May 7, 2010

A question from a blog reader asked, “Would you consider using a newly formed publishing company? What questions should a writer ask a new publisher to ensure they are getting appropriate care for their book?”

I’ve had one experience with a newly formed publisher–which I’ll write about below–but first let me mention a blog post on this subject on Writer Beware! The post is two years old, and due to the economy, it is even MORE true today than it was when posted. I hope you’ll read the entire post, but this is the bottom line summary:

“So unless you are absolutely, 100% positive that the publisher is staffed by people with substantial publishing experience–and maybe even then–it’s a good idea to wait until a new publisher has been in business for at least a year, and has published a number of books, before submitting. Not only does this assure you that the publisher can take books all the way through the production process, it lets you evaluate important things like physical and editorial quality, how the books are distributed, and how they are marketed. It also allows time for complaints, if there are any, to accumulate.

Tempting as it may be to join the rush to get in on the ground floor when a new publisher opens its doors, watching and waiting is a much better strategy.”

My Own Experience

My first mystery series fifteen years ago was my only experience with a brand new publisher. The man who started it had great credentials, and we met when speaking on a panel at a writer’s conference. It was professional from beginning to end, although his advance was a lot smaller than I was used to.

The first two books came out on time, but the sales were pretty low. (Thankfully I had had several mysteries published by that time because the “editor” I got knew nothing about mysteries and was an unpublished aspiring writer.) The third mystery ran into one snag after another, but since that happens sometimes, I wasn’t worried. I knew he was working on other books too and accepted the explanations for delays.

One Eye-Opening Day

I had several school visits approaching and needed copies of the third book, so when I had to be in his city for something else, I decided to just stop by the publishing house and pick up the books, as he’d said they were finished and boxed up.

When I finally located the address, I felt surely it must be wrong. It wasn’t in the business area of town–it was a residence. His home. No one answered the door, so I walked around the back and peeked in the window of the basement.

There were stacks of books and piles of papers everywhere. Evidently this was the publishing “house.” Literally! And it turned out that this man was the entire “staff” and he was out of money. Any books sold would be up to me. (This was prior Internet marketing, so I was stuck with the books and no way other than school visits to sell them.)

Needless to say, I wished I had asked a lot more questions early in the process. The books weren’t reviewed and fell through the cracks.

(Reminder: do read the full article on Writer Beware!) And please become a regular reader of their blog. It will save you years of headaches and heartaches!

Questions to Ask

If you are still considering submitting to a newly formed company, ask them:

1. How many titles are you publishing this year?
2. If there are published titles already, buy one or two and read them. (Look for quality of editing, typos, quality of art work, etc.)
3. Contact other authors who have published with them. Ask about editing, sales, art work, whether the publisher answers their emails, etc. Thanks to the Internet and Facebook and Twitter, you can find almost anyone online.
4. What constitutes your staff? (You may find that the publisher is also the editor, layout designer, promoter, sales rep, publicist, and delivery man.) If these jobs are “hired out,” who does these jobs? Are they qualified?

Google the new company too and check for complaints in blogs and message boards.

Forewarned

I know several writers who have signed with new publishers over the last few years. Every time, it’s been a dismal, frustrating experience–and resulting in so few sales.

If you don’t ask these questions before you query, at least get answers you’re happy with before you sign ANYTHING. As the blog title says, writer beware!

14 Comments »

1. 

   I didn’t know you write horror too
   What an awful experience, to have all your hard work fall into an abyss. Thank you for your advice…since I’m a big chicken at the best of times, I think I’ll stay with the more well known companies – even if it takes longer to get published.

   Comment by Andrea — May 7, 2010 @ 9:08 am

2. 

   Andrea, I think it’s what we call “getting experience.” I don’t think everyone has to learn everything the hard way, but I seem to! Sometimes these new companies, after a few years, turn out to be solid gold, if the people running them have the experience, time, drive and money. But only time will tell!

   Comment by Kristi Holl — May 7, 2010 @ 9:20 am

3. 

