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Entangled Publishing

para

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This was posted on one of my yahoo groups.
[FONT=&quot]CALL FOR SUBMISSIONS
Entangled is an exclusive, boutique publisher of romantic fiction bridging
the gap between traditional and indie publishing models with an in-house
marketing department. Because we invest a considerable amount of time and
money in every book we acquire, we are highly selective with our
acquisitions. If you have a compelling premise, a compulsively readable
voice, and the drive to succeed, we want to hear from you.

We are seeking novels and novellas in the following subgenres of romantic
fiction:
* Paranormal and Urban Fantasy
* Science Fiction
* Fantasy
* Contemporary and Romantic Suspense
* Upper ³YA² (17-22 yo protags) that will appeal to older teens and young
20-somethings
All submissions must have strong romantic elements. Novels should be between
70,000 and 120,000 words, while novellas should be between 20,000 and 40,000
words. Revised backlist titles will be considered on a case by case basis.

To submit a manuscript for consideration, please paste the following into an
email:
* A one-page query letter containing your genre, title, wordcount, a brief
blurb about the book, and any pertinent writing credentials
* The first five (5) double-spaced pages
* Where we can find you on the web (links will do)
* Established authors are welcome to query with a standard proposal package.
Send your email to [email protected]. (submissions at
entangledpublishing dot com)

Please allow up to four weeks for a response. We look forward to hearing
from you![/FONT]
[FONT=&quot]

It's run by the people behind Savvy Authors plus
[/FONT]
[FONT=&quot]a whole lot of talented peeps including
Heather Howland, Misa Ramirez, Marie Loggia-Key & Suzanne Johnson to name a
few[/FONT]
[FONT=&quot]
Heather Howland was acquisitions editor at Crescent Moon Press before she stepped down to concentrate more on her writing. This was announced in February here

[/FONT]
[FONT=&quot]
You can find out more details on our pre-launch page including submission
guidelines here: www.entangledpublishing.com

Definitely check out our facebook page where we dazzle with a preview of
some of the amazing artwork our in-house graphics produced:
www.facebook.com/entangledpublishing
[/FONT]
 

nkkingston

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bridging the gap between traditional and indie publishing models with an in-house marketing department
[FONT=&quot]

[/FONT]Everything else in the blurb looks great, but this gives me pause. Looking through their website, I'm not seeing the 'indie' part of the model. Everything that's there looks like what I'd expect an epublisher to provide an author (except guarenteed print, obviously). I guess the pressure to take part in the marketing might count as part of an indie model, and no surprise considering the parent company, but part of me's still looking for fees.

Anyone know enough to explain what makes this part 'indie'?
 

Ann_Mayburn

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Yeah, I noticed that as well. They've been all over Twitter/FB/etc spreading the word. They are still setting up their core staff (tweeted about new hires yesterday) so I'm not sure if they've finalized what they're going to be yet.

Giving them the benifit of the doubt, but I'd like to see how they differ. Like PP's said, looks like same old same old to me.
 

CaoPaux

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Adding a couple links ...

Savvy Media Services, LLC: http://www.savvymediaservices.com/

Savvy Authors: http://www.savvyauthors.com/vb/content.php

... Entangled Publishing bridges the gap between traditional and indie publishing models, offering our authors the best of both worlds.
Applying the definitions usually held by folks who use "traditional" and "indie", this parses as "... between commercial and self-publishing models ...". Which doesn't make much more sense -- unless there's author payment involved.
 

para

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Easily confused I've only just noticed that those chevrons are actually arrow keys that give you further information on the publishing guidelines, staff etc.

Twitter: http://twitter.com/entangledpub

From their twitter page:
We're unveiling the site in July and releasing our first 10 titles in August. Mega giveaways/contests in July/August!

I guess we'll have to wait a few more months to see.
 

LeaveMeBroken

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Hey everyone,

Heather Howland, Managing Editor of Entangled Publishing at your service. I'd be happy to answer any questions you have about our company. I'll start with the questions I've seen so far...

1) Our authors are never charged fees. If a publisher ever tries to charge you for their services, please run the other direction.

2) The aspect of indie publishing we attempt to emulate is the high royalty rate. 40% of cover price is closer to what a self-published author can expect to receive (currently 60 - 70%, depending on where they sell books) without having to do all the editing, cover art, and promotion on their own. This is much higher than any epublisher or NY house offers. So how can we pull it off? After the distributor takes their cut, the remaining 20 - 30% of royalties are split between the Entangled staff, each of whom earn a percentage of sales rather than a salary.

