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Sarah Book Publishing

amergina

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aliceshortcake

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Originally Posted by CherokeeParks
a simple look at the sample contract should put your minds at ease.

Not if your name is Victoria Strauss! :Thumbs:
 

LindaJeanne

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Those still concerned with the "No Up-Front" statements, a simple look at the sample contract should put your minds at ease. While it is a "sample" contract based on a standard publishing contract, there are some subtleties not shown from the official contract.

Is "subtleties" what you meant?

From http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/subtle
World English Dictionary
subtle (ˈsʌt ə l)

— adj
1. not immediately obvious or comprehensible
2. difficult to detect or analyse, often through being delicate or highly refined: a subtle scent
3. showing or making or capable of showing or making fine distinctions of meaning
4. marked by or requiring mental acuteness or ingenuity; discriminating
5. delicate or faint: a subtle shade
6. cunning or wily: a subtle rogue
7. operating or executed in secret: a subtle intrigue

C14: from Old French soutil, from Latin subtīlis finely woven

"Subtitles" are generally not desirable in a contract. Just sayin'.
 

CherokeeParks

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Okay, what started out as scrutiny is rapidly turning into a witch hunt.

The contract is a "sample" contract, so SBP doesn't give away any of the reasons why the currently signed authors like this company to the competition. I negotiated my contract with them, and found them highly flexible, not to mention the "official" contract contains some real perks. The contract is for the publishing rights, not control of the copyrighted material which remains always in the hands of the author. And there are protections for both parties to prevent any misunderstandings along the way. But here's the real deal, if you submit and are accepted, you can review the contract, or have your attorney review it, to your heart's content and negotiate to mutual satisfaction. No one will hold a gun to your head to make you sign it. Along with the contract comes an author packet with tons more info every author wants and needs to create a true partnership with the publisher geared toward success.

I've met my initial and 3 options, and will be entering into a codicil to extend my contract beyond those 4 - without hesitation.

As for the website, the "sister sites" I mentioned are those sites linked to the SBP site, and under the same ownership thus the similar looks company wide. A little looking around will provide one with lots to think about, or criticize if that's your forte.

Criticizing the good doctor must be fun, but failing to understand that he suffered through several vanity publisher's who promised editing that never came about while taking his money is exactly why his books came out reading as they do. They were not done by SBP, but since he owns the business can you blame him for selling his own books on the site? After all, it was HIS money that provided the seed to get it started.

Criticizing the business model is also a questionable act. The same model has been used effectively in his medical practice, his real estate ventures, and every other area of interest he has. So why would someone who can make money at so many other things invest so much in a publishing company, especially when the track record for new publishing companies is so dismal?

Passion. Pure and simple. He loves promoting all the arts, and as a fellow author who has been beaten to shreds by the unseemly in the industry, he decided to invest his money in a place where the author can get a fair shake and be treated with respect. The growing family of authors and literary agents is testimony to the fact that it's working. End of story.

I'm seeing the same questions and criticisms over and over, just worded differently. I've given you enough to investigate and decide for yourselves, and nothing more I can say will ever make a bit more difference in whether or not you take a chance on SBP and yourselves. No further progress can be accomplished by doing the same things over and over and expecting different results, so I'll back out of this conversation now. Merry Christmas, and Happy New Year.
 

Momento Mori

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CherokeeParks:
The contract is a "sample" contract, so SBP doesn't give away any of the reasons why the currently signed authors like this company to the competition.

A sample contract should be the company's standard terms and conditions subject to negotiation of individual clauses and change of key commercial terms. Speaking as a lawyer, I can tell you categorically that there should be no problem at all with SBP notifying people of its most basic contract terms. They're not state secrets, they're just a way of letting people make an informed decision. I could understand if some terms (e.g. royalty rates) were redacted or left blank until negotiated but the rest of it should not be a problem at all.

