“I have a complaint and wish to let others know not to submit to Mundania Press.”
Sunday, April 17, 2011Posted in: E-publishers Behaving Very Badly, Fucktard of the week, Fucktards United
Got this email last night:
I hope I have the right email for Karen Knows Best. I have a complaint and wish to let others know not to submit to Mundania Press. I was an author with Hard Shell Word Factory who Mundaia Press bought out in the fall of 2009. To date, I have seen only the 4th quarter 2009, 3rd and 4th quarter 2010 royalty reports. Nothing for the 1st and 2nd quarter 2010 or 1st quarter 2011. Mundania has an authors loop but regardless of how many authors post emails regarding royalties and payments, all we ever get in return from publisher Daniel Weitz is “we’re working on it.” They also have an online ticket submission via private email with the same results. Zip, zilch, nada in the way of answers.
This has gotten to the point of ridiculous and I would like to alert authors not to submit to them for fear of the same results. I hope you can help me get the word out. I have also alerted Allison Kelly at RWA National to the situtation.
Thank you in advance for your time and consideration of my letter. Please feel free to contact me should you need further information.
Patti Shenberger
www.pattishenberger.com
Mundania Press….Who are they again? Are they related to that other scummy e-pub – Phaze Books?
Anybody got any more info?
Mireya
April 17
3:27 pm
Yup, Phaze is the erotic “imprint” of Mundania, if memory serves.
Patti Shenberger
April 17
5:52 pm
Yes, they also own Phaze Books as well.
Angelia Sparrow
April 18
3:23 am
Phaze/Mundania always runs a bit late on their sales reports. Look for 1Quarter 2011 to be out around July.
Patti Shenberger
April 18
1:17 pm
Angelia, I’m still looking for 1st and 2nd quarter last year as well as this year 1st quarter.
Karen Scott
April 18
8:08 pm
@AngeliaSparrow And this is acceptable?
Patti Shenberger
April 18
8:17 pm
Not to me it isn’t. As I keep saying, I have yet to get all my information to bring my royalty reports current from Fall 2009 to Spring 2011.
Angelia Sparrow
April 18
9:56 pm
@Karen
There’s a reason our last release with them was in 2007. And it wasn’t our terrific editor. It was the general difficulty they had keeping up with royalty reports, and the fact we sold better almost everywhere else. Everywhere else manages monthly reports and decent sales.
Dee Ann Palmer
April 19
6:09 pm
Before Mundania bought Awe-Struck, I notified the original publisher 90 days ahead of the end of my first contract that I didn’t want the contract automatically renewed. Without notifying me, they immediately pulled down all advertising on my novel. I posted an angry note on the authors Yahoo group so others would know, but I felt for me it was good riddance. They obviously felt the same about me. When Mundania purchased Awe-Struck, I was happy for the authors who remained. I really regret how much things have deteriorated. It gives e-publishing a really lousy name.
Reader Beware: Mundania Press, Phaze, Hard Shell, Awe-Struck, Red Rose Publishing | The Naughty Bits
April 20
7:12 pm
[...] From: Karen Knows Best ~ “I have a complaint and wish to let others know not to submit to Mundania Press… [...]
Sheryl Nantus
April 27
11:46 am
Wouldn’t go near Mundania Press again on a dare. I had the rights returned to me on a mistake years ago and then found on a royalty statement a few months ago that they were STILL selling the ebook. This almost two years after my rights were returned.
They claimed it was through a defunct link on their web page, yatta yatta yatta and apologised in one breath while in the next threatening to sue for the money they’d lost on my book due to the lack of a return policy. In a nutshell, the contract I signed had no reserve against returns, so books I begged stores to order paid me royalties and when they were returned the needle slipped into the red.
Not my fault. I didn’t write the contract.
Wouldn’t recommend them or their affiliates to anyone who is serious about being a writer. All you’ll get is a hard sell on buying your own books.
jmo, of course.