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Old 04-28-2010, 07:36 AM   #1
MaMiller
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Ever turn down a publisher?

I am appealing to my peers for their savvy input. I am an 'indie' and somedays I wear that badge like I've been Knighted, and other days it seems to be a scarlet letter.

An ebook publisher wanted to publish my romantic suspense, VICTORY COVE. But after thinking about it, I knew that Victory Cove was so deeply embedded in the system, listed on Amazon, Smashwords, Kobo, Barnes and Noble, Sony, Apple (to name a few ) and it was available to readers for $1.99 This publisher would jack that price up considerably. After much thought, I said 'no thank you' and stuck to my indie-ways.

There was tempation there to break the 'indie' stigma, but the readers have been wonderful people and I didn't want to alienate them by jumping up so much in price.

Was I wrong? What would you do?
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Old 04-28-2010, 10:11 AM   #2
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That's a tough one, girl. I see your point on both angles. Not sure what I would do in that case. Although your book is selling well now, you might see many more sales with a publisher's name attached to it despite the higher price. It would also open more doors for you in the future. Have you checked with all the various writer forums to see about the indie pub's record as far as promotional help or fair contract terms?

I turned down a respected, small-press publisher because they wanted me to tone down or eliminate many of the heartwarming scenes with children that were in the book. I felt strongly about leaving them in. But I understand their position. They wanted to emphasize the romance because they were strictly a romance pub. So I found a different publisher who handles many different genres. I'm waiting now to do the edits with them for release in the 4th quarter of this year.

I hope whatever you decide to do pans out for you. Let us know the outcome.

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Old 04-28-2010, 10:42 AM   #3
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My honest answer would be that I'd take on a publisher and can't see a reason to turn them down. After all, no matter how well I think I could do as an indie, publishers are professionals, who's job it is to promote books and success is far more likely to come that way.

Mind you, that's just me. If you feel stronger about your work and that you wouldn't want it changed or edited then sticking to your guns is the right thing to do
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Old 04-28-2010, 10:43 AM   #4
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Good to hear things are going well for you, Ma. This is a tough one and your stand for continued independence and control is admirable and brave ... and from what you say, well considered and anything but foolhardy.

Much depends on who the publisher was to be, but -- heading up the editorial team at a small indie myself -- one thing I can tell you is that a publisher who makes an offer, in the full knowledge that the work has already been widely exposed and that author circle sales and self promotional potential may have been fully exploited, might well have had serious marketing plans.

You are right, of course, that cover price would more than likely have been much increased. Your loyal readers will appreciate your consideration of this point.

If you're comfortable with your decision and your readers are happy, you made the right choice.

Best wishes and good luck. Neil
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Old 04-28-2010, 10:50 AM   #5
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Some epublishers are nothing more than ebook resellers... not publishers at all, and they offer no service other than putting my book on their servers, and siphoning off some of the sale profits. Without an expectation or assurance of significant added exposure from their service, there's not much incentive to use them.

(This, by extension, includes services like Kindle, Smashwords, Kobo, etc... if you can't sustain marketing exposure, your works will be lost in their servers, and the services will do you little good.)

But some ebook publishers can legitimately heighten a book's exposure in the market, making for more sales... and thereby justifying a higher cost for the book (within reason, of course). If the epublisher in question could reliably get you that exposure, there is every reason to consider them.

If they offered other services, such as editorial assistance, cover creation, etc, that your book could use, that would also be a good reason to try them.

Absent of any of those services, there is probably no real benefit with going with an epublisher; the self-publishing methods available to you (Smashwords, Kindle Digital Platform, your own website, etc) will be about equal with their services and advantages, and in some areas, using them may be less advantageous than staying indie (for instance, indie publishers don't have to worry about geo restrictions).
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Old 04-28-2010, 11:58 AM   #6
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I turned down an option from a producer once on a screenplay.

Whether you're an indie author or not, you have to evaluate every offer and be prepared to turn it down. What advantage would the deal give you?

IMHO, if they're not going to give you distribution of paper books, then what are they offering? You've already got good distribution of ebooks. Are they offering an editorial makeover? A "wow" cover? Publicity and promotion? Or just their name?

Camille
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Old 04-28-2010, 12:22 PM   #7
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If you're gut reaction was to say "no thanks" then go with it. Although you did not offer many details, the publisher must not have made a proposal that got you very excited. You seem to be producing and promoting yourself well, so you might as well keep the low price and most of the profit.

If there is a publisher you ARE interested in attracting you might be able to parlay the interest shown by the one you rejected into getting the attention of a publisher you want to see a proposal from.
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Old 04-28-2010, 12:34 PM   #8
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In the light of what Steve and Darling have said above, Ma, I must add that I'd assumed (possibly wrongly) that you were referring to a 'full service' indie publisher who'd take a raw manuscript, put it through a thorough editorial process, design and produce in print as well as ebook form, earning his pay through this input and solid marketing and promotion. As our two friends point out, though, this isn't always the case where those calling themselves 'publishers' are concerned. Best. Neil
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Old 04-28-2010, 03:15 PM   #9
MaMiller
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Thank you all so much! I knew the MR crew would be there for me with wonderful wit and wisdom!

Trust me, I have absolutely no pride. If someone told me they wanted to publish my book in paperback so that I could walk to the corner store and point at my picture and ogle and say, "look at that...that's me"---well I'd probably weep with joy. My concerns were that the ebook publisher was actually going to put my book up in fewer places than it currently resides, and I would have to take down my current copy in all those other locations. And also, I would have to increase the fee considerably.

I don't know. Perhaps I'm still living in a dream world, where the concept of being published was something that was supposed to make me jump up in the air and click my feet together (a task that is really difficult when you're uncoordinated), but instead I was left with trepidation. That's just not the way I thought it was supposed to be...

Thank you everyone!
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Old 04-28-2010, 05:33 PM   #10
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MaMiller:

Don't be afraid to tell the publisher, "Look, this is what I've got..." and mention everything you like about what you've got - where it's posted and the price etc. And then say "what are you offering me?"

Camille
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Old 04-29-2010, 08:41 AM   #11
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Edit.

Last edited by dadioflex; 12-15-2010 at 06:15 PM.
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Old 04-29-2010, 08:54 AM   #12
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Quote:
Originally Posted by dadioflex View Post
Surely your loyal readers have already bought the book.

You should have gone with the publisher and relished gouging the extra money from the lazy readers that have been ignoring you up until now.
Now there's a point!

Ironically, I heard from an agent on the very same book yesterday. Sometimes you go through a drought that last years...and then bam! a hurricane!
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