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Original poster

Should I go with this publisher?

77 replies

namechange1032 · 16/08/2023 23:47

I've had a contract sent to me by a publisher. I should be delighted but feel really down as the publisher has tacky book covers and seems to sell a lot of romance and erotica.

My book is a crime novella. I have a writer friend who told me to pass on the publisher. I'm still waiting to hear back from 40 publishers, or thereabouts so it's early days. I'm really concerned that if I turn down this publisher, that I won't get another offer. My writer friend says, you've got one offer so should get another and to take the gamble. I really don't know what to do.

The publisher has already reformatted my book. I told them to stop work on the book until I've signed the contract. They said ok. If I accept I'd speak to the society of authors to check over the contract.

What would you do?

OP posts:
MissBattleaxe · 27/08/2023 07:08

I'm sorry but I'm a little dubious. It's rare for an unagented debut writer to get published on the strength of a debut novella. If you couldn't get an agent did you at any point get your work professionally edited or wonder what you could do to improve it?

ChubbyMorticia · 27/08/2023 07:17

I can only speak from the agented side, but when receiving an offer from an agent, the SOP is to notify everyone else who has the query or has requested materials. Perhaps nudging the other publishers would be the thing to do?

I also find it very odd that a publisher is setting the deadline, as with agents, it’s usually the author who sets the timeline. Even when an agent has received an offer for a client, my understanding is that the publisher is the one to wait, to find out if there’s going to be an auction, or, in the case of a pre-empt, if it’s accepted or not.

I’m VERY wary of any publishing industry professionals pressuring authors. Sends off alarm bells for me.

Shakespeareshead · 27/08/2023 08:09

I think perhaps you need to rethink what you are doing here. Clearly, you are approaching very small publishers whose code of conduct is not quite the same as bigger trad publishers. Anyone pressuring you into signing a contract by a date, whilst you have yet to check the contract with legal, and have not answered your fundamental questions about distribution should be avoided!!

You are desperate to be published - and this is affecting good decision making. What’s the point of being in these situations with publishers who make you nervous and who you’ve said previously have little reach.

honestly, I would sit back and have a rethink. Get an agent, let them help you find the right publisher. Accept this is a process, play the long game and get it right.

Original poster
namechange1032 · 27/08/2023 18:31

MissBattleaxe · 27/08/2023 07:08

I'm sorry but I'm a little dubious. It's rare for an unagented debut writer to get published on the strength of a debut novella. If you couldn't get an agent did you at any point get your work professionally edited or wonder what you could do to improve it?

I didn't bother looking for an agent as I didn't think an agent would be interested in a novella. I've applied directly to publishers who a. Accepted novellas and b. Were open to authors without agents. I have confidence in my book and am happy with it. I'm not going to get it edited.

OP posts:
Original poster
namechange1032 · 27/08/2023 18:36

ChubbyMorticia · 27/08/2023 07:17

I can only speak from the agented side, but when receiving an offer from an agent, the SOP is to notify everyone else who has the query or has requested materials. Perhaps nudging the other publishers would be the thing to do?

I also find it very odd that a publisher is setting the deadline, as with agents, it’s usually the author who sets the timeline. Even when an agent has received an offer for a client, my understanding is that the publisher is the one to wait, to find out if there’s going to be an auction, or, in the case of a pre-empt, if it’s accepted or not.

I’m VERY wary of any publishing industry professionals pressuring authors. Sends off alarm bells for me.

I'm not sure I can nudge the publisher's although that sounds like a good idea. I didn't respond to the offer, so the editor said if she hadn't heard from me by the first of September she'll take that as a no.

I understand what you mean though. The contract is currently with the SoA, and won't be back for a while. So I need to let the editor know that.

OP posts:
Original poster
namechange1032 · 27/08/2023 18:44

Shakespeareshead · 27/08/2023 08:09

I think perhaps you need to rethink what you are doing here. Clearly, you are approaching very small publishers whose code of conduct is not quite the same as bigger trad publishers. Anyone pressuring you into signing a contract by a date, whilst you have yet to check the contract with legal, and have not answered your fundamental questions about distribution should be avoided!!

You are desperate to be published - and this is affecting good decision making. What’s the point of being in these situations with publishers who make you nervous and who you’ve said previously have little reach.

honestly, I would sit back and have a rethink. Get an agent, let them help you find the right publisher. Accept this is a process, play the long game and get it right.

Edited

I don't think an agent will take on a novella which is why I didn't apply to any. Instead I've gone directly to the publishers who accept unagented books.

The publisher got back to me and said that they distribute books throughout n America so the book will be in bookshops. It's not a print on demand publisher.

I do have a lot of publishers yet to hear from but they're taking their time to get back to me. I'm just obviously concerned that this will be my only offer and if I say no, I blow it. They're a small publisher but they distribute across the State's, it could be a good opportunity.

