Very long title I know.
Right. Here’s the ground rules for this post. I WILL NOT tell people what press this is. I talked with people to come to the conclusion I did, but I am withholding one reason. I won’t talk money, nor what the contract specifics were. If you ask, I’ll politely decline to answer, and if you state as fact that it was ‘x press’ I will not approve your comment. I don’t normally put this sort of rule on my comments, but it’s important to say this up front because it’s not where I want the focus of this to be.
That said…
Four months ago, I finished a sci-fi collection that an editor friend of mine had said she wanted to see. I trusted that she worked with a good press, but told her that while they were considering it, I would be doing my research, and wasn’t committing to signing with them. She said that was fine and I thought nothing more of it. To be honest, it’s a three part story, and I didn’t really think that it was worth worrying about. And then I started in my new job and forgot about it entirely.
Last month, editor friend wrote back and said ‘I’ve left that press, but they wanted your book before I left, here’s your new contact’. Editor friend wasn’t specific about why she left, but I know she’s married and planning her own family, so to be honest, I didn’t think much about it. We chatted about other stuff and then I got in touch with the new editor.
The new editor offered me a contract on the spot, four days after my email. Contract included a modest advance covering the three books and some notes about the stuff they really felt needed addressed, and that we’d be looking at during edits.
All good, right?
All of this is great, right? Major ego boost to be offered a contract on the spot, and it’d let me release the books without needing to find editing/cover art (which isn’t as difficult) and doing my own formatting. But alarm bells had already started ringing.
Two other people I knew in passing had left the same press. One author was trying to buy themselves out of their contract (which, on it’s own gives me the screaming willies to be fair), and another friend was lamenting the fact that her books were constantly unavailable on Amazon because her press wasn’t keeping them in stock. The one link? Same press, or imprint of press.
Digging deeper…
Digging deeper there were some grumbles about the press but nothing serious. There were no warnings at Preditors and Editors. But the press was going downhill. Sales were dropping on all of their books, and the authors leaving were talking about delays on the last couple of royalty statements, and while they’d been treated well, things weren’t looking good.
Something just wasn’t sitting right with me. Even with the advance, it didn’t seem like a safe bet (not to mention, I would be quite concerned about taking an advance if they hadn’t paid royalties to others).
So, I turned down the contract
One of the major lessons I learned from all of this is that even contracts that look good on the surface, even from apparently reputable presses, in this day and age, you need to be careful. I feel really bad turning them down, but given the mix of my friend leaving, other writers taking their back lists and not subbing new books, and royalties starting to fall by the wayside.
Remember when I said at the start that I wouldn’t name the press – there is another reason for it. All of the authors are already aware of what’s going on and are talking about it on various forums. I don’t need to add my non-signed up noise to that. I’ve got no right to muddy the waters, and I might have the wrong end of the stick. It could just be turnover.
What do you guys think? Am I overreacting? Are a couple of blips something that shouldn’t matter? Or do you think I made the right choice?
D Kai Wilson- Viola is a prolific and often intensely fun writer. Her favorite genres are Sci-Fi, where her Darkness series is set, Fantasy, where she writes up actual play from RPGs she never got to run, urban fantasy, mostly inspired by her bad idea bear (aka her partner, Tempus, and mental health advocacy, as she’s got a raft of diagnoses, none of them particularly pleasant, but none that tend to hold her down for long either
When not writing, and still *thinking* about writing often enough to get caught out, Kai can be found training with her beloved at the Ludosport Academy they belong to, hanging out with family and friends gaming, or enjoying exploring parts of the world they’ve got access to at the time.
A nature and animal lover, Kai is a writer because she has to, because she loves it, and because it’s fun. She is the mother of two cats, two adults and lives in the Cotswolds, UK, with her beloved.
I definitely agree with your decision to let this press slip by without another thought. Again, that’s why I love being an indie author. Being one who loves control, this suits me well. Being one with an entrepreneurial spirit anyway, this ability to be indie is even better. Yes, it’s work, but if presses/publishers don’t do anything much more to support the ones helping them with their bread and butter, then I’ll just go nibble some crackers by myself and be just fine without all the worry, anger, and hassle. According to Joe Konrath, if you happened to make it big as an indie and a big press offered you a six-figure-plus advance, then that’s where you might stop and think a little more. It’s about the money, in this case. Just my humble two-cents worth!
I definitely agree with your decision to let this press slip by without another thought. Again, that’s why I love being an indie author. Being one who loves control, this suits me well. Being one with an entrepreneurial spirit anyway, this ability to be indie is even better. Yes, it’s work, but if presses/publishers don’t do anything much more to support the ones helping them with their bread and butter, then I’ll just go nibble some crackers by myself and be just fine without all the worry, anger, and hassle. According to Joe Konrath, if you happened to make it big as an indie and a big press offered you a six-figure-plus advance, then that’s where you might stop and think a little more. It’s about the money, in this case. Just my humble two-cents worth!
Good for you! Many publishers take advantage of authors, and many authors are too afraid to stand up for themselves. You used your common sense and I think it’ll serve you well.
Good for you! Many publishers take advantage of authors, and many authors are too afraid to stand up for themselves. You used your common sense and I think it’ll serve you well.
You did the right thing. We all need to be careful of companies and contracts despite our desire to be published.
You did the right thing. We all need to be careful of companies and contracts despite our desire to be published.
So good to double-check. Those were huge warnings signs.
And you can still enjoy knowing that a publisher wanted your books on the spot – they are that good. And they will sell well on their own, without a publisher.
So good to double-check. Those were huge warnings signs.
And you can still enjoy knowing that a publisher wanted your books on the spot – they are that good. And they will sell well on their own, without a publisher.
Sounds like a smart choice to me.
Sounds like a smart choice to me.