   I agree that caution is well merited with new publishing companies; however, for beginners, I wanted to add that there’s a difference between a new company and a new imprint. New imprints are essentially new lines by established publishing houses–with all of their resources and clout–and very often are headed by very well established editors.

   Comment by Cynthia Leitich Smith — May 7, 2010 @ 9:37 am

4. 

   Cynthia, that’s a great point. Quite often a well known editor is given her own imprint, with her name on it, within the well established publishing house. The first one I remember was when I was at Atheneum, and Margaret McElderry created her own imprint (now part of Simon & Schuster.) So yes, there is a BIG difference between a new publisher and a new imprint under the umbrella of a well established parent company publisher.

   Comment by Kristi Holl — May 7, 2010 @ 9:48 am

5. 

   Thanks Kristi for the reminder to be careful. I think many new authors are so excited that the don’t ask questions of any kind before signing on the dotted line, but we have to remember that the goal is not just to be published, but to run writing as a business. Always get as much info as possible before becoming “partners” with anyone!

   Comment by Beth Mac — May 7, 2010 @ 9:57 am

6. 

   Beth, truer words were never spoken! I expect that most of these new start-up publishers are 100% sincere and hopeful that their business will take off and become a solid, reputable publishing name some day. Many of them DO succeed. But many more of them don’t, I’m afraid. Yes, we need to be good business people when it comes to the selling end of things. Most of us enjoy the creative side of writing more–I know I do!–but without being business-like, our books will sink out of sight.

   Comment by Kristi Holl — May 7, 2010 @ 1:55 pm

7. 

   Really good advice, Kristi. This applies to magazines & other kinds of publishers, too (curriculum, etc.). It’s easier to get your foot in the door, but don’t do a second assignment until you get paid for the first!

   Comment by Jane Healy — May 7, 2010 @ 4:38 pm

8. 

   Jane, that’s a good point about this applying to magazines too (both print and online). And yes, until you’re paid for the first story/article, don’t submit more of them. I knew of a writer who’d had five or six stories accepted by a new online magazine, but it folded before she got paid a penny–and the rights weren’t given back to her either. Proceed with caution.

   Comment by Kristi Holl — May 7, 2010 @ 10:17 pm

9. 

   Sheesh!

   Who knew there were so many red flags? To be honest, I thought trying to land something just starting up was a good way to break in. With so much turnover of more well known houses, even with a great manuscript, competition to get noticed while being professional is a trying experience.

   You’d think that going with someplace fairly new would give you an edge because they might not be as easily dismissive as more well known publishers who have more submissions they can handle and as such have standards that are just plain hard for some people to reach right off, and it doesn’t always mean the manuscript itself is weak.

   Even though writers can always improve, we have to remember that some of the books that writers are best known for weren’t their first, and I don’t mean the numerous other books that came before the first published one either. I mean writers who had books that were their big breakout book that came after some earlier efforts. This certainly doesn’t mean the earlier efforts were weaker or inferior to what got them noticed, it just means that

   Everyone always wants a sure thing, and it’s certainly the ultimate win-win for everyone when that happens, but there’s no way of knowing without trying.

   I mean, Maurice Sendak’s “Where the Wild Things Are” is probably the most well known of all the books he’s written, but it wasn’t the first book he published as far as I know.

   I will say that the post on self-publishing was frankly hard for me. While I do think that it’s a long shot, in some ways I can’t blame people at least thinking about it now and again. Even for the most persistent of people, going decades without any successes can be hard for anyone in any profession.
   As someone who struggles with patience on a daily basis, especially concerning the things I want the most in life,

   I know that while it’s important to check facts and all that, waiting is hard. While I’ve heard many moms say that waiting for the right publishing opportunity is like waiting for their baby to be born. There’s two problems with that analogy for me.

   Non-premature pregnancies end at nine months or a few weeks to a month overdue. After that, you get a baby, hopefully healthy, and you pick the name.

