Ask. Research. Bug the hell out of people…

 

 

So, I’m waiting to see what happens in the ongoing Noble Romance Publishing–will-they-pay-me-all-the-royalties-they-have-failed-to-for-frigging-yonks? I got several emails yesterday from them, which is unusual, because other than blaming the person that left Noble in a bugger of a mess, they have avoided speaking to me or many other authors at all. Word is they will only speak to the obedient, suck up authors. I should point out, firstly, that’s not me and this ‘word’ has not stopped me emailing them. My personal belief is just because someone ignores you it doesn’t mean you stop doing what you know is right for you – and this gets to the point of this blog. Publishing – epublishing especially – because any bugger on the planet can set up an epublishing company online – is a messy business. To be honest, you can’t trust anyone but yourself when it comes to your rights in it.  

• Look and learn from other authors. Noble isn’t the only epublisher with crapaciousness going on.  

• Read author blogs. Email those authors and ask what they think of a publisher. A decent author will give an honest opinion. 

• Look at the publisher’s website. Check out the names of the people listed on their ‘who are we/info’ page and google them to see if they are made up people. Yeah. It happens.  

• Check out the authors. Heard of any of them? No? Probably a bad sign. Yes, everyone has to make a name for themselves but ask yourself do you want your work going to a place where there is not a single author you have heard of? If you see an author name you know – email. Ask their opinion. Most authors will not screw another author over. I say most. There are exceptions of course.  

• Check out who owns the company. What do they know of publishing? 

• Go to the 3^rd party distributors and see where they are ranked in sales. 

• Talk to readers – who are they buying from? Readers are smart and they will form allegiances to epublishers they believe in and trust.      

• If an epublisher sounds sus in their emails to you then they probably are. Don’t be dazzled by promises.  

• Trust your gut instinct before signing a contract. You may be desperate to get your work out there but think ahead a couple of years – will you be desperate to get it back? 

I started in this game – and it is that – 6 years ago. If I knew all this back then…but that’s a moot point. Ask. Research. Bug the hell out of people…it's your rights at stake.