Goodreads Authors/Readers discussion

If you run a publishing company, know of a great publishing company, or are looking for a publshing company for your new book, please leave a post here. Also, if you are an ebook formatter or you are looking for one, leave a comment below. This thread is topic specific, so all other posts that are off the subject will be removed.

Also, please visit my "E-Author Resources" blog to see more publishers and E-book formatters: http://eauthorresource.wordpress.com/


Thanks!

Hello Everyone,

I am from Bookkus Publishing.. Check out out group on Goodreads.

Bookkus Publishing. is extremely new, in fact we just opened out doors in April. We are not a typical publisher and will be able to publish far more books each year than other publishers.

Instead of having one person screen your books, we plan on having a group of people (30 people) read as much of the book as you think they need to in order to know if it is good or not. Whether that be 3 chapters or more. If they like it, we like it and we go ahead.

We also plan on marketing your book far more than any other publisher does. We find that these days, even when you are published it is a big let down when they say, "you better get a website and start marketing your book". We disagree, in fact we give you a website.

Join us on Facebook to follow our progress.

We'll have some updates on here later for you as we move along. Keep in touch.

Sincerly,

William
Bookkus Publishing.

I would like a recommendation for a publisher who is reputable. My last one is but was very expensive and they have joined with IUniverse, and in the confusion of it, have managed to lose two of my tapes made in California. Otherwise, before they joined the other company, they were wonderful and my books look great, but that is because my husband drew the pictures on the front.
I had professional editing and got tons of my own books to sell, which gave me a larger profit but not as much exposure.
My first book is A Healing Place
My book now is Blessed Are the Merciful, Our Forgotten Soldiers

I think I want another publisher this time. Xlibris is very expensive and drowns you with promotion calls that I don't know whether to say no or yes. It's very pushy, and I'm tired of it. If anyone has one that can do as good a job for a little less money, please should it out!
Joyce Shaughnessy
blessedarethemerciful.posterous.com

The 50 Shades of Grey author got several figures for her books and $5 million for the movie rights -- all without a traditional publisher or advertising. And it's not even well written. Publishers rarely spend resources on marketing anyone, so do we really need them?

Jaq wrote: "Joyce wrote: "I would like a recommendation for a publisher who is reputable. My last one is but was very expensive ..."

That's your red flag right there. No reputable publisher charges the autho..."

Agreed. That's not a publisher, that is a publicist or a printer (sometimes a scam).

-William
Bookkus Publishing

Joyce wrote: "I would like a recommendation for a publisher who is reputable. My last one is but was very expensive and they have joined with IUniverse, and in the confusion of it, have managed to lose two of m..."

Yep, that's a vanity publisher. If you have those great covers done by your husband, you should consider go indie. Plenty of indies (myself included) who can help you through it!
Best wishes!

William wrote: "Hello Everyone,

I am from Bookkus Publishing.. Check out out group on Goodreads.

Bookkus Publishing. is extremely new, in fact we just opened out doors in April. We are not a typical publisher a..."

Looked at your site and very interesting concept. You say you don't accept submissions from authors who are self-published. Do you mean have already self-published the work being submitted or do you mean that no author who has self-published may submit any work?
Also, when I tried to log it, I got sent to a wordpress log in page and I couldn't set up my username and password. I guess it wanted a wordpress username and password. Rather assume this means you'll be using wordpress for web development.

Randy wrote: "William wrote: "Hello Everyone,

I am from Bookkus Publishing.. Check out out group on Goodreads.

Bookkus Publishing. is extremely new, in fact we just opened out doors in April. We are not a typ..."

Hey Randy,


Thanks for the interest in us. I like getting feedback on it as well.

I believe it clearly states we DO accept works that are already self-published, but do not accept agent submissions.

Before you log-in you must create an account. Above the log in section is a link you can press to log-in.

YA wordpress offers us some great abilities to manage a blog and a working social media site. It's really perfect for our needs and growth. Try to log-in again. Also, we are searching for some authors to get the site rolling, so if you know anyone. Pass the word along.

What do you think of the idea? We got it from so many authors being denied by publishers and self-publishing being expensive and difficult. Thought we could help solve some problems.

Feel free to ask questions, suggest things, and just chat about it.

