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Eternal Press

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triceretops

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I couldn't find this publisher in our database. If it is there, feel free to move it and give me a swat on the butt. Anybody have any impressions, or has anyone gone to e-book or print with them? They seem relatively new, but an awful lot of titles on Amazon--about 135 from what I'm seeing. They just went to print recently, and it was a massive inventory. What really surprized me was the length of these books. Some are long short stories, others are novella length, and the novels are very, very small, as far as page count. They appear to be primarily an e-book pub house, except for the recent print titles.


http://www.eternalpress.ca/



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CaoPaux

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Former editor Kim Richards acquired EP 12/09, presumably as an imprint to her new venture, Damnation Books.
 

annetookeen

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I submitted a query and the editor of Eternal Press asked to see the full ms after a few hours. Great response time. Will receive results in a few weeks. What do u guys think of their covers?
 

Lordofthehunt

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Former editor Kim Richards acquired EP 12/09, presumably as an imprint to her new venture, Damnation Books.

As an author with DB, I can't speak specifically to EP, but Kim is great. She's very responsive and goes out of her way to promote her authors. She treats you fairly and with respect and her contracts are writer friendly.

I think there's room to improve on the covers, but I've seen far worse out there.
 

triceretops

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In all honesty, even though Eternal is a good outfit, I wouldn't worry so much about the covers as I would about the contract. I could not get them to budge on one point of the entire document. Even an agent couldn't budge them. When it was revealed that I would have to buy my own books, and that NO author's copies were allowed, I broke the deal and refused to sign. This type of behavior smacks of vanity presses, not saying they are, but to refuse ONE author copy was a major deal-breaker for me. (check to see if royaties are paid on cover or net, also).

If you sign, read that contract. Maybe they've revised it since my day. But sorry, I can't sign with a publisher who has no options for the author.

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Lordofthehunt

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As of February, they are under new management. I'm not sure about the EP contract, as I haven't seen it, but I know Kim Richards-Gilchrist is anything but unreasonable. Though I can't speak for her, I think you'd find her easier to deal with (within reason) than her predecessor, no disrespect intended. I imagine you'll see some changes in how EP works as Kim settles in, so I wouldn't write them off yet, based on any experiences before the new year.
In all honesty, even though Eternal is a good outfit, I wouldn't worry so much about the covers as I would about the contract. I could not get them to budge on one point of the entire document. Even an agent couldn't budge them. When it was revealed that I would have to buy my own books, and that NO author's copies were allowed, I broke the deal and refused to sign. This type of behavior smacks of vanity presses, not saying they are, but to refuse ONE author copy was a major deal-breaker for me. (check to see if royaties are paid on cover or net, also).

If you sign, read that contract. Maybe they've revised it since my day. But sorry, I can't sign with a publisher who has no options for the author.

Tri
 

annetookeen

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net vs cover price

...When it was revealed that I would have to buy my own books, and that NO author's copies were allowed, I broke the deal and refused to sign. This type of behavior smacks of vanity presses, not saying they are, but to refuse ONE author copy was a major deal-breaker for me. (check to see if royaties are paid on cover or net, also).
Tri

That does sound like a deal breaker! I wonder though, if a press gives royalties on net, is there a sort of "acceptable" percentage? or should I run screaming and search for a press that does pay on cover price (which I've heard is industry standard)?

Thanks!
 

triceretops

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E-book royalties? 40% on cover is great, and that's what I got. For small press print? 12% on cover is righteous for quality trade paperback. As far as author copies on e-books, 10 to 15 is cool. Anything above five author copies for print is okay, I guess, for small press. Yet I recieved 12. For larger publising houses, a couple dozen free copies is not unusual, and I've seen much more--up to 50 and beyond.

Don't run screaming...plant your feet firmly on the ground, face them, and negotiate the terms. Reasonable publishers will work with you, and they are of the greater percentage.

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triceretops

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They did have a one-time printer set up fee for print books. Don't know if they still have it. Sales from few to non-existent are very typical for an outfit like this. I switched to another publisher, but they too are lacking any sales at all. Go to veinglory's site for the top e-publishers and try them first. Samhain and Elloras and other top five have damn near all the market share and readership. I believe that any persons interested in starting up an e-pub company at the present are doomed to failure. The market is saturated.

Tri
 

Kensington

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One author at EP has received less than three dollars in royalties, in two years. This is pretty odd because her books with other publishers sell well. She wants out, but they're insisting on a kill fee, which is not in the contract.
 
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triceretops

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They are/still a pure author mill, IMO. I have the contract, I know. This is the biggest problem with e-publishers going hog-wild, trying to sign as many authors as possible in such a short time. The K-Mart mentality--if we can't get it in quality, we'll make up for it in quantity. Three books in two years is nuts. Especially if she's a known quantity, with backlist titles out there. It shows that Eternal is doing absolutely nothing to promo these books. Why should they? Let the authors spam the world and bring in the doe.

