Thursday, April 11, 2013

Beware of thin ice... and nefarious publishers

Imagine this scenario, if  you will. You know of a body of water that appears to be frozen, but appearances
can be deceiving, and you know from firsthand experience that it isn't as steady as it appears to be. Perhaps you've even fallen in, or know someone who has.

You hope that this water will refreeze, so that others may enjoy it, but you can't be sure, because you can't see everything, and you're sure something lurks beneath the surface.

The local citizenry doesn't want anyone to know about the thin ice because gosh darn it, it's bad for tourism, which is bad for them, which is bad for... Well, you get the picture. So you don't say a word, and you figure it'll all work out okay. Right?

But then you notice some newcomers, people who don't live around there, and don't know about these things, and they're venturing out onto the ice. Isn't it your civic duty to warn them of the dangers that they can't see? They're strangers in town, gosh darnit, won't somebody help them?

Well, that's how I see what's going on at Silver. There is a lot going on, and a lot of it has been made public knowledge, but still... not public enough. Authors not getting paid properly, deception, using royalties for other than their intended purpose, rudeness, lies... and that's just the tip of the iceberg. I won't go into details, but it's really bad.

And now these people are trying to lure in new authors? Writers who may not be aware of what is going on until it's too late, and they find themselves embroiled in the same morass?

There are authors at Silver who wish no one would speak about the problems, keep it inside, like the skeleton in the family closet. Because without a new influx of writers and income, how can they expect to be paid? They insist it's no one's business, but I disagree. I don't expect them to go around badmouthing their publisher, to cut off their nose to spite their face, so to speak. Then again, they chose to remain when others left.

No, I don't expect them to see the situation as objectively as someone else. They have too much invested in it to do so. But what I do hope and expect is that they would have the decency to warn new authors of the pitfalls of what they're getting into. Sub to Silver at your own peril. If you choose to, that's fine, but at least be aware that there's danger lurking in the water and don't go into it with your eyes closed.

In other words, give new authors the tools and the knowledge to make knowledgeable decisions. Not after the fact, when it's too late to do anything about it, when the contract is a signed fait accompli.

For myself, I advise against signing with Silver, but that's just my opinion. Everyone has to make up their own mind.

Until next time, take care!

♥ Julie


11 comments:

  1. You're doing the right thing by speaking up. Absolute Write Water Cooler has a thread on Silver that every new writer should read. I've pointed plenty of new writers to it and to discussions on other sites as well. There are two cardinal laws of being a published writer: "Money flows to the writer" and "Research your industry." Learn all you can about the publishers, about contracts, about the ins and outs. Ultimately it's all on the writer to make sure they have the information they need to make a sound decision. But they can't find information that's not out there!

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    1. Thanks, Tali! Seducing new authors is not a way to build good publisher/author relations when the sad truth is still going to be revealed eventually.

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  2. I'm not surprised to hear this news. I had a very bad experience as an editor with Silver and was treated in a disrespectful manner, before finally parting ways with them.

    I think you're doing the right thing to share your thoughts and experiences with this company. New writers deserve to have enough information available to make an educated decision before signing contracts with any publishing house.

    - Dawn

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    1. Thanks, Dawn. I was treated disrespectfully as an author, and I want to save other authors from making mistakes they will come to regret.

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    2. Under my real name I am an editor of some experience. I was approached by a representative of Silver to edit for them, but due to work commitments I wasn't interested at that time. I am so glad I didn't get involved. I think I'd be feeling quite awful right now if I had accepted a position.

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  3. Well, I'm one of the new guys in town, so to speak, and I appreciate the warning. Unfortunately it comes too late as I signed my contract with Silver about three days before they admitted to having problems. The book will be released soon, but with their payment plan chances are that I won't get paid for it. I never thought I'd hope that a book won't sell, but right now I'd rather give it away for free, at least then my readers wouldn't have to pay for it

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  4. I have read comments from authors who stand on each side of this issue. I think new authors should appreciate your warning. SP needs to beware that this kind of behaviour towards their existing authors runs the risk of becoming a literary-payments version of cheque (or check, depending on your country) kiting....Also, does anyone know why these difficulties arose?

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    1. I think there is no simple answer to that question, and I have some ideas, but I think a lot of it stems from mismanagement, whether intentional or not. Spending money that should never have been touched. There are ways of putting the royalty money aside, fencing it in, as it were, so that it only goes to the authors. Once you spend it, then how are you to recoup it except through new authors? He has breached contracts by not paying on time, as well as breached the authors' trust.

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  5. I hesitate to badmouth anyone, since I'm so new to the epublishing world, but I am incredibly leery of subbing anything to anyone for this reason. I've learned that new companies can be good for some things, but I might find a better fit elsewhere. I will be looking into the Silver situation, just because I'm now nosy and want to know, lol, but I'd already had severe misgivings about them when they started wanting shorter stories only. That gave me an indication they were looking for short, quick pieces they could churn out ... and that's anti-indicative for quality work, which I verified as a reader. I won't say that all the authors and stories coming out of their company are crap-because some authors are really good-but I've bought enough eBooks to be leery of them. I'm picky enough to know that I want a company that is going to work just as hard as I do to ensure that anything going out under our reputations is quality work, even if it takes more time and effort.

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    1. Look around the Internet and Google it, Cia. There is a thread at Absolute Write and other authors have spoken out, including Mercy Celeste, and there is a thread on Tymber Dalton's blog, and I'm sure there are others. There is a warning on Piers Anthony's site, and I think at Preditors & Editors too.

      It's important that a writer gather all the information she can before going with a publisher. I almost signed with Publish America until I looked them up. Whew! Bullet dodged!

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