Cobblestone Press

About any problems or feedback they would like to give about the site or their books or their covers. Anything, really. You have to keep your mouth shut or be attacked. It's as simple as that. I really can't be more specific in order to remain anonymous.

Oh, and I wanted to get this in before one or the other has a chance to come back and talk about how open they are and how none of their writers are afraid to talk to them. Obviously that isn't true, or there wouldn't be people on here complaining about them. Many have left quietly, because that is the safest way. Others have been told they will fail without them, which is ridiculous. CP has very low sales and it's most likely due to the fact that whoever designed their site doesn't know anything about SEO. Do a search for "erotic romance" or "erotica ebooks" and they are nowhere to be seen! I wish I had done that first, since my new publisher is always on the first page of google. If readers can't find the site, they can't find your books. And that is a much bigger problem than the owners' personality issues.

**Note- I don't write for Cobblestone and have never worked with them. All information below comes from author contacts that do work for them and/or public domain on the internet. As always, do your own research and make your own opinions before signing, or not, with any publisher***

Been hearing from authors with Cobblestone that they are not happy about payment and major lack of communication issues. Not with the pub myself and I'm not going to throw authors names out there that wish to remain anon. Instead I'll direct your attention to this blog post((copy and pasted the parts about Cobblestone)):

http://mercyceleste.blogspot.com/2011/08/book-news-and-ranting-tangent.html?zx=97803224e7695383

And in already published news. Cobblestone Press has finally decided to list The Fifty First Thursday (The 51st Thursday) and In From the Cold with distributors. I know that All Romance e-books has both books. Fictionwise has 51 with a discount. The books are listed as being available at Barnes and Noble but damned if I can find them. They are however, not available at Amazon as of this moment. 51 was released in mid-March and Cold April 29 and they are just now becoming available at the secondary markets.

I'm going on the record as saying I'm not happy with Cobblestone Press's business practice. I have no idea why it took so long after the original release to link with other distributors. I was not happy with finding out 51 was published through twitter. It would have been really nice if some one had dropped me a line letting me know it was scheduled. and in the same vein I am not happy that they changed the title on the cover to numerical without consulting me or explaining why. I was not happy with how the cover art for Cold was handled. I love the cover and do not fault the artist. He turned in the art a month before release and I wasn't sent it until the day of release. I am not happy with the formatting of Cold. And the editing process for that book made me angry. Seven books edited now and only one pissed me off. I will not go into detail. Let's just say small errors were not found that should have been found of which I will take the blame. But the editor did things no other editor would dare do and that's being nice. Yes I complained. Cobblestone Press no longer answers my email. So suffice it to say, I made a mistake in choosing them. I researched their business practice in December and January and liked what I saw. The reality is...don't judge a book by it's cover. I have a clause in my contract that states I can't say anything bad about the company. Slander liable whatever. If it's true then it's neither. I can't get my rights back to my books but I can simply state I did not like the way I was treated. I asked questions that were either ignored or I was told do it or else. I would not allow the editor to rewrite my book (Cold) in her words, voice. I did not play nice with her. Ask me to fix it. Do not do it yourself and expect me to say yeah whatevs because that won't fly. My story my voice mine. My mistakes my fixes mine. And I will not make the same mistake again. I have a finished sequel to Cold. And a third Quinn and Nathan story brewing. These books will be self published later this year and next year. I'll keep you up to date. So all I can say is if you are targeting Cobblestone Press is writer beware.

I will go on record as one of those very unhappy with Cobblestone Press.

My experience with them demonstrates a poor record of making on-time payments, a failure to disclose all retail sales and lack of making my books available in a major market, despite promises to the contrary. My first book was published on Aug 12, 2010 and as of Aug 6, 2011, it still is not available on Amazon.

When I say poor record, I have received 1 royalty check from them in six months. The royalty statements show small sales, however, there is not a minimum earned for payout clause in the contract.

Even more disturbing, during the time my royalty statement shows very small sales on the publisher's website, I was the number one menage , erotica, and mystery seller at two different online vendors. I was also the number 11 best-selling author on one of the sites for a month, and that retailer is NOT currently listed on my royalty statements, nor have I ever been paid for a single book sold on that site. Even if the retailer pays quarterly, the statement should show that your book is for sale on the site.

