The Perils of Finding an Independent Publisher

This hub is based upon a recent forum discussion, in which a Hubber seeking publication for a screenplay sought advice about a certain independent publisher. The words attributed to me here are my own, copied ad verbum from the forum thread, except that the Hubber’s and publisher’s names have been left out.

Q: Does anyone have any experience with a certain independent publisher?

My First Answer

I'd read the contract carefully and consider getting professional advice. Also, you may want to contact Writers Beware to hear of any information they have on this publisher, which is a free service…

My Second Answer

I suggest that you start with the Writers Beware website, where they provide a link to email them and even encourage writers to make contact prior to signing with publishers.

What I meant by seeking professional advice is that you might be surprised to know how publishing contracts tend to be tilted against the author, and most authors are unable to spot the pitfalls. Anyone with experience in reviewing contracts, preferably publishing contracts, should be able to do it - including literary agents.

The service to which I was referring is described here:

http://accrispin.blogspot.com/2007/02/h … eware.html

Here is the link to Writers Beware, where there is an explanation and an email address to submit contracts and such:

http://www.sfwa.org/for-authors/writer-beware/

My Third Answer

I did read their website, but withheld comment on that until now because I did not want to interfere with the OP's decision. Here is what I noted:

(1) The publisher offered really strange advice on editing rates and ghostwriters. They claimed that editing rates above $3-5 per page are excessive, and should only be paid for using "ghostwriting services," which they claim that authors commonly use. They linked to a $1/page editing service.

I had some problems with that:
- Reputable publishers usually do not frown upon expensive editing. Editing at $5/page, double-spaced is a competitive rate in my opinion, and it can cost a lot more than that. I thought it very strange that a reputable publisher would recommend its authors to use a $1/page editing service, even saying that clients should demand that rate for single-spaced pages. Usually, rates are set by word / double-spaced pages, so that would be an extremely low rate;
- This may indicate a kickback scheme between the publisher and the editing service. Certainly, it indicates that the publisher is not too serious about the quality of the finished product.

(2) The publisher recently, and without providing any explanation, stopped accepting submissions for book manuscripts. They say they may resume it in the future. This could be an indication that they are not doing too well.

(3) From the Google landing page, a .biz domain (which is often considered less than elegant), the publisher provided a link to their "home page," a site in the .com domain. However, clicking on that just led back to the very same page - so we cannot see if they even own the .com domain in question.

I only spent about 15 minutes reading their site, and can only wonder what further research might have revealed.

Q: Please tell me there's a way for me to learn without falling for a scam first!

My fourth answer

There is a way. You have to understand their business model, then they are no longer opaque. Like how can they make a profit? Here are some of the possibilities:

(1) Mainstream publisher making money off their best authors (you usually need an agent for those);

(2) Subsidy and vanity publishers that clearly require money upfront (beware hidden fees and charges as the publication process progresses);

(3) Back-end vanity publishers, which claim that they are not vanity publishers - these make money by requiring or pressuring their authors to buy books from them at a discount, essentially making authors their primary customers, often with the publisher having a minimal marketing budget. They may also get editing fees etc. out of their authors (reputable publishers usually do not);

(4) Shallow publishers, whose real intention it is to acquire as many rights as possible, not to agressively publish and market the book. Here, they will profit from the few successful titles, dumping the rest after 1-2 years. This they can do at little expense, since they use print-on-demand and pay no advance royalties to the author.

Surely, there are other combinations and telltale signs. The organizations we've discussed know them all.

My fifth answer

I wish you luck finding a reputable agent with a proven record of selling books to reputable publishers.

Conclusions and recommendations

The attractive part about independent publishers is that they tend to be accessible to new authors, because they often accept submissions from anybody. Typically, the author will submit a query letter and a few chapters via mail or in an email message, then wait for the publisher’s permission to send the whole manuscript via mail or as an email attachment.

The risky part of dealing with smaller, independent publishers should hopefully be obvious from the above: There is often no strong marketing plan, no significant marketing budget, no upfront royalty payments, and potentially expenses and loss of valuable intellectual property rights for the author.

When looking for a reputable publisher, the author needs to consider the publisher’s business model. The publisher has to turn a profit somehow, and if books are sold in insignificant quantities on the open market, chances are that the author will be paying the price one way or the other.

Hiring a literary agent is often a must when dealing with mainstream publishers, which may not accept submissions directly from unpublished authors. When dealing with smaller, independent publishers having an agent can be advantageous. But authors should beware that there are many disreputable agents that specialize in selling books on to disreputable publishers, so that is yet another pitfall to be avoided.