Never judge a book by its cover.
I am on the verge of self-publishing my first book this coming weekend. I am excited. I was also excited in November 2011 when out of the blue I was contacted by a new enthusiastic independent publisher, offering to publish all my work. To an aspiring writer, this was like finding one of Willy Wonka's golden tickets. In record time, my first short story was available for download on Amazon and Barnes & Noble. I was so thrilled that I wouldn't have heard any alarm bells ringing. I accepted the cover design on the basis that it was never going to grace someone's bookshelf. My youngest son said that it looked like something a 5 year old child had designed, badly and in a hurry. With hindsight...Two more published short stories later, I have terminated my working relationship with the publisher and all three stories have been removed at my request. So, what went wrong?
If I'd known back in November what I know now...
The publisher was presented in a way that suggested that it was a group of people. It appears now that it was, and still is, a one-man band. The 'editorial team' are figments of the imagination. The submissions editor, and basically the 'publisher' does not really exist. One man, one false name, one fake social network profile with someone else's photo, and someone who uses a mailbox. Any advertising is largely down to you. You are 'instructed' to get your own blog and join the likes of Goodreads and Book Town to self-promote your work and increase sales. The final insult was the very public revelation that the book covers contained images taken from elsewhere, seemingly without permission. I guess the warning sign was there for all to see. The publisher's Twitter profile says 'Welcome to my virtual world'.
To put it bluntly, all of the things offered could be achieved by the writer doing his own thing. The publisher merely formatted the text and put it onto Amazon et al. Looking back, I've found errors. I was not always sent the proofs to read. I'm not totally convinced that the texts were actually read. Perhaps I should have written 'This story sucks' at intervals to test him.
Anyway, along with many other writers, I have learned my lesson. I am going to self-publish and suck it and see. At least I won't be giving away some of my royalties to someone who is not who he appears to be. I will be designing my own book covers or paying a real graphic designer to create specific covers. At least I will be able to say 'Welcome to my real world'. Looking back, I wished I'd remembered that old adage...never judge a book by its cover.
If I'd known back in November what I know now...
The publisher was presented in a way that suggested that it was a group of people. It appears now that it was, and still is, a one-man band. The 'editorial team' are figments of the imagination. The submissions editor, and basically the 'publisher' does not really exist. One man, one false name, one fake social network profile with someone else's photo, and someone who uses a mailbox. Any advertising is largely down to you. You are 'instructed' to get your own blog and join the likes of Goodreads and Book Town to self-promote your work and increase sales. The final insult was the very public revelation that the book covers contained images taken from elsewhere, seemingly without permission. I guess the warning sign was there for all to see. The publisher's Twitter profile says 'Welcome to my virtual world'.
To put it bluntly, all of the things offered could be achieved by the writer doing his own thing. The publisher merely formatted the text and put it onto Amazon et al. Looking back, I've found errors. I was not always sent the proofs to read. I'm not totally convinced that the texts were actually read. Perhaps I should have written 'This story sucks' at intervals to test him.
Anyway, along with many other writers, I have learned my lesson. I am going to self-publish and suck it and see. At least I won't be giving away some of my royalties to someone who is not who he appears to be. I will be designing my own book covers or paying a real graphic designer to create specific covers. At least I will be able to say 'Welcome to my real world'. Looking back, I wished I'd remembered that old adage...never judge a book by its cover.
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