They've not pressurising me to sign the contract, they're pressuring me to give an answer, whether I want to accept the offer. The contract is with SoA at the moment getting checked out. It won't be back in time for the deadline anyway. I'll let them know.

OP posts:
Shakespeareshead · 27/08/2023 20:02

Ok. Have they told you the initial print run?

NoSquirrels · 27/08/2023 20:16

OP, any publisher who accepts unsolicited submissions from unagented writers, and publishes novellas, is not going to give you the same experience as an author at a large commercial publisher. So you have to make peace with that, really - your genre (speculative elements within crime), length of book (short!), and your unagented status means the publishers who will offer will probably not give you the full bells and whistles for author care, marketing and publicity etc. They’ll have a more fiction-factory approach to getting lots of books out as efficiently as possible, hence the deadline pressure to accept.

That doesn’t mean they’ll do a bad job, necessarily- it’s just that their version of a successful publication might not match yours. You need to be realistic about your ambitions, I think.

NoSquirrels · 27/08/2023 20:21

I don't think an agent will take on a novella which is why I didn't apply to any.

Also, just to challenge this a little. Agents don’t want their writers to give them novellas because publishers don’t want novellas. However, agents are talent-spotters - they can read your novella and see that you could have potential to write a great crime series, for instance. They can help you develop your writing to be more commercially saleable. So in pitching to get an agent you wouldn’t say ‘here’s my one and only novella’, you’d say ‘here’s my novella and here’s what I’m going to write next…’

Original poster
namechange1032 · 27/08/2023 21:24

Shakespeareshead · 27/08/2023 20:02

Ok. Have they told you the initial print run?

No they haven't and I haven't asked. I can ask them now.

OP posts:
Original poster
namechange1032 · 27/08/2023 21:32

NoSquirrels · 27/08/2023 20:16

OP, any publisher who accepts unsolicited submissions from unagented writers, and publishes novellas, is not going to give you the same experience as an author at a large commercial publisher. So you have to make peace with that, really - your genre (speculative elements within crime), length of book (short!), and your unagented status means the publishers who will offer will probably not give you the full bells and whistles for author care, marketing and publicity etc. They’ll have a more fiction-factory approach to getting lots of books out as efficiently as possible, hence the deadline pressure to accept.

That doesn’t mean they’ll do a bad job, necessarily- it’s just that their version of a successful publication might not match yours. You need to be realistic about your ambitions, I think.

To tell you the truth, I just want to get my book out there. I'm not expecting red carpet treatment. I just want my book published and not to get ripped off. My expectations are pretty low. This publisher offers 50 percent royalties and 25 dollars up front and I'm happy with that. Im also expecting to do some hard graft marketing the book.

My biggest bugbear is the fact that this is for an anthology and I would prefer it to be sold as a book rather than an anthology.

OP posts:
Original poster
namechange1032 · 27/08/2023 21:36

NoSquirrels · 27/08/2023 20:21

I don't think an agent will take on a novella which is why I didn't apply to any.

Also, just to challenge this a little. Agents don’t want their writers to give them novellas because publishers don’t want novellas. However, agents are talent-spotters - they can read your novella and see that you could have potential to write a great crime series, for instance. They can help you develop your writing to be more commercially saleable. So in pitching to get an agent you wouldn’t say ‘here’s my one and only novella’, you’d say ‘here’s my novella and here’s what I’m going to write next…’

Plenty of publishers take novellas as they're popular with ebook readers. I found thirty publishers who take novellas. They're not big publishers though so I can't imagine agents being interested in them.

OP posts:
Original poster
namechange1032 · 27/08/2023 21:50

namechange1032 · 27/08/2023 21:24

No they haven't and I haven't asked. I can ask them now.

Show quote history

So I asked and the publisher said Printing is initially based on preorders and then on average sales each month.

Which sounds pretty low.

OP posts:
determinedtomakethiswork · 27/08/2023 22:25

Can I ask whether you are expected to pay them?

Original poster
namechange1032 · 27/08/2023 22:48

determinedtomakethiswork · 27/08/2023 22:25

Can I ask whether you are expected to pay them?

No there's nothing in the contract about payment to them.

OP posts:
Shakespeareshead · 28/08/2023 07:02

namechange1032 · 27/08/2023 21:50

So I asked and the publisher said Printing is initially based on preorders and then on average sales each month.

Which sounds pretty low.

Show quote history

Ok, so theoretically you might not see one sale. If there are no preorders?

you have to do what you want to do and I won’t post again, but I think this is a waste of your time. You’re better of self publishing than handing over to a tiny publisher with whom your work is not even being published solely, but within an anthology and whose print intentions are very basic without any real marketing, no doubt.

