Penguin launches self-publishing platform

[L.J. Sellers]

I read this in Shelf Awareness today. They're modeling their royalty structure after Amazon's...but charging authors between $99 and $549, and focusing on genre fiction.

http://online.wsj.com/article/SB1000..._marketplace_1

http://bookcountry.com/publish/detailshome.aspx

L.J.
[self-promotion removed - moderation]

[teh603]

Sounds like just a rehash of the old vanity self- publishing scam.

[Scott Nicholson]

I guess this means we've come full circle, huh? Traditional press turned vanity publisher, Publisher's Weekly selling reviews, literary agents epublishing their rejected books...

[HistoryWes]

I note that one of the features they count as a plus is the optional ability to DRM your ebooks. They also incorrectly state that Amazon does not offer this.

[teh603]

Originally Posted by HistoryWes

I note that one of the features they count as a plus is the optional ability to DRM your ebooks. They also incorrectly state that Amazon does not offer this.

Some people just don't get it, do they?

[martynkjones]

Why pay, when there are free self publishing tools available? Are they trying to sell the dream that any work published this way might, just might end up in the mainstream?

[morriss003]

Originally Posted by teh603

Sounds like just a rehash of the old vanity self- publishing scam.

I went through the process to see how it works. They did not charge me anything. It's not really a vanity press, but it is different. There is no ability to unload a cover and each chapter has to be uploaded separately. Before your work can be posted, you have to review three other posts, I guess to force reviews. It looks like a work in progress.

Here is what the end result looks like;

http://bookcountry.com/Books/BookDet...?bookid=122287

[morriss003]

I realize now that what I uploaded was put in a community slush pile for everyone to read. Not what I wanted, so I deleted the material.

[Ken Irving]

Self-Published Authors Sharply Criticize Penguin’s Book Country

http://paidcontent.org/article/419-s...-book-country/

Quote: "Many popular self-published authors are coming down hard on the self-publishing services that Penguin added to community writing site Book Country earlier this week, calling the initiative overpriced, royalty-grabbing and 'truly awful.' "

My comment: Beware of print publishers who wouldn't give the time of day if you sent them a manuscript submission bearing ebook gifts. Penguin's deal seems to make them a kind of greedy agent. You give them a lot of money to format your book, they "upload" it to booksellers and then keep 30% of the proceeds for each sale. A quote from their site, found at

A Newbie's Guide to Publishing (http://jakonrath.blogspot.com/) under the heading "Book Country Fail":

"For a $2.99 eBook sale of a Book Country title on Amazon, Amazon takes $0.90 and then the author is entitled to $1.47."

[J. Strnad]

This seems to be the worst of both worlds: They charge you to publish your work AND take a 30% royalty for themselves.

[John Carroll]

Originally Posted by J. Strnad

This seems to be the worst of both worlds: They charge you to publish your work AND take a 30% royalty for themselves.

I agree. This is a very seedy cash grab with no value in return. And you know people will go for it instead of researching how easy it is to self publish.

[teh603]

Originally Posted by John Carroll

I agree. This is a very seedy cash grab with no value in return. And you know people will go for it instead of researching how easy it is to self publish.

Maybe someone should start an Ebook Writer's Guild to help educate people?

[Todd Young]

I'd say the whole thing will crash. It sounds bound to fail.

[John Carroll]

Originally Posted by teh603

Maybe someone should start an Ebook Writer's Guild to help educate people?

There are various writer groups, including Indie Writer groups. But Indie Writers at the moment are slightly anarchistic. (hope that's a word) Getting everyone to join under one guild probably won't happen for years.