Filles Vertes Publishing

I follow them (and they follow me) on Twitter, but I haven't used that as a way to nudge. Feels wrong to me for some reason. I *have* noticed the founder is putting a book out, so my guess is she/they are wrapped up in that at the moment. Also, last time I checked (which I'll admit has been a while) the Facebook group mostly pushed their workshops. That also gives me pause because I feel like agents and publishers who are pushing $ workshops are making [at least some of] their money from hopeful writers as opposed to from salable manuscripts/books. I really just want a final word from them because they are the last publisher to have my manuscript. I guess I can chalk it up to a CNR, but that's always sad with a full.

Hello authors! I just wanted to stop in and say we see your concerns, and are working to correct them.

If you've submitted to *me* and I didn't get back to you yet, Twitter is an acceptable way to nudge me (@andrea_hintz). You can always chat me up there. It's been a rough year for me, personally, and I've been playing catch up with submissions. Here's to a better 2019.

Andrea Hintz
Editor/Creative Director
Filles Vertes Publishing
www.fillesvertespublishing.com

Thank you for checking in @AHintz. My manuscript request came from Ms. Fiacco, and as she is currently in the throes of her own book launch, I'm sure other things have been put aside for now.

Still nothing after they requested my full last May. I'm guessing it's a pass at this point, but sure would have been nice to have a definite response of some kind. No answer to follow-up emails either. I was initially excited about the prospects here, but if this lack of communication is any indication of how they work, I'm probably happier on my own.

Oh, Lord. Zmethos, that is an appallingly long time for a non-response on a full. About eight months? I'm going to call this one: I think this publisher is in trouble. Too many things mounting up here. Now, if they respond to my comment rather than Zmethos, I'll know they are cracked down the middle. Good luck to any of you who are hanging in cricketsville with this one.

Thanks, tri! If they'd at least responded to my follow-ups with a: "Sorry, we're swamped, it may be a few more weeks/months," I'd have understood. The silent dismissal, though...

Filigree said:

It speaks toward disorganization on a larger scale. Plus, one of the heartbreaking banes of small presses and literary agencies: not enough staff and capital to survive when one or two key staff have unavoidable personal difficulties.

This is why I've been known to stalk the social media feeds of both, to look for indications of illness, burnout, legal trouble, focus on personal work over clients, etc. Historical data can hint at ongoing problems, or at least future propensities.

It's harsh but true: you want a stable agency or publisher. One-person operations are especially vulnerable.

Now I have gone against my own rules and stuck with a small operation because 1) they're doing okay for me know and 2) I have nothing better to do with the books right now. But I know my publisher could suffer at any moment, and I'm ready for it.

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Definitely +1 on this. I know what you're saying about doing some deep probes and investigation--keeping your nose in the industry news. You can actually spot progressive trends of failure if you're looking for it. I'm not as good you are about ferreting out the real problematic houses. I've made some blunders, to be sure. OTH, my agent and I have settled for the best of the best in the small press because our backs were against the wall because of multiple rounds of rejection.

I have lost track of the number of small press and indie houses who have bitten the dust. It almost always seems that failure is financially related. Mom and pop outfits, run in collaboration with a couple friends, are really subject to financial mismanagement. It's too easy to invade the coffers for any reason, be it emergency or greed, and leave the authors without deserved royalties. Time and time and time again. You really don't see it as much in the larger pub houses being that there is a type of checks and balances system in place. Although they were larger independents, I was always curious about what really brought down Ellora's Cave and Samhain (sp?) almost simultaneously. I can't believe that their market share completely evaporated.

I took a look at their page today--I hadn't in a while because it mostly hadn't changed, but now they have a bunch of animations before pages are revealed, so that's... something... And I saw this:

If you currently have a manuscript with Myra, please know she is working through them as quickly and deliciously as she can (seriously, guys, this writing is so delicious), so your patience is appreciated. Please keep her updated on any changes to your manuscript, and don’t be afraid to nudge.

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Well, I've nudged a few times to no avail. And Myra also has another book coming out this year, so I really can't be sure where her priorities are. (She released one last year, too, and I assumed that was the reason I hadn't heard back.)

Filigree said:

I'd say we know precisely where her priorities are focused.

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You can say that again.

Finally received my rejection. A couple days after I started posting the rewrite of my manuscript on Wattpad because I'd assumed it was a "no" anyway.

Received an update?

I submitted a full in June 2018, and two days ago got an email saying they were still considering the manuscript. Strange

I’d actually signed my next book with another press and have been working on revisions for that. Also, I finished a new manuscript in that time. I’d pretty much forgotten about the full with them!

I submitted on 12/28/2018. Carla Lewis asked for a full on 1/31/2019. Got a form rejection on 3/5/2019.

Bump. A.Hintz was tweeting on #MSWL. Eight titles to date. One by Myra. Looks like each title is a different author. That's the only re-conn I did...

https://twitter.com/andrea_hintz/status/1121525715994861569

EDIT: Somehow I didn't see this second and third pages of posts when I started reading the thread, though I likely read it in the past. These experiences may well be why Filles Verdes was not on my short list of presses to sub to, though I might add them back. Not sure. I liked Andrea's thinking on the tweet I listed--she has a good perspective on female protagonists.

And, I sort of expect long waits, and I agree that's frustrating, but if they don't ask for exclusive sub (I haven't checked on that but from the experiences here it sounds like they must not) then I might add them back to the list. I hope to sub to presses this month.

I like Andrea, too - she has my ms right now. I'm hoping all the issues noted in the posts prior to this were all just growing pains...

In the end when I subbed to Filles Vertes, May 2019, they did do a quick turn-around on my sub, rejecting in 16 days. I appreciated that. Of the ~18 small presses I subbed to, only five responded (one with decent interest, but their timetable wasn't working for me.) The other 12 or 13 never got back. Fourteen months and counting.

Writer Beware ---> https://accrispin.blogspot.com/2020/08/small-press-storm-warnings-filles.html

I've spoken with several of the previous staff that left in mass this summer, along with several authors. This is a publisher to stay away from. Staff hasn't been paid in months, author royalties are constantly late, authors trying to get rights back are being told they have to pay thousands to get them and sign NDAs, and the owner went on a DM attack against those who posted on social media after the blog came out. This isn't a real publisher, this is a scam taking advantage of naive authors who don't know any better. Not to mention the publication contract is for the life of the author plus 70 years. Terrible.