Eternal Press

LizzieDarker said:

...I got a series of name-calling emails and a few bullying messages saying that by posting what I posted on here I was "drowning" myself "in mud". That no one would contract me later and that people won't buy my book because they don't like my whining.

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Experience speaking here: Posting here does not get you blacklisted. Nor does stating issues you're having with a publisher put you on some magical list that makes readers not buy your books.

Believe me, I know. I've been threatened by publishers before with this same sort of crap. Ignore it. Most publishers, and readers for that matter, don't care.

Well, being that I deleted the two posts so that it could be resolved more privately two hours ago, I've just responded to yet another message from the cover artist. I can say that she's more polite than Kim was, to a level.

I want to clarify that I did LOVE the final cover art that I was given.

Of course, I've also been reminded by her now as well that by posting here I'm going to get myself blacklisted from being published, so I probably shouldn't have even posted that.

LizzieDarker said:

Of course, I've also been reminded by her now as well that by posting here I'm going to get myself blacklisted from being published, so I probably shouldn't have even posted that.

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I've seen that intimidation line trotted out by so many shady publishers...

It's not true. Not by a long shot. I've had problems with publishers before, some of them small and some of the huge, and I've spoken about them here. Never, not once, have I been blacklisted.

My erotica/erotic romance is spread out among most of the bigger epubs (EC, Samhain, etc) and not one of my editors has ever said, hey, take down that message about your missing royalty check (or that 1099 or whatever) or else the big boogeyman is gonna get you and throw you on the blacklist.

Seriously, if someone will blacklist you because you spoke up about a legitimate concern, that's a damn good reason to run fast in the other direction. Like, you know, super fast.

LizzieDarker said:

Of course, I've also been reminded by her now as well that by posting here I'm going to get myself blacklisted from being published, so I probably shouldn't have even posted that.

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1. That is crap, crap, crap, crap. Even if that sort of thing happened--which it doesn't--any editor who *might* see your perfectly legitimate posts here is going to believe you were right to post them. And yes, editors talk, sure, but only amongst their professional peers. They know who those peers are, and those peers are not people who send nasty "You'll never publish again!" messages to authors who make legitimate complaints. Even if they post them on message boards.

Trust me. No professional editor is going to care what you said here.

2. As you may infer from the above, NO. This is not how professional publishers work.


You just keep writing, and submitting to better, bigger houses. I know this feels like the end of the world now but soon it'll all be behind you.

LizzieDarker:
Of course, I've also been reminded by her now as well that by posting here I'm going to get myself blacklisted from being published, so I probably shouldn't have even posted that.

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As everyone else has said, this is bullshit. No legitimate, professional publisher is going to wield the blackball club at you for stating a legitimate concern and a failure by a publisher to accurately record sales and pay royalties accordingly is a legitimate concern.

Eternal Press might decide not to publish your future books but really, is that any great loss? They hardly behave as a professional, commercial outfit and they seem to be run by someone who is so fundamentally unpleasant that not having to deal with them can only be a good thing.

MM

Lizzie, in order to black list you she would have to have contacts and pull in the publishing area. I have my doubts 1.) that she does; 2.) that if she did, they would listen to her; 3.) that they would care that you and her had a tiff; 4.) that there is an organized meeting/website/list for blackballed authors that everyone consults.

What you're saying is legitimate. If there wasn't a problem, you wouldn't have posted. A professional publisher would have addressed your concerns -- whether they agreed with them or not -- in a professional manner.

Someone who threatens and bullies you that they won't publish you again, is someone you don't want to work with anyway.

Aim higher than these guys.

Lizzie, your publisher isn't a ping on publishers' radars, so the fact that you're having problems with them is of no consequence to a legit commercial press, and no editor would fault you for speaking out. Don't give it a second thought. Just grit your teeth and get through this mess...and don't repeat the same mistakes regarding your publishing options!

I agree with the last few opinions. To who's blacklist will you be added? Their own maybe. I did read a publisher's interview once in which he said that he does peruse forums to make sure that a potential author isn't in the habit of making negative comments about publishers. His company was taken to task here awhile back, so I guess that's his method of censorship.

LizzieDarker said:

Of course, I've also been reminded by her now as well that by posting here I'm going to get myself blacklisted from being published, so I probably shouldn't have even posted that.

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Just chiming in with everyone else... bullshit. I had that one used on me in 2008 and I'm doing just fine in epublishing.

Don't let her make you feel bad about this. The one thing you can be sure of is that you don't WANT a publishing relationship with anyone who would take her seriously.

Not signed with them, but people might think I am.

I had not heard of Eternal Press before tonight. I only discovered them when I started seeing a book I did not write attributed to me. It seems they have recently published someone using the same name as me: S.A. Hunter. The book has been linked to me on Goodreads and on iTunes. I'm pretty dismayed about this because a simple Google or Amazon search would've brought me up instantly and indicated that maybe using S.A. Hunter wasn't a good idea. I don't know if I have any recourse. I am a self-published author.

Does anyone have any knowledge of this type of situation? Would a letter alerting the author or publisher of the name confusion do any good? We both write fantasy, so we could be easily confused. Is it asking too much for her to publish using her first name? I did some quick searches and Sandra Hunter doesn't seem to be an author name in use.

And reading through this thread has really made me wonder if Eternal Press would care at all.

