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Mythos & Ink Publishing

Juanwi

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Has anyone heard of this company? Are they legitimate?
 

frimble3

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They are all young, with not much obvious experience - but many, many quirky hobbies and other interests.
Middle-Earth, Harry Potter, and other big franchises are high among their 'other interests'.
Their funding, heck, some of their benefits, seem to be through Patreon. They will graciously explain what the various levels will get you.

Also, their books seem to be chiefly sci-fi/fantasy inspired 'inspirational' books, and they pad out the number of their books by listing each book as hardcopy and e-book, in as many categories as possible.

These are not, to my mind, good signs.
 
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Juanwi

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Yes.

- - - Updated - - -

Thank you for this information!
 

cool pop

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Are they taking Patreon donations so they can publish books??? :(
 
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frimble3

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Possibly not, it's hard to say what with the wording.
Patreon allows us to focus on community-building in addition to publishing great books. Your patronage through our patreon page allows us to produce valuable content we wouldn’t be able to otherwise. Our tiers are geared towards readers who love fantasy and science fiction, aspiring authors, and people who want to support emerging writers through our Emerging Writer Program.
Maybe it's just for secondary stuff.
But the secondary stuff seems kind of primary to these guys.

https://www.mythosink.com/faq/

They pay no advance; talk big about royalties, but no actual numbers, and they promise they will pay 'attention' to each of their authors.

Also, from the 'do I have to pay you to publish my book' category.
Definitely not! We are not a vanity publisher and do not charge our authors fees, but partner with our authors and split the profits on books sold.
(my bolding).

All in all, I am dubious.

(This is also the kind of operation that has a named office dog. A Bernese by the picture of him, which is not exactly a small dog that could cuddle up under a desk while people worked on the books.)
 
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cool pop

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Oh hell no. If I was looking for a publisher this sure wouldn't be it! Stevie Wonder could see the red flags from here. That's why I always warn folks to not be so desperate. Nothing about this place would get me to submit.

And those pics of the so-called staff look like stock photos. :rolleyes:
 
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litdawg

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(This is also the kind of operation that has a named office dog. A Bernese by the picture of him, which is not exactly a small dog that could cuddle up under a desk while people worked on the books.)

I dunno about this point. My Bernese--all 140 pounds of her--likes nothing better than to pretend she's a lap dog when I'm sitting on the couch. This agency has enough going against it without bringing the dog into it :)
 

frimble3

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True, whatever happens, it's not the innocent dog's fault that it adds to the impression of flakiness.
 

cool pop

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I dunno about this point. My Bernese--all 140 pounds of her--likes nothing better than to pretend she's a lap dog when I'm sitting on the couch. This agency has enough going against it without bringing the dog into it :)

I'm betting the dog is the best thing about the darn place! :ROFL:

And OOOH goodness your doggie is a biggums, litdawg! Goodness. Hate to see how much you're paying for dog food every week. LOL!
 

Earthling

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(This is also the kind of operation that has a named office dog. A Bernese by the picture of him, which is not exactly a small dog that could cuddle up under a desk while people worked on the books.)

What's wrong with having a named office dog?
 

frimble3

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What's wrong with having a named office dog?
Just my suspicious nature, but showcasing a dog, by name, adds to the impression that the place is more of a hobby than a workplace. Who walks the dog, who feeds the dog, etc.?

To my mind, it's like a company showcasing all of their outside activities, family members, and other cool stuff. What you don't want from your publisher is distractions.
Also, it's a bunch of excuses for not getting back to you: kid was sick, person was sick, trouble at school, had to spend a week at a Con, had to hold the dog's paw at the vets, etc.

Not that they're bad people, but if they're saying up front that they have other interests, believe them.
 

mrsmig

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I find that mentioning dogs, children, hobbies and "other cool stuff" in the ABOUT US section is usually filler to disguise the fact that the staff hasn't listed any publishing background or experience - which usually means they have none. So yeah, an emphasis on that sort of thing is a red flag for me.
 
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Earthling

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I see. I was confused because my agency - BookEnds - used to talk about the office dog all the time (he passed away recently) and they are definitely legit.

If there was an emphasis on pets and an absence of publishing experience, sure. But I don't mind agents and editors being human and having other interests.
 

Kat M

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I see. I was confused because my agency - BookEnds - used to talk about the office dog all the time (he passed away recently) and they are definitely legit.

He died? Noooooooo! I loved his cameos on YouTube.

/derail, seconding what Earthling said—if you have some humanizing details, well and good, but I would definitely look past to make sure there was actual substantive publishing cred in there.
 

jonxihama

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This publisher liked my PitMad tweet and just want to say thank you to everyone in this thread for pointing out red flags!
 
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