than a form letter. Just started shopping my book around and trying to weed through the questionable publishers and agents. Glad I found the Preditors and Editors website, it has been super helpful.
 

kaitie

With great power comes
Super Member
Registered
Joined
Sep 10, 2009
Messages
10,996
Reaction score
2,526
The other thing that worried me was that they say right off that they never charge a fee. Do you think Little Brown says on their site that they don't charge a fee? Any "publisher" who has to tell you that is a manifestation of a vanity publisher.

Not necessarily true. I've seen a couple of smaller publishers who state it, and quite a few literary agents who state that they don't charge up front fees. While it might be a sign that they're trying to do a "Oh no of course we're not one of thoooose guys" (wink wink), it could also be that they're addressing one of the biggest concerns writers have.

Just as we shouldn't automatically decide a publisher is a great deal (or even non-vanity) because they state that they don't charge a fee, we shouldn't automatically write them off because they state the same either. There are a lot of factors that determine publisher quality and those should be considered.
 

Shennanigans

Registered
Joined
Dec 11, 2008
Messages
3
Reaction score
1
Update on Indigo Sea Press (Formerly Second Wind Publishing):
Indigo has changed their business model. They are now claiming to be the "first ever 100% Royalty Press".

Essentially, while still calling themselves a small independent publisher, they are not following a publisher model.

The author working with them will be charged on a fee per service basis. The author will create their own accounts with Createspace and Amazon Kindle, which ISP (Indigo Sea Press) will upload your titles to (for a fee). Each revision you need will be done and uploaded for a fee.

The author lists under the ISP name as their publisher. I'm not sure how this works, since Amazon and Createspace will show the books as published by the author's account, not ISP's account, because that's the account it is being uploaded under.

The author keeps full control over their books to offer deals, freebies, KDP Select, etc. That's because the author is actually self-publishing the book and paying ISP for their editing/proofing/setup/cover services.

They also say Createspace would charge $1200 per proofing/edit while they will charge a basic fee of $285 for editing, proofing, formatting, cover creation pdf, and proof prints. Sounds like a great deal, huh?

A professional proofreading/edit costs $$ because it takes time.

Rest assured, they do address the "vanity publishing" issue.

"By vetting the books, the authors could still be assured they were being put forth by an independent publisher rather than a vanity press."

"Speaking of vanity publishing, this also addresses another pertinent issue: the demands of authors for deferential treatment. There are those authors who tend to accept whatever formatting, font, cover, etc., we use in getting a book ready for publication. Other authors can be extremely demanding, refusing to settle for the appearance of a book and requiring numerous reformats and proofs. . . . With 100% royalty, that problem is solved. If an author wants continual upgrades and changes, those special perks become part of the publishing fee."

If you aren't happy with the cover, editing, or anything else to do with the format and appearance of your book, you can have it fixed for a fee.


Just an aside, you can get a great cover art/photo rights in the $285 range if you search hard enough. Maybe even your proof copy too. But, it can take a number of proofs before it looks right, Createspace printers are finicky, and now you are over budget and you haven't even had it professionally edited. And once it is perfection beyond perfection, you can upload it to Createspace and Amazon at zero additional cost. The rest? Are you an excellent proofreader/editor? Even if you are, I strongly recommend letting that manuscript sit a while and work on something else so you can come back to it with fresh eyes. When you have re-read/edited the same thing that many times, your brain stops seeing a lot of errors, and you want to make sure it is already perfect and error free. If you are going to self-publish, do it right. Do it well. And know you will never find a full meal deal like this at this price anywhere except maybe McDonald's.

p.s. I personally would rather make my own burger. The quality is better than the fast food version.
 

Frankie007

Super Member
Registered
Joined
Jul 22, 2016
Messages
696
Reaction score
110
so we have to make our own CreateSpace/Kindle account and then pay someone to upload on our own accounts???? that doesn't...sound right at all...