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NineStar Press

writera

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I had an offer from Wild Rose for the book I signed with NineStar. After reading the full threads for both, I decided NineStar was the better option.

Interesting. Thanks for this reply.
 

adrinyme

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I was chatting with a friend who is published through Ninestar and one thing they found odd was that Ninestar publishes through Smashwords and Draft2Digital to get out to most retailers (minus Amazon, and I think they said Kobo was a recent swap to direct as well). It seems odd to me, too. Isn't it better to go direct to retailers, to get more money? Or are royalty amounts close enough if you do it that way?

(I did check on it a little, and B&N lists Smashwords or Draft2Digital as the sold by field for their books, so at least for Nook it seems true.)
 

sjeller

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From what I know, NineStar Press is looking to move away (or looking into moving away) from distributors for the bigger stores :)
 

adrinyme

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I think going Kobo direct was a recent thing, so I agree that they're moving away from it. I self-pub, though I do keep an eye on the LGBTQ publishers because that's what I write. I was baffled because they are a publisher and not a self-pubber, so why wouldn't they initially start with direct sales through the major distributors? But I did do the math, and it does work out to a $0.05 to $0.30 difference for Smashwords per title per sale ($0.05 for $2.99 books, $0.30 for $6.99 books), so I guess it's not much of a loss to start out with. Especially if you're focusing on editing and controlling other aspects, not having to put up books in several places might be worth the loss of royalty.
 

Glenn

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My second novel with Ninestar Press will be out shortly and I highly recommend them. It's a great team, very friendly, with a really suppportive author community.
 
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A.P.M.

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I'm eye-balling this press after leaving DSP for obvious reasons. Anything I should be aware of? Anyone who has published with them have any thoughts?
 

kaysa

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I'm eye-balling this press after leaving DSP for obvious reasons. Anything I should be aware of? Anyone who has published with them have any thoughts?

They pay on time and they have a great cover artist. If small press is your jam, they're a good bet for that.
 

Earthling

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They really do knock it out of the park with their covers. Natasha Snow is a genius.

Less impressed with their editing and sales.
 

kaysa

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Less impressed with their editing and sales.

While my sales have not been an issue, the editing is really hit or miss. I had an AMAZING editor for my series who did a tremendous job. When she took another job and I got assigned a new editor, it was very different and not at all what I wanted or expected, noting the previous quality I had seen.
 

writera

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Do they offer any advances? Any other financial info?

Do they have bookstore presence? Does the author get cover design approval?

How long are they likely to stay in business? Are they considered bigger/better than publishers like Solstice Press, Permuted Press, and Wild Rose Press, or in the same vein? (I had offers from some of those small presses on a novel years ago but turned them down.)

Just trying to get a handle on this publisher so would love some more info.
 
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kaysa

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Advances: not that I am aware of. It's somewhat rare for a small press to do that unless you are a known quantity.

Bookstore presence: well online, yes, they're with barnes and noble, borders, etc. In store physically, no. You do the leg work for that.

Stay in business: I don't think anyone can ever answer that. They're a debt free company and seem to handle their finances well from what I have seen. I don't think they're in danger of going underwater any time soon.

Street cred: I have never heard of the other publishers you mentioned so I don't know. Ninestar is smaller than Dreamspinner and Interlude, both of which are moving into traditional arenas at the moment. They're on the line with like Bella books and other queer specific publishers.
 

writera

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Advances: not that I am aware of. It's somewhat rare for a small press to do that unless you are a known quantity.

Bookstore presence: well online, yes, they're with barnes and noble, borders, etc. In store physically, no. You do the leg work for that.

Stay in business: I don't think anyone can ever answer that. They're a debt free company and seem to handle their finances well from what I have seen. I don't think they're in danger of going underwater any time soon.

Street cred: I have never heard of the other publishers you mentioned so I don't know. Ninestar is smaller than Dreamspinner and Interlude, both of which are moving into traditional arenas at the moment. They're on the line with like Bella books and other queer specific publishers.

