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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.
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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