Who In Their Right Mind Signs A 75-Book Deal With Elloras Cave Of All People???
Wednesday, July 13, 2011Posted in: crazy talk by crazy people, Elloras Cave, there's a fucktard born every minute
Seriously, I’m having a hard time believing it, but the evidence is right here.
I wouldn’t mind, but we all know that in approximately eighteen months time, Laurann Dohner will be sobbing into her Zinfandel, whilst throwing hate bombs at EC, bemoaning the day she ever got into bed with them. So to speak.
I can name a few prolific EC authors who were all tight and shit with the higher-ups, until it all seemed to go to crap after The Royal Shafting began. Amarinda Jones, Carol Lynne, Lora Leigh, Chey McCray, to name but a few.
I don’t know why anybody would enslave themselves to one publisher in this way. What if a better publisher comes along? One who offers advances and everything?
I get that she’s prolific, and she could probably do it in no time, but how crazy does a person have to be to sign their books away in such a fashion?
The business sense or lack thereof astounds me.
Anyway, good luck to Ms Dohner, God knows she’s gonna need it.
Via Dear Author Jane on Twitter.
KB/KT Grant
July 13
2:54 pm
Unless I was given at $5 million advance, I’d walk away. Maybe they are shorts under 10k words? Then maybe I can see Dohner publishing 75 of them.
SarahT
July 13
3:15 pm
I thought this was a joke when I saw it on Twitter. I thought Ellora’s Cave didn’t pay advances. Did this change?
Edie
July 13
3:25 pm
I originally thought it had to be a typo.
It is definitely a very questionable business move on behalf of the author. In so many different ways.
But it is not really that sharp a move on the behalf of EC either is it? What if her sales tank out? How are they going to fit 75 books into their schedule? Unless their submissions are way, way down.
Christine Rimmer
July 13
5:00 pm
>Unless their submissions are way, way down.
Hmm. What Edie said.
Karen Scott
July 13
5:16 pm
@Christine @Edie I’m thinking that the submissions theory is right on. I read on Dear Author that they are now allowing golden showers in some of their books. That was always a no-no before. I say it’s only a matter of time before they start to allow incest books and scat books too. Not to put too fine a point on it, but allowing golden showers and the like is a slippery slope.
Nothing in the least romantic about golden showers is there?
Angelia Sparrow
July 13
8:23 pm
Karen, the golden showers are only allowed in the m/m line and the BDSM line. They will fit nicely over there.
Before you all jump on me, let me say I was a little surprised by the number of radio hosts on OutQ (the gay channel) who talk fondly about golden showers. The way they talk, about the physical warmth of the act and intimacy involved (a lot of guys are pee-shy), really surprised me.
I can actually see it working in a same-sex romance, as long as it is both guys’ kink.
As for me, I haven’t subbed anything to EC this year. I doubt I will. I’ve written 2 novels and have 2 more in the works and they are all spoken for.
Lynne Connolly
July 13
10:22 pm
I’m still writing for EC, still enjoying it, still getting good sales.
It might be different elsewhere. But the authors there are a savvy lot, on the whole, and EC has never claimed it’s one big family. Which I appreciate.
But then, I have several other publishers, too. I would never give one publisher all my books, unless I was offered the aforesaid millions. And then not future books, unless I’d already written them.
I wait on events.
Bernice
July 14
4:23 am
EC isn’t hard up for submissions. I guess you all didn’t read all the debut author promos this week on Facebook.
No EC doesn’t offer advances and yes I somewhat agree that Laurann should have accepted a lesser deal and maybe self-published some of them or spread her books around to various publishers like I do. But since 50 of the books are already written, I guess she said why not instead of risking rejection someplace else or having to self-edit, create the covers market and all that jazz.
Laurann has a kick-ass following and sells like hot cakes one of the reasons why EC offered her the deal. She’ll earn enough to keep her a stay home mom and possibly Mr. Dohner as well without any fear of returning that million dollar advance if her books don’t sell.
di
July 14
5:17 am
I don’t believe this is how advances work.
