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BlueMonkeyBobo (Unregistered Guest)
Work-in-progress guest
Posted From: 12.19.230.80
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Thursday, March 18, 2004 - 08:12 am: |   |
I think the title says it all. I checked P&E and they aren't marked in red, so that may or may not be a good sign. I do know that they have a traditional publishing arm and a self-publishing arm, but this is according to their site, and so I'm not sure if i can trust it. Any information would be greatly appreciated. They just asked to see a full manuscript.
Fractured, baby |
priceless1
Awareness Member
Post Number:
20
Registered: 03-2004
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Thursday, March 18, 2004 - 09:07 am: | |
Blue Monkey! Hey, good to see you over here! Don't know a dang thing about it, I only wanted to say hi. Best of luck to you!
Lynn |
BlueMonkeyBobo (Unregistered Guest)
Work-in-progress guest
Posted From: 12.19.230.80
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Thursday, March 18, 2004 - 09:12 am: | |
Thanks, Lynn! I'm trying to get something going. I got booted from PA for standing up for you (and the rest of those who got booted for standing up for you). I feel vindicated, so it's all good.
Fractured, baby |
Tony (Unregistered Guest)
Work-in-progress guest
Posted From: 24.31.215.202
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Thursday, March 18, 2004 - 09:22 am: | |
I have no information other than what is available on their own web site. But of all the things they offer, you can accomplish most by yourself for a whole lot less.
I did notice that you could only attain inclusion in their Book Distribution Program by going with the Platinum Plan (their most expensive) at $2499.
Without book distribution you are not only starting at the bottom of the mountain, you are starting in a pit at the base of the bottom of the mountain.
|
BlueMonkeyBobo (Unregistered Guest)
Work-in-progress guest
Posted From: 12.19.230.80
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Thursday, March 18, 2004 - 09:42 am: | |
Not the self-publishing part. I wouldn't ever do that. They have two options, one for slef publishing (the one where you pay), and then the traditional one. It's the traditional one. I think the whole thing is moot for now anyway. I sent them an email asking a bunch of questions. We'll see what happens (when i find out, ill put it here). |
priceless1
Awareness Member
Post Number:
22
Registered: 03-2004
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Thursday, March 18, 2004 - 11:44 am: | |
Oh, Lord. It's those who got booted that make me groan with sadness. I'm terribly sorry this happened to you. But this board is great and you'll find tons of helpful voices. I know I certainly have.
Lynn |
Tony (Unregistered Guest)
Work-in-progress guest
Posted From: 24.31.215.202
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Thursday, March 18, 2004 - 11:51 am: | |
Back to Gom again: They seem to have a return policy but I cannot find if it is for their traditional arm, their POD arm, or both. However, the return policy seems to be non-standard and so may be considered as having no return policy at all from the point of view of book stores.
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Laurel Johnson
Unity Member
Post Number:
2732
Registered: 01-2002
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Thursday, March 18, 2004 - 12:04 pm: | |
This is not meant to be a smart ass comment so bear with me.
I laughed so hard when looking at the heading of this thread, Blue Monkey.
My husband is a Kentucky native and was reading over my shoulder and said,
GOM? Who's talking about a gom?"
Where he's from in Kentucky, a GOM is a big mixed up mess. Example: a giant gom is what my kitchen looks like whenever I cook.
I hope GOM publishing is not a gom. Good luck to you. |
BlueMonkeyBobo (Unregistered Guest)
Work-in-progress guest
Posted From: 12.19.230.80
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Thursday, March 18, 2004 - 02:26 pm: | |
Hahaha. That's good. Ok, so basically if they decide to offer me something, I just need to read the fine print a lot and make sure I know what I'm getting myself into. That and get my questions answered. |
Victoria Strauss
Awareness Member
Post Number:
29
Registered: 11-2003
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Thursday, March 18, 2004 - 06:57 pm: | |
Author-pay companies that say they have a "traditional" arm may be saying so in order to get more people to submit, whereupon they offer paid services. I'd be cautious.
- Victoria
www.victoriastrauss.com
www.writerbeware.com |
BlueMonkeyBobo (Unregistered Guest)
Work-in-progress guest
Posted From: 12.19.230.80
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Thursday, March 18, 2004 - 10:10 pm: | |
I like to think I learned a lesson with PA... Sigh... Liking to think and actually knowing it are two different things... I'm trying though. I'm trying.  |
BlueMonkeyBobo (Unregistered Guest)
Work-in-progress guest
Posted From: 12.19.230.80
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Friday, March 19, 2004 - 08:22 am: | |
Ok. Got the email back. Here's what they said:
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
Thank you for your questions. We are more than happy to answer them for you. First of all, most of the questions you asked may be answered on our Self-Publishing FAQ's here: http://www.gompublishing.com/authorrelations_selfpublishingfaqs.html
Granted, your book is up for review for Gom Paraclete Press, which is our conventional publishing division, but many of the answers to your questions are the same.
