Wednesday, November 28, 2012

Writers- Don't Fall for Archway Publishing!

I'm so aggravated! As if it isn't bad enough that big name publishing companies do shady deals with their own writers, now the're preying on the hopeful, with dreams-in-their-eyes newbies.
Grrr....pisses me off. Sorry for the language, but it does.
Simon & Schuster has gone into business with Author Solutions, a company well known for bilking unknowing writers of hard earned cash in publishing deals. They overcharge, over-sell, take rights that aren't theirs. There's a well-documented list over the past several years.
Read David Gaughran's blog post here. And check out Writer Beware.
Basically, Simon & Schuster created Archway Publishing, a business working in tandem with Author Solutions offering 'self-publishing contracts'.
First off- it's not self-publishing if you contract through a company to publish a book. That's called VANITY publishing. And let's look at what you get when you vanity publish through Archway Publishing.
For only $2000, you get...fluff. You get exactly what you WOULD get if you actually SELF-PUBLISHED yourself, in the truest sense of the term.

  • Amazon and Google search programs- okay, basically you're listed with Google and Amazon.
  • ISBN- okay,  well, several of the publishing sites don't even require an ISBN, but if they do, if you go through Smashwords it's free.
  • Personalized Archway Publishing Bookstore Page- Whoo hoo.
  • Barnes and Noble- Look inside the book option. Okay, again, if you self-publish with B & N on the Pubit platform yourself you will receive this. FREE.
  • Standard cover design- meh, not impressed with their examples. But, of course, you can PAY THEM for a better cover.
  • 'Editorial Assessment'- Okay, it even says in their info this is not actual editing. But, of course, YOU CAN PAY FOR EDITING THROUGH THEM. WHICH MAY PUSH YOUR BILL UP TO $5000!!!
For Non-fiction your book package may cost as much as $25000. What the hell!

And then...THEN.... They want 50% of your royalties. Holy crap, Batman, that's so wrong!

I promise you, I have NEVER put $2000 into a book, let alone $5000. I'm too broke to do that. With a little bit of time and energy, you can put out a professionally covered, well-edited, properly formatted book for less than $500. I know, I've done it. Depending upon the size of the book the price may fluctuate for editing and formatting. And that's for PRINT, too! And that includes all the other little doo-dads they have listed on their site.

I know for a fact they will have business from this venture and I feel sorry for the people that fall for the name. Sadly, Simon & Schuster won't even put their name on your book after you've paid all that money. Nope. It'll be under Archway Publishing, which nobody knows.

I sincerely hope that writers investigate this to their full ability before committing to anything. There are resources out there to guide you in self-pubbing yourself. You don't have to hire somebody to tell you what to do when. Defeats the point of self-publishing, right?

If you have questions, ask another self-pubbed/ indie author. I have found as a group that they are the most open writers you will ever meet. Heck, if you have a question or need help, ASK ME!!! If I don't know the answer I will certainly know somebody who does. Read back through my blog. I have a lot of valuable information listed. 

Be cautious!

Friday, November 23, 2012

Black Friday Blog Hop-A chance to WIN 3 BOOKS!!!

I came to a decision this week. And it's pretty momentous. I'm not going to be one of the crazy women going out at 4am Friday morning this year. Nope.
Gonna wait till at least 10. *snicker*
I can't help it. I have to go out the day after. While kids and hubby are home sleeping in and playing video games, mom's going to be running from store to store, smart phone in hand, grabbing every deal she can.
But do you know WHY I'm waiting till 10? So I can HOP and try to win books!
Decadent publishing has more phenomenal books out right now than I can keep up with. I, personally, have three titles with them (Second time Around, Wet Dream and Love on the Line), with another on the way after the first of the year. If you haven't read them yet, I suggest you do- I've had a lot of compliments and kick-ass reviews.
Or...
OR...
If you want to try to win them, maybe I can help you out.
For those that sign up for my newsletter, your name will be entered to win ALL THREE books. If you already have all of my Decadent books, I can substitute my indie books. If you are one of the precious few that have ALL of my books, all 7, I thank you sincerely from the bottom of my heart.
You know, let's make this a little richer.
For those of you that sign up for my newsletter, you will be entered in a drawing to win 3 free books PLUS an early copy of THE EMBATTLED ROAD, my newest indie title I have coming out in December centered around returning veterans.
Man, four free books. I don't know about you but that's at least a day's worth of reading for me.
Thank you for stopping by! The sign-up for my newsletter is to the right, and the list of other Decadent authors participating in the Hop are below. Thank you so much for reading!