   Yet publishing a book can take years, with or without an agent, and even when you get a good legit deal worked out, so much after signing the contract is a crash course in compromise. Even magazine stories can take a long time if they accept it because it’s on a wait list for a future issue, especially if it’s to a specific theme.

   There was a time when I would’ve tried self-publishing at least once if I had the money to do it. But I’m glad I didn’t since I was able to make my stories better. But in all seriousness, I would like to get into some kind of groove where I don’t need five or more years to make a book workable. I know not every writer does a book a year, but I’m never going to make a name for myself if it takes 10+ years for every book, seriously!

   I also have to admit that I envy most of the regulars who obliviously have solid experience handling business transactions.

   Now when I say that, I don’t mean to imply that I have no business sense, but I know I’m not as comfortable with many aspects of business and I think that hurts me.

   So many things seems nowadays are being treated like a corporation. So much of the modern thinking now is that everything we do is a business, and I find that sad.

   Maybe this is because I’ve never had a paying job, but my understanding is that a basic fact of business is to make money. But there are many things we do in life that’s not because we want to increase our financial gain and put away for the ever daunting retirement years, which seems to get more cumbersome every generation shift.

   For example, I really hate the whole marriage/business analogy. Yes, there is some common ground. But I wouldn’t marry anyone solely for financial stability. What’s the point of having millions of dollars in savings, if the person you’ve married to get them is someone who in every other aspect of marriage is incompatible, and God forbid even dangerous to you, themselves and others you’re close to?

   While I think the divorce rate is severely depressing, I think it’s more depressing to be trapped in a relationship that doesn’t enrich you just because you want to survive. I know that was how things were done not so long ago, especially for women, and still done in many countries now, but I’m a firm believer that survival and sustenance are not the same, and I think many people think it is.

   I often think that if money wasn’t such a severe factor in the way we operate our world, people would be a lot less stressed on so many levels.

   I hope I’m not sounding too childish here, because I’ve learned many things from this blog and other sources that while hard, and frankly heartbreaking at times, it’s made my efforts going forward more informed and I’ve been rescues from many of the pitfalls Kristi has warned about this week.

   Kristi, do you think any of what I’ve just said has merit? I know sometimes I get very carried away with my getting on my soapbox. I ask because we do seem to have similar frustrations in relations to writing and how the profession works.

   C.J.

   Comment by C.J. Rockwell — May 8, 2010 @ 3:10 am

10. 

    C.J., I think you and I (and literally thousands of others) have similar frustrations with how publishing works. And no analogy is going to be perfect, but having been a mother and a wife and a business person/writer/teacher for 30+ years, I can attest to many similarities.

    I’m sorry my posts on self-publishing and getting published by brand new companies were discouraging. I meant them to be a red alert: proceed with caution, if you proceed at all. Here’s another marriage analogy (sorry!), but a bad marriage is worse than being alone, and a bad publisher is worse than not being published at all and worse than having to work and wait for the right one. If I can just get new writers to fully investigate things–to take off their rose-colored glasses long enough to look at reality–I will be happy. I want people to have their eyes wide open if they choose the hard work of self-publishing or the iffy choice of a brand new publisher. I hear so many stories of “If only I’d known this before…” and it’s very sad. I’d like to prevent a lot of that.

    Comment by Kristi Holl — May 8, 2010 @ 10:26 am

11. 

    Oh my goodness! How awful. Thank you for this wonderful post!

    Comment by Amy Tate — May 9, 2010 @ 5:24 pm

12. 

    Amy, it was quite a surprise! There’s no teacher like experience!

    Comment by Kristi Holl — May 10, 2010 @ 10:27 am

13. 

    Read this great list of questions to ask BEFORE signing up with a new publisher!

    http://accrispin.blogspot.com/2010/01/open-letter-from-writer-to-new.html

    Comment by Kristi Holl — May 17, 2010 @ 4:36 pm

14. 

    i think that self-publishing is a tedious task because this would reuqire several skills that need to be mastered over time.

    Comment by Jan — October 25, 2010 @ 1:20 am

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