If SBP doesn't want people to see its standard terms and conditions, then it shouldn't put the contract up. It doesn't get to claim that there's a "sample contract" and then an "official contract". That's just stupid and it makes me automatically think that the company is being duplicitous.

And speaking as a lawyer, Victoria nailed every concern that I had when I read it. It's an appalling contract and very anti-author.

Cherokee, as a consultant to SBP I'd advise you to show that contract to your agent friends and see if they'd let one of their clients sign up to it.

CherokeeParks:
I negotiated my contract with them, and found them highly flexible, not to mention the "official" contract contains some real perks.

I hope that you substantially negotiated those terms because I wouldn't want anyone to be caught in something like that.

Further, given that you're both an author and consultant, I'm surprised that you'd be willing for other authors who may lack your sophistication to sign up to terms that are onerous and author unfriendly.

CherokeeParks:
The contract is for the publishing rights, not control of the copyrighted material which remains always in the hands of the author.

It doesn't matter if an author retains the copyright if they're also stuck with a duff publishing contract that's tied up their rights for the shorter of perpetuity and 7 years.

CherokeeParks:
And there are protections for both parties to prevent any misunderstandings along the way. But here's the real deal, if you submit and are accepted, you can review the contract, or have your attorney review it, to your heart's content and negotiate to mutual satisfaction. No one will hold a gun to your head to make you sign it. Along with the contract comes an author packet with tons more info every author wants and needs to create a true partnership with the publisher geared toward success.

Unless that author packet has contractual status, I don't care what's in it. It's not a legally binding document so there's nothing in it that I can use to enforce the "true partnership" that you're promoting.

You are right however in that anyone who has read this thread, still decides to submit to SBP and then gets accepted, should definitely review the contract and if they're still determined to sign up, have a lawyer experienced in publishing law review and negotiate the worst terms out of it.

CherokeeParks:
I've met my initial and 3 options, and will be entering into a codicil to extend my contract beyond those 4 - without hesitation.

Given your experience in publishing, I am very surprised that you signed up to that option clause without hesitation as it's not industry standard.

I'd be interested if you could come back in a year and let us know how the experience has been for you.

CherokeeParks:
Criticizing the good doctor must be fun, but failing to understand that he suffered through several vanity publisher's who promised editing that never came about while taking his money is exactly why his books came out reading as they do. They were not done by SBP, but since he owns the business can you blame him for selling his own books on the site? After all, it was HIS money that provided the seed to get it started.

I appreciate that he's suffered through being scammed and it's never nice. There's a Forum here dedicated to people who've been taken by outfits like PA so you can see that we do offer people support and try to steer people away from them before they suffer as your friend has.

However.

Being scammed does not qualify him to run a publishing company for other people. He doesn't have any publishing experience beyond bad publishing experience and having seen the staff list, I don't see anything there to suggest that those people have experience in their roles either.

Good intentions are fine but if you check out the index to this Forum you will find dozens and dozens of small publishers that have been started out by people with great intentions but which have gone under and taken people's books with it.

Think about how those authors felt when they lost their books because someone simply couldn't do what they promised to do.

CherokeeParks:
Criticizing the business model is also a questionable act.

Why is it a questionable act? The purpose of this board is to enable people to make informed decisions before submitting to publishers/agents. That means raising questions about a publisher's business model. You might not like the points being raised here, but that doesn't make them bad or unreasonable points. There's a lot here that would make me warn people away from SBP or at the very least give them another 2 years to see how they're doing.

CherokeeParks:
The same model has been used effectively in his medical practice, his real estate ventures, and every other area of interest he has. So why would someone who can make money at so many other things invest so much in a publishing company, especially when the track record for new publishing companies is so dismal?

Publishing isn't real estate or medicine. The margins are different, the markets are different and the problems are different. Were you aware of the low margins that publishers operate to, the difficult contract terms that retailers require before they'll take books, the onerous returns policy which in turn increase warehousing costs?

