NEW PUBLISHER seeks feedback
Sam
below.
Market Survey for New Publishing Business
My name is Janet Tyson. I am researching the viability of a combined
traditional and subsidy publishing business in Victoria, BC.
Subsidised works would be published through Avatar Press, a proposed
imprint of the parent company, Tripping Lightly Books; only the
authors themselves need be aware of their financial arrangement with
the publishing house. The aim is to eliminate the barriers so often
experienced by self-publishers and those who publish with more
recognized subsidy ventures. Books submitted for subsidy publishing
are automatically considered for traditional publication.
I would appreciate you taking about 10 minutes to answer the
questions, below. Please be assured that your privacy is respected;
the anonymous information is tabulated, and no contact details are
divulged to a third party.
Thank you for your time!
1. As an author seeking publication credibility, do you see a value in
a combined traditional and subsidy publishing company ? ___Yes ___No
2. Have you published or are you considering publishing a book
independently? ___ Yes ___ No
3. Did / will you ___ Self-publish? ___ Subsidize publication? ___
Get published traditionally?
4. For subsidy publishing, which company did / will you
use?_______________________ City?____________
5. What was the final cost to you ( or will be your budget) for
publishing one book?
a) under $1000 b) $1000-$1500 c) $1500-2000 d)
$2000-2500 e) $2500+
6. The average price for a subsidy publishing package in BC is $1500 +
GST. Would you pay a flat fee of $1300 for a comparable package that
included: ISBN, CIP, POD printing, Legal Deposit, online bookstore
listings, international database listings and distribution, free
e-version promotion, 20-copy review package (including drafted
letter), small print run minimum of only 25 copies, ongoing general
marketing alongside traditionally published books, and ongoing
personal attention throughout the process (amongst other things!)?
___ Yes ___ No
7. General marketing is a feature of the publishing package. Would you
be willing to subsidize target marketing on your behalf (the budget
set by yourself)? ___Yes ___ No
8. If proofreading/editing were available at $3/pg, would you use the
service? ___Yes ___No
9. Tell me about your experiences with, or thoughts about self/subsidy
publishing:
Good Experiences/ Things that attract me to this service
1. _______________________________________________________________________________________
2. _______________________________________________________________________________________
3. _______________________________________________________________________________________
Could have been better / Things I am not so sure about
1. ______________________________________________________________________________________
2. ______________________________________________________________________________________
3. ______________________________________________________________________________________
10. Please rank the following in order of importance to you:
___ speed of publishing ___ hardcover option ___size of initial print
run ___ colour interiors ___ pricing ___editing/layout help ___
cover design help ___ assistance with reviews ___ control of
work
11. Is it important to you that your financial contribution not be
disclosed? ___ Yes ___No ___Don't care
12. On a scale of 1-10, how would you rate the following features as
important to a subsidy publishing house (1 = unimportant to me 10 =
vital!):
___ Discount for full payment in advance ___ Booklet publishing
___ Large, central office ___ POD service
___ Personal attention ___ Traditional publishing experience
___ Internet presence ___ International distribution
___ Instalment payment plan ___ Service-level options (flexibility)
13. What other services would you find helpful to you, as an author?
__________________________________
____________________________________
14. As the author, would you invest funds (to your own proposed limit)
to receive assistance in finding opportunities for such things as
public readings, signings, book awards? ___Yes ___No
15. Your book may meet the criteria for traditional publishing with
TLB. Which option would suit you?
___Accept standard publishing deal, which includes all services plus
target marketing, author support, etc., but on a limited budget per
book.
___Accept standard deal but speed up the process by investing in
advertising, etc.
16. Age range: ___18-30 ___31-45 ___46-55 ___56-65 ___66-75
___over 75
17. What is your level of education? ___Did not complete high school
___High school ___Diploma
___Undergraduate degree ___Graduate Degree
18. How many books have you written? ___1 ___2 ___3 ___ 4 ___5
___ > 5
19. Do you have a work in progress? ___Yes ___No
20. Is your writing mostly:
a) Fiction (Which genre?____________________________________)
b) Non-fiction (Which field?________________________________________)
c) Memoirs
d) How-To
e) Poetry
f) Other (Explain:____________________________________________________________)
21. Would you be interested in receiving further information, or
having a free consultation about your work and how the company can
help you? ___Yes ___No
If "Yes," please complete the attached "Letter of Intent." You are
under no obligation!