Karen Scott
July 14
5:58 am
@Bernice Oh is that what happens with advances? I always thought that the publisher took a calculated risk, and took their lumps if things didn’t go to plan? *g*
It’s not really about Ms Dohner having already written those books or having loads of fans who will swallow them up though, it’s about her enslaving herself to one publisher, to the tune of 75 books. You can’t tell me that makes any kind of business sense??
Re those debut author promos, I got this from an EC author yesterday:
So, how true is the above assertion then?
Edie
July 14
6:39 am
I think it makes the story a bit worse if they are not hard up for submissions, just how are they going to fit 75 books out into the program?
Though I guess they could stop doing the repub of old stories, while not advertising that they are reissues..
But even then, if they do have a full stable of authors, how are they going to get those 75 books out without negatively impacting the other authors?
Karen Scott
July 14
6:44 am
My guess is, they wont be able to. From time to time I see authors at EC who have more than one book out in a week. Which is bound to hit their fans in the pocket. They would no doubt shell out for one book, but two books from the same author makes it trickier. And it’s not like EC’s ebooks are cheap.
Maria
July 14
6:47 am
Seems to me this is one of those unsubstantiated rumors that keep getting tossed around about EC, something people have been doing for years.
The company has done enough stupid things all on its own without having to make shit up. Until someone actually names names–which editors are which authors?–it just seems like shit stirring for the sake of shit stirring.
If that author has a legit complaint about not getting her rights back, she should by all means air it. It’s something other writers need to be aware of. Adding unsubstantiated rumors to her complaints aren’t really helping her, though. It makes the entire thing seem full of bull.
Karen Scott
July 14
7:06 am
@Maria Well you know what they say about smoke and fire. And if the most consistent thing about the stories and accusations are that they’re recycled time and time again, you know there’s probably some truth to the rumours.
What I want to know is whether this book deal breaks some kind of record? Does anybody know if any other publisher has offered and been taken up on a book-deal such as this before? You have my permission to go off and Google. I’m far too busy trying to write a review for a Lacey Alexander book!
Amarinda Jones
July 14
7:51 am
“…who were all tight and shit with the higher-ups, until it all seemed to go to crap after The Royal Shafting began.”
But yes, you live and learn and I move on wiser for the experience.
KB/KT Grant
July 14
11:15 am
Bernice: She’s written 50 already? How… I can’t even comprehend that. Again, maybe these are shorts under 10k? Maybe her deal is to publish over a few decades? I can understand a 10 book contract but 75 book contract does box you in.
I guess if EC has treated Laurann well and she’s making money, why not exclusively publish with them? Hopefully she did get an advance.
Lynne Connolly
July 14
11:56 am
All I can say is that I’ve had two editors at EC, and neither of them write or have ambitions to do so.
EC tends to prefer that their editors don’t write, and the admission “exam” is as rigorous as ever.
I take rumours as rumours until names are put to them. My sales are still good there, despite the high prices at third party sites. They still get a flood of submissions, so no lack there.
The old smoke and fire thing is less and less true, especially on the Internet, so I’ve stopped listening to them, unless they’re particularly amusing. If it happens to me, I’ll say so, and I’ll name names, but so far, it’s working for me there. If the gossips won’t name names, then it’s not worth listening to.
There’s that old “history” email that keeps being recycled, and I know some people who believe it and quote it as fact.
What I’d advise any author to do, epub, trad pub, whatever, is to have more than one publisher, however good they are to you, however much money you make with them. In these uncertain times, it’s good to have backups. If I’d only had one publisher when Triskelion folded, I’d have been stuffed. Hedge your bets, don’t let one person or entity rule your career.
Becky H.
July 20
2:51 am
With all the bad publicity EC got with the brashears case this surprises me too. They didn’t even want to show up in court for that so doesn’t make them very reliable as a publisher
Lynne Connolly
July 20
12:44 pm
If EC had turned up in court, Samhain could have required them to make their books open to them, not just the court officials or a third party. But Samhain would not be required to reciprocate.
EC couldn’t win, even if they’d “won.” While EC isn’t lily-white, neither are any other publishers. But they had little choice but to default, or hand over all their business secrets, sales etc, to a rival.
I would say that makes EC more reliable, not less.