Again, there are dozens of publishers highlighted in this Forum started by people with experience in other businesses who thought they could start a publisher. Many of them have now shut down. Even the successful businesses will tell you how touch and go it was and still is. That's the nature of the industry.

CherokeeParks:
Passion. Pure and simple. He loves promoting all the arts, and as a fellow author who has been beaten to shreds by the unseemly in the industry, he decided to invest his money in a place where the author can get a fair shake and be treated with respect. The growing family of authors and literary agents is testimony to the fact that it's working. End of story.

Passion's great but what are the sales like? Respect and fairness are great but if you're an author looking for a publisher then you're presumably also looking to make some money out of it.

It's interesting that you say agents are willing to work with SBP. Are you able to share names?

CherokeeParks:
I'm seeing the same questions and criticisms over and over, just worded differently. I've given you enough to investigate and decide for yourselves, and nothing more I can say will ever make a bit more difference in whether or not you take a chance on SBP and yourselves. No further progress can be accomplished by doing the same things over and over and expecting different results, so I'll back out of this conversation now. Merry Christmas, and Happy New Year.

I'm sorry that you feel that way because I thought that your contributions were very helpful.

I'm also sorry that what I've seen so far would not convince me that SBP is currently a good option for an author, but as I said above I would genuinely appreciate it if you come back in a year and let us know how it's going.

Best wishes for the holiday season.

MM
 

Filigree

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Cherokee, I'm going to step in here with a story about another doctor who loves the arts.

This wonderful man bankrolls a high-end decor and accessory gallery that just went from brick and mortar to online after 6 years in retail in one of the most cut-throat art towns in the US. He does not pretend to be an artist, or know how the art market works. For that, he outsourced management to two other wonderful people who have run galleries for 20+ years between them.

Because he found people who knew what they were doing, those managers went out and found artists who fit his vision. When rents got too high and sales too low in the recession, he and the managers asked all their artists about going online. We now have sales platforms through some of the best online art marketing sites, buzz in major home decor and lifestyle magazines, and great customers who followed us online.

My point, made as delicately as possible, is that experience is as important as passion in any business. If your good doctor has only vanity publishing experience to guide him, he'd better be outsourcing superbly-trained talent like crazy.

As for Sarah Book Publishing's 'sample' contract, that needs to be reworked immediately. Don't think of it as a sample, but as advertising - and as such, that contract does not get the right attention from authors who know a bit about publishing. It might do just fine for inexperienced authors. That opens whole other rooms of grief and pain for everyone involved, should things go south. Contracts are there to protect both author and publisher, remember.
 

victoriastrauss

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Cherokee, am I right about the clause of the sample contract that I quoted--the one that makes it sound as if authors must buy 100 copies of their own books? Can you share your own experience here? If I'm incorrect and SBP does not require author purchases, it would be good to have a correction here.

- Victoria
 

CherokeeParks

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SBP will be around for a long time to come. Yes, they are well aware of the intrinsic costs of operating a publishing business, including the narrow margins and wholesale and distributor "cuts" to retail list prices. Sound business practices are sound no matter what field they are applied to. Passion combined with good business knowledge and a good understanding of the business didn't just come in a dream. Dr. Sanusi has extensive knowledge of the business, and, in spite of the staff not being well known, that staff is very experienced. That's exactly why they were hired. And Sanusi isn't a disgruntled author who simply decided to open a publishing house due to bad experiences, he did years of research and consulted with some very experienced industry folks before making the move. I've met some pretty smart cookies in my day, and myself am not a candidate for the short bus, but this man is one of the most brilliant I've ever met.

Details of the contracts are closely guarded, and redacting wouldn't leave much to read. As I said, the contracts are highly negotiable, and I've always recommended a lawyer experienced in publishing law be consulted unless the author is comfortable with the negotiations he/she secures. After a year and a half with SBP as an author, I have no qualms about continuing that relationship - no need to come back in a year. Nor do I hesitate one second to enter into an extension of that contract for my next works, as many as they want to take.

