Riptide Publishing

I met Rachel at a sci-fi convention this weekend and she invited me to submit my manuscript. I like them, they are a small press but they act like a big one, and seem super legit. The only thing I don't like is that they (currently) do not sell to Barnes and Noble, but well, I'll worry about that if they accept my book.

Btw, they don't just do M/M romance/erotica, as my book is a YA paranormal novel with bisexual protagonist. From what I can tell, they will take anything as long as the protagonist is on the LGBTQIA spectrum.

mbowman said:

The only thing I don't like is that they (currently) do not sell to Barnes and Noble, but well, I'll worry about that if they accept my book.

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I have 3 stories with Riptide (the latest release October 2013) and all 3 are available at B&N.

KariGregg said:

I have 3 stories with Riptide (the latest release October 2013) and all 3 are available at B&N.

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They're on the B&N website, but I think the OP might've been referring to the brick and mortar stores.

mbowman said:

The only thing I don't like is that they (currently) do not sell to Barnes and Noble, .

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They would be on the Barnes and Noble website. But digital first publishers in general are largely only able to get print books into big brick and mortar stores when they've sold a very large and impressive number of ebooks of at least one title of that author first. Although some bookstores will take various print books from digital first if they are fully returnable.

And if you were with a much bigger publisher, who did have some books in Barnes and Noble brick and mortar stores, you still couldn't really assume that your book would sell in Barnes and Noble.

I meant the brick and mortar stores, yes. Its just I do wish I could see myself in bookstores but well, its far too ahead at the moment to worry about that.

To update: Since fall of 2014, Riptide has opened their doors to general LGBTQ submissions.

I'm interested in submitting, but have heard some things about longer than the stated wait times. On the site, it says 12-16 weeks. Has anyone experienced longer times?

@c.m.n.,

I submitted a YA novel (straight guy, trans-girl relationship) to them and they took roughly six weeks to get back to me. This was for Triton Press, their new imprint. I suspect that they might be a little overwhelmed by the influx of new manuscripts. Their editor seems like a super-nice person and she gave me a pageful of notes on what she liked and didn't like about my novel. They seem like an up-and-up press. No way to tell with anyone, of course, but from what I've heard, they're legit.

My submission for their "Shades of the Rainbow" call just passed the 14-week mark.

And now i'll go back to trying not to think about it until the week after Valentine's Day.

Does anyone have recent experience with Riptide's response time on slush?

The confirmation email i rec'd in October said not to follow-up until the four-month window has closed which doesn't officially happen until tomorrow... A lot can change in four months, though.
TIA!

WriterInChains said:

Does anyone have recent experience with Riptide's response time on slush? The confirmation email i rec'd in October said not to follow-up until the four-month window has closed which doesn't officially happen until tomorrow... A lot can change in four months, though. TIA!

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I subbed in November, heard back at the beginning of February, and am now in the middle of a revise and resubmit. I would give them the full four months and a week, then send a note of follow-up.

Thanks, kimberlyFDR. It probably didn't make a difference that i didn't wait a whole extra week, since i got my R less than 24 hours after sending a nudge.

Congrats on your R&R!

One of the founders is trying to leave, but there's some legal problems and contract issues. I thought it was important to note that there was no failure to publish clause in his contract; I don't know if that's standard for Riptide contracts, or if it was a special case here. Plus also the importance of knowing how they treat authors/partners? I don't know how this will affect their day-to-day.

http://aleksandrvoinov.blogspot.co.uk/2015/10/why-i-cannot-publish-nightingale.html

I'd like to hear the Riptide side of it...

Is there a problem with the MS? Are they actually not planning to publish it? Why did he sign the contract if he didn't want them to publish the book?

I feel like there are things I'm not getting...

I can understand the frustrations of having no rights reversion on failure to publish, it's just a little unclear why a contract would be signed if Alex V intended to self-publish. Perhaps the partnership itself tied most of his works into a set contract, with maybe a more spoken agreement that he could self-pub if he chose?

*Sighs* It's hard when disagreements come up, and I hope it's something both sides can deal with. I know when I think of Riptide, I think of Alex V. (Just such a damn talented writer...)

Is this somehow related to the Belongingverse kurfuffle last year?

Fallen said:

I can understand the frustrations of having no rights reversion on failure to publish, it's just a little unclear why a contract would be signed if Alex V intended to self-publish. Perhaps the partnership itself tied most of his works into a set contract, with maybe a more spoken agreement that he could self-pub if he chose?

*Sighs* It's hard when disagreements come up, and I hope it's something both sides can deal with. I know when I think of Riptide, I think of Alex V. (Just such a damn talented writer...)

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Same. I was surprised to learn he was leaving. He's generally the writer I associate with Riptide.

Mr. Voinov is a fine writer and Riptide is a fine publisher. What a pity.

Filigree said:

Is this somehow related to the Belongingverse kurfuffle last year?

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I missed that. Do you have details?

Okaaay, I have now read Voinov's post. Wow. Let this serve all authors to never take 'family' or 'friends' as an excuse for a vague contract! I will not be submitting work to Riptide in the future.

- - - Updated - - -

Google Dear Author and Belongingverse.

Filigree said:

I will not be submitting work to Riptide in the future.

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Or you could just ask for changes to the contract...

Captcha said:

Or you could just ask for changes to the contract...

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That was why I brought it here; I wasn't sure if their boilerplate contract didn't include it or if it was in this instance only.

I also wasn't sure if it would affect regular operations, and thought that might be something to keep an eye on. I don't know what parts of the company Voinov is involved in.

That's my problem with the situation. If Riptide used that kind of vague language *with one of their founders*, what kinds of things will they slip in with a nobody like me? Yes, I have a capable agent. But would that be worth her effort and mine? I'll wait to see what happens next.

Sorry if off topic but Filigree, you really seem to stay on top of these publishers. The next time I need advice on them, I know who I'll be bugging for it!

Riptide has sent an e-mail to authors - the contents don't seem to be public yet, so I won't post details, but this really does seem to be a one-of-a-kind situation, tied in much more closely to Voinov's part-ownership of the company and his exit strategy rather than anything that would affect authors in general. The e-mail was enough to put my mind at ease, given that I wasn't really accepting Voinov's drama from the start.

I've only got one book with Riptide, but I'll likely send them more. Their editing is the best I've found (including the editing I've gotten from the Big 5) and their contract really does seem author-friendly to me. They're definitely the only publisher I've had that pays royalties on the free books they send out for review!

Unless something new comes to light, I think this is just a conflict between business partners, not a publisher vs author issue.

I like Riptide and their very professional editing. I hope this a one-off situation. I don't know Aleks personally, but I have been reading between the lines in some of his previous blogs and interviews. Still, I'll be holding back on subbing anything to Riptide until I know more.

Fruitbat, it's not that I know much more than anyone, it's that I know where to start looking. Or bother to start looking in the first place. Plus, I can get hints of previous patterns being repeated in new situations.