A Challenge

[Prolixic]

Although it seems that we are short of posters in this area and some of the ones who are posting aren't getting along too well on the issue of POD and other forms of publishing I think this is a worthy forum.

Because of this I have a challenge for you. Search the Internet just breifly and bring whatever you find to a discussion here about publishing in general. Good, bad, ugly and indifferent--drag it all out into the open and lets have a look at it.

I'll add to this a kind request that obarz and myself stay out of the actual discussion to see if anyone else has anything to say about it.

 

[Prolixic]

Writers are paid to write. Publishers pay the writer for the privilege to publish. Good agents get paid when the writer does. Any exceptions to this mean you're about to get screwed.

Money flows to the writer. Period.

 

[Prolixic]

Rejections should be seen as a challenge to either get better or get an agent. If you really, really want to write, you will whether you get published or not. Payment is really just a side benefit anyway. Right?

(Yeah, its BS we all want the money, fame, and adoring fans. It is art, writers love to write, can't help but write, but the rest doesn't hurt the package either.)

 

[coramiri]

publishing

As for as the Internet on publishing, I think the Predators & Editors site is the best place to get an idea on who to submit to and to not submit to. If you go with a publisher that is not good you may have to pull your books form them but then you are left in limbo until you can get them somewhere else. Part of being a writer is finding the best publisher for you and your book.
The site is http://www.anotherealm.com/prededitors/

Next I can best speak about publishing from my own experience and the knowledge I have from other writers who have had some horror stories to tell. Publishers are very important. You have to depend on them to edit your book well, to continue looking for good distributors, to at least do some advertising and mine runs adds in Romantic Times where we pay just part of the cost when it is for our books. Romantic Times adds are very important for romance writers because a good Romantic Times review is the best review you can get for the romance industry, Romantic Times has the most clout of any other publication. It's like the bible of the Romance industry.

Even though I also send review request to get as many reviews on my new releases as I can and I send out press releases as well my publisher also does the same. Also publishers need to be great bookkeepers and keep accurate records, be dependable to release your books at the date in the contract. Have fair contracts and pay a fair percentage of royalties. And before you go with a publisher, find out from other writers who use them if they pay their royalties on time. Above all, especially if you are going with a small publisher or e-book publisher you need an extremely hard working person (to do all that needs to be done, which is a lot) and you need a highly ethical person that you know you can trust. Because good publishers do so much more than just publish books.

I definitely think writers should go with royalty paying publishers. Most people would freak if they knew the time and sweat put in to writing a publishable novel. We should definitely get paid. I continue to have a very good experience with a royalty paying e-book publisher, Awe Struck E-Books.

We also have the option through Awe-Struck of getting our books in pod format if we wish. They use ditzg, which apparently is also known as book surge. But my publisher handles everything on that end. I don't pay for the publishing but I do have to buy 20 pod copies of my book from book surge for that service. I think it is worth it to give readers the option of print formats, but that was my decision.

The books have been of good quality in trade paperback and sell on my publisher’s site and at book surge and we can place them for sale on Amazon. Of course most bookstores and even some reviewers still do not recognize pod or e-books. But at some point that is going to change.

 

[Prolixic]

Thats a great link. Tons of useful info, thanks.

coramiri wrote:

I definitely think writers should go with royalty paying publishers. Most people would freak if they knew the time and sweat put in to writing a publishable novel. We should definitely get paid. I continue to have a very good experience with a royalty paying e-book publisher, Awe Struck E-Books.

Well it can't be easy. Even with the advent of the word processor--although that probably expedited the process somewhat. (Beats a typewriter and vellum all to pieces.)