Was just accepted, a few questions

chekzchevov

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Strategic Book Publishing was the name, turns out they weren't very reputable at the time.
 
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Cyia

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Henksbird

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From SFWA.Org

Writer Beware has received numerous complaints about American Book Publishing. ABP, which presents itself as a “traditional” publisher, requires its authors to pay a sizable “setup” fee, and pressures them to buy large quantities of their own books (500-1,000 copies is the number most often suggested).
Complaints include non-standard contract terms (including royalties paid on net profit), non-production of promised e-book editions, non-fulfillment of marketing and publicity promises, repeatedly delayed publication schedules, finished books full of errors, difficulty with orders and order fulfillment, non-payment of royalties, attempted blackmail (some authors wanting to get out of their contracts have been told that they must pay $500, or ABP would pull their books from circulation and hold the rights forever), and harassment of those who question or complain. American Book Publishing has been the focus of at least one police investigation.
ABP’s founder, C. Lee Nunn, may be using the aliases Nathan Fitzgearl, Kathleen Montgomery, and/or Abigail Woodward Wright.
 

chekzchevov

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I saw that there were some bewares, but like I said, I'm new, and I wasn't sure if this was anything I should be concerned with as many large companies are falsely accused on a regular basis. Thank you very much for the input.

So essentially, this is just a no go then...
 

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Dude, seriously?

Moving to Strategic subforum, which I suggest you read from top to bottom before you're scammed again.
 

Christyp

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I saw that there were some bewares, but like I said, I'm new, and I wasn't sure if this was anything I should be concerned with as many large companies are falsely accused on a regular basis. Thank you very much for the input.

So essentially, this is just a no go then...

As someone else said...RUN! A publishing company, agency, or editor will never ask you for money. They pay you, not the other way around!
 

Uncarved

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Why do people do this?


It is like saying, oh I just signed up to perform brain surgery, can someone tell me how to do that?

Why jump in if you don't already know what they are/do? are they a agent? publisher? dude, you should know prior to sending an email. Every time. Even at 4am.
 

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Lol, not scammed till I sign something. I've seen all I need to see. When I queried these guys I was already suspicious, but this was around 4:00am after I had queried multiple agencies and I didn't do much in terms of research other than check their website.

I can now safely say this this thread is stupid and pointless and I should have read that entire subforum beforehand. Thanks for the links and help guys. I'm out for now.

Um, there are some scammers publishers and agencies that state that just by submitting you've already given away your rights to them.

Do your research first.
 

Gravity

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^^^ THIS

Google is your friend. A very easy way to check on a publisher or agent is to type "NAME+scam", and hit enter. Then settle in to read.

I'd wager you spent some serious time writing your book; it only makes sense to take a few hours to research who you'd feel comfortable repping or publishing it.
 

Marian Perera

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I wasn't sure if this was anything I should be concerned with as many large companies are falsely accused on a regular basis.

Really? I haven't heard of Random House or Penguin being accused of fleecing writers ever, much less "on a regular basis".

But many more writers are scammed on a regular basis when they don't do the research or when they decide to give scammers the benefit of the doubt.
 

Filigree

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Dalton, you do this kind of research BEFORE you send anything to any publisher. Or agent. They're not kidding about rights grabs by some of these fly-by-night scamshops. I know you're impatient, but be careful.

Read the top of your AW screen, just below the 'donate' button. Have you read all those Google ads for publishers, agents, book doctors, universities, and workshops? Then read the fine print under it: "A publisher or agency using Google ads to solicit your novel probably isn't anyone you want to write for."

This. A thousand times, this. There is no point in sending out 'test queries' to places like this, because they're not very selective, they won't give you reliable feedback, they won't publish your work to its best advantage, and they'll take too much money from you in the process.

You can find a monthly paycheck in writing, but it's generally not going to be in fiction. Term paper writing and online content writing pay more regularly, but they have their pitfalls, too.
 

Cyia

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Also consider that most writers - especially new ones - can't live off their earnings whether they get paid by the month or not. With an advance paying publisher, you're looking at an average of 10K or less for a first novel, broken into parts over the life of the book.

Once it earns out, you'll get royalties twice a year, but until that time, the advance is all you get. Most writers have other jobs.
 

Filigree

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I know I've mentioned this before, but there are also psychological issues to consider. If you have a non-writing job that pays bills, your writing is under less pressure and you can experiment with writing styles and themes that you like. No matter what you might think now, it is possible to carve out writing time around a 40-hour-a-week job. Writing becomes an emotional lift, a reward for the rest of the day. Many writers say they wrote more while employed, than they've done after retiring to write full-time.

When your writing is your sole income, you have to be incredibly prolific and diligent about time management -- and that stress can creep into your writing.

We old farts aren't telling you these things to bring you down, Dalton. We're trying to spare you some of the nonsense our younger selves went through.
 

James D. Macdonald

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With an advance paying publisher, you're looking at an average of 10K or less for a first novel, broken into parts over the life of the book.

Not over the life of the book. Typically one-third on signing, one-third on turn-in, and one-third on acceptance.

The publisher may want to make a part of it on publication, but if you have any kind of a canny agent at all you'll get that changed.

We're talking about months, not years, if you have any kind of writing speed.

I was just accepted by Strategic Book Publishing after submitting my manuscript. Please do your best to help me out here, as I am a first time author.


I am going to help you out here:

Strategic (which also goes by a whole bunch of other names) is a complete, utter, and absolute fraud. It's a scam operation whose only purpose in life is to empty your bank account.

We have an entire sub-forum here about Robert Fletcher and his assorted and on-going scams. He's a long-time professional con-man.

They're currently being investigated by the State of Florida.


Remember: Money flows toward the author. No matter what any publisher or agent says (and some of the have quite elaborate excuses/justifications), the moment you're asked to write a check, you know that you're in the company of thieves.
 

Cyia

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Poor choice of words on my part. By "life" I meant the publishing/release cycle, not the amount of time the book is in print/existence.