Indeed, contracts should protect both parties, and since SBP accepts or demands no money from any author at any point in the process, it is taking all the financial risk thus it deserves the right to have an adequate amount of time to make every attempt to recover that investment. The authors will be paid an appropriate fee in the form of royalties dependent on sales - the real key to it all, as we all know, is the money and anyone who says differently already has too much money of is simply foolish.

There are friends of mine who have many titles under their belt, including some award winners, who have willingly negotiated and signed contracts with SBP, and my agency friends are bringing authors our way as existing contracts with other houses expire or new clients are brought aboard. No, I won't mention names - they can do that themselves if they wish, that choice is entirely theirs, and not mine to make.

I don't make the decisions about what goes on the website, or why. I may recommend certain aspects of the company itself be adjusted to reflect a more positive experience, but all I can do is recommend. Isn't that what a consultant is supposed to do? It's still the choice of the ownership and management of the organization which way to go.

Victoria, every author has the OPTION to purchase as many books as they wish, at 40% off retail for paperbacks and 30% off retail for hardcovers, and are given a 60 day line of credit in which to pay for those books. One gentleman recently purchased 250 in groups of 100, 100 and 50 along with his stipend, free invitations, flyers and banner and held his own book signings since he lives some distance from the SBP headquarters and decided not to have SBP staff make the trips to sponsor those events (very considerate of him). In a 3 week period, he sold all 250 and pocketed well over $1600, and just ordered another 200. All this is on top of the royalties he's earned on a nearly identical number of books sold by SBP and on Amazon. The book was released just over a month ago, and shows signs of gaining even more momentum. That's just one example of someone who isn't depending on SBP to do all the marketing and sales, and why that option is available. I've even used it successfully myself.

Seriously, people, I have to retire myself from this post. I've got 3 MSS working I need to complete, including the next in a series along with a storyline for the following MS in that series and concepts for another dozen or so I need to get started on. "Plan your work and work your plan - as long as you're right and tight with your muse you'd better take advantage of it."

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year
 

veinglory

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If the actual contract is secret, then it would make sense not to post it--or some unrelated non-secret contract. That would be like putting a muffin in the window and wondering why people think you are a muffin bakery because you actually only make (secret) cupcakes.
 

kaitie

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I just wanted to mention a couple of problems of having the book blurbs mentioned previously on the site.

First of all, having incredibly poor grammar/writing on the site, especially for the owner's book, does not make me think that this person is competent. The average person visiting the site won't know if he published it himself or not--but it looks like he did. I would see that as representative of what I could expect for my own book and run away.

If the books weren't published by him, should they be listed with other books being sold by the publisher? Isn't it misleading to sell books that are being published by another publisher on your publishing website? I think he linked to Amazon, but to have the books all listed in the same place it seem as if these books are representative of Sarah Publishing.

If the rights have reverted and he can sell these books as he pleases, why hasn't he had a proper editing/cover job done? He's a publisher, after all. It makes it appear as if he doesn't have the means or ability to afford proper treatment for his own books, which doesn't bode well for how he would treat mine, does it?

Personally, I think he should take any book that isn't published directly through Sarah Publishing from the site. Those belong on an author site if he still wants to sell them. I don't mind that a publisher might have once been scammed (as long as other experience is available), but to have those books available on his own publishing site doesn't seem professional and doesn't instill confidence.
 

kaitie

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Victoria, every author has the OPTION to purchase as many books as they wish, at 40% off retail for paperbacks and 30% off retail for hardcovers, and are given a 60 day line of credit in which to pay for those books. One gentleman recently purchased 250 in groups of 100, 100 and 50 along with his stipend, free invitations, flyers and banner and held his own book signings since he lives some distance from the SBP headquarters and decided not to have SBP staff make the trips to sponsor those events (very considerate of him). In a 3 week period, he sold all 250 and pocketed well over $1600, and just ordered another 200. All this is on top of the royalties he's earned on a nearly identical number of books sold by SBP and on Amazon. The book was released just over a month ago, and shows signs of gaining even more momentum. That's just one example of someone who isn't depending on SBP to do all the marketing and sales, and why that option is available. I've even used it successfully myself.