Thanks for this response. I'm outside of US so probably wouldn't be able to get books into physical stores in US. So maybe I should try to find a small press with more physical book store presence, though that may not be possible. I think Dreamspinner are in trouble right now so I might hold off submitting to them. Interlude looks good, but can't seem to find a thread on here?
 

heykatydid

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I'm published with NSP, and yes, they do pay on time - though I never make enough for that to really matter. Sales are quite low. If you ask me, they are simply putting out too many books and there really isn't any marketing the publisher does. You are largely on your own. My editor is absolutely great, and I have nothing bad to say about her - thorough, early, great communicator, cares about my work and voice. Love her! But don't expect to get ARCs early (or even sometimes a week before release date) or get much traction with reviewers/bloggers prior to publication (or after, really). tbh, most of my sales are from the networking I do on Twitter. There's no physical presence in stores, but you can sell on consignment through independent bookstores and a few might agree to carry your books if you contact them. The covers are usually gorgeous because Natasha does such a great job. There are pros and cons.
 

heykatydid

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As I was the last update to this thread, I thought it would be worth noting that in the past year, I haven't had a single month's royalty statement come out on time from NSP. Generally, we now get them between 8 and 15 days into the month, instead of the 1st of the month. It's a game now to vote on how late the statements will end up being. I believe the owner is getting overwhelmed.
 
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Maryn

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It is. It's also woefully common in small presses that are a one-person operation. A business plan that makes no allowance for more authors and books but not more employees, that does not turn enough profit to hire temporary help as needed, that has no Plan B for the illness or disability of the owner, seems doomed to failure.

It's a shame, but when we look at the list of small publishers here at AW, it happens over and over. It's the main reason I'm reluctant to submit to small presses, although sometimes I do anyway.

Maryn, saddened
 

mrsmig

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I'm sorry this is happening to you, heykatydid.

So many small publishers fail because:

1) they are undercapitalized
2) the principals lack any real experience in trade publishing
3) there is generally no marketing plan other than placing the authors' books in catalogs and in the usual online sites; i.e. the press will not be able to get their authors books into brick and mortar stores
4) there is generally little paid promotion (maybe a blog tour or three); instead, the press leans heavily on its authors' social media platforms to get the word out
5) the staff (and even the principals) are generally part-time, so if full-time jobs or family issues take priority, production suffers

Books released by companies like this usually don't sell more than a couple hundred copies, if that. Without the pad of capital to absorb the shortfall when a book doesn't sell, the press doesn't have money to pay author royalties or even their own staff. So what do these presses do? They sign more authors. That way they can use the income from Author B's initial sales to pay off expenses from Author A's earlier release, all the while praying that the next release will bring in the sales they need to stay solvent. I can tell you from bitter personal experience that this rarely happens. So the press goes into a death spiral, with the principals sucking in more hopeful authors for their initial sales income, while putting off payments to their staff and existing authors, until eventually the whole thing collapses.

When I see a small press ramp up its release schedule when its existing books sales don't indicate a healthy income, that's a HUGE warning sign.
 
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heykatydid

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A few of us authors have seen this coming for, honestly, a couple of years. NSP was putting out books at a breakneck pace and has no marketing, so relies on a few that sell well to fund the rest. Another author and I went in with concerns a year or two ago, but nothing really came of it. I don't make really any money from those books, so I had already decided to stop publishing through small presses, but I imagine for authors not on the same page, this must be very frustrating. Sad to see, but a bit expected given the way things were heading. There has been some massive editor turnover as well, and that has caused turmoil for the few authors I know still working with them. Unfortunate all around!
 
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Maryn

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Someone I do not know had a post appear in my Twitter feed saying she has finally disengaged from NineStar Press. She will not say anything in public but offered to DM anyone who wanted to know what the issues were. I asked.

If she replies, it's not my right to post her words, but I suggested she share it here and at Writer Beware.

Maryn, fingers crossed
 

Maryn

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She didn't reply to my request for a DM. Some of the replies to her mentioned poor sales, editors leaving to be replaced with less skilled editors, and royalty statements arriving late every single time. That's enough to discourage most of us.

Maryn, disheartened