Now, in answer to the questions you wrote here:
1. Gom Paraclete Press legally cannot give out contracts until a work has been accepted for publication. This is because some authors may take advantage of receiving a contract and take us to court on the basis of since we sent it to them, we must have accepted their work. They can sign it and it would be made legal. So, the only sample of our contracts for review is our Standard Author Contract for self-publishing found here: http://www.gompublishing.com/authorrelations_selfpublishingsubmisions.html
Many of the items are the same, with the exception of Gom Paraclete Press not taking any moneys for publication from the author, Gom Paraclete Press takes print rights for five years to effectively market and distribute the book, and Gom Paraclete Press allows a greater margin of royalties depending on how many books are sold.
2. An author with Gom Paraclete Press typically receives 10 copies of their book free. Any additional copies for personal use may be purchased at a 60% discount.
3. The book will appear in both soft and hard cover, depending on the type of book. One such as yours may have a hardcover release first, then be converted to softcover at a later date.
4. Our editing department does basic copyediting on self-published works and both copy and developmental editing for conventional works.
5. Our conventional books are sent through a publicist who works one-on-one with the author for one year, publicizing their book, setting up interviews, signings, etc. He also prepares a press release and distribution channels to bookstores. Our internal marketing department assists the publicist and markets the book on online retail channels such as Amazon.com, Barnes&noble.com and the Gom Online Store. They also include the books in the Gom catalog to be sent to bookstores and distributes some of the press releases to targeted media.
6. Royalties are 10% of the suggested retail price, even if the book sells for less than retail value. For example, you may have a book that lists for $14.95. You would make $1.50 per book sold, even if the book sells at a discount bookstore for $1.00. For conventional books, after a certain number of copies sold (to be determined in the tailored contract) the royalty payments increase to 12%, 15%, and so on. At this time, our publishing house is too small to offer advances, hence our outstanding royalty schedule. Most traditional publishing houses offer no more than 8% for royalties.
We hope we answered your questions adequately. If you have any more, please feel free to ask!
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
So, I think it looks a little better than a self-publishing gig... |
Jennifer Lynn
Unity Member
Post Number:
1116
Registered: 03-2002
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Friday, March 19, 2004 - 09:44 am: | |
I don't know why, but there's a red light flashing in the back of my brain. Sure, it might be a bit better than self publishing, but I think their goal is to get you to cough up the cash.
As for not being able to provide you with a copy of the contract to peruse before making a final decision... POPPYCOCK! You can not make an informed decision nor negotiate any contract points without seeing what it is they are offering. Other companies do it all the time. Now, if you only asked to see it prior to them offering you one, I can understand that. But do NOT agree to anything until you've seen it and gone over it with a fine tooth comb.
I'll quit rambling...
Jenn
Jennifer Lynn
www.jenniferlynn.ca |
Victoria Strauss
Awareness Member
Post Number:
30
Registered: 11-2003
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Friday, March 19, 2004 - 09:48 am: | |
Blue, I'll be interested to know what their final reply is.
That stuff about the contract is doublespeak. A contract isn't binding unless there are two signatures--yours and the publisher's. It'd be easy enough for them to send you a contract unsigned by them. You could sign it twenty times yourself and it wouldn't bind them to anything. I don't know why they couldn't just say "It's not our policy to send out sample contracts."
I had a look at the Standard Author Contract for the self-pub service. It reminds me of the one from 1st Books Library, with all the a la carte add-ons. Many authors may not realize that an ISBN isn't included in the basic service, but comes only as an add-on...other self-pub services do include the ISBN with the basic service. IMO, the Author Marketing Package is a ripoff, but that's often the case with these packages. The cover prices for the books are high, but again that's often the case. The royalties stink--they're paid on cover price for books sold off the publisher's own website, but for distributor sales it's 10% of net. Other self-pub services pay closer to 20% of net. On the plus side, you hand over no rights at all, and the contract can be terminated at any time.
Another reason why it's so important to go comparison shopping when you're considering a self-pub service like this.