Thanks,

William
www.bookkus.com

Dear William,
I'll try setting up an account. I think what you are doing has several positives.
Vetting: you don't just accept anyone who comes along (I assume) through your reader rating process (How you choose those vetters I have no idea, perhaps you explain somewhere). But the strength of this approach is you give new writers valid feedback.
Cover design: Have to see your product to make judgement on that. How do you pay for that? Volunteers?
Payment structure: haven't seen details on that yet. You've got to make money to operate some way. Do be up front on how that is done.
Marketing: Boy, this is the big one. More details on how you help authors out in that area most appreciated.

I'm very skeptical of sites and people who want to charge me a fee, but I am very open to groups or people who believe in my work and are willing to participate in future revenue sharing.

Hi my name is Bob Houston. And, I'm an Ebook formatter.

That wasn't as hard to say to all of you as I thought. Posting a note here, answering a question there, but always mindful that I had a secret and not sure that I could let it be known. But now it's out there for all to see. I love formatting Ebooks.

I'm not sure if it could be said that I have an obsession, but after formatting over fifty novels for indie authors and a small mid west publisher, I'm still not satiated and always out looking to score the next manuscript to format. Whether it needs to be formatted for Amazon KDP, Barnes and Noble Nook, or for acceptance into the Smashwords Premium Catalog.

I'm also looking for the author who is willing to pay a modest fee to have their manuscript formatted correctly, rather than take on the burden and sometimes frustrations involved in doing it on their own.

To help feed my obsession I can be reached at: http://www.facebook.com/EbookFormatti... or emailed at: Bob_Houston@hotmail.com.

Bob Houston eBook Formatting

Hey Randy,

Thanks for the tips. I'll make sure I address all of those on the website. Authors never have to pay for anything with us.

So cover design is done by professionals with author input and finalization. Our payment structure is 50/50 after distributor fees.

We do all the marketing so you don't need to worry about it. Although we expect some things like answering interviews, blog post writing, and some other small tasks. Other than those we take care of the rest, from reviews, social media, online, blogs, press releases, award submission, etc. We do our utmost to get out authors books published.

Let me know if you got more questions Randy.

-William
Bookkus Publishing

William, Thanks for the reply. I'll be in touch. I think I have another work that I'd really like to try with you folks.

Hello

If you're just looking for e-book formatting and/or covers, I'd suggest minjaMel Designs. She does excellent work and has a fast turn-around time.

She will also do print covers and formatting.

http://ninjameldesigns.com is her website. I was very happy with her work on LINKED

Thanks Hope,
She'll be on the list.

-William

William wrote: "Hey Randy,

Thanks for the tips. I'll make sure I address all of those on the website. Authors never have to pay for anything with us.

So cover design is done by professionals with author input an..."

Hi William do you also publish British authors? The reason I ask is that my books are quite 'British' (WW2 Brits experience - non fiction and fiction) so may not necessarily appeal to all US readers. Also despite the fact we share a language we spell differently:-)My books use British spellings which may cause them to flag up to US readers as spelling mistakes.

Carole wrote: "William wrote: "Hey Randy,

Thanks for the tips. I'll make sure I address all of those on the website. Authors never have to pay for anything with us.

So cover design is done by professionals with..."

Hello Carol,

Of course we publish British books as well (I am Canadian and most of my friends, these days, are from the UK). The spelling is no problem and although we might consider creating two versions. Everyone is interested in WW2 not just from an American perspective. Feel free to submit your manuscript.
We have changed our cover art policy a little. We now will be using a contest system to choose cover art. So unfortunately author opinion gets a little less value now, but it will still be included in the initial contest details.

William wrote: "Carole wrote: "William wrote: "Hey Randy,

Thanks for the tips. I'll make sure I address all of those on the website. Authors never have to pay for anything with us.

So cover design is done by pro..."

Hi William

Thanks for your response, I'll have a good read through your submission guidelines again and probably submit one of my novels.

Hello,

At Tugboat Design I offer a variety of services, including formatting for MOBI (Amazon), EPUB (Barnes & Noble, Kobo, Google Play & Apple), Smashwords and Print (Createspace, Lightning Source, etc.). All EPUB files pass the ePubCheck Validator.
When I format your print novel, I always provide a professional layout that you can be proud of when you get your book in your hands.

I also provide print and e-book cover design along with promotional material design.
I offer packages that combine services including book cover design, formatting and promotional materials at a reduced cost.

Visit me today at http://www.tugboatdesign.net
or on Twitter at @TugboatDesign

I have finally relented to numerous requests and am now offering ebook/print book formatting and conversion.