3) This business model, our royalty rates, the simultaneous print and electronic releases, and the dedicated marketing department every author benefits from differentiate us from epublishers. We utilize the POD (print-on-demand) model, however, which is a similarity, and enables us to keep our royalty rates high.

4) As for how we emulate NY publishers, every book we contract is assigned a publicist who does a bulk of the promotion work for the author, including but not limited to print ads in major magazines, blog tours, book signings, interviews, and guest spots. We pay for this, not the author. All they have to do is show up and be their charming selves. We also provide high-quality editing and commercial covers like an author would expect from a NY house.

5) Yes, I did recently step down from my position at Crescent Moon Press to free up time for my personal endeavors. When I was offered a position at Entangled, I couldn't refuse. As a Managing Editor, I won't have near the editing workload I had at CMP unless I choose to. Have I had to cut back on freelance editing? Sure, but this fits my personal responsibilities much better.

Any other questions?

EDIT: I'll hang around all week in case anyone has anything else. Fire away!
 
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BarbaraSheridan

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4) As for how we emulate NY publishers, every book we contract is assigned a publicist who does a bulk of the promotion work for the author, including but not limited to print ads in major magazines, blog tours, book signings, interviews, and guest spots. We pay for this, not the author.

This is very encouraging to hear from a new publisher. As long as I've been published the most nerve-wracking thing is finding the best promotional outlets that bring the most exposure and readers.
 

nkkingston

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2) The aspect of indie publishing we attempt to emulate is the high royalty rate. 40% of cover price is closer to what a self-published author can expect to receive (currently 60 - 70%, depending on where they sell books) without having to do all the editing, cover art, and promotion on their own. This is much higher than any epublisher or NY house offers. So how can we pull it off? After the distributor takes their cut, the remaining 20 - 30% of royalties are split between the Entangled staff, each of whom earn a percentage of sales rather than a salary.

Just so you know, 30-40% on cover price is common for epublisher royalties. Most do caveat that with 30-40% of what's received from the retailer on sales outside their own site, since a lot of them take such a large cut of the money. I don't know what you've negotiated with Amazon and co* but between that and the royalties there's not going to be much left to split amongst the staff.

*The impression I've got from following Amazon's various antics over the years is that the cut they take varies from publisher to publisher, depending on leverage. Happy to be proved wrong, though.
 

Irysangel

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Heather, thank you for coming to AW to discuss Entangled with us! I admire that you have the staff up on your website, and from what it looks like, the vast majority of your staff are authors that also have day-jobs. This will essentially be a third job for them, and I am curious what sort of volume you are looking at putting out. Will it be a book a week? Five a week? A book a month?

Your marketing director (who I have met in person and is lovely) is an author and teaches creative writing. Can you talk to us about her experience in marketing?

Also, from an author standpoint (and someone that works in accounting for my day job), your financial director has a lot of degrees, but I do not see experience in payroll and finance listed there. Could you tell us if she is certified as a CPA or a CPP, or what kind of financial background she has? I know correct accounting is a pain point with several e-pubs lately, and this is a concern on everyone's mind.

Also, I didn't see - would you pay authors quarterly, monthly, etc? I missed that.

Thank you! I realize this seems nosy but on the surface, it seems like an interesting package of benefits for an author, so I'd like to learn more.
 
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I am still not really seeing anything indie or self-publishing-like in this model. It looks like fairly standard terms for an e-publisher.
 

LeaveMeBroken

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Just so you know, 30-40% on cover price is common for epublisher royalties. Most do caveat that with 30-40% of what's received from the retailer on sales outside their own site, since a lot of them take such a large cut of the money. I don't know what you've negotiated with Amazon and co* but between that and the royalties there's not going to be much left to split amongst the staff.

*The impression I've got from following Amazon's various antics over the years is that the cut they take varies from publisher to publisher, depending on leverage. Happy to be proved wrong, though.

Based on our research and experience, most epublishers offer royalties based on net, not cover price. The exception, to our knowledge, is Samhain, who offers 30% of cover price at all venues except their own bookstore, which is 40% of cover price.

We're aware this only leaves 20 - 30% of the profits to split amongst our team, and we're all agreeable with this. One of the core principles of Entangled is a dedication to authors, not profit margins. I encourage you to read the lengthy interview Liz Pelletier gave yesterday on my blog, which can be found here:

http://www.heatherhowland.com/2011/03/meet-liz-pelletier-founder-of-entangled-publishing/

Thanks for stopping by!
 

