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she looked on Writer's Digest for publishers that accept unagented manuscripts.
Her first mistake. I don't trust ads in Writer's Digest because they all seem to be from vanity, self, and subsidy operations. While some articles are helpful, their support comes from places that violate Yog's Law.
Early bird gets the worm.She sent out to ten of them, and BR was the first one to get back with her.
Yes, an inexperienced writer with no clue as to how real publishing works, making the rookie mistake of starting at the bottom, thinking it's easier to break in that way, and worse, mistaking them for a real publisher.(They responded very quickly and told her she was "exactly what they were looking for, at that time," she noted.)
A small reverse-vanity operation with no upfront cost to the writer--rather like PublishAmerica, where Reagan Rothe has books.At one point she brought up the term "vanity publishers," so I jumped on that and interjected, "So they're a vanity publisher?" to which she insisted, "No, they're just a small publisher."
I have four books placed with a small house in my state. I have NEVER had to do any editing beyond proofing the galleys. They have an EXCELLENT editing staff, catching things that even I missed.She said because Black Rose was a small house is the reason she had to do so much of the work herself, from initiating contact with different book stores (though they gave her a list to work from, and once she makes a good connection with a retailer, their people take over) to carting some of the copies around locally.
I have NEVER carted copies around to get shelved at bookstores. This is exactly what PA has its writers do.
Marketing and distribution are what a publisher does, not the writer. If the writer wants a signing, then the bookstore orders the books; all the publishers need do is ship them on time.
I'm sure they have been adorable to her and send charming emails. Their market plan is still no advantage to the writer or to selling high numbers of copies.She said she feels Black Rose has been very up front with her about everything. She stressed that she has never paid any money to them for anything, and the contract she signed didn't force her to buy any copies of her book, though the publisher "strongly encourages" (her words) its authors to buy copies, themselves, at a discount.
I get 40% off any I purchase to sell through my website store.she was only getting a $2 discount off the retail price.
The lady doth protest too much, me thinks.I was troubled by her repeated insistence that BR was "a small publisher, NOT a vanity publisher."
She's trying to reassure herself and to validate her poor choice in front of an audience that likely knows more about the business end of things than she does.
They are no more pay to play than PublishAmerica--the costs are in the back end, and NOT to the advantage of the writer. A writer writes, she doesn't cart books from store to store burning gas and writing time trying to sell them like Fuller brushes.Have they changed their tune enough to qualify as not being pay-to-play?
He has no qualifications to be an editor.But I was even more troubled to find out that her editor is, in fact, Reagan Rothe, himself. As far as I can tell, this man has no qualifications to be an editor. Perhaps I'm wrong?
All con artists are charming and make people feel comfortable. They couldn't take advantage of people to get what they want if they weren't. Raise your hand if you ever dated a guy who lost interest when you didn't put out.And the kicker for me was when she gave him such glowing reviews of how she felt so comfortable with him that she could e-mail him back and forth every day,
He is not a con artist so much as sincere but clueless, looking for validation from the even more clueless, hoping to make a few bucks on the way. He probably enjoys introducing himself at parties as "a publisher" and keeps cards handy to pass around.
No, but it is not normal for a publishing CEO. One of my editors writes, so does my agent. Neither has ever come to me for feedback. I'd prolly give them feedback--because THEY are pros in the business. I expect they have other people to beta-read for them. What are the odds Rothe has "confided" the same thing to all the other writers at BR? He better hope they never get together to compare notes.and then confided that he's writing another book, himself, and has asked her to review the manuscript. Isn't this a conflict of interest?
He's like any other newbie desperate to get free feedback from another writer. Perhaps she's a much better writer than he is, so he's going to coddle her along for as long as it takes.
Oh,yeah, a small press publisher I know also writes books. If he's ever wanted feedback, he's never come to me for it. He's got an excellent staff in place and his wife for that sort of thing.
You nailed it. She made a poor choice and is letting a well stroked ego rule over hard-headed business sense.She is a nice person who, IMO, was led down a stray path.
Writers are running a small business, trying to sell a product. They can sell more product through an operation with solid distribution for goods than going to the garage sale down the street run by a kindly neighbor who takes a fat percentage off the top selling your own goods back to you.
They found they can get more in that way. That, and insisting they're not a vanity operation. They are little better than self-publishing, but no writer with them will see significant sales unless they get proper distribution set up.it seems they've changed somewhat since this thread started, what with not making authors pay-to-play.
You get what you pay for. Since Rothe is NOT a qualified editor by background experience or apprenticeship at any publishing house, I would take his feedback with a grain of salt. When his website first went up it was a nightmare of design, spelling, and grammar errors, and with pics of his nieces, nephews, and girlfriend for heaven's sake.From what I've read about publishers, BR looks more like a subsidy publisher (sharing the publications costs--albeit the man-hours costs--with the author), rather than vanity (which, if my understanding is correct, gets all of its publication dollar amounts covered by the author).
You did.I had just witnessed the result of the blind leading the blind.
In the country of the blind the one-eyed man is king. -- Desiderius ErasmusThis is especially bewildering since I'm only partially-sighted myself (in this arena), just learning the ropes.
Thank you for posting that. I was wondering how things were getting on. His operation is in my state, and better believe that I've been chatting about it with the local writers I know.
I'm pals with the head honchos of three small presses in this region and all were highly amused by BR's website, and not remotely concerned that it could be competition to them.
THEY have real distribution, significant sales, and pay their authors advances. Small to be sure, but it counts as a pro credit for the writer. A book with Black Rose does not.
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