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SRL Publishing

Feriku

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Is anyone familiar with SRL Publishing?

http://srlpublishing.co.uk/submissions

I got a #PitMad like from them today, so I was hoping to find out if anyone had experience with them. I couldn't find any previous threads about them here.
 

lizmonster

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No experience, but a couple things stand out on their page (emphasis mine):

We’re looking to work with authors who love stories as much as we do, who are passionate about the art of storytelling, and who are willing to actively promote their work.

If I'm doing the marketing, what is the publisher doing for me?

Initially all work submitted to us is considered for a ‘traditional publishing contract’. This is where no costs are incurred by the author and the whole cost for producing, publishing and marketing the work is covered by SRL Publishing. However, please bear in mind that not all work submitted can be accepted. As we receive numerous submissions each month, we cannot guarantee which titles will be selected for publication, however we do try to offer advice to our authors as to how they can improve their writing.

Qualifiers bother me. Also, are they saying they give personalized feedback to everyone?

If we offer you a publishing contract, there are no fees involved. We never charge an upfront payment from anyone.

More qualifiers. Also, grammar. (There are grammar issues all over the site.)

If you haven’t finished your work but would like to submit to us before completing, you are welcome to send us samples of your manuscript.

Accepting unfinished manuscripts sounds a little like they're not getting enough finished subs.

Response times can vary, and can take up to 8 weeks so please be patient during the submission process. Unfortunately we’re unable to provide feedback if we decide to pass on your manuscript.

Oh, wait, they DON'T give personalized feedback.

They say they accept all genres, although they have some prohibitions.

Clicked on a few of their books. Won't comment on the picture books (I know nothing about that market), but their adult books have mediocre covers and not-great sales rankings. The LOOK INSIDE on two of them show formatting problems; it's possible the purchased ebooks are correct, but as a reader I wouldn't risk it.

Their main marketing gimmick seems to be the claim that they're environmentally friendly, and have won some small business awards.
 

Feriku

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Yeah, all the qualifiers in that paragraph felt odd to me. I wasn't sure what to make of it.
 

lizmonster

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Yeah, all the qualifiers in that paragraph felt odd to me. I wasn't sure what to make of it.

My opinion, of course, since I know nobody involved, but: qualifiers like that are either used deliberately, or out of ignorance. If it's ignorance...well, I'd wait out this publisher for a few years rather than become one of their early projects. If it's deliberate? That's manipulative, and I'm not keen on being manipulated.
 

Sonya Heaney

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If you haven’t finished your work but would like to submit to us before completing, you are welcome to send us samples of your manuscript.

????

The UK publishing industry is the largest in the world.

???? Yeah, no.

Your work does not need to be double-spaced. We like to be environmentally friendly as much as we can, so we prefer just single-spaced work.

???? For electronic submissions ????

The company doesn't seem dodgy as much as downright strange. And what's with the merchandise?