DON’T BUY THIS BOOK!
It truly breaks my heart to type this blog. I gave the publisher at MuseItUp Publishing every chance to make things right, but she refused. Early in 2011, I completed what I consider my best novel to date, Darker Than Night. I submitted my unedited draft to a Reader’s Choice contest, and earned a Bronze Medal for it. I then began looking for a publisher so I could get it edited and released. During my search, I came across a small, relatively new Canadian e-publishing company, MuseItUp. They accepted the manuscript, and I signed a three year contract with them in September 2011, with a projected release date of July 2012.
Things started out well. Both editors I worked with were helpful and responded to my inquiries in a timely manner. I felt good about the whole process, until it got closer to the anticipated release date. First, I didn’t get confirmation of the actual release date until about ten days before. This didn’t allow much time for me to properly promote it and spread the word about the launch.
Once it was released, things seemed to be going well again – briefly. The ebook was available on Amazon less than a week after it debuted on the publisher’s website. I was expecting that other retailers, such as Barnes and Noble and the Apple iBookstore, would follow closely behind. They didn’t. In fact, today, over three months after the release date, the book is not available on those channels.
In addition, as per my contract, I was expecting to receive a royalty statement on September 30th, informing me of the sales figures for the current quarter. A month later, I have not received that statement, or any royalty payment. I have no idea how many copies of Darker Than Night have been sold since it came out. I have no idea if any of my marketing and promotions have paid off. I also have not seen any evidence of MuseItUp Publishing doing any kind of marketing on my behalf, apart from listing it on their Facebook page the day it was released.
I’m at the end of my rope. I have almost two years left on a contract that is not paying off in any way for me. I love this book – but I’ve not made one penny on it, since MuseItUp controls all the sales channels. I feel like it’s a lost opportunity, and a huge disappointment for what I think is a great book.
My experience with MuseItUp has made me all the more convinced that for my future books, self publishing is the way to go.
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After writing and briefly publishing the above post yesterday, I had an email conversation with Lea Schizas, the publisher at MuseItUp.
According to the terms of our agreement, I had the right to petition for termination of my contract, so I prepared a formal email detailing my complaints, and requesting to be released from the contract.
What follows is the email that I sent her:
Dear Ms. Schizas,
I am writing you today to request immediate termination of our contract that is dated 09/20/2011 for the book Darker Than Night.
Although this book has been published and available for purchase for more than three months, I have received no communication from your Company regarding the number of sales, and no mention of royalty payments. In addition, I have only found the book for sale on only three channels (Amazon, Smashwords, and Bookstrand) in addition to your website. My inquiries as to why it is not available on more channels, such as Barnes & Noble and the iBookstore, have not received replies. Additionally, I have not found any evidence of your Company promoting my book anywhere apart from your website and Facebook page. I have done my own marketing of it, but I don’t know if or how well it’s working, since I do not have access to any sales numbers.
According to the contract we entered into, I expected to receive at the very least, an earnings statement on September 30. Instead, I have received nothing but silence. Due to this breach of contract, as well as the above mentioned concerns, I believe it is in the best interest of both parties if we terminate the contract. Please contact me by phone or email if you have any questions regarding this contract termination.
Best regards,
Erick Burgess
After not receiving a response from the previous three emails I had sent her, I was surprised when Ms. Schizas promptly replied to that message. I will not include her response in this forum, but she argued with me about the statement dates and provided links to two other obscure sites where the book is available. She also mentioned the author forum and private sales database (which I never received an invitation to).
I replied, asking her simply to let me know how many sales I had since July, so I could find out the effectiveness of my marketing efforts.
Her reply focused on my above blog post, which she had found and read. She still made no mention of any sales numbers.
This was my reply:
Lea,
I assure you that I am not trying to be difficult. I will gladly remove the post if you can give me some sort of idea about the numbers. That was all I wanted and you have yet to give me a straight answer. I posted my blog before your reply, and in my defense I’m not sure how I would be able to market effectively without the cover art and a release date. I didn’t receive those until there less than ten days before publication. There was no one to review the book without those, especially on short notice. I don’t want to have to terminate my contract, but I don’t feel that I’m making not myself clear. How can I market the book if I don’t know what is working? If the numbers or access to the database can be made available, I will remove the post and continue do everything in my power to make Darker Than Night a success.
Sincerely,
Erick B
After not receiving another response, I sent the following this morning:
Lea,
With my self published books, I can check my sales on Amazon and smashwords anytime. I am not asking for a check. I just want to see numbers. What do I have to do?
Thank you,
Erick B
After not receiving a response to that email either, I sent a final email, requesting that the contract be officially terminated, and that they forward any royalty payments to me.
That brought a response – a Paypal payment for the 8 books that they’ve sold since July, and an email agreeing to the contract termination. They are in the process of removing the book from everywhere they have it for sale — so if you haven’t purchased it yet – DON’T DO IT! We plan to spend some time revising and editing it, and will release it again before the end of the year. For those that did purchase it – thank you for your support. If you would let me know by email, we will send you a copy of the revised edition completely free when it is released.
