Curiosity Quills Press

Matt6 · Nov 26, 2017

There is nothing this small press can do for you that you can't do for yourself -- except give you migraines. I never once received a cover, edit round, marketing piece, or even an email OR Facebook message reply on time. Normally you wouldn't be Facebook messaging your publisher/editor like that, but for a while that was the only way to get a response without using the word "lawyer" in an email. They might hand out pretty covers (when, you know, the covers actually match the book's story), but it's not worth the price of your book failing because you didn't get your cover in time for marketing (I didn't get mine until the 11th hour before release), or ARCs weren't ready because you never got "copy edits", which must just be a run through spellcheck because the errors that remained were plentiful and I had to hire an outside editor. Not to mention all the things they promise to help you with for marketing that never get done. But if you don't help them market their pet projects, you're the bad guy.

They talk a good talk, but a walk through their Facebook group will show you the problems you're experiencing aren't just your own. Steer clear of this one until they get their focus back together and actually help their authors.

writera · Nov 29, 2017

Haven't had much experience with this company, but they were very interested in a novel I submitted a few years ago. I then signed with an agent and when my agent went back to check in with them, they rejected the novel, though we got the sense that they might have misfiled the original submission as the rejection was worded strange or was vague after a lot of initial interest. They were very pleasant though. I see Janet Reid once sold a novel to them, so I thought they might be okay.

RS007 · Dec 22, 2017

Matt6 said:
There is nothing this small press can do for you that you can't do for yourself -- except give you migraines. I never once received a cover, edit round, marketing piece, or even an email OR Facebook message reply on time. Normally you wouldn't be Facebook messaging your publisher/editor like that, but for a while that was the only way to get a response without using the word "lawyer" in an email. They might hand out pretty covers (when, you know, the covers actually match the book's story), but it's not worth the price of your book failing because you didn't get your cover in time for marketing (I didn't get mine until the 11th hour before release), or ARCs weren't ready because you never got "copy edits", which must just be a run through spellcheck because the errors that remained were plentiful and I had to hire an outside editor. Not to mention all the things they promise to help you with for marketing that never get done. But if you don't help them market their pet projects, you're the bad guy.

They talk a good talk, but a walk through their Facebook group will show you the problems you're experiencing aren't just your own. Steer clear of this one until they get their focus back together and actually help their authors.

In absolute agreement with that! STAY AWAY from them. From what I gathered (sadly) CQ's business strategy has been: get as many authors as you can, publish as many books as you are able, and earn a pittance from each. Makes them quite comfortable but does nothing for authors at all. There was one time I was watching a new author added almost every week! Their number of staff is at best 2 full-time and everyone else part-time (including their own authors who act as staff for various positions). Most of them seem completely untrained, especially in marketing. So they have untrained staff who have no idea what they are doing, a shoe string operation, and good profits because of the numbers of authors signed. They win. We lose. And now they have a new -- seemingly harebrained idea of some sort of marketplace which will be yet another ponzi scheme and will require more marketing work from authors on their behalf. With this new idea in development they have dropped the ball on marketing and even publishing completely - you can attest to that by a number of posts in the author FB group asking what happened to people's paperbacks and publications dates.

Stay away.

Fantasy_freak · Apr 25, 2018

There's a post on Writer Beware today that is worth a read for anyone considering this press.
https://accrispin.blogspot.com/2018/04/author-complaints-mount-at-curiosity.html

Filigree · Apr 26, 2018

Creating online sales platforms is not for the faint of heart. I know a (non-publishing) company that has been developing an online sales platform to compete with Etsy, Bonanza, Artfire etc. For three years. They're doing everything right...and they may still never launch.

From here it looks like CQ is trying to 1) fund their Knish platform with author termination fees and 2) extort their authors into shouldering heavy marketing for Knish. That's not kosher.

argossol · Jan 3, 2019

D.O.A.

The founding partner is still trying to keep the doors open, I suspect to finish out any outstanding contracts, but for all intents and purposes, dead. In the past week, both the marketing manager and the acquisitions editor have exited. There are two staff members left, and authors are reverting rights at a rate equivalent to a small wildfire. This is just after another recent post from Writer Beware updating their ongoing catastrophe.

mrsmig · Jan 4, 2019

Updates to the Writer Beware article about Curiosity Quills. Scroll down for the latest.

This makes me uber-sad and angry, not least because a fellow author at failed Fiery Seas Publishing recently released a new book with CQ. It must feel like deja vu.

EMaree · Jan 5, 2019

Hearing some real horror stories from the poor authors caught in the middle of this. Avoid, avoid, avoid.

And CQ authors, I'm cheering for you and wishing you better opportunities ahead. <3

DrFaerieGodmother · Jan 6, 2019

Hey guys, it's been a while since I posted on this thread. I'm trying to make sure that all CQ writers hear this:

CQ is reverting rights. If you have works with them, NOW is the time to ask for those rights back if that's a thing you want.

Curiosity Quills has lost their marketing director and the acquisitions manager this past week. One of the Founding Partners has been out of the picture for over a year, so at this point, it's just Eugene. Things are bleak and there is talk of "reorganization." Again.

Everyone must make the choices that are best for them, but many many writers are asking for and receiving their rights back.

I'm not going to go into details. I was raised to believe in the philosophy: If you don't have something nice to say, don't say anything at all. I went back through the thread, and it's been since 2016 that I posted here. That's not because I haven't been watching the thread.

kalzandius · Jan 8, 2019

The Writer's Beware thread has been updated today.

kalzandius · Jan 8, 2019

EMaree said:
Hearing some real horror stories from the poor authors caught in the middle of this. Avoid, avoid, avoid.

And CQ authors, I'm cheering for you and wishing you better opportunities ahead. <3

Absolutely correct.

To quote Monty Python: "Run away!"

kalzandius · Jan 8, 2019

Filigree said:
Creating online sales platforms is not for the faint of heart. I know a (non-publishing) company that has been developing an online sales platform to compete with Etsy, Bonanza, Artfire etc. For three years. They're doing everything right...and they may still never launch.

From here it looks like CQ is trying to 1) fund their Knish platform with author termination fees and 2) extort their authors into shouldering heavy marketing for Knish. That's not kosher.

Filigree, I am a former CQ author - 2014-2018... and I /still/ have no bloody idea what the heck that Knish thing was supposed to be. Every attempted explanation they ever put out for it read like something created by a Dilbert corporate doublespeak jargon generator.

pseudowriter · Jan 18, 2019

After reading this thread, I reached out to someone who I thought might still work at CQ. I'll just share part of the convo without the person's name/identity to avoid retaliation or something on their part, but it might be useful to those who might be looking to submit to CQ at this time.

This person verified that they were no longer with CQ. I responded, stating that I had read something that made me figure this was the case. I added that it seems as though CQ may not be the right publisher for me. Basically, I was trying to covertly/nicely imply that I figured there were some underlying issues.

This person's response was: They may be able to turn it around in the future under a different publishing model, but yes, I'd recommend querying elsewhere for the time being.

FYI.

KTC · Jan 31, 2019

I left them too.

I had two titles with them. I actually commented on the Writer Beware post linked above. I haven't been going out of my way to trash them. That's not me. But I was disappointed. Not initially. I was happy with both the covers and the editing (to an extent) I received. Both books were pretty much abandoned after that, though. I'm glad to be out.

Curiosity Quills Press

Matt6

writera

Writ Era

RS007

Fantasy_freak

Filigree

Mildly Disturbing

argossol

mrsmig

Write. Write. Writey Write Write.

EMaree

a demon for tea

DrFaerieGodmother

Villainy is merely an issue of POV.

kalzandius

kalzandius

kalzandius

pseudowriter

KTC

Stand in the Place Where You Live