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Kensington

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They are/still a pure author mill, IMO. I have the contract, I know. This is the biggest problem with e-publishers going hog-wild, trying to sign as many authors as possible in such a short time. The K-Mart mentality--if we can't get it in quality, we'll make up for it in quantity. Three books in two years is nuts. Especially if she's a known quantity, with backlist titles out there. It shows that Eternal is doing absolutely nothing to promo these books. Why should they? Let the authors spam the world and bring in the doe.

Tri

I couldn't agree more. There's something even odder though. This author's EP title is on Fictionwise right alongside all her other books, which are selling! And actually, I just learned, it isn't 3 EP books that have sold in two years, but just 1 -- an ebook. The other two (print) she bought herself!
 

HapiSofi

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Quoth Triceretops: They are/still a pure author mill, IMO. I have the contract, I know. This is the biggest problem with e-publishers going hog-wild, trying to sign as many authors as possible in such a short time. The K-Mart mentality--if we can't get it in quality, we'll make up for it in quantity. Three books in two years is nuts. Especially if she's a known quantity, with backlist titles out there. It shows that Eternal is doing absolutely nothing to promo these books. Why should they? Let the authors spam the world and bring in the dough.
I couldn't agree more. There's something even odder though. This author's EP title is on Fictionwise right alongside all her other books, which are selling! And actually, I just learned, it isn't 3 EP books that have sold in two years, but just 1 -- an ebook. The other two (print) she bought herself!
Hold it. That's strange. As we all know, the commonest reason a reader buys a book is because they've read and enjoyed another book by the same author. In this case, the author has two backlist titles sitting right next to the Eternal Press title. The two backlist titles are selling, but the EP title isn't?

Unless there's some obvious reason the EP title isn't selling -- completely different genre, unattractive packaging, technical barriers to buying the book -- what you're reporting is contrary to known reader behavior.

That's very odd indeed.
 

Kensington

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Hold it. That's strange. As we all know, the commonest reason a reader buys a book is because they've read and enjoyed another book by the same author. In this case, the author has two backlist titles sitting right next to the Eternal Press title. The two backlist titles are selling, but the EP title isn't?

Unless there's some obvious reason the EP title isn't selling -- completely different genre, unattractive packaging, technical barriers to buying the book -- what you're reporting is contrary to known reader behavior.

That's very odd indeed.

Actually, there were about half a dozen other titles, including the EP one, all listed on the same page at Fictionwise, and they all sold multiple copies, while the EP title sold only 1.

They were all the same genre, the EP cover was just as attractive as the others, and the blurb just as enticing. So hey, go figure. ;-)
 

HapiSofi

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Any idea how many copies those other titles sold?
 

Kensington

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Any idea how many copies those other titles sold?

Not the exact numbers. But I understand "fairly well." What I think happened here, was that the author was tied up with other projects, and just let the EP thing slide. Then when it was sold recently statements were sent out along with any royalties owing. That was the wake up call. And BTW, the EP title got a couple of really excellent reviews, so that wasn't what put readers off.
 
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Ravenwing

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EP used to be in Australia, then it was taken over by Ally Robertson. (Canada) Now by all accounts she's a real lulu. Right up on the website she blethered on about her mental illness. That's right. She's manic depressive. She obviously had no sense of boundaries, or proprieties to do such a thing.

I know an EP author. Ally kept sending out all sorts of weird messages. She was really nasty and impossible to work with. She's still there too. Also the new owner was right in there with Ally for years. So I wouldn't put too much faith in the new broom thang. :)

This is one of Ally's messages to the EP authors:

"I am not leaving EP, I did not give up 2 years of my life 50 hours a week to walk away before I see my labours bare enough fruit to be profitable. I have stayed on as Head of Production. My new position is to take care of the Art and Formatting departments, approving all art, formatting the final cover jackets, formatting the books for eBook, print and all other formats we currently offer… hopefully to implement some new ones as well once the dust has settled.

I want you all to take comfort that I did not hand over EP to just anyone, but to someone who is very familiar with its inner workings and most of the older staff. So as of January 1st 2010 the new CEO of Eternal press is Kim Richards Gilchrist. For the newer members of Eternal Press let me tell you a bit about her. During the very beginning of EP she was an editor and was then promoted to Marketing Manager where she took care of the marketing needs of EP, she brought us the attention we needed to grow as we have. She left us in May to pursue her own publishing company which is called Damnation Press which specializes in paranormal titles. She is familiar with most of the people here, and although the transition would be difficult for anyone, it should be much smoother for her as she is not lost when it comes to all we have and everywhere we sell."

That last bits funny. "Everywhere we sell." But hey, the problem is they're telling the authors that their titles AREN'T selling, and they're not paying them.

I really do think they should be investigated.
 
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