Got an offer but didn't sign

Eternal Press offered to publish my first novel and even though I decided not to go with them, the entire staff was very friendly and answered every question I had.

Windvein said:

I had not heard of Eternal Press before tonight. I only discovered them when I started seeing a book I did not write attributed to me. It seems they have recently published someone using the same name as me: S.A. Hunter. The book has been linked to me on Goodreads and on iTunes. I'm pretty dismayed about this because a simple Google or Amazon search would've brought me up instantly and indicated that maybe using S.A. Hunter wasn't a good idea. I don't know if I have any recourse. I am a self-published author.

Does anyone have any knowledge of this type of situation? Would a letter alerting the author or publisher of the name confusion do any good? We both write fantasy, so we could be easily confused. Is it asking too much for her to publish using her first name? I did some quick searches and Sandra Hunter doesn't seem to be an author name in use.

And reading through this thread has really made me wonder if Eternal Press would care at all.

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You can let them know, but they're not really under any obligation to do anything about it. The other author may want to change it for future books, but now the covers and everything are done it would be awkward for the press to make changes to them. In fact, as a self-published author you've probably got more leeway than she has, so if you feel it's a significant problem you might want to consider changing your pen name.

Simply put, unless you can prove the name was used to deliberately cause confusion and profit from your name (or you persuade them reader confusion would negatively impact their sales - like if an erotica author and children's author shared the same pen name!) there's not a lot you can do. You can separate the books on Goodreads/LibraryThing/Amazon etc to make it clear you're separate authors.

Thanks for advice

Hi nkkingston,

I did contact the other author through Goodreads. She changed her name to Sandy Hunter there and we have each our own author pages on Amazon. B&N and iTunes unforntately list us together, but I can't do anything about that.

Considering I've been using S.A. Hunter for 2 years, I don't feel it prudent to start using another name. I still think it was sloppy of the press to not look into this a little bit during the setup. The other author has said she may use another name for future books/genres. Enough time has gone by that it's old news now, so I'm not that bothered by it. It isn't the greatest situation, but it's bearable.

amergina said:

I posted a link to an author's blog post (that was tweeted by Writer Beware) about a dispute with Eternal Press/Damnation Books over in the Damnation Books thread:

http://www.absolutewrite.com/forums/showthread.php?p=8289420#post8289420

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I just finished reading this article. Very disturbing.

...when I received the final proof copy of Thereafter on April 28th (for a May 1st release date) from the publisher (Eternal Press, a division of Damnation Books), it was riddled with errors. In addition, the publisher had made quite a few substantial changes to the voice/tone/style of my writing, changes that were never discussed with me and certainly not approved by me.


In short: The final/publisher's version of Thereafter make me sound like an illiterate git.


Every book has a few errors. That’s just life. However, Thereafter has 194 errors and 84 erroneous changes. Let me repeat that: THEREAFTER HAS TWO HUNDRED AND SIXTY THINGS WRONG WITH IT…in a 252 page book.

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Link: http://www.terribruce.net/index.php...lishing-dispute&catid=65:thereafter&Itemid=81

amergina said:

I posted a link to an author's blog post (that was tweeted by Writer Beware) about a dispute with Eternal Press/Damnation Books over in the Damnation Books thread:

http://www.absolutewrite.com/forums/showthread.php?p=8289420#post8289420

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Hi everyone,

I'm the author of the blog post linked to by Anna. I'm a long time reader/lurker on ABWW and I just wanted to stick my head in and say I'm around and happy to answer any questions about my EP experience/dispute.

Question

Hello, I was reading this thread and was wondering if anyone had any new information. I see that there hasn't been any activity in 9 or 10 months. I did recently submit to Eternal Press and would like to know how things are going. Thank you for your assistance.

Steer Clear

I have a friend who is going through **** trying to get her rights back. Her books don't sell there, the cover... well, she called it "laughable", and the publisher hasn't handled her queries in a professional manner at all. (She share the mailing with me.) I'd steer very clear of EP.

CharleneAWilson said:

I have a friend who is going through **** trying to get her rights back. Her books don't sell there, the cover... well, she called it "laughable", and the publisher hasn't handled her queries in a professional manner at all. (She share the mailing with me.) I'd steer very clear of EP.

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Charlene,
Is your friend still having problems? I am in a similar situation at this time, and I'd like to contact her/him. Please forward that request if you could. I am at, wdusty64 - at - gmail.com

I've had and I'm still having a nightmare with this company. The contract on my book ran out and they are still selling my book. I know of other Authors whose books are being sold illegally after their contracts have run out. The owner Kim is not releasing these novels and is refusing to send a reversion of rights letter, and ignoring repeated emails from not only myself but other authors. It is illegal what she is doing, but she is getting away with theft. This publisher is fraudulent to the core. Be very aware and careful. Sign up with some other company you will save yourself a lot of grief.

Virginia, I would like to talk with you some more about your situation. Please contact me at wdusty64 - at - gmail.com
I am working on a project that all of us authors at EP/DB can benefit from.

Thank you,
- Bill Dusty

There is a new booklet out on Eternal Press/Damnation Books, detailing their practices and habits. It's one author's ordeal, with a section that includes other authors' problems with the small press publisher.

Available free on August 2nd & 3rd (2015):
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0135LYJJS/?tag=absowrit-20

This is Book One. I'm still receiving other complaints, so a "Book Two" could be in the works.

Thanks