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Perils and Pitfalls of Book Publishing
The realities of the book-selling business...
The Perils And Pitfalls Of Publishing: Who Can
An Author Trust?
By Dee Power And Brian Hill
One out of every eight people call themselves a writer, which
means there are roughly 24 million people in the United States
who carry that banner. Unfortunately there are charlatans and
scam artists just waiting to ambush the unsuspecting author.
How can a novice writer protect themselves?
Anyone can call themselves a publisher. Always remember money
flows towards the author from the publisher, not the other way
round.
What to look out for:
Charges the author a fee up front, to have their book accepted,
considered or read. These fees are sometimes called a reading
fee, intake fee or administrative fee.
Directs authors toward specific editing services or gives
authors’ names to these services, with the caveat that if the
author hires the editing service, their book will be published.
Every book needs editing. It is part of the publisher’s job to
provide that editing at no cost.
Offers a contract where the author has to pay for part of the
publishing costs. The acquisition editor will sometimes say
that the publisher’s list is full for that season, but the
author’s book has so much going for it, they would still like
to publish it. However the publisher’s resources are fully
committed and the author will have to share in the costs.
Some publishers offer contracts that are unfair, such as they
obtain rights that should remain with the author of the work.
Some publishers’ contracts contain a clause that if the author
says anything negative about the publisher, there is a monetary
fine.
There are also publishers who hold the rights for a lengthy
time period, regardless of whether the book is still in print
or selling.
The publisher doesn’t disclose they are a Publish on Demand
(POD), or vanity/subsidy publisher. There is nothing wrong with
an author using a subsidy/vanity publishing company as long as
the author is well aware of the disadvantages. Publish on
Demand books are not, as a rule, stocked by bookstores.
Some POD publishers will insist that their books are available
in book stores, as a way to get around this issue. Available is
not the same thing as stocked. Available only means the book can
be ordered through the bookstore. Since the majority of books
sold, are stocked and sold by bookstores, this situation puts a
damper on sales.
What else can a writer do to check if a publisher is
legitimate?
Go to the local bookstore and see if any of the publisher’s
titles are stocked. Ask the manager if necessary.
Search the Internet using the publisher’s name plus the word
‘scam’ or ‘complaint.’
A publisher’s website is targeted to its customers. If the
website promotes the books they’ve published that’s a good
sign.
If the website is focused on recruiting writers, that’s a bad
sign.
Go to forums or bulletin boards that are for writers and see
what the authors who have published with the publisher you’re
considering have to say about their experience.
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About The Author: Dee Power and Brian Hill,
http://www.BrianHillAndDeePower.com , are the authors of "The
Making of a Bestseller: Success Stories from Authors and the
Editors, Agents, and Booksellers Behind Them." Their latest
novel, "Over Time," is a financial thriller: A story of lost
loves, found glory, and business treachery.
http://www.OverTimeTheNovel.com
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