More ranting on epubs…

This is very interesting:
http://karenknowsbest.com/2009/09/22/quartet-press-wheres-the-remorse-are-we-any-the-wiser/

I thought I was the only one who felt this way. The Quartet Press drama seemed just so…bizarre. I mean, they promoted the company well in advance of an opening date. They used the romance reading/ writing community to their advantage in promoting the company. They even hired an influential editor from her job to join the company.

Then they announce the company will not open. The on coming staff is left with the deer in the headlights confusion. (Including leaving Angela James without a job…)

What the hell?

I read this post too: http://booksquare.com/how-i-spent-my-summer-vacation/

My question is, did you think starting an publishing company would be easy? It is not. That is why so many fail within the first 2 years.

Okay, I’ve been around the block in epublishing a while. Yes, I did sub to newbie epubs in my time. I’ve learned from my mistakes.

Keys to looking at epubs, especially NEW companies not yet open:

* Are they running a “contest” where the prize is a contract? For newbie pubs, this is a disguised way to get submissions. Beware. If the pub is established (I’m thinking Amber Quill) and they run a contest, it is fine. Why? In Amber Quill’s “Amber HEAT” contest, it is because they are normally closed to open submissions.

* Does the company have anyone claiming ownership?  In other words, is there an actual NAME of the owner on the site. If not, what is the big secret? This is the first thing I look at. There are a few epubs out there (even established ones) who hide the owner names. Again, why?

* I am also leery of epubs run by authors. Why? Been there, done that. It becomes a vanity press for the owner. That is just not cool. I can remember how the owner of Venus Press would put her books into print over the better selling books–just because she could. I’ve even seen “best seller” lists tweaked to include the owner’s books, bumping another author from the list. I am not lying. Can you see why I butt heads with her? The question you have to ask if an epub is run by an author, are they using it to publish their own books? Of course, New Concepts Publishing comes immediately to mind as well. The owners hid for YEARS behind multi pen names. They give their books preference for print and promo in magazines. They continue to produce new pen names to publish under. It is sickening to those of us who were unfortunate enough to sign with them. Anyone NOT an owner became window dressings to a vanity press. When I signed with them, I had thought it was a good epub as they were in business for years and years. Shit. Oh how wrong I was! I discovered shortly after signing that their big name authors were the owners. How? I met them at RT! I was duped. (I won’t even get into the trouble I had with being emailed crap from Madris. That is a whole other rant. Check out this link for more on how NCP threatened those of us (members of the NCP Bad Apples) who dared challenge the owners on High: http://karenknowsbest.com/category/new-concepts-publishing-behaving-like-fucktards/  Oh, we made her list. Yeah, I’m shaking. Pfft. No, not so much.)

Can you all tell I hit my limit with bull shit?

Renee, girl you best email me your new number. I feel a bitchfest in the future.