Quartet Press Getting Lots of Love Before They Open, But Why?
Tuesday, August 18, 2009Posted in: E-publishers in love
Mrs Giggles has a blog up discussing the goodwill and fanfare that has surrounded Quartet Press, even though there has nary been a sampling of their wares.
Mrs G writes:
Hmm, not yet launched, but already featured on Dear Author and on the Tweet circuit with the pulse of the romance online community. Lots of buzz from various members of the online community. I’m tickled by how they are building momentum in the same way that Ravenous Romance did, only Ravenous Romance earned the ire of most of the online community even before they published anything. Compare that to the way Quartet Press seems to be earning lots of love even before having published anything, and I’m tickled because, you know, the working of Blog Land never ceases to fascinate me.
She makes a good point methinks. Let’s face it, when was the last time RomLand embraced an e-publisher before they were even open?
I can’t be arsed re-phrasing my response over at Mrs G’s blog, so here’s exactly what I wrote:
I haven’t commented even once on the whole Quartet Press hype, because at the end of the day, they are still a new e-book publisher who may or may not go the same way as quite a few other e-pubs. I’ll postpone judgement until they do something worth lauding or screaming about. If they fuck up, I’ll certainly have no problem shining a torch at them.
You can’t be surprised by the goodwill though surely, seeing as the SBs and Dear Author are fairly friendly with Kassia Krozser (Booksquare), who’s one of the founders of QP.
Kassia isn’t batshit crazy, so it’s assumed that her and her partners wont pull a Gail Northman. I’d say that she was a safe bet actually. She’s been online for yonks and hasn’t lost her marbles in public yet. Plus she’s fairly savvy, and has a credibility that some new publishers lack from the get-go.
The problem with endorsing any company before one actually samples the fruits of their labour though, is that if they turn out to be crap, it leaves one with egg on one’s face.
Like somebody else wrote over at Mrs G’s, I’d prefer to take the wait and see approach on this one.
I remember when Samhain first opened, a fellow blogger sent me an email announcing that she didn’t see how they were going to be able to compete with Elloras Cave, and that she wouldn’t be buying anything from them. I knew nothing about Samhain at the time, so I decided to wait and see. That reader blogger has since become one of their staunchest supporters.
With so much support and goodwill from different factions within RomLand, they better be good. No pressure. Much.
UPDATE
News just in, apparently Angela James, Executive Editor for Samhain has joined up with Quartet Press. She has officially resigned from Samhain.
Yep, you could have knocked me down with a feather when I heard that news.
Well, QP hit a home run bagging Angie that’s for sure.
As the public face of Samhain, she did a great job. I bet Crissy Bashear is gutted.
Denise
August 20
12:45 pm
Thanks for responding, Kassia!
These, right here, are what I believe many are looking for in an answer once it’s boiled down. From a number-cruncher’s standpoint, I can appreciate the very detailed explanation you listed above, but cutting to the chase like the above quotes is probably what most wanted to see.
If I’m reading this correctly, then QP’s royalty structure is adjusted gross, which is what I’ve seen from my publisher. Yes, they do pay gross, but it is adjusted gross.
Was it Fae who asked the question? I’ve checked the website again and didn’t see a spot where answers are posted to questions submitted. I make no accusation that QP is avoiding questions, but I’ll reiterate that the current scatter-shot method of answering them on various forums is inefficient. I’m glad to hear there will soon be a FAQ on the site. I’ll resubmit my question at the QP site as well and hope it gets through a second time.
Again, thanks for popping in to continue addressing the issue of royalty structure and for answering my individual questions.
Kassia Krozser
August 20
4:30 pm
Fae — You bring up a good question (and I can’t locate your original question in the archives, though I know I’ve seen it because I checked with the Dear Author thing, it’s part of the response about Kindle sales). I had to go back to the full agreement to make sure I wasn’t speaking out of turn. While the language does not specifically state that the full price will prevail in the event of a sale on our site, it does address the instances of buy one, get one free or similar sales (author still receives the full royalty as if the book had been sold at regular price). I will make sure the language in that section is clear.
Denise — I’m glad we’ve cleared this up. I don’t think I said anything different this time (looking back at my answers here and on our site), except to go into *extreme* detail about royalties. The original issue was a commenter who stated that she (he?) had heard we paid on the net, and I asked that that term be defined because it gets thrown around without a clear definition. My first response stated that we don’t charge expenses as well.
(And even though it probably bores most people to tears to read this stuff, I think it’s really critical for authors to understand how the money flows. I think the reason this discussion has gone on as long as it has 🙂 is because most people don’t dig into the bits and pieces — and I certainly don’t blame them!)