My latest email to the publisher was sent Aug 2. Four days later and I have yet to receive an acknowledgment, let alone a response.

As of this morning, 8/11/2011, I received an email indicating my request to dissolve my contract would be granted. The books are no longer available on the publisher's site and on at least one of the retail sites. A formal release is promised once "everything is settled," however, there is no indication what or when that might be. I will update .

Cobblestone released me from my contract, but I have not yet received payment for books sold. I am finished discussing Cobblestone other than a brief update to let you know if I receive payment.

I do think that it's important to let every potential author read the last line in the final email sent to me by one of the owners. Her title is listed below the line, and the emphasis in the sentence is hers.

"Additionally, absolutely no where in our contract does it state when, where, or IF we will distribute books to other venues.

All the best,
Deanna Lee, Publisher & Editor-In-Chief
Cobblestone Press, LLC
www.cobblestone-press.com
[email protected]
[email protected]"

My blog is the one Ann Mayburn linked to in comment 28. I've put off coming here to avoid further controversy. As of now I am no longer published by Cobblestone Press. I asked for and was granted almost immediately my rights to both books back. I hate that it took going public to get the owners to respond to email and author complaints. I will not longer publicly discuss the publisher but I will not take down the posts. Any author who feels they are being treated unfairly should not hesitate to make their issues known. Stick to the truth and be nice. May it work out for you. And may you have future success.

Have things changed with Cobblestone since August 2011? Has anyone heard that they've gotten back on track?

That was only a few weeks ago, and reflects things that happened over many months or even years.

D Jay said:

Have things changed with Cobblestone since August 2011? Has anyone heard that they've gotten back on track?

Click to expand...

No, sadly things have not changed. I have a friend who is with Cobblestone and she has requested her books back as the sales from Cobblestone are so bad and they never pay on time. They will not even reply to her emails. She is now having to seek legal advice.

Six months ago I asked for a story back that was published in 2006. It's earned out the contract. They said it would take them time to remove it from sales. I do realize that, but six months later, they haven't even taken it down from their site. I get regular royalty payments from them for about $2 so it's not worth leaving it with them. They have another short that still under contract but nothing else of mine goes to them.

Another Dissatisfied Cobblestone Author

I published seven books with Cobblestone in 2009-2010. My royalties never set the world on fire, but I will say that they've been consistent about getting me my royalties checks on time.

On the other hand, I have many more works published elsewhere now, and decided to terminate my contracts with Cobblestone and republish them. I sent them a letter in early May by certified mail, as required in the contract, notifying them of my intent to terminate the contract. They had 90 days to wind up the sales and provide me with a final accounting and a final payment for any royalties due.

I never heard a word from them. My books are still up on their website and on Amazon. After the required ninety days (and a few extra) I sent them a follow-up email. I still haven't heard a word from them, and the books are still up for sale.

At this point, I'm contemplating sending a DMCA notice to Cobblestone and to Amazon, as they are now selling my books without any legal right to do so. If that doesn't work, I may have to talk to a lawyer.

Mark
(aka Gail Roarke, among other pen names)

Oh, dear...I have a sinking sensation in the pit of my stomach, to go with the Cobblestone contract offer in my inbox.

Not much activity lately. Can't even find anything on Cobblestone online since November 2011, so I thought I'd update the situation as much as I can.

I've had it with them. I haven't given them anything of mine since 2010, so all my books have run through their exclusive contract, so I'm free to publish elsewhere. I've not heard from them about continuing, and I've received no response from the follow up email i sent them after mailing a certified letter, which they have yet to claim.

I have received monthly statements from them, all of them zero earnings. Their site hasn't been updated in 2 weeks, there is no "by author" page, or new releases page. Their forum is down, and After dark hasn't been updated since 2011. I checked on their corporate status. They neglected to file their annual report for over a year, so they were sent a notice to revoke/dissolve in July, so she finally got off her butt and sent in the annual report a few weeks ago. It also seems she moved, but nothing has been updated on the site or contract they have letting anyone know. I mailed the certified letter to their old address, so it will either forward or be returned. I don't really care either way. I just wish they would admit defeat and shut down the site, so my books won't be available through them anymore.

Anyone else have something to add?