This survey can also be posted (no later than Nov 15, please) to:
Janet Tyson, 308-640 Dallas Road, Victoria, BC, V8V 1B6. It can be
faxed to: (250) 595-8401, or e-mailed to: trippin...@hotmail.com.
Please provide your e-mail address for a digital copy:
___________________________________________________.
Agreement of Intent to Purchase Services
Thank you for completing the market survey for Tripping Lightly Books
| Avatar Press.
The company will be fully operational within the next six months, and
is already actively seeking out more exciting avenues for publicity
and distribution of new books. By the time we are ready to accept
your book into our database, the number of services we can include in
the flat-price deal will have increased!
We can offer a personal, ongoing service that will get your book on
the open market, under a recognized publisher's imprint, quickly and
efficiently.
Please Print
I, _________________________________________, am interested in
contracting the services of Tripping Lightly Books / Avatar Press. I
would like to schedule a free consultation with you to discuss my work
and the ordering of services most suited to my needs. I understand I
am under no obligation by signing this form.
Address:
Postal Code:
Telephone:
Fax:
E-mail:
Signature:
Date:
Noway
"Sam" <chelmsf...@yahoo.com> wrote in message
news:9cda0655.02102...@posting.google.com...
> Please copy and paste this into an e-mail and send to the address
> below.
>
> Market Survey for New Publishing Business
>
> My name is Janet Tyson.
(Garbage and fraudulent claims snipped)
Take your spam elsewhere. Writers GET paid. They don't pay you.
Note to beginning writers: NEVER fall for this scam. These con artists make
all their money by scamming newbie writers desperate to get published.
They'll "publish" your book all right (you may as well take it to Kinkos.
They will do a better job and cheaper!) but, unless you have a degree in
marketing and sales, you probably will sell only as many copies as you have
family members.
Remember the old "Sell our hair ointment and win a pony" scam when you were
a kid? This is a jumped up version of it.
Run, don't walk, for the nearest exit that takes you away from these frauds.
OutskirtsPress.com
started a publishing company out of my love for books and the English
language. Digital, subsidy, and self-publishing are all viable
alternatives to traditional publishing. It depends upon the situation.
There are over 25 million writers in the United States, and only 2% of
them are paid novelists. So, writers don't get paid. Novelists do.
True, digital publishing isn't for everyone, but it is for some
people. In any event, authors should continue to pursue traditional
publishing routes even as they investigate alternative methods to get
their books published.
Brent
Outskirts Press
http://OutskirtsPress.com
"Noway" <no...@hotmail.com> wrote in message news:<ur943l8...@news.supernews.com>...
Ray Haddad
br...@outskirtspress.com (OutskirtsPress.com) instead replied:
>So, writers don't get paid. Novelists do.
That's news to me. Should I send all those checks back?
Ray
Sylvia
and wrote:
>
> Granted, some of them are scams, but not all of them. I know because I
> started a publishing company out of my love for books and the English
> language. Digital, subsidy, and self-publishing are all viable
> alternatives to traditional publishing. It depends upon the situation.
> There are over 25 million writers in the United States, and only 2% of
> them are paid novelists.
Ooooh! Oooooh! Let *me* say it this time!!!
Ahem.
Cite, please.
> So, writers don't get paid. Novelists do.
<waiting for roars of laughter to subside> What bullshit. Tell that to
the journalists, copywriters, non-fiction book writers, technical
writers, speech writers, etc. world wide who write for a living.
==
Sylvia (Golly, that felt good)
a2...@ecn.ab.ca
: So, writers don't get paid.
Hobby writers don't get paid (either do hobby painters, hobby singers,
hobby accountants, BTW). Professional writers do get paid.
Laura Winopol
(I already have a hobby: writing is my job. I have no problem knowing
the difference between the two.)
Chris McLaughlin
in message news:<3DC06F77...@HarpyCastle.net>...
