Our research files indicate that there are several good publishing houses that could be the right publisher for you. However our criteria for a publisher are very strong in the area of "what can the publisher do for an un-known first time author".
When you review publishers vs benefits, only ONE stands out. When we review what the publisher said that they can do for the accepted author and what they actual done, there still is only one.
TATE PUBLISHING & ENTERPRISES, LLC
127 E. Trade Center Terrace |
888.361.9473 Toll Free | 405.376.4412 Direct
Line | 405.376.4401 Fax
The price of any scam is too much. We would like to think that everything that doesn't work out for us is a scam. Truth is that is just not so. In the past four years that we have researched alleged publishing scams we have found that over 85% are just poor business practices. Yes 85%. That being said, we do believe that there‘re people and companies that are set up to take Author’s money. BUT!.... this is very hard to prove and with the recent changes in Internet Law it is precarious to just wildly print names and companies. What you can use to protect yourself is to research every item that is offered to you as a writer/author
Research shows that there’re some people in the blogging world that state with false security that a true author would never pay to publish.
"The money always flows down to the author!” Anything less then an
advance and contract from a traditional publisher is a fake and the world will not recognize the author’s
hard work.
A closer look at these bloggers shows that there are many
who use pay for print companies such as Lulu. Author house, Dog ear,
etc. Some are just e-book authors or e-zines. Not all of them follow the path that they
post about. Nothing is wrong with that.
However some of these bloggers take an air of Holy professionalism
and absolute wisdom that is hard to understand, given the fact that most of
them post anonymously and in groups. Kinda like a shark fest. and they aren’t
accountable to anyone, nor are their names posted on the internet as one who
wasn't very factual in their allegations about other companies.
In some of these posts they have more drama then actual fact. They fill
their posts with sensational words like scam, scammer, and bold statements
like, “you must like being a victim” etc.
The whole thought of getting professional insight is tossed to the wind.
They claim advanced knowledge about everything remotely connected to
publishing. If you are of a different opinion then the posts are quickly turned
to mean and un-professional. You either agree with their posts or they attack.
When they’re proven wrong in their postings they attack the poster. Very little factual
professional information or behavior is exchanged. They have a list of companies
that they don’t like for what ever reason. Maybe their manuscript was turned down,
what ever the reason. They even claim to know scams and scammers without
providing any facts. Just their highly charged opinions.
A research of their blogs has shown that when they’re confronted
with true facts about a company, then like a child they claim the report is
false. The poster is false, a shill, a victim of that company that doesn’t know
any better. These bloggers must have thelast word; after all it’s their web site.
A first time author doesn’t stand much of a chance to get real professional help.
READERS BEWARE!
Paying to publish is not
bad. Thousands of authors are doing it and are very glad they did.
What do you want?
What can you afford?
Look at what the company is offering.
When the price is more than you can afford. If you have to
take a loan out, borrow, steal or otherwise, don’t do it. The publishing
experience has to be a good one, not fill with stress.
What is a good price?
Depends on what you’re getting.
If you’re getting;
editing services, marketing services and support, great book cover design,
an audio book, an e-book, a free web page, then I think that you need to realize
that this all costs money. So price is like buying a home, it depends on the options.
What will the price say about the home owner?
What will your publisher’s product say about you the author?
Scrimping on your book is limiting your chances for success.
There isn’t anything wrong with paying for what you get.
The author needs to think about what it is they want. For example, what are your goals?
Get the book into print?
Want it to be available to the world, major book stores and buyers?
Facts:
There’re a lot of methods / ways to get your book in print. There use to be just three ways.
Vanity, Subsidy and Traditional. But ALL the publishers are changing
their business model and their services often fall into other categories.
You can no longer apply set standards to the three types. They need to keep up with the latest trends.
So look at each publishing company and the list of services that they will offer. That list could be,
Editing. This is so very important. Nothing says stupid like a bad manuscript.
Book cover design. If you book cover look bad, so will your sale numbers.
Marketing services. A new author might have some trouble figuring this part out on their own,
because not everybody is a marketing expert. Help is needed.
Audio books. This is the hottest and newest market coming from the publishing world.
E-books. The neatest way for buyer on the move to get a book to read while they travel.
Distributors. This is a relationship for publishers and buyers only.
Rarely does an author work with a distributor one on one.
An author needs a publisher that has a strong relationship with a distributor.
ALL of these services cost money.
If you start at Vanity historically you’ll get a very limited list of services.
They basically print the book, no editing, no design etc. The price is what ever
they charge. Hopefully it reflects what services they’re offering.
Some Vanity publishers offer more than others.Subsidy, on the other hand offers
a little more. But you have to look at just what it is that they‘re offering.
Traditional publishers are touted as ones who offers advances, the authors never pay anything
and thru their process it legitimizes one as a “published” author. Traditional publisher are
changing too. However the facts are that waiting for them to discover you may never happen.
And as stated in another posting this is not the only way to become a published author.
These three types of publishers are fast changing into hybrids. Anything goes.
The prices are changing too. The old adage, you get what you pay for is a fact.
Weight out what you’re getting for the price. The more options you get the better the
chances are for your book to be a success.
According to some of the web-sites, the only time you're considered published is when the author is published thru a "Traditional" publisher. If an author uses any other avenue, such as POD (publish on demand) companies, vanity or subsidy presses, the author(s) will NOT be recognized as a "published" author and the label "self-published" will be stamp on the author like a scarlet letter.
In addition these bloggers claim that no agent(s) will even consider looking at the book for representation.
Facts:
These remarks are false and self serving. An author is published once he, she or they get their ISBN number and the book is released. Released in any media form. ie. hardcopy, audio, e-book, etc. There are many author(s) who had their book "self-publish" and they're considered published. I would point out that the Bible is one example. Rick Warren's book is another. There are thousands of books that got their start using publishers that were not considered "Traditional".
Yes there are agents that will not represent these author(s) but the reason is more likely to be that the book isn't strong enough, good enough or it isn't what the agent is looking for.
Additionally, some simple research of some of these bloggers shows that they're are using "non-traditional" methods to publish their books. Such as e-books, e-zines and of course the pay to publish companies. Very few of them have "traditional" contracts. Some of the bloggers openly advertise for these publishers and some companies in return advertise on those blog sites. This is known as having a private agenda.
Welcome to Publishingfacts.com.
Hosted for the purpose of posting true facts about the publishing industry. It has become all too evident that not all blogs / forums are professional and factual in their postings. It has become a very un-stable source for those authors that are truly researching for factual information about publishing, marketing and general education. We're an educational research site. We’re not a personal complaint site.
Our posting rules are: