Still Not A Good Experience
Hi Krystal, glad to see a staff member step forward to answer questions. And good to see two of your soon-to-be published authors step forward as well. Feeling passionate about the people we work with is great, and there's a lot of passionate discussion around here. I sincerely wish CQP well, and hope in two year's time (the recommended time to wait and see if a new press goes belly-up or thrives), that you will have reached far beyond your expectations.
My experience with Curiosity Quills Press was not a positive one, and I have a right to express that, as you have a right to present your point of view. No "bashing" intended, merely to carry out the goal of this thread: to point out bewares, recommendations, and background checks. I'm glad you spoke out because, as we both pointed out, the press is new, and maybe there was just a rocky start or something.
You were not on staff when I was dealing with CQP, so I am unclear in what capacity you work with them. Perhaps things have changed. Do you have previous publishing experience? Have you acquired any staff with prior publishing credits to their names? If so, I would love to know in what capacity, and with whom you/they worked. That's an important consideration in deciding on a publisher.
You also mention you work with a distributor. Merely being in Ingram's doesn't mean you have a distributor, nor does having people on your staff trying to get your books in brick-and-mortar stores. Many people new to publishing mistakenly conflate the two. A distributor takes up to 1/3 of profits in exchange for actively marketing your books for you, actually getting them into stores, and usually won't work with small or indie presses; Ingram's has the warehouse/catalog side, and the distributor (sales/publicity) side. Because you belong to one doesn't mean you belong to the other,
as this post from Writer Beware points out. Again, CQP has changed since I was first approached, so maybe you have one now? What distributor do you work with again?
Another thing that concerned me about CQ, as I mentioned, was the overly aggressive pursuit of signing me. Lisa Gus not only constantly contacted me via all forms of social media I participate in, she also used my Twitter followers list and my Facebook friends list to cull authors to similarly approach. Many of them contacted me about this, and I had to explain I had no affiliation with CQ. Additionally, it's a good idea to check out CQ's current authors; follow their links and read up. Many of them talk about having been approached by CQ first, on their blogs and elsewhere. A press that approaches authors first is a big red flag. Not that it's always a bad thing, because sometimes authors really are "discovered," but it certainly invites further scrutiny. And when it happens a lot, as it does with CQ's authors, it's a definite red flag. Presses, even a small one, with a lot of sales and success rarely have the time to court authors. Usually it's the other way around. Look at websites for other small presses like Spencer Hill, Entangled, and even Noble- there is a big difference in how CQ's website is set up. There is no in-house store or other means of marketing to readers on the page. Instead, as was already pointed out, it appears to be some kind of display site.
I also never claimed I was told a serial was compulsory. It was strongly suggested, and when I denied that option, was steered towards Kickstarter instead of the company's own funds. I was not asked to pay out any of my own pocket, but for anyone not familiar with Kickstarter, it's a lot like being told to go have a fundraiser to publish your own book.
Additionally, I don't know of any houses that force their writers to blurb other writers in the same press. I'm kind of baffled because I've never heard that before. I would love to see some links or something on that, because if it's true, Writer Beware (and this forum) would be very interested.
Also, I encourage anyone with doubts to contact Writer Beware directly; they do not publicly put anyone on their "thumbs down" list unless they misrepresent themselves, charge fees, or otherwise set out to scam authors in some way. We're talking sins as egregious as PublishAmerica and Tate here, and I am certainly not putting CQ in that category. Victoria and Ann keep records of complaints and inquiries private, so it's possible there's information that's not been made public.
You mention generous royalty rates and forthcoming advances to house authors; do forthcoming advances include new authors too, or only authors already signed with CQP?
But really, the bottom line is about how many books a publisher can sell. I'm certainly not asking for your sales numbers in an open forum, but it is worthwhile to check out their books on Amazon, B&N, and other e-retailers. (We already know CQ does not have a brick-and-mortar presence.) How do they rank? Are they in the 20ks or higher? Is this a trend with most of their books? This can give writers a glimpse into the most important aspect of choosing a publisher: can they sell my book, and can I profit from it? Because no matter how generous the royalty rates are, if your book isn't selling, it's a generous cut of not much.