I might be wrong on this, but I thought most publishers didn't allow authors to resell books that they bought from the publisher directly. I'm not sure I see any reason to buy 250 books unless you're trying to sell them by hand.

Does the publisher offer any free author copies? I thought this was standard as well.
 

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Victoria, every author has the OPTION to purchase as many books as they wish, at 40% off retail for paperbacks and 30% off retail for hardcovers, and are given a 60 day line of credit in which to pay for those books. One gentleman recently purchased 250 in groups of 100, 100 and 50 along with his stipend, free invitations, flyers and banner and held his own book signings since he lives some distance from the SBP headquarters and decided not to have SBP staff make the trips to sponsor those events (very considerate of him). In a 3 week period, he sold all 250 and pocketed well over $1600, and just ordered another 200.
But the contract specifically states that copies bought by the author are NOT for resale. Presumably that includes the 100 copies the author is sent and billed for regardless of whether or not he wants them.

The contract, for a number of reasons, puts this press on my not-recommended list.
 

SamanthaLehane

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More about the Sanusi Media Empire

The Business of Art, and the Art of Business

I found an article on Sarah Book Publishing but it says that it is owned by Cherry Sanusi who is the wife of Dr. Oladayo Sanusi.

The Sanusi Media Empire:

"Cherry Sanusi owns multiple businesses in Brownsville, catering to creative arts and meeting the needs of her clientele through printing, publishing, and storage. Sanusi is well versed in putting far more than words on a page. Digital Print Shoppe offers commercial digital printing services for both large and small print jobs. Sarah Book Publishing is a comprehensive, alternative online publishing company. RGV Art Online provides artists a place to mass-produce digital copies of their work and showcase them in an online gallery. Ms. Sanusi also opened Jonah Storage Mart, a climate-controlled storage facility, which she feels is a necessity here in the Valley."

Motive Behind SBP:

"Sarah Book Publishing is a product of Sanusi’s desire to help local writers be more successful.

“Writers need a place to get their work published. There are many book publishers, but it’s not an easy market to crack. Good material is always in demand, and our focus is to provide the extra personal service that is sadly lacking with so many publishers today,” Sanusi states."


Their credentials:

"Ms. Sanusi graduated Magna Cum Laude with an Associate’s Degree in Business Administration as well as Magna Cum Laude with a Bachelor of Science degree in Accounting from Medgar Evers College in Brooklyn, New York... Dr. Sanusi, a nephrologist and internist, opened his medical clinic – Oladayo A. Sanusi, MD, PA – in Harlingen. "


I found this article most intriguing. It seems to mesh with the POD publisher theory. My fox isn't the only one unimpressed.
 

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First, a company representative says this:

Those still concerned with the "No Up-Front" statements, a simple look at the sample contract should put your minds at ease.

Then, when someone with extensive experience reviewing contracts analyses the contract and presents the most worrying of her findings, the same company representative says this:

The contract is a "sample" contract, so SBP doesn't give away any of the reasons why the currently signed authors like this company to the competition.

You don't get it both ways. Either the sample contract will set experienced people's minds at ease, or else the sample contract isn't representative of the 'official' contract.

I believe this is an excellent example of 'speaking out of both sides of one's mouth'.
 

aliceshortcake

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A publisher's website is the face it shows to the world. Even if I knew nothing about Sarah Books' odd contract, those atrociously-written blurbs for Sanusi's books would put me off the company instantly. I'm sorry that Sanusi had such a bad experience with vanity presses, but why are his books on SB's site at all? If he knows they're full of mistakes (the first blurb I quoted is actually printed on the back cover of the book), why are they being used as part of what is, in effect, an advertisement for SB? If SB wants to be taken seriously they should remove them at once and rewrite most of the other blurbs on the site. It doesn't say much for SB's editorial staff that they were posted in the first place - doesn't anyone from the company actually read its website?