So the reason I respond in various forums as well as our site (and I am fast-tracking the FAQ to make it easier on everyone) is because the information is being disseminated in these venues. You indicated you’d go to a publisher’s website for answers first, and I appreciate that. The truth is that many people get their information from other sources. I can’t expect that the people who read (the very patient) Karen’s site will do more research. I hope they do, but if someone like “areader” continues to post similar comments in various forums without clarification, then, well, you know. You’ve been online long enough.
Now I really am going away. I again apologize to Karen for monopolizing her site.
Mireya
August 20
5:59 pm
@Kassia: I am among those sitting on the fence until QP opens to the public. However, I have to say, from a reader’s perspective, that the discussion is very interesting, even when I am not an author nor intend to ever become one. In the over 6 years that I’ve been reading forums and blogs, and interacting online with publishers and authors as I co-own an erotic romance reviews little publication for which I act as publisher liaison (I omit the name as I am not here for self-promotion), I think this is the first time I have read such detail offered by a new publisher.
Denise
August 21
3:25 am
Kassia, I’m looking forward to seeing the FAQ on the website.
As for the royalty structure, I think it was actually the detail that may have been the original source of confusion. I think based on the commentary I’ve seen go back and forth, each party was asking the other to define net and gross. You did so in your response to me when you went into exactly what consituted gross, adjusted gross and net and defined them as such. Prior to that, your explanation was expansive but never really stated exactly which it applied to for the purposes of QP’s payment structure. Without that definition attached to the explanation, there’s still plenty of room for misinterpretation by the reader or a need for more focus so that the person wondering how royalties are paid aren’t still walking away asking “So, which is it? Gross or net?” Adjusted gross can bear a striking resemblance to net in many incarnations.
I realize this is probably beating a dead horse, but I don’t want you to have the impression that those of us asking this question aren’t listening or aren’t getting it. We are. We just want to make sure we understand exactly which slot in the often complex structure of contingent compensation this payment structure falls.
Even the most savvy number twisters and contract negotiaters will take this to the mat on occasion for clarification. A merchandise dispute between Disney and a company called Cry Wolf is a great example of how one entity interpreted royalty payment as opposed to another. http://www.fwrv.com/news/article.cfm?id=100788
As for responding in various forums, I think it’s a good thing. Just mirror it at your website as well–which is something you’ve said you have in the works and which I think is great.
Gah, like you, I’m zipping it and will just stick to reading the comments. Sorry, Karen and readers, for hijacking the thread.
Kassia Krozser
August 21
4:19 am
Denise — No worries. I don’t mind answering questions. I don’t have your direct email address, so one last response here. Anytime you have questions (or want to talk about Disney disputes — ah, good times, that was part of my former job, though for another studio!), contact me at kassia @ quartetpress dot com.
Denise
August 21
12:14 pm
Excellent! I’ll do that today. Thanks, Kassia!
Alison Kent
August 21
4:04 pm
Windows 7 is about to be launched this fall and I have new computers I need to build. Will I load them with Vista and reload with Windows 7 when it’s available in a few months? I think not. I’m loading XP.
I chuckled at this because I’ve been running Win 7 Beta for MONTHS and can’t wait for my official disk to arrive. Just bought a new slimline tower running Vista so get the upgrade for nearly free. (I let the geek husband handle that.) Win 7 is my fave OS ever.
Jen
August 24
4:03 am
Windows 7 is about to be launched this fall and I have new computers I need to build. Will I load them with Vista and reload with Windows 7 when it’s available in a few months? I think not. I’m loading XP.
I chuckled at this because I’ve been running Ubuntu Linux for 3 years and completely avoided the entire Vista debacle, not to mention having a sleek, functional, stable, and gorgeous OS.
But I’m in IT, too, and everybody who’s stuck with Windows is sticking with XP for as long as they can, and until Redmond pries it from their cold, dead, and geeky fingers. It’ll be a sad day in Mudville when we have to turn the lights out on XP.
areader
September 9
7:47 pm
And poof! They’re gone!
Karen Scott
September 9
10:06 pm
@AReader, your comment made me chuckle no end. Thanks for the heads up.
Quartet Press Close Before The Door Opens | The Independent Publishing Magazine
September 29
2:06 pm
[…] for those who chimed in on the ‘let’s wait and see the quality of books’, (Mrs Giggles Blog, Karen Knows Best), but now is not the time for finger pointing or singing the ‘told-ya-so’ chorus with a […]