False hopes

Not much to report at the moment.  Things are busy on WB leaving me fairly quite everywhere else, although regular editing of Soul Reunion continues at a modest pace.

I've had to write a new bio for the 'secret' story due to be released early next year, and I need to grab a friend with a camera and go out and get a new bio shot for it.  Sounds exciting huh?  Wish I could tell you more, but not yet.

However, there has been some excitement!  On Tuesday this week I received an e-mail from an admissions editor.  Can you imagine my delight?!  Apparently they had come accross my manuscript for Soul Reunion while perusing the internet and wanted to publish it in e-book and print format.  It sounded brilliant.  It sounded amazing.  It sounded to good to be true.  It was. 

After taking my news to the trusted and experienced members of Writer's Beat and asking if any of them heard about it, I replied to the e-mail asking for more details, as well as going to the publisher's website and doing some research there too.

My fellow WB members came back with exactly the same conclusions as I had, the killers points of which included:

• The publisher had found my story on Authonomy, where I am a member and my manuscript is available to fellow members to read.
• A consdierable number of Authonomy members had received the same e-mail from the admissions editor in the last week.
• The publisher is a POD publisher, meaning 'print on demand', often referred to as 'papermill publishers'.
• There is very little editorial support offered.
• Some marketing opportunities will be offered by the editor, but the main responsibilty lies with the author.
• Authors only receive 10% of royalities from any sales
• Authors give away any rights to the work, although still retain copyright.  Meaning I couldn't take it to another publisher in the future.
• The publisher deals with everything via e-mail.  No phone calls.

If alarm bells hadn't been ringing before (and they had), they were now.  Suffice to say I won't be taking the matter with them.  Yes, it is disapointing, but the optomistic view is that I am no worse off than before they made contact with me. 

The manuscript, although complete is still being edited and is not quite ready for unveiling yet.   So I am sticking to my original plans.  Edit in my own time, carefully select a number of agents and submit.  Let's do things the proper way.