As for the author copies that aren't for resale yet are being sold by authors...bizarre!
 
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Momento Mori

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Cherokee - I understand if you wish to leave the discussion but I hope that you will stick around on AW, even if you no longer wish to contribute to this Thread.

Like Terie says, SBP doesn't get to have it both ways: either the sample contract is representative or it's not. If it's not, then it's simply misleading to put it up there as a sample. Again, speaking as a lawyer, I am well aware of the need for commercial confidentiality in contracts but that usually pertains to strict commercial terms like prices, royalty rates etc. I would be very surprised at *any* company claiming that all of its terms are confidential because, e.g. the boilerplate just never should be.

Given the royalty rates quoted in the sample and the onerous terms that I've read, I think that an author would be better off going it alone because at least they could keep whatever they make. SBP might not require people to buy books, but it simply doesn't seem geared up to sell them to the public.

MM
 

shaldna

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Criticizing the good doctor must be fun, but failing to understand that he suffered through several vanity publisher's who promised editing that never came about while taking his money is exactly why his books came out reading as they do. They were not done by SBP, but since he owns the business can you blame him for selling his own books on the site? After all, it was HIS money that provided the seed to get it started.

But does being taken in by bad vanity presses really qualify someone to become a publisher? I mean, I may be wrong here, but surely ACTUAL publishing experience would be necessary.

So why would someone who can make money at so many other things invest so much in a publishing company, especially when the track record for new publishing companies is so dismal?

The reason most new presses fail is because they are started by people with good intentions but no actual knowledge of publishing.


SBP will be around for a long time to come.

I've heard that before from other new, small presses and while I'd like to see that they are still doing well in 50 years, I'll wait and see if they make the two year mark - which is the point that most failures occur in new presses.

One gentleman recently purchased 250 in groups of 100, 100 and 50 along with his stipend, free invitations, flyers and banner and held his own book signings since he lives some distance from the SBP headquarters and decided not to have SBP staff make the trips to sponsor those events (very considerate of him). In a 3 week period, he sold all 250 and pocketed well over $1600, and just ordered another 200.

This is something that a publisher should do for you. The author should not be out of pocket and should not have to arrange it themselves. It makes me wary when the majority of the marketing and promotion falls to the author.


As for the author copies that aren't for resale yet are being sold by authors...bizarre!

Yes. This would certainly need clarified.
 

victoriastrauss

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Victoria, every author has the OPTION to purchase as many books as they wish, at 40% off retail for paperbacks and 30% off retail for hardcovers, and are given a 60 day line of credit in which to pay for those books. One gentleman recently purchased 250 in groups of 100, 100 and 50 along with his stipend, free invitations, flyers and banner and held his own book signings since he lives some distance from the SBP headquarters and decided not to have SBP staff make the trips to sponsor those events (very considerate of him). In a 3 week period, he sold all 250 and pocketed well over $1600, and just ordered another 200.
I too find this puzzling, given the "not for resale" language of the contract.

30% is a very poor author discount. It's also very odd, given that the contract stipulates a 40% discount.

I still think the language of Clause 11 strongly suggests an author purchase requirement. Here it is in full.
11. Author's Copies

The Author shall be permitted to purchase copies for the Author's personal use and not for resale at a discount of forty percent (40%) from the sales price, to be paid for upon receipt of the Publisher's invoice. Royalties shall not be paid to the Author on these "author's copies."

The Publisher shall furnish to the Author, one hundred (100) copies of each edition of the Work published by the Publisher at the above listed forty percent (40%) from the sales price, Author shall have ninety days (90) interest free to pay Publisher for the copies received by Author under this agreement. Royalties shall not be paid to the Author on these "author's copies."
- Victoria
 

LindaJeanne

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Why on earth would a publisher put up a sample contract that's nothing like the contract they offer authors? That makes no sense.