I use a number of tools as each has strengths and weaknesses depending on how you want your ebook to look and whether you want a file you will be able to edit yourself should you later wish to amend the text. The final file for Kindle will either be an HTML, prc or mobi file, depending on the tool(s) used. All ePubs are screened for errors using both ePubCheck and FlightCrew. Print books are delivered as an industry compliant PDF.

I hand code where necessary.
A customized table of contents is possible for both Kindle and ePub.
I can produce limited Kindle Format 8.

For details and to contact me, see my web page.

Hello! I have just started an imprint called Top Hat Books. We're under the John Hunt Publishing banner. Top Hat is looking for submissions of historical fiction, any genre, any period. Now, JHP traditionally have published non fiction and offer 4 types of contract, 2 of which ask for author contribution. With the new fiction imprints, however, we will NOT be asking for any author contribution - only level 1 and 2 contracts will be offered, which pay royalties. We publish in print and ebook, world wide.

If you want to find out more, we're online here http://www.tophat-books.com/about-us.... and on facebook at http://www.facebook.com/tophatbooks

You will need to submit a proposal and the first three chapters, but be ready to send the whole thing immediately if asked!

Here's our blurb of what we're after:
We publish fiction that captures the contrasts, the achievements, the optimism and the radicalism of ordinary and extraordinary times across the world.

We’re open to all time periods and we strive to go beyond the narrow, foggy slums of Victorian London. Where are the tales of the people of fifteenth century Australasia? The stories of eighth century India? The voices from Africa, Arabia, cities and forests, deserts and towns? Our books thrill, excite, delight and inspire.

The genres will be broad but clear. Whether we’re publishing romance, thrillers, crime, or something else entirely, the unifying themes are timescale and enthusiasm. These books will be a celebration of the chaotic power of the human spirit in difficult times. The reader, when they finish, will snap the book closed with a satisfied smile.

I don't know when ill finish it but im looking for a new publishing company to publish my 2nd book which is a Horror/Western with a sprinkle of history. Anyone know of a publishing company interested or you yourself are interested please let me know

I just found an ebook publisher called Bibliocracy:
Bibliocracy.com"
Does anyone know anything about them?

Eric Quinn Knowles
Ring of Destiny (a Reynald Tale)
Facebook author page

NEW RELEASE THRILLER: The Orphan Factory (The Orphan Trilogy, #2) has just been published by Sterling Gate Books.

A coming-of-age spy thriller novel, it is book two in The Orphan Trilogy and a prequel to The Ninth Orphan.



The Orphan Factory's Amazon link: http://www.amazon.com/dp/B008M9WWKW/

Eric wrote: "I just found an ebook publisher called Bibliocracy:
Bibliocracy.com"
Does anyone know anything about them?

Eric Quinn Knowles


I'm wondering about Bibliocracy too. They approached me and wanted me to publish my scifi romance story with them even though I had already published through Booktango (now cancelled that contract and will be going KDP select). I didn't follow through and publish through Bibliocracy because they're so new and I have to give 90 days exclusively to Amazon first. I do like that Bibliocracy will let the author price the book for free if they want to. They actually encourage it for the first book for promotional purposes. I'll be watching this thread to see if anybody else has experience with them. I haven't thrown them out completely. Though I've found out I can give my ebook away for free here on Goodreads so I might not have a reason for them (Bibliocracy reaches a small audience right now).

Village Green Press LLC offers a full range of development, editorial, design and publishing services both for those wishing to self-publish, and those authors pursuing more traditional outlets.With 25 years' experience in an ever changing industry, you can be assured of prompt, professional service at reasonable price. Please note: Our services division is separate from our publishing division, and our list is by invitation only. But if your book isn't right for us, we can help find you a publisher who is! http://villagegreenpressLLC.com

I am a new writer looking to be connected with a publisher. I have written a children's picture book and would like to find someone reputable to review it and give me feedback. I am interested in getting it published as well as illustrated as it is only a manuscript at this point. Any help would be great!

The Experimenter Publishing Company is in the process of resurrecting AMAZING STORIES magazine, the world's first science fiction magazine.
Two "relaunch prelaunch" issues have been published online so far with fiction, interviews, art galleries and articles, including some of the biggest names in the field.
A PDF download of the July 2012 issue is now available ($1.99), or you can email the publisher and request a free copy.
Visit the site, take a look around and if you like it and want to help bring Amazing Stories back, keep an eye out for the Kickstarter campaign coming in Sep/Oct.
http://asmblog.amazingstoriesmag.com

My first book was published by PublishAmerica if you know about them then you know the pain I went through if not look em up, in any event I am looking for another publishing company for my 2nd book. One that is reliable, helpful, resourceful, credible and would be able to help me step by step in the publishing process and answer any question I may have, does anyone have any to recommend?