> "OutskirtsPress.com" top-posted, messing up the line of attributions,
> and wrote:
> >
> > Granted, some of them are scams, but not all of them. I know because I
> > started a publishing company out of my love for books and the English
> > language. Digital, subsidy, and self-publishing are all viable
> > alternatives to traditional publishing. It depends upon the situation.
>
> > There are over 25 million writers in the United States, and only 2% of
> > them are paid novelists.
>
> Ooooh! Oooooh! Let *me* say it this time!!!
>
> Ahem.
>
> Cite, please.
There's a growing world of unconventional, on-demand and other types
of self-publication that muddies the once clear waters here. I had an
interesting converstation with a conventionally published author who
does both and says that he makes much more from the self-publication
route.
Of course, the marketing is a bitch, but the odds are against a
publisher putting much into marketing your book if you're not some
kind of sensation.
(And none of this involves paying someone a stiff up front fee. $150
to set up an e-publication route is one thing. $1500 for "expert
editorial services" may be quite another.)
C
Chris
OutskirtsPress.com
The fact that I referred to them an novelists is a matter of
semantics, but doesn't change the fact that people who are paid for
their writing fall into an extreme, extreme minority. For the
remainder, pursuing digital publishing is sometimes an appealing
alternative to, say, languishing unread and exhibiting bitterness over
usegroups.
Brent
http://OutskirtsPress.com
Sylvia <Syl...@HarpyCastle.net> wrote in message news:<3DC06F77...@HarpyCastle.net>...
Towse
"OutskirtsPress.com" wrote:
>
> Sylvia <Syl...@HarpyCastle.net> wrote
> > "OutskirtsPress.com" wrote:
> > >
> > > Granted, some of them are scams, but not all of them. I know because I
> > > started a publishing company out of my love for books and the English
> > > language. Digital, subsidy, and self-publishing are all viable
> > > alternatives to traditional publishing. It depends upon the situation.
> >
> > > There are over 25 million writers in the United States, and only 2% of
> > > them are paid novelists.
> >
> > Ooooh! Oooooh! Let *me* say it this time!!!
> >
> > Ahem.
> >
> > Cite, please.
> >
> > > So, writers don't get paid. Novelists do.
> >
> > <waiting for roars of laughter to subside> What bullshit. Tell that to
> > the journalists, copywriters, non-fiction book writers, technical
> > writers, speech writers, etc. world wide who write for a living.
> The 2% I mentioned in my previous post includes those fields, Sylvia.
> The fact that I referred to them an novelists is a matter of
> semantics, but doesn't change the fact that people who are paid for
> their writing fall into an extreme, extreme minority. For the
> remainder, pursuing digital publishing is sometimes an appealing
> alternative to, say, languishing unread and exhibiting bitterness over
> usegroups.
>
> Brent
Oh.
How about an easy one. Cite the stat for "25 million writers."
Then cite a stat that those 25 million are writing something they
hope sees print. Then cite the stat that says that only 500K of
those 25 million get paid.
Sal
--
2600+ useful links for writers
<http://www.internet-resources.com/writers/>
William Palmer
> The 2% I mentioned in my previous post includes those fields, Sylvia.
> The fact that I referred to them an novelists is a matter of
> semantics, but doesn't change the fact that people who are paid for
> their writing fall into an extreme, extreme minority. For the
> remainder, pursuing digital publishing is sometimes an appealing
> alternative to, say, languishing unread and exhibiting bitterness over
> usegroups.
I will grant this. Things are changing in the publishing
world, though we have quite a few posters here who are
print-world types through and through and choose to continue
to act as though nothing important at all has occurred in
publishing as a result of the coming of the net. Of
course, that hide-bound mentality means that they harbor
the print-world contempt for "vanity press" and insist that
no respectable piece of writing can ever be self-published.
I certainly disagree. Even so, I have to add the caveat
that the smoke still has not cleared regarding the best
route to follow in net publishing. And I certainly agree
with the warnings some posters issued earlier on this thread:
With no reader recognition and no marketing plan, ebook
self-publishers are very likely throwing their money
away if they pay someone $1,500 or whatever to publish
their ebook. After all, there are a ton of self-
publishers selling books on the net right now--did you
ever buy any of them? Or do you still like to go to
a bookstore where you can thumb through the book you
are thinking about buying? Even so, I believe the
natural state for writers is a self-published one.
