Who Says All E-Publishers Are Batshit Crazy, Money-Grabbing, Scumbags?
Thursday, December 27, 2007Posted in: I Guess Whiskey Creek Press Didn't Like Being Called A
I just read this on Erecsite:
“Dear WCP Authors…
Hope all of you had a wonderful Christmas, and we wish you a great New
Year’s too. We’ve been working very hard at WCP, and we are making
some changes which we believe will help all of us find a bigger
audience for all our great WCP titles.
First, beginning with all new contracts signed on January 1, 2008
forward, the set-up fee charged by Pawprints to WCP authors for the
print option will be paid by Whiskey Creek Press (the book must be
35,000 words or more to be print eligible). WCP will put the book into
print and pay the set-up fee to Pawprints when one of two things happens:
1) The author pre-orders and pays for 30 copies or more, at the author
discount price (this is optional).
2) The book sells 50 copies or more in ebook format.”
OK, I get that WCP’s authors no longer have to pay for their own printing, but why do they have to buy 30 copies of their own books first?
I’m guessing that selling fifty e-books wont be a problem to most authors at WCP (or is it?) therefore, they wont have to worry about item number one. Maybe.
Anyhoo, it’s good to see an e-book publisher who listens and responds in a positive fashion, because let’s face it, that shit’s rarer than a lucid Britney Spears.
You can read the full statement over at Em’s Erecsite blog.
Hey, does this mean that they bowed down to pressure from The People? *g*
Sarah McCarty
December 27
1:38 pm
It is good to see a major negative being turned around. Good for WCP.
Teddy Pig
December 27
1:53 pm
30 copies is the break even mark on the print books huh?
azteclady
December 27
4:13 pm
I don’t know nuthin’ but… seems to me that it’s still a vanity press when the author has to buy a minimum his/her own books in order for the publisher to print them.
But I guess I’m a cynic.
Karen Scott
December 27
4:27 pm
I must admit AL, that puzzled me too. I wonder what the reasoning behind that particular condition was?
azteclady
December 27
4:35 pm
Karen, I read Making Light often, and that can be an education and a half on publishing. My take is that the publisher doesn’t have the wherewithal (money, distribution, what have you) to handle actual print runs the way established print publishers do (i.e., advance against sales). Hence their turning the print side of the publishing into a vanity press / print on demand operation.
Still knowing nothing (’cause I don’t write, have no ambition to write, will never become a writer, let alone be published), I can’t help but think that WCP would do better by admitting they don’t do print. *shrug*
Sarah McCarty
December 27
5:04 pm
I’m assuming those 30 books purchased will not be at a discount which as Teddy says must be the break even point to earn back the print fee. Authors who want to buy their own books don’t have to wait for the book to sell up to a certain point before the house considers it eligible for print.
Now, I don’t know anything about WCP except that they charge their authors fees, but as a new author looking to coming on board, I’d be a bit concerned reading that clause. It implies the publisher isn’t confident that they can sell 50 ebooks. That’s an awfully low number. If there’s an extended wait to sell 50 books, (and there must be otherwise why list it as a condition)an author should consider how hard it will be to build readership at that house. Since all ebooks start with a 0 print run, some promotion is necessary but if there are no royalties to fund promotion, then selling the book can quickly become a drain on other income as the author tries to build readership to make the writing self supporting.
Now, that isn’t slam against any small ehouse or any author publishing with them. It’s just this is a business and the cost of doing business probably should not be overlooked by the author any more than it should be overlooked by the publisher when one is considering entering into a business contract. And a house’s lack of confidence that they can sell 50 ebooks is going to create issues for any author looking to build a career. If it takes month to sell 50 books then that means months with token or no royalties and no money for promotion. No money for promotion means no way to build readership except through a reliance on the houses’s promotion . However, if the anticipation of the house is it’s going to take a bit to sell 50 books, then counting on the houses promotion is probably not going to produce the results the author is looking for. Since it’s a rare author that’s just going to let a book release and fend for itself, some promotion is likely to be attempted. And if royalties are not going to be forthcoming, then the money will have to come from somewhere.
My point being, unless the author’s goal is just to be published, it is important to weigh the both the intangible and tangible benefits of where they are thinking of accepting an offer. Depending on one’s goals and circumstances, sometimes it ends up better waiting for another opportunity. Sometimes not.
Karen Scott
December 27
5:14 pm
So basically, nothing’s really changed?
Sarah McCarty
December 27
6:26 pm
Oh, I think things have changed.
It is no longer required for an author to pay for the books to go to print. THATS good.
Whether WCP should venture into print is a whole other issue. And it’s good they’ve said is eligible for print and not will go to print automatically. Print is costly. It can put a business under faster than anything else. Definitely not something for an epublisher to commit to lightly.
The implications of that 50 book limit just caught my eye. You know me. As much as I love the creation process, when it comes to contract time, I’m always looking at it like a business.
Nonny
December 27
6:27 pm
Personally, I would not publish with a publisher that required me to purchase 30 copies of my own book to qualify for printing. It’s “optional,” but if most books sell less than fifty copies (as is my suspicion; otherwise, why would they have such a stipulation?) then if the author wants their book in print………
It strikes me as skeezy all around.
Emily Veinglory
December 27
11:32 pm
It’s any either/or statement. The author doesn’t have to buy any books.
Nonny
December 28
2:48 am
They may not “have” to, but I still wonder how well a company is doing if they need to say, “In order for us to put your book into print, we either need to sell 50 copies — or you, the author, need to preorder 30.”
I understand that print is a risky venture for e-publishers; it’s why some, like Liquid Silver, only print their best-selling titles. But I don’t know of any other publisher that has this kind of a “deal” for their authors.
It just seems off to me, and makes me wonder how well the company is actually doing. There have been so many go under this past year, I as a writer wouldn’t want to invest my hard work in a shaky venture.
Emily Veinglory
December 28
2:53 am
Well yes, I think it is two steps forward and one back to even formally offer that option which is another form of subsidy. But I am trying to give some benefit of the doubt (for a change).
Pepper Espinoza
December 28
3:15 am
I don’t think 50 ebooks will be a hardship for WCP authors. Even my poorest selling title over there passed that barrier easily.
My first thought for the 30 author copies was actually book signings/conferences/other promo work. That’s why people usually order author copies, isn’t it? I figured they were just saying “Hey, if you want to take your books to RWA or RT (or conference of your choice), order 30, and we’ll print it for free.” Why else would anybody want 30 copies of their own book?
Anonymous
December 28
7:16 pm
No, not all e-publishers are “Batshit Crazy, Money-Grabbing, Scumbags” But looks like there’s a special contest going on for those who are.
Found this today and thought I’d share:
http://cumhitherglobal.blogspot.com/2007/12/happy-shark-award-vote-now-for-former-e.html
Anon