It happened again. A writer got screwed, and I had to deliver the bad news.
I received a submission from a young lady who was excited about her newly self-published novel (and I do mean new – circa Feb. 2008). She gave me a quick synopsis and an offer to send me the book. Nothing was mentioned about submitting to me for publication. I was puzzled. Was she spamming me?
Uncharacteristically, I wrote back asking her why she sent this to me since her book is already pubbed. No, no, sez she, she thought self-pubbing (Infinity) was a better way to go to attract an editor or agent. Everyone join me in a collective ARRRGHHHH!!!! I went to Amazon, and there it was in all its glory – her self-pubbed novel.
This sort of thing wouldn’t be a blip on my radar except that I’ve seen this fairly often, and it troubles me. Not only is vanity publication a huge waste of financial resources, it destroys the author’s potential. How? The author is basically damaged goods now because the book is already on the market and has wormed its way through all the online stores and databases. I want to be the first to crack open a story, and the author has taken that away.
Let’s pretend that I wanted this woman’s book. Before I would even be willing to touch it, she has to cancel her deal with Infinity that’s all of a month old and thousands of spent dollars. Infinity has to remove the title from their site and all the online stores. This can sometimes take months and is frustrating as all get out because it requires my constant attention. Since titles live on forever in databases, I’d have to give it a new title, obviously new cover art, and substantial editing. The substantial edits are required because we’d be working to separate ourselves from the original release. With all the fabulous unpublished manuscripts out there, I’m simply not going to put that many editing hours into this one. Instead, I’ll move on to something that’s unencumbered.
I don’t know who told this young woman that publishing with a vanity press was a good way to attract a better publisher or agent, but they lied. Big time. There was little for me to do but to wish her well and open the next submission.
5 books were read:
I suppose her best bet would be to hope the first book isn't a total flop and write a new book to shop around?
I agree because chances are this current book isn't ready for prime time anyway.
The problem (and my main cause of angst) is that the author pubbed her book with a vanity press on purpose because she believed this was the proper way to catch a publisher's attention. So even if she does write another book that's ten times better, she may turn around and commit the same offense. I simply hate it when authors get burned due to ignorance. Ah, pass me a Maalox.
Ouch! I actually have a bit of sympathy for this gal...
Of course, this again goes back to what we discussed: RESEARCH!
--Hard lesson learned.
S-
Please don't take this the wrong way, because I may be misunderstanding, but didn't you form your own publishing company to self publish initially, even if it has grown into a viable concern?
Your advice though is spot on, who is telling these people who cannot get picked up by mainstream legit publishers to throw money away?
I'm afraid that your information is wrong. Behler Publications is a direct result of my first book being scammed. I did everything that I warn others not to do. That's why I'm so passionate about authors not being taken in.
I saw the writing on the wall before my first book ever got out of "editing." While complaining to my husband one day about how I could do a better job than these idiots, the idea for Behler was borne. "Behler" is in honor of one of my main characters.
After doing a ton of research and talking with many industry experts, we opened our doors for business. Meanwhile, I sued to get my rights back and won. After an extensive rewrite, title change, new cover, and editing, my book did hit the presses where it went on to win a gold medal IPPY. Mind you, by the time my book came out, we had 25 titles in our lineup and numerous Publisher's Weekly, Library Journal,and Foreword Magazine reviews under our belt. In short, my book was simply one of many. This, by the way, isn't unusual to see an editor whose books are included in the lineup. I know of several very solid publishers who do the same thing. And why not?
who is telling these people who cannot get picked up by mainstream legit publishers to throw money away?
The vanity presses and Print On Demand companies do a lovely job at selling this entitlement notion - that it's every author's right to be published. It's a load, and the loser is always the author. Always, always, always.
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