LeaveMeBroken

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Heather, thank you for coming to AW to discuss Entangled with us! I admire that you have the staff up on your website, and from what it looks like, the vast majority of your staff are authors that also have day-jobs. This will essentially be a third job for them, and I am curious what sort of volume you are looking at putting out. Will it be a book a week? Five a week? A book a month?

No problem! We're all about transparency, so I'm happy to answer questions. Onto yours...

Our model easily allows for the acquisition of new team members as our volume increases. No one will be taking on more than they can handle. We plan to start with an initial release of 10 books in August (and just wait until we start announcing those!), then 5 releases per month afterwards until everything settles into place.

Your marketing director (who I have met in person and is lovely) is an author and teaches creative writing. Can you talk to us about her experience in marketing?

Misa's main functions are organizing reviews and facilitating print placement in bookstores - both of which require direct relations with bookbuyers. If you've met Misa then you know she's a very dynamic person with the publishing knowledge to speak directly regarding an author's needs, and the charisma to encourage buyers to select our books. She has an amazing ability to energize everyone. Team building is an integral part of this business model and cannot be emphasized enough! She'll also manage the publicists and find new venues for marketing. Her related qualifications are stated in her bio on the site.

Also, from an author standpoint (and someone that works in accounting for my day job), your financial director has a lot of degrees, but I do not see experience in payroll and finance listed there. Could you tell us if she is certified as a CPA or a CPP, or what kind of financial background she has? I know correct accounting is a pain point with several e-pubs lately, and this is a concern on everyone's mind.

Fortunately, people are more than the sum of three lines of text on a website! What Melanie brings to the table is an extensive history of Program Management. We wanted someone who could take numbers and apply them to our processes in an organized and meaningful way, so we can continue to make smart business decisions. As for accounting, We have specialized accounting software for tracking royalties and will be using a third party CPA firm for corporate financials.

Also, I didn't see - would you pay authors quarterly, monthly, etc? I missed that.

We pay quarterly at this time.

Thanks for asking!
 

LeaveMeBroken

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I am still not really seeing anything indie or self-publishing-like in this model. It looks like fairly standard terms for an e-publisher.

I highly recommend you read Liz's interview, as well as our updated website. We've very clearly highlighted the similarities and differences between us and standard e-publishers.

http://www.heatherhowland.com/2011/03/meet-liz-pelletier-founder-of-entangled-publishing/

http://www.entangledpublishing.com (first and second slides)

If you need additional clarification, let me know!
 

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Thanks for the link to that interview, LMB.


I had no idea that self publishing was now referred to as "indie publishing". I had thought self publishing was self publishing, and indie publishing was publishing was publishing with an independent (as opposed to conglomerate) publisher. I guess I'm still living in the last century ;-)

adding: If I understand the interview correctly, what you're saying is:
Commercial presses = large financial investment, some of which is the author's advance, some of which is the editorial costs, and much of which is the print run. (IIRC, the print run is usually at least half of the investment.)
E-presses and POD presses: small financial investment since there is no advance, editors are paid royalties rather than salary, and no print run.
Your press: half-sized financial investment since there is no advance, editors are paid royalties, but there is a large print run.

Yes?
 
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LeaveMeBroken

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I had no idea that self publishing was now referred to as "indie publishing". I had thought self publishing was self publishing, and indie publishing was publishing was publishing with an independent (as opposed to conglomerate) publisher. I guess I'm still living in the last century ;-)

You're not alone. This is a very recent development! LOL

adding: If I understand the interview correctly, what you're saying is:
Commercial presses = large financial investment, some of which is the author's advance, some of which is the editorial costs, and much of which is the print run. (IIRC, the print run is usually at least half of the investment.)
E-presses and POD presses: small financial investment since there is no advance, editors are paid royalties rather than salary, and no print run.
Your press: half-sized financial investment since there is no advance, editors are paid royalties, but there is a large print run.

Yes?

No, but you're close. We utilize the POD model unless placement in stores is already set, requiring a print run.

Check out our website, particularly the second slide, where you'll find a far more concise look at what we do. http://www.entangledpublishing.com

Thanks for stopping by!
 

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Based on our research and experience, most epublishers offer royalties based on net, not cover price. The exception, to our knowledge, is Samhain, who offers 30% of cover price at all venues except their own bookstore, which is 40% of cover price.

Based on my research 30-40% of cover (halved for distributed copies) is bog standard for a small epublisher. When there is net it is almost always excluding only the 50%-ish fee for distributors like Amazon (so, basically the same thing). Are you planning on paying 40% even on distributed books, leaving the publisher only 10%?
 

veinglory

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I highly recommend you read Liz's interview, as well as our updated website. We've very clearly highlighted the similarities and differences between us and standard e-publishers.

http://www.heatherhowland.com/2011/03/meet-liz-pelletier-founder-of-entangled-publishing/

http://www.entangledpublishing.com (first and second slides)

If you need additional clarification, let me know!

I have read both of these and everything discussed is very similar to what Samhain, Loose Id etc do.

The only specific difference I detect is a suggestion that each title will get large amounts of staff time and big magazine ads. Which makes me wonder what sales levels you are projecting as even the top end (4000 copies or so) would have trouble supporting that kind of expendature.

Also that is kind of the opposite of self-publishing where the author does it all themself.

So I am still confused as to what (specifically not conceptually) Entangled does that is more like self-publishing than what Samhain, loose Id etc do.
 

LeaveMeBroken

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I have read both of these and everything discussed is very similar to what Samhain, Loose Id etc do.

The only specific difference I detect is a suggestion that each title will get large amounts of staff time and big magazine ads. Which makes me wonder what sales levels you are projecting as even the top end (4000 copies or so) would have trouble supporting that kind of expendature.

Also that is kind of the opposite of self-publishing where the author does it all themself.

So I am still confused as to what (specifically not conceptually) Entangled does that is more like self-publishing than what Samhain, loose Id etc do.

Like most businesses, we will not be sharing the more intimate details of our financial structure. However I'm happy to reiterate what sets us apart from most epublishers is our aggressive marketing package for each author and high royalty rates that rival indie publishing. The company is willing to give up profit margin to pay for publicists. That's a core philosophy of ours and of Savvy Media Services as a whole.

It's deceptively simple. I have a feeling it will become clearer as we roll out our catalog!
 

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I have to admit, I'm not getting it either. The royalty rates seem comparable to what epresses pay (e.g. Samhain), and houses like Samhain also do high quality editing and cover art and a fair amount of promotion and marketing.

I'm not saying that there's anything wrong with what Entangled is doing, just that there doesn't seem to be any difference between Entangled and its competitors.
 

veinglory

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Like most businesses, we will not be sharing the more intimate details of our financial structure. However I'm happy to reiterate what sets us apart from most epublishers is our aggressive marketing package for each author and high royalty rates that rival indie publishing. The company is willing to give up profit margin to pay for publicists. That's a core philosophy of ours and of Savvy Media Services as a whole.

It's deceptively simple. I have a feeling it will become clearer as we roll out our catalog!

I am capable of understanding simple, but the one thing you seem to plan to do differently (lots of title-specifc marketing) has nothing to do with the indy approach that is meant to be part of your model. You rivals are epublishers and the pay about the same rate you do. Whether you do more marketing than they do, well, I guess we will see. The only specific mention was the idea each book will get a major magazine ad which suggests a steepish cost and a highish projected profit (last epublisher to project unusually high ebook sakes was Ravenous...).

I've been following epublishers closely for a few years now. I'm not asking for the business plan. Just trying to make sense of your main promotional statements. So far, I see another epublisher in a crowded marketplace offering the standard deal with maybe innovate promotions of some sort. But maybe the fog will clear and what makes Entangled stand out will emerge.
 
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LeaveMeBroken

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Here's the bottom line:

** We pay 40% of cover, regardless of where the book is sold. We think that's generous, and hope other publishers will eventually adopt this model as well.

** Entangled assigns a publicist to each and every book we contract. The publicist's main job is to help the author with the administrative, planning, and strategic aspects of promotion. We also have a marketing director who handles all aspects of reviews and book placement, both virtual and in stores.

** The publicists, marketing director, editors, formatter, management, and cover artists are all paid a percent of cover price on the books they've personally worked on rather than a salary. This might not mean a whole lot to authors, but it makes a huge difference in how we're able to run the business. The flexibility it allows frees up a lot of the pressure to break even, even with a marketing budget.

That is the major difference. We're simply taking away an author's need to self-promote as much as possible so they can get back to doing what they love best—writing—and paying them more than they can expect from many epublishers in the process. Is this a revolutionary concept? No, and we're sure others have thought of it and are doing it. We've just put our profits where our mouth is, and authors (and agents!) have responded. It's a wonderful thing and we're very excited!

Back to work for me. I'll check in again at the end of the week in case there are any more questions. Have a great spring break for those of you affected!
 

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I don't have anything to add to the thread but I did want to say that it's a refreshing change to see a publisher come to the Thread and answer questions without taking umbrage about it, so props to LeaveMeBroken for that.

MM