new publisher?

[SJAB]

Just thought I would mention

Subject to the final editing process, my short story, "All Things Seen" will be in the anthology "Touched by Wonder" by Meadowhawk Press, hopefully it will be out in the autumn of this year.

I am more impressed with this small publisher with each email.

[John Jarrold]

Congratulations!

[Coolhand]

Way to go, SJAB!

[SJAB]

Thanks, John.

Fingers crossed that this is the first of a few this year.

[the_faery_queen]

im actually less impressed with them considering the kinda stuff they said to me.
including how they love purple prose. (blonde, tall and short are apparantly flat words, they want things like, golden corn coloured and limpit ocean pools of eyes) *shrug*
so yeah, well done, but i honestly think they don't really have much of an idea about anything (and no, this isn't me being bitter cos they rejected me. what they wrote in their emails gave me the impression that they didn't really understand anything)

[Justin Thorne]

What a wonderfully passive/aggressive way to piss on someone's chips, faery queen!

Well done, Sue!

[Teresa Edgerton]

Originally Posted by the_faery_queen

blonde, tall and short are apparantly flat words, they want things like, golden corn coloured and limpit ocean pools of eyes

Surely there is some middle ground between flat description and over-the-top purple prose. If they actually did suggest the phrase "limpit ocean pools of eyes," it would seem that they are clueless -- otherwise, it's possible they are merely seeking writers with distinctive and individual style.

I guess we'll have to wait and see what sort of stories they actually publish before we know which one it is.

In the meantime, giving them the benefit of the doubt (and taking into consideration that they obviously don't accept everything they're offered), congratulations, Sue.

[Triceratops]

So very true that many a small press has come to light that are gormless and could use a hit from a clue stick. Some are hobbiest, with nary a hint about distribution and marketing. But we do owe them the chance out of the starting gate. Some make it and some fold. We have to be very careful and investigate them thoroughly before entering into any negotions. Sometimes it's advisable to stand back and watch them from afar. Other times it just feels right and you know they're going somewhere. Mundania and Ellora's Cave come to mind.

I like a multiple person staff with a small press. I'd like to know that they understand the difference between a wholesaler and a distributor, understand that 40%--55% represents normal discounts and that returnability is expected. I like a small suite or office address instead of a PO box or house address. I want good to great editing, which demonstrates that they truly love the book that they're contracting for and wish to sell it to strangers--the general reading public. I don't neccessarily NEED an advance, but I'll take royalties on cover before net any day. Press releases and ARCs are also on my wish list, and between the two of us, preferably them, I'd like to see copies sent out to the well-known review sources, pre-release, so somebody cops a buzz about the product. And if you can't get me in book stores, then by dingies, you'd best try to get me in some libraries.

Not a whole lot to ask. There is much more of course and it does take capital to set up this business. This isn't one of those "I'll send a PDF file to LuLu with a small investment and wait for the author to fill orders" type of operations. We'll flush those out of the industry or tag them like sharks. I would just love to see POD legitimize itself somehow and get its head out of the mud. Gak. It's not like the old days--they were wonderful compared to this--they hadn't been gobbled up by the mega-pubs, and believe it or not there was such a thing as a "medium-sized" press back then, but it's going the way of the dodo today, just as surely as our US middle class is disapearing.

So, a message to all you little small press guys out there. Do it right, kay? You're our life's blood and we need each other desperately.

I'm checking out Meadhawk now. Will report back soon.

Tri

[the_faery_queen]

my friend sent her story in and they liked her descriptions which were on the limpit pools of whatever type level. well they weren't as cheesy as that, but they were all full of the cornflower sunshine and so on.

and im sorry, i have to say this, but i don't think that flowery descriptions is the same thing as having your own style. it's just a different way of doing one aspect of writing. because i certainly do have my own style of writing, my own voice, i just don't write my descriptions the way that they seemed to want.

and it wasn't passive aggressive anything, justin. i was saying what i thought based on what they said about MY work, and i think im allowed to offer an alternative viewpoint. and my viewpoint, based on their comments to me, and conversations with an editor that i know, (that i went crying to for advice just in case they had a point) is that they didn't know what they were doing, with my work at least. perhaps a different person viewed sue's story, i don't know. i just know that they dislike descriptive terms that aren't flowery and that they missed the point of the start of my novel.

congrats anyway sue.

and im sorry this is a little sharp/bitchy. im very stressed right now and finding it hard to make calm responses. so sorry about that. i think i will take a break from forums for a while until i've moved and calmed down (moving house by yourself is a nightmare)

[Teresa Edgerton]

I have to say, that's a new reason for dissing a publisher -- because they accepted a friend's story.

