Gulp that's a lot of cash
Thu, 2001-06-28 13:04
#1
Gulp that's a lot of cash
I have just got a letter back this morning from a publisher
saying they read my poerty with great intrerest and they would be pleased to publish my collectoin of poems.
YEEEEHHAA HOLD ON HOLD ON
BUT we will need a payment from you of £3,850. (GULP)
(GULP) LOOks at Visa card, visa card looks away, then runs for cover.
And that will give me 3500 copies, selling price of £6.99 per copy.
Um um no I will have to send them a rejectoin letter. LOL :-)
Clive the real thing
Andrea
Don't do it, Clive (nee Muzzy).
It's Vanity Press, nothing but endless trouble (and finance).
Check out TWAYB or anyone else reputable if you need further convincing...
andrew pack
And how much were they intending to give you per copy ? And how much were they going to spend on marketing ?
Or more likely, were they just going to send you a load of books and expect you to shift them, charging for postage on the way. Or worse bill you for storage of these books.
Andrea is right, this is a con, pure and simple. If you are that keen and have some money, either contact some local printers and run off a smaller run (be realistic, there are only about six poets in England who would be confident about shifting four thousand copies) and badger staff at your local bookshop, record shops etc. Or even a short sample flyer asking people to drop you a line if they want the book. Don't expect to break even, but it won't cost four grand.
Andrea
Agree with all of the above Andrew. Self-publishing is slightly better than Vanity...although you must be prepared to do an AWFUL lot of leg-work if it's to succeed in any way.
colindardis
A.H. STOCKWELL!!!!
Gosh, and their website looked so nice and quaint. This world of publishing is dirty business. Any faith I had in publishers is now truly corroded. Alas, I despair...what is to be done?
I had given serious consideration to sending them a manuscript. Thanks for the warning. Now I can waste my time elsewhere. *s*
andrew pack
If they intend to charge you for publishing a book (which being publishers, is what you would expect them to do for free and then make money by selling it) - I think it is only right that Clive invoice them for their wasted time.
Alternatively we all send them manuscripts without any postage for a week to teach them a lesson. Nothing inherently wrong with vanity publishing, but they ought to be straight about it.
Childish I know, but so is High School, as Ferris Bueller once said.
clive muzzy
Yeah they got some cheek, but it's not Vanity press.
It's A. H. Stockwell.
Thank you nice people.
derek & cli...
The Vanity Press is not a publishing house, Clive. it is the generic term for publishers who ask you for money to publish your books. This is touched on in the 'Getting Published' forum on this site.
clive muzzy
DOH DOH!!!!
I'M FIC
Andrea
Sorry, my fault - should have been vanity with a small 'v'.
An (almost) unforgiveable mistake.