After all, if you look at the history of printing, you
will see that publishers came into being because most
writers could not afford their own printing presses,
and then later the press owners and other investors
spawned an entirely separate business, that of the
publisher. Those who wish to challenge me on this
are advised to read THE COMING OF THE BOOK: THE
IMPACT OF PRINTING 1450-1800 by Lucien Febvre and
Henri-Jean Martin. While it is clear enough how
the power of publishers became so entrenched,
writing is not about printers and publishers,
at least that's how I see things. It is about readers
and writers. Any entity coming between them should be
viewed with suspicion. Still, I am under no illusion
that the centuries-old grip publishers have on the
writing profession will disappear overnight. But
with the net making the cost of printing/publishing
so cheap, it is certainly possible that the traditional
publishing model could in fact fade away or morph into
something where the writers have far more power
over their own professional destinies than they
ever could hope for in the traditional print world.
(By the way, despite the fact that many posters
threw in the towel regarding their hopes
for the future of net publishing when Steven
King announced he was getting out of it, that
statement by Mr. King did not trouble me.
After all, what a book-sales megastar like
Mr. King would consider a "successful book,"
would probably provide enough income to support
thirty other writers of more modest spending
habits for a year. Unless you feel you need
to spend like a Steven King, you should not be
dissuaded by his conclusion that net publishing
was not worth the fuss because it could not at
this time bring him enough revenue.
a.g.b-p.
William Palmer
> OutskirtsPress.com (br...@outskirtspress.com) wrote:
> : So, writers don't get paid.
>
>
> Hobby writers don't get paid (either do hobby painters, hobby singers,
> hobby accountants, BTW). Professional writers do get paid.
"Hobby writers" sounds like something from a
1930's magazine aimed at teenagers. ("In the
September issue, Mrs. Dorothy C. Baker-Bellfield
discusses the pleasures of hobby writing as a way
of spending your spare hours.") Essentially, there
are two kinds of writers: those who have readers
and those who do not. If they have readers and get
paid too, wonderful. But what makes people authentic
writers are READERS, not pay.
alt.genius.bill-palmer
(Temporary publishing headquarters: rec.arts.prose)
wil...@ix.netdcom.com
Sylvia
top-posting, wrote:
(Because of screwed up attributions, I will add his claim:
>> >There are over 25 million writers in the United States, and
>> > only 2% of them are paid novelists.
>> > So, writers don't get paid. Novelists do.
To which I replied:
> > Cite, please.
> > <waiting for roars of laughter to subside> What bullshit. Tell that to
> > the journalists, copywriters, non-fiction book writers, technical
> > writers, speech writers, etc. world wide who write for a living. )
> The 2% I mentioned in my previous post includes those fields, Sylvia.
> The fact that I referred to them an novelists is a matter of
> semantics,
No, Brent, it is not a matter of semantics, it is a matter of
backpedaling. It's as if you stated, "Only New Yorkers ever own dogs,"
and, then tried to back up your statement with, "The group I mentioned
in my previous post includes people in the rest of the world. The fact
that I referred to them as New Yorkers is a matter of semantics."
If you were referring to all writers, you would have just placed a
period after the word "paid," and not inserted the word "novelist." Cite
something that proves the word "novelist" encompasses non-fiction
writers.
> but doesn't change the fact that people who are paid for
> their writing fall into an extreme, extreme minority.
Fact? What fact? You have never cited your facts. You throw out a vague
"over 25 million writers in the United States" and use that to come up
with a precise "only 2%." Perhaps you do not understand the question: on
what facts are you basing your claim? How do you know that all of the
writers that fall outside of your "extreme, extreme majority" (you
started a publishing company, did you say?) have being paid for their
writing as their goal?
> For the remainder, pursuing digital publishing is sometimes
> an appealing alternative to, say, languishing unread and
> exhibiting bitterness over usegroups.
What an interesting turn.
Since you cannot possibly know the intentions and feelings of all of the
writers in the US (not to mention world-wide), I assume that you are
speaking of yourself when you say, "languishing unread and exhibiting
bitterness over usegroups."
==
Sylvia (why are you bitter over usegroups?)