Different people have different ideas of what constitutes, style, vivid writing vs. purple prose, etc. Badmouthing an editor because he/she doesn't appreciate your particular approach is not the best way to get ahead in the business.

Particularly in this day and age, when anyone can Goggle their own or their organization's name, and any statement made in a public forum can get back to them.

[Del]

Just wanted to say well done to SJAB, and to the_faery_queen dont let the bastards get you down, one (wo)mans rubbish is another (wo)mans gold. Personally I like to read a bit of both and get different things from each style of writing. I think they are not seeing the woods for the trees by stereotyping and restricting their submissions. I agree that any voice can be unique, and it does not have to be flowery.

I also would like to pose a question, when we talk about the big players we talk about publishers, but the indies are referred to as small press. Does this not tell you that the service they provide stops at the printing press (in most but not all cases), while the publishers go the whole hog (some more so than others) to cover an element of the marketing and distribution. All publishers and presses will expect self promotion from their authors, and realistically who else is better positioned than the author, you know your genre, your audience, your book etc etc.

Just my 2p worth

Keep up the good work guys, there is so much talent here it is awesome!

[Teresa Edgerton]

Since (presumably) none of us here but faery_queen have read her story or her friend's, it does seem a bit unfair to characterize the publishers in question as bastards, or to automatically assume that the editor's criticism was off-base and non-constructive.

It was admittedly, naive of the editor to give any comment at all; with more experience, he or she will probably be wise enough to send out form rejections. But anyone who has ever asked the question, "Why won't editors ever tell me why they turn down my stories," might find their answer here in this thread.

[Del]

Originally Posted by Teresa Edgerton

Since (presumably) none of us here but faery_queen have read her story or her friend's, it does seem a bit unfair to characterize the publishers in question as bastards, or to automatically assume that the editor's criticism was off-base and non-constructive.

It was admittedly, naive of the editor to give any comment at all; with more experience, he or she will probably be wise enough to send out form rejections. But anyone who has ever asked the question, "Why won't editors ever tell me why they turn down my stories," might find their answer here in this thread.

I feel an edge of defensiveness here - or maybe of protecting ones interest - the term don’t let the bastards get you down, as I am sure you have come across is a generic term to say, keep your chin up, don’t give in and keep trying. Not a decisive criticism or attack of one individual.

Based on the information to hand, there was no further detail to incorporate any further decisions, so one has to make assumptions, which is what we all do in conversations in an aid to communicate.

If we all have to bow down and not say a word against the powers that hold control over us (even if it is an individual opinion), then the definition of free speech/thought/act is undermined.

[Triceratops]

It could also be surmised that they were implying that they (the editor) were prone more favorably to prose that had a "literary" bent, hense the purple prose conotation. Although they might have stepped on their own toes, in a clumsy fashion, trying to portray that designation. Therefore, issues of house style come into the equation, or maybe just the personal voice preference of the editor. Hard to know without further examination.

I read one small publisher's website that stated they would only take material that the other houses were afraid to put to print. Not much more was elaborated on. They were brand new too. And I wondered what criteria that reference was aimed at. Couldnt figure if they meant, child abuse, suicide, animal slaugher, or some other whacked out subject area. Could have been they meant "experimental" but they never called it that.

Some publishers are great at what they do, but many of them should never be allowed near a website to write a message statement. Hah! That includes my publisher, bless their hearts, and I've already told them and the whole staff that. I was instrumental in helping them to re-word some of their claims and statements, not because they were fraudulent, but because they were slightly misleanding and off-target.

Tri

[Teresa Edgerton]

Well, let's look at the situation here. We are not talking about some huge publishing conglomerate. We are talking about a start-up publisher, which someone is undoubtedly funding out of their own pocket, and giving writers who might not otherwise have the chance to do so at this point in their career a chance to sell their stories to a paying market.

They have given a boost to the career of faery_queen's friend's, and at the same time given our own SJAB her first professional sale. And yet, because one of their editors has done what writers are always hoping editors will do -- which is give them feedback -- they're suddenly the "powers who have control of us" and to give them their due is somehow to "bow down before" them.

Oh, and because I'm pointing out that perhaps something good is going on here, despite faery_queen's disappointment, I'm defensive -- even though I have no personal stake here at all?

Sue has worked long and hard for this sale, and when she comes here to share her moment with the rest of us -- and possibly give a little encouragement to other aspiring writers -- instead of celebrating that moment with her, we're supposed to be talking about how unfair it all is that another person didn't make a sale to the same anthology?

If you don't find that offensive, I do, and I'm darn well going to exercise my own freedom of speech to say so.