I totally get you want to be published. I did too.

but you keep coming on here, getting good advice and kinda ignoring it? Moving from one tiny publisher to another - they are all going to have similar set ups. So I guess either go for it, wait it out for a bigger publisher or stop and revisit your strategy.

I do really understand the desire to be published but don’t be hasty.

ChubbyMorticia · 28/08/2023 08:01

Pre-orders? Who’s expected to drum up the interest for that? You mentioned doing marketing work, which all authors are unfortunately being expected to do, even with large publishers. I say unfortunately because the reality of it is, authors efforts don’t tend to move the needle in the same way a publisher marketing a book can.

I’m not sure what you mean about not getting it edited. If you mean not paying for a private service, that’s reasonable, but any publisher worth their salt will be expecting edits.

Abra1t · 28/08/2023 08:16

Paddleboarder · 17/08/2023 20:53

They don't sound at all credible to me. The royalties are definitely not what you would expect from a traditional publisher - normally you'd only get about 10 percent of the retail price as obviously print publishing has high costs. It sounds more like some kind of print on demand thing to me which would mean no physical copies in any shops.

Tread with caution because if they own the rights for 3 years but your book doesn't reach an audience because they don't market then you are much, much worse off than self publishing because your book won't be selling and you won't be able to do anything.

I get 50% of net royalties with one of my three publishers on ebooks. It’s not that uncommon. Print is obviously a bit different but print doesn’t make up most of my revenue.

blackrabbitwhiterabbit · 28/08/2023 13:25

Can you pm me the name of the newer publisher? Then I can do some research! Just an idea.

User601 · 28/08/2023 16:57

In your position I would say no to this one. You could then simply put this novella aside and move on to the next book (it would be easier to sell the novella if you had a popular series already published). You are very concerned about this one short book, whereas readers and publishers are likely to prefer a series. Self-publishing a book isn't difficult or expensive. The difficult part is the marketing. So that might be something to revisit if you're desperate to be in print. If you don't want to format it yourself, get someone on Fiverr to do it. And you can choose your own cover.

Original poster
namechange1032 · 28/08/2023 18:50

Shakespeareshead · 28/08/2023 07:02

Ok, so theoretically you might not see one sale. If there are no preorders?

you have to do what you want to do and I won’t post again, but I think this is a waste of your time. You’re better of self publishing than handing over to a tiny publisher with whom your work is not even being published solely, but within an anthology and whose print intentions are very basic without any real marketing, no doubt.

I totally get you want to be published. I did too.

but you keep coming on here, getting good advice and kinda ignoring it? Moving from one tiny publisher to another - they are all going to have similar set ups. So I guess either go for it, wait it out for a bigger publisher or stop and revisit your strategy.

I do really understand the desire to be published but don’t be hasty.

Show quote history

I am taking in what people are telling me. I'm not going with this publisher as they are depending on pre orders and I think my book will just disappear. I'm not being hasty. I sent off the contract to be checked out and sought advice.

OP posts:
Original poster
namechange1032 · 28/08/2023 18:52

blackrabbitwhiterabbit · 28/08/2023 13:25

Can you pm me the name of the newer publisher? Then I can do some research! Just an idea.

I would send it to you and thanks for the offer but I've decided not to go with them.

OP posts:
Original poster
namechange1032 · 28/08/2023 18:54

ChubbyMorticia · 28/08/2023 08:01

Pre-orders? Who’s expected to drum up the interest for that? You mentioned doing marketing work, which all authors are unfortunately being expected to do, even with large publishers. I say unfortunately because the reality of it is, authors efforts don’t tend to move the needle in the same way a publisher marketing a book can.

I’m not sure what you mean about not getting it edited. If you mean not paying for a private service, that’s reasonable, but any publisher worth their salt will be expecting edits.

I meant I'm not going to pay to get it edited. I would expect a publisher to want edits. It's because their strategy is pre-orderes, that I'm not going with them.

OP posts:
Findmeahammer · 28/08/2023 18:56

I honestly think you're not going to find much difference between these publishers you're targeting...

Original poster
namechange1032 · 28/08/2023 18:57

User601 · 28/08/2023 16:57

In your position I would say no to this one. You could then simply put this novella aside and move on to the next book (it would be easier to sell the novella if you had a popular series already published). You are very concerned about this one short book, whereas readers and publishers are likely to prefer a series. Self-publishing a book isn't difficult or expensive. The difficult part is the marketing. So that might be something to revisit if you're desperate to be in print. If you don't want to format it yourself, get someone on Fiverr to do it. And you can choose your own cover.

My novella is part one of a trilogy, so it is a series. I'm turning down this offer because of their sales strategy ie depending on pre orders .I'm waiting to hear back from another twenty publishers, so won't be putting it aside just yet.

OP posts: