• Guest please check The Index before starting a thread.

Scarsdale Publishing

Anna204

Super Member
Registered
Joined
Dec 15, 2015
Messages
55
Reaction score
1
Location
North America
Has anyone ever heard of them? I got a request to submit from them via a contest and an internet search doesn't produce a lot of results (which should probably tell me something), but maybe someone else has some firsthand experience with them.
 

mrsmig

Write. Write. Writey Write Write.
Staff member
Moderator
Kind Benefactor
Super Member
Registered
Joined
Jul 4, 2012
Messages
9,885
Reaction score
7,176
Location
Virginia
Link: Scarsdale Publishing

An historical romance publisher with four imprints. There is no staff listed for the company (only extraordinarily annoying audio ads on many pages of the website that are impossible to turn off), which is always a red flag for me. The company looks to be not quite a year old. Looks like they publish novellas as well as audio books, and have a niche line dedicated to Scottish Historical romance. A number of their books are priced at 99 cents on Amazon.

I dunno. They seem to have published a LOT of books in the year they've been active.
 
Last edited:

Anna204

Super Member
Registered
Joined
Dec 15, 2015
Messages
55
Reaction score
1
Location
North America
I noticed a lot of historical on their website and I don't write that, so I was surprised they were interested in me.
 

mrsmig

Write. Write. Writey Write Write.
Staff member
Moderator
Kind Benefactor
Super Member
Registered
Joined
Jul 4, 2012
Messages
9,885
Reaction score
7,176
Location
Virginia
The drawback to submitting to a publisher like Scarsdale is that you have no idea of the experience level of the staff - or if, indeed, there is a staff - so many of these outfits are run largely by a single person.

I am assuming you're non-agented. If you decide to submit to Scarsdale and are offered a contract, I suggest you have it carefully vetted before you sign. There are so many non-standard clauses in small publishers' contracts (such as royalties computed on net, or any business plan that requires the author to pony up ANY money for publication expenses) that inexperienced authors may end up signing something that is not in their best interest.
 

Anna204

Super Member
Registered
Joined
Dec 15, 2015
Messages
55
Reaction score
1
Location
North America
I am published already, and while I don't have an agent, I do have an entertainment lawyer friend who vetted my first contract so I've been there, done that before.

And if anyone has direct experience, I'd love to hear it, but so far it looks like I'm passing on them for now.
 

SaraC

Super Member
Registered
Joined
Apr 30, 2017
Messages
223
Reaction score
52
I got a pitmad request from them, but I don't know if I'm going to send anything to them right now. For the book the requested, I've already been offered and declined a contract from one small publisher I probably should never have submitted to.
 
Last edited:

JaclynKMitchell

Registered
Joined
Jul 9, 2018
Messages
3
Reaction score
0
I am published already, and while I don't have an agent, I do have an entertainment lawyer friend who vetted my first contract so I've been there, done that before.

And if anyone has direct experience, I'd love to hear it, but so far it looks like I'm passing on them for now.


So you decided to pass? Ugh. This is disheartening. They requested me during Pitmad too (AND SFFPit) ... and I was also confused bc I don't write historical romance (or really anything that resembles the type of romance they publish). But I sent them a pitch anyway (after dragging my feet) and they responded the same day with a full manuscript request. The more I dig the more skeptical I am. The email with the request is signed just "Tarah" (no last name) ... and the primary author that they publish is also named Tarah.

So much for my first full manuscript request. Not sure if I should just ignore the email or reply back with a polite refusal...
 

zmethos

from words to worlds
Super Member
Registered
Joined
Apr 22, 2016
Messages
692
Reaction score
242
Location
California (Bay Area)
Website
mpepperlanglinais.com
Looking at their site, they appear to be prepping for new imprints--there's one for Women's Fiction and one for YA that say "Coming Soon!" They've got paranormal and contemporary romance as well, so it's not all historical. I'm not plugging for them, just saying that might be why they've requested manuscripts that seem outside their main purview.
 

JaclynKMitchell

Registered
Joined
Jul 9, 2018
Messages
3
Reaction score
0
I ended up submitting and they wrote back asking for some edits (which were legit) and for me to re-submit. I'm not sure what I'm going to do at this point. Their email was very nice and encouraging though.
 

SaraC

Super Member
Registered
Joined
Apr 30, 2017
Messages
223
Reaction score
52
I got a pitmad request from them, but I don't know if I'm going to send anything to them right now. For the book the requested, I've already been offered and declined a contract from one small publisher I probably should never have submitted to.

Scarsdale rejected my full, so now I don't have to worry about deciding how legit they are. It was a typical form.
 