- Victoria
www.victoriastrauss.com
www.writerbeware.com |
BlueMonkeyBobo (Unregistered Guest)
Work-in-progress guest
Posted From: 12.19.230.80
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Friday, March 19, 2004 - 11:40 am: | |
Well, they are taking a look at the entire manuscript right now. I sent them a query and the first three chapters, give or take, and they just emailed me the other day about seeing the rest, which is when I asked the questions. If they do say they want it, then I will make sure I see a contract and read it and understand it before signing it. According to the site, if the book is accepted for traditional publishing, then they pay for all costs and do all the stuff from the questions (which would have to include an ISBN if they are claiming to be able to sell it in a store other than their own). They have what appears to be a nice return policy (granted, I don't know much about return policies, but still...). Basically, I guess it all comes down to waiting and seeing what happens. See, what I really need is an in with an agent or something... |
Claudia Turner VanLydegraf
Mindsight Moderator
Post Number:
967
Registered: 06-2002
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Friday, March 19, 2004 - 12:05 pm: | |
Blue,
That is what WE ALL NEED!!!! And all the help of everyone here who is willing to pony up and show us and explain things to us that we would never think of. I am that much happier because of the knowledge and support that is here, And shared amongst everyone. Keeps us from falling prey to the shysters out there.
Claudia |
Violet Towe
Hsympothai Member
Post Number:
301
Registered: 03-2002
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Friday, March 19, 2004 - 12:41 pm: | |
Blue, in the end you will do what you want to do. With that said allow me to add this.
Victoria is a published author for many years now, fantasy I believe. She's let helping authors NOT fall prey to scam agents/publishers and such, become her life's passion. If she advises to approach with caution, I'd do just that.
But, like I have stated, in the end it will be your choice, do it with your eyes wide open and not because of some pumping up this or any other publisher hands out to you, only to ask for bunches of dollars once they have you hooked. |
BlueMonkeyBobo (Unregistered Guest)
Work-in-progress guest
Posted From: 12.19.230.80
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Friday, March 19, 2004 - 01:28 pm: | |
Violet -
I agree completely. The first two things I wrote are being "handled" by PA. The reason I am not with them anymore is because of Victoria and Dave (and, to a lesser extent, Anne, although I don't see her popping up here all that often, or at all...). I'm not trying to say that I don't value Victoria's input. In fact, she and Dave are two of the big reasons I put this here in the first place (well, I was looking for help from everyone, but you know what I mean, I hope). Anyway, the point I am trying to make is that I value people's input rather highly, and am going to make sure that whatever contract they offer (if they offer) is solid and good. On a completely different note, hi! My name is BlueMonkeyBobo. |
Victoria Strauss
Awareness Member
Post Number:
31
Registered: 11-2003
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Friday, March 19, 2004 - 01:33 pm: | |
Blue, I'll be glad to evaluate the contract for you if/when you receive it. I'm not a lawyer, and don't play one on TV, so I can't provide legal advice, but I do know something about standard publishing contract terms, and can give you experience-based feedback. Let me know, and I'll give you my fax number.
This offer is not totally altruistic...I collect publishing contracts, and am always happy to add a new one to my hoard.
- Victoria
www.victoriastrauss.com
www.writerbeware.com |
Frank P. Baron
Awareness Member
Post Number:
17
Registered: 10-2003
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Friday, March 19, 2004 - 02:26 pm: | |
The email they sent seemed particularly vague on the distribution part of things. If they're conventional, they should have a distributor in place to ensure ease of placement in brick and mortar stores. I'd also like to know how large the first print run is. If it's at least 2-3 thousand you know they'll be motivated to get it into stores.
Author: What Fish Don't Want You to Know |
keviny (Unregistered Guest)
Work-in-progress guest
Posted From: 24.171.65.80
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Friday, March 19, 2004 - 03:32 pm: | |
For some reason this reminds me of a publisher I looked at years ago, don't ask because I can't remember the name, but after you read all they did you get to the bottom and you see in fine print about how they can't gaurantee that your work submitted to them won't be like ther work of one of their other authors. To me that sounded like if you sent in a mss that wasn't copyrighted then they would take it and put it under one of their authors names. Man I wish I could remember who that was.
Kevin |
BlueMonkeyBobo (Unregistered Guest)
Work-in-progress guest
Posted From: 24.160.223.30
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Friday, April 09, 2004 - 08:25 pm: | |
Alrighty... Updates, if it matters...
They accepted the book, and are drafting a contract now. What this makes me think (combined with the fact that they are less than 2 years old) is that they are still establishing themselves. Oh well. I have spent a lot of time looking at their site and have basically decided that I cannot make a final decision until I see their contract. However, one plus is that they intimated at least once that the book would be published in hardback form... |
Laurel Johnson
Unity Member
Post Number:
2831
Registered: 01-2002
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Saturday, April 10, 2004 - 06:10 am: | |
That's good so far BMB. Just keep us posted on your take on the contract. |
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