Clean Reads (formerly Astraea Press)

ohthatmomagain said:

I accepted a contract with Astraea today. queried 6/23. Offer 7/2.

Click to expand...

Congrats!

greeneyes said:

Congrats!

Click to expand...

Thank you

Love Astraea

My first book, AT WHAT COST was pubbed by Astraea in June. I've loved working with Stephanie and the rest of the crew. Stephanie answers all questions personally. The cover art is fantastic. I highly recommend them.

Hi! I was curious if anyone had any new info on this publisher. I got an R&R from them and I'm totally psyched about it. They seem to be doing really well. One author recently made the USA Bestseller list in November.

Hey WolfeMama!

AP is a great publisher and they really try to cater as much as they can to the needs of their authors whether it's coming up with ways to market, creating a cover you'll love, or negotiating contract terms. The editing is great, too (multiple eyes on). They price their ebooks in the target market range, which I really appreciate. They're big on regencies so if that's what you write I think you have a leg up. They are very strict on words/phrases/behavior they won't allow so make sure to ask what those are (outside the 'no pink parts' and profanity) because some things will have to change after you sign (like model names of cars).

Here's hoping you get an offer!

WolfeMama said:

Hi! I was curious if anyone had any new info on this publisher. I got an R&R from them and I'm totally psyched about it. They seem to be doing really well. One author recently made the USA Bestseller list in November.

Click to expand...

Wow that's nice to hear!

Update, via direct report from a dear friend: Astraea is friendly to reissues. Janet Butler, my crit partner, pubbed a wonderful book entitled FROM THE ASHES with a very small press years ago. That publisher, since closed, dropped the ball in many ways and this story sank unnoticed.

Astraea is reissuing FROM THE ASHES with a marvelous new cover on 9/23. For those of you who like this type of story, it's a mystery/romance with a great romance and rich, fully realized characters.

I'm so pleased that they will consider resurrecting books that fit their publishing program. My friend's book in particular.

Recent Updates?

Does anyone know Astraea Press' current average response time (i.e. do they usually take the full 6-8 weeks)?

I queried AP on 9/16.

Too early to be fussed, in my (experienced) opinion.

Deb Kinnard said:

Too early to be fussed, in my (experienced) opinion.

Click to expand...

Oh I know, I'm just curious if anyone knows whether they're busier this time of year or anything. I saw that some people in the past got a response in 9-10 days, so I was wondering if that is their typical time period ... but I'm totally prepared to wait the 6-8 weeks they request on their submissions page.

BarbaraSheridan said:

Speaking strictly as a consumer who tried to buy a friend's book earlier in the year, I was not impressed with the book buying experience.

There was a short download window for books bought. If you don't have a chance to immediately backup your ebook and your computer goes belly up without warning, you're screwed and out the $.

I do hope they changed the limited download policy since then.

Click to expand...

I assume this policy has since changed; has anyone bought a book from them recently?

(I'm aware the post I'm quoting is from 2011; that's why I'm wondering)

Love the covers and some of the titles seem interesting. I've been unable to read excerpts. Will someone tell me where the excerpts are located? Does the publisher provide them?

There is the usual "Look Inside" feature on its Amazon page. That's as far as I've checked, and I asked the author to answer your question on where the excerpt might be found on the publisher's site.

Don't worry about the response time...chances are they'll take less than the 6-8 weeks. I believe my response time was about two weeks, actually. Maybe a tad more or less.

I believe there are excerpts up on various sites--especially if you read any AP author blogs. There are substantial excerpts on the Astraea Press blo, http://www.astraeapress.blogspot.com/. Finally, if you use the "look inside" feature on Amazon, you can see an excerpt there in my book.

Hope this helps!
Janny
(Janet W. Butler)
FROM THE ASHES, Astraea Press, 2014
VOICE OF INNOCENCE, Desert Breeze Publishing, 2012

Thanks for the answers regarding blurbs, Deb and Janny. I understand that most publishers consider Amazon the main area to lure reader attention, but I like to purchase direct from the publisher when possible so that the author receives maximum royalties. I hope excerpts aren't something I'll have to hunt down in the future. I really like to see them on the publisher's site.

So I swallowed every last bit of trepidation and subbed a potential re-issue, SEASONS IN THE MIST, to Astraea on 3/4. I hope to hear from them sooner than 8 weeks, which, if my track record holds true, will probably be closer to 10.

I'm so nervous. I've been traveling the indie path of late, and will probably continue to do for my stuff that doesn't quite fit anywhere. So I haven't subbed to a publisher in something like two years, and I find I'm out of practice on the waiting game. Keep a good thought for me!

they're called Clean Reads now - http://cleanreads.com/content/4-about-us

Any updates on this press? I'm asking for a friend who just got an offer from them. Me, personally - their current sales ranks on Amazon are not great. I know that's only one benchmark, but c'mon.

I'm happy!

Filigree said:

Any updates on this press? I'm asking for a friend who just got an offer from them. Me, personally - their current sales ranks on Amazon are not great. I know that's only one benchmark, but c'mon.

Click to expand...

I've worked with five publishers, and Astraea (Now called CleanReads) is one of my favorites. My story is a Christmas novella, so I only promote around the holidays, and I still get a few sales every statement cycle throughout the year. (Even after several years).

It seems that people buy from their website just by their reputation for putting out a certain type of book that people are looking for.

They DO NOT do a lot of promotion. However, most publishers don't these days. Promo is mostly up to you.

Big positives: They pay on time, like clockwork. They do not make you reach a minimum in order to get paid. Even if the check is only enough to buy cup of coffee, it comes. Personally, I love that.

You can also get a report that shows where your books sold. I find this very informative. LOVED seeing how many libraries purchased copies! One of my larger publishers does not offer this, and I miss it.

Editing is fantastic. I had several editors work on my book. A different editor for developmental, copy, and proofread. From the comments, it looked like three different editors did the developmental. This is worth a lot to me.

Covers: Very nice. Just look through their website. I believe they have some of their own cover models, too.

They go to big conferences to promote their books and authors.

If I had another book that fit in their format, I would not hesitate to work with them again.

Okay, that's about as good as I could expect. It may be my friend's best chance if they don't want to go Big Five.

I would take gentle exception to the 'no or little promo' myth about small publishers. I've been with and see more who *do* promote their authors. So whenever I hear the 'author responsible for promo' excuse, it makes me skeptical about a publisher.

I have my first YA book coming out with this publisher (under a new pseudonym M.E. Rhines) on Nov. 3rd, so I can't speak as to sales yet. I can, however, tell you that this is the third publisher I've worked with (I have four adult romances published under my married name) and so far this is one of my best experiences. Communication is great, and Stephanie is quick to answer any questions. They have a FB group for the authors which has a fantastic team atmosphere; no squabbling and everyone helps one another in anyway they can. I've noticed Stephanie and her team are quick to offer any unique opportunities they come across for reviews/advertising though you are expected to undertake said marketing endeavors yourself. The covers, for me, are their real selling point. I have completed the editing process, and I was pleased with the thorough work done.

What's their print policy? They seem inconsistent as far as Amazon goes.

I just got an R and R! I'm very excited.

Has there been any update to them (or its authors) in the last year and a bit? I had a fav from a twitter pit event and was thinking about it - they do have some very nice covers on site and are definitely more established than some smaller publishers faving on twitter events. Have many people had good turn around/success? Do they do print as well or are they primarily ebooks?

My other concern is the manuscript itself may not be the best fit. There's no sex or a sexual nature, some minor swearing but it's quite graphic violence wise.