I have always received monthly payments. My sales aren't great, but they continue to happen. Mostly from outside vendors, but I think that is probably the case for most ebooks nowadays.

However, very poor communication through their admin email address. Over the last two years or so, I have attempted to correct my name on tax documents. I filled out their update form a couple of times, but still get tax statements with incorrect name. Also had a question for them about one of my books, never got an answer.

The website does seem to be stuck in a time warp from 2011. Curious if your letter was returned to you, newbound? I tried to find anything with an updated mailing address, but to no avail.

They were wonderful in the early days. For some reason they couldn't keep up. Too bad.

I wanted to add my own update to my post. When I received my latest royalty check from Cobblestone, I noted their mailing address was listed on the check. For anyone who may be searching for an address for correspondence purposes, here is one you can try:

Cobblestone Press, LLC
6275 University Dr. NW Ste. 37
Huntsville, AL 35806

I looked this address up on Google Maps. It is a UPS Store in Huntsville. Guessing mail and such can be received and signed for there. Hope that is useful for someone.

KE-writer said:

Cobblestone Press, LLC
6275 University Dr. NW Ste. 37
Huntsville, AL 35806

I looked this address up on Google Maps. It is a UPS Store in Huntsville. Guessing mail and such can be received and signed for there. Hope that is useful for someone.

Click to expand...

This is probably the address you need to use, although it is, the UPS store. I recently asked for my rights back to my stories via certified mail and sent it to the 1000 Tanglewood Dr. address in Clinton, MS. Although I received the signed return receipt back, I received an email today from the editor stating they had changed the address a year ago. Because of the tone of their email, I'm not going to ask for them to specify or anything else for that matter. I did receive a contract termination letter so it's all good. I'm going to return it and leave it at that.

Peace ~
CJ

The letter was returned to me. I then discovered this address for them, which I'm pretty sure is the owner's house (unless she moved again):

Cobblestone Press LLC
211 Lakeview Dr
Clinton, MS 39056-4414

I did get the release letter and my books are off their site. Deanna was actually nice about the whole thing. It was Sable who was horrible to deal with.

Oh, and I never received a full accounting of books sold, and I doubt I ever will.

Cobblestone Newbie

Greetings All,

I just got contracted with Cobblestone and, from my perspective, things have gone really well so far. Kate Austin, the Acquisitions Editor, was amazing from the very beginning. She was quick to respond to my submission, she loved my work, and gave tons of great advice to help my book shine. She even inspired me to write a different book and I resubmitted. Received a contract within 2 days of resubmitting. Every email I've sent has been replied to and all questions have been answered. And the contract is very professional, to the point, and fair.

I've heard mixed responses here, but I thought I would at least let people know how my experience has been so far. Who knows what the future holds? I will keep people updated as things unfold.

Cheers,

~MH~

I was thinking of sending them a short piece, but now I'll probably hold off and expand the piece for another publisher.

I'm very happy for you, Morgan, but I'll wait and see how current CP sales are before I commit.

Hi, folks,

Any news about Cobblestone in the last few months? The antho market seems to have gone sideways with Cleis dropping contracts willy-nilly, so Cobblestone is back on my radar, IF they've straightened out their drama.

I've heard nothing.

Hey guys.

I've been lurking on this particular thread. And well... in my brief experience with them, it was as Morgan Hunter said, Kate Austin replied to my submission within two days. She enjoyed my story and wants to send me a contract, but she found the title a little awkward (and I agree), so we came up with some ideas.

I was glad I'd finally gotten an acceptance. I did more research and am a little wary about what I've found. Half the time, I read, "This publisher is great!!" The other half, I read, "These guys are terrible."

So, I'm going in with some caution. Still exciting though! Anyway, I've peeked at a few stories they've published and actually enjoyed reading them for the most part~

Bumping thread for CryingKatie.

I'd be interested to know how Jasmine's experience with Cobblstone worked out. I submitted a novella to them, and received a reply within two weeks, accepting the MS.

However, the email contained nothing but an electronic e-book contract. No greeting, no word of welcome, and no comment on the story content. Unlike another publisher I work with (this MS is too erotic for them, sadly), this email was lacking in any human warmth.

I'm considering moving on and submitting elsewhere, after the bad feedback I've seen above.

Can anyone offer anything good?