A.R. Vagnetti

Registered
Joined
Apr 18, 2018
Messages
2
Reaction score
0
I also got a request for full after pitmad. The woman I've been corresponding with has done quite a bit of work on the fist 40 pages, which I have to say has really improved my MS. She seems very interested in helping me to get my book to the next level. We have had several back and forth communication through email which has both excited me and made me nervous. They've hinted that they would be interested in also contracting the next books in the series which gives me pause.
I do have another publisher offer in the wings waiting for my reply, but they are even a newer company than Scarsdale.
She has requested a phone conference with her and the managing editor tomorrow, so I will see how it goes and go with my gut instinct. I write paranormal romance and what they have on their website is mainly historical.
I will keep you posted.
 

A.R. Vagnetti

Registered
Joined
Apr 18, 2018
Messages
2
Reaction score
0
hey Jaclyn, Just curious on how things ended up with Scarsdale? Did they offer? and if so, did you sign or pass.
Just curious, because they are offering and I'm trying to get more info on them.

Thanks
 

Feriku

Registered
Joined
Oct 7, 2016
Messages
27
Reaction score
0
Has anyone worked with Scarsdale recently? They liked one of my pitches during PitMad, but since their submission guidelines say unagented submissions are only considered in response to their calls for submission, and my novel doesn't fit their calls for submission, I'm not sure how to proceed.
 

mrsmig

Write. Write. Writey Write Write.
Staff member
Moderator
Kind Benefactor
Super Member
Registered
Joined
Jul 4, 2012
Messages
9,885
Reaction score
7,176
Location
Virginia
It depends on the agent. The pitchwars.org/pitmad website advises:

If an industry professional favorites/likes your tweet, check their recent tweets for submission preferences.
  • If they haven’t tweeted #PitMad submission guidelines, follow their usual query submission guidelines on their website, but put “PitMad Request: TITLE” in the subject line of your email.
  • Send the request as soon as you can.
  • If the agent has already rejected your book through traditional querying you should still send the requested materials and include this history in the beginning of your email, as well as a note if you have performed significant revisions since the initial query.
 

Woollybear

Super Member
Registered
Joined
Nov 27, 2017
Messages
9,723
Reaction score
9,708
Location
USA
I believe they liked one of my pit-mad tweets a few months back but I got no nibbles at all this time around. That's just a data point for you.

You can go to their twitter page and also have a look at their other 'likes' from yesterday. It doesn't hurt.
 

Harlequin

Eat books, not brains!
Super Member
Registered
Joined
Nov 21, 2010
Messages
4,584
Reaction score
1,412
Location
The land from whence the shadows fall
Website
www.sunyidean.com
"Like" is just an invitation to query for the majority of agents :/ It's more useful, I feel, if the agent or publisher in question is otherwise closed to submissions. Possibly it provides a boost to cold querying.
 

Woollybear

Super Member
Registered
Joined
Nov 27, 2017
Messages
9,723
Reaction score
9,708
Location
USA
I agree with Harlequin. You'll see agents saying things like:

'I might have missed you during pit mad, and if so please query me.' OK.

There was an agent once who said essentially 'there are too many of you. Tweet at me directly and I will like your pitch and you can query me.'

On the other hand, some tweets get 6, 7, 8 likes or more from agents. That would be AWESOME because even though the query might fail anyway, it means there are bones in the story that have traction.

I think pit mad is fun and bonding--and also a good practice to imagine your story in as many ways as possible.
 

greendragon

Registered
Joined
Jan 20, 2015
Messages
4,217
Reaction score
475
Location
Beacon Falls, CT
Website
www.greendragonartist.com
I found out two of my online author friends have worked with them. I asked them questions.

1. First friend has worked with them for one of their anthologies, and is currently working out contract details for a new book. She said the editor she worked with was great, but they have issues with scheduling getting pushed back. Her initial publish date was moved back a couple months, and she had to ask to find this out. Other than that, she's enjoyed the experience. She's on KU only, but I see some books offered for print and audio on their site.

2. She had a bad experience with the editor and bought herself out of the contract. The editor only did the first three chapters and the author felt attacked by the editor's comments.

It looks like half the books they have are by one author, Tarah Scott, and one of my contacts mentioned working with her, so she's likely the owner. I was 'liked' on PitMad by two different names, so there are likely several others working there now.

Offering for further information on future folks :)
 

alexisdawnray

Registered
Joined
Jul 26, 2018
Messages
14
Reaction score
2
Location
Texas
Sounds scammy to me. I'd personally steer away based off of my gut feeling. Definitely do your research and don't be quick to settle for just anybody. No representation/publication is better than being caught up in a scam.
 

Will Collins

Will Collins
Super Member
Registered
Joined
May 24, 2010
Messages
1,235
Reaction score
35
Anyone else have experiences with these guys?