And why do the "perks" they offer authors need to be kept secret from "competing publishers?" Are you saying that the only reason other publishers aren't offering these "perks" is that they are so brilliantly original that no other publisher has ever thought of them, and if they did, they'd instantly jump on the bandwagon and Sarah Book Publishing would thereby lose it's "edge"? And how are these "perks" supposed to entice writers if they are kept secret?

Again, as momento mori says, I can understand if they want to keep certain details such as royalty rates out of the "sample". But hiding the entire contract -- and substituting one that does not resemble it in any way -- makes no sense at all.

If the staff is as experienced as you say, why is that experience not listed on their profiles on the "meet the staff" page? A casual visitor to the site is going to assume that since no experience is listed in those bios that there is no relevant experience.

Again, we can only judge a publisher by the information it makes public. "It gets better once you're an insider, really!" isn't going to entice people.

Myself, I'd turn away as soon as I saw the website was aimed at authors rather than readers, because based on the website alone I would have mistaken them for a vanity press. I imagine that the majority of the slush you get is from inexperienced writers and (as you've noted) con-artists trying to take advantage of the publisher's apparent (based on what's publicly viewable) inexperience.

No one here has questioned the publisher's passion, good intentions, or successes in other areas of business.

But despite your assurances that they have "impeccable credentials" and are "highly qualified" in the context of publishing, we are not seeing any evidence of this in the information that the publisher is making public about themselves.
 

SamanthaLehane

Not all who wander are lost
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CherokeeParks, please don't take this as an attack from a stranger but as concern from someone who has been in your situation. I had a very nice yet inexperienced publisher put me through the wringer and I had to drop a pen name and leave a manuscript moldering on my hard drive. It felt great to have a publishing offer but it turned sour quickly.

A well-intended yet inexperienced press can really hurt your career and cause you a lot of hassle down the line. There is no need to get defensive but it sounds like you are the only one with any publishing experience in that company. Its obvious to anyone who can see their website and their covers. Just look at yours. I've seen self-publishers with little photoshop experience who make their own covers whip up better looking covers than the ones that they saddled your (no doubt lovely) fiction with.

None of us are coming from a mean place, just a concerned one. That is the beauty of AW. We are all just trying to help each other out.
 

aliceshortcake

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One of SB's publications, the novel Two Destitutes, has apparently won an award:

Award Winner In The Fictional Multicultural Category In The USA Best Books For 2012

We are very pleased to announce the finalist award accorded to our author for his work on his in fictional multicultural book

TWO DESTITUTEs

Cold and darkness,
a Novel
by, Giorgio Germont

This is a story based in real-life events. The testimony of the protagonist, an ex soldier of the ARMY and ex combatant in the war in Afghanistan, is the basis for the author to commit to pen and paper this literary work.

This book is arousing great controversy because of the subjects it addresses, matters of great importance and actuality.

The writer is a physician who has published several other books and remains actively engaged in the practice of Medicine and free lance authorship
http://community.benchmarkemail.com...TWO-DESTITUTES--USA-BEST-BOOKS-FINALIST-AWARD

Where to start?

The book was a finalist. It did not win a USA Best Book Award, which in any case is an obscure pay-to-enter contest with its own thread on AbsoluteWrite (http://absolutewrite.com/forums/showthread.php?t=213649). Everyone who enters this utterly worthless contest is a "finalist". Two Destitutes is unlikely to be "arousing great controversy" because I doubt if anyone other than the author's friends and family know it exists. And the person who wrote that press release is not on intimate terms with the English language.
 
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Unimportant

No COVID yet. Still masking.
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One of the (many) other things I found problematic with the contract is that there is nothing about the author working with an editor and performing the expected edits within an agreed-upon time frame. Rather, it says that the publisher has the right to edit the manuscript as they wish "provided the meaning of the text is not materially altered" (my bold) -- and at the same time states that the author will be held responsible for any copyright infringement issues.