Found great formatting for Smashwords --> $5 per 50,000 words:
Smashwords gig

Jaq wrote: "Joyce wrote: "I would like a recommendation for a publisher who is reputable. My last one is but was very expensive ..."

That's your red flag right there. No reputable publisher charges the autho..."

That is exactly what I was thinking!!!

Hello everyone! My name is Jolena and I'm in charge of promotions with Less Than Three Press, LLC.

I just wanted to invite all the authors here to come check us out. LT3 is always accepting submissions for it's serial fiction, novels, and anthologies.

Also, at LT3 we believe in supporting our authors all the way. We have a great team of editors, cover artists, and promoters who will help you make sure your book looks and sounds its best on it's release day.

If you're interested you can check out LT3 at:
http://www.lessthanthreepress.com/abo...

If you're ready to submit something check out our guidelines at: http://www.lessthanthreepress.com/sub...

Also, feel free to check out our goodreads group. There you can meet the team behind LT3, talk to the authors, see our upcoming releases and find out first hand from our readers why you should publish with LT3.^

We look forward to hearing from you! ^_^

Heat For Our Civil Rights

Heat is an online novel. It is mainly about a senior federal judge's attraction to women with amputees. The plot explores disability rights through the eyes of a lawyer born into a wealthy family and with a disability and other characters. As the novel is written it is posted on the blog, you can help develop the plot by posting your ideas on the blog.

On Aug 11, 2012 I decided to put the first part of my novel on a blog to get feedback as I create it. Now I have 2895 readers. I wait for more views before I get advertisers.

I got feedback on the online novel as to the sexual depiction. The novel contains more violent depictions than sexual. However, the main goal of the novel is to expose disability discrimination so I decided to only refer in general to sex. We want people to learn about disability rights without being offended. Our goal is to educate about disability rights in an interesting way and not to offend.

Two months ago I discovered "devotees" - people that are sexually attracted to people with disabilities. I decided to write a short story about devotees. Then I decided to broaden the story to include disability rights. I have published 3 books on lulu.com but they did not create revenue. So I decided to create a novel blog to attract viewers and advertisers.

The primary readers are mystery lovers, people with disabilities and their families, lawyers, legal professionals, and devotees.

The beauty of this novel is it is a "living document" so I post a part as I write it. Then I change it based on viewer feedback. For example, sex and disability description was offensive to many viewers so I "watered" down the sex stuff.

The title "Heat" is from the "Heat of Passion" element of voluntary manslaughter in criminal law. Under my birth name I was a lawyer for 20 years until I represented an alleged prostitute with disabilities. She lied to the bar about me. I decided to stipulate to a nolo contender of disbarment for health reasons. I hated being a lawyer. So the disbarment frees me up to do what I love - write and produce videos with my team.

My team and I conduct extensive research to write the novel. However, all the characters and love scenes are based on real people and events.

Wow, we learned much from Novel Blogging. We discovered we had to make each post stand on its own and short. Also, we must repeatedly put the first part of the novel on all the social networks each day and email disability groups world wide each day. To broaden the viewers we reduced the sex stuff. We must write and market at the same time.

We want our readers to give us feedback and follow the novel.

From Arthur Lee
http://heatheatheatheat.blogspot.com/...

I'm from Rising Sign Books. We are a small press publisher. At the moment we are not publishing others, however we do offer some a la carte services to help others on their path to publishing.

Ebook & Print Book formatting

FOR BASIC NOVELS ONLY, we offer general formatting of the interior of your book for the various print & ebook formats available on the market.

*Basic novels do not not include special items like: tables, charts, images (other than an author photo or publisher's logo), blockquotes, lists, subheadings, poetry, & footnote

For ebooks: you will receive your book in 3 eBook formats, Kindle (.mobi) and ePub ready to upload to Amazon KPD and Barnes & Noble Pubit as well as a Word doc ready to upload to Smashwords.com

For Print books: Per your trim size and specifications, we will format your book to include:
· front matter sections (title, copyright, dedication, acknowledgments, table of contents, etc.).
· chapters pages with chapter titles, running headers and page numbers
· back of book sections such as an about the author page
When completed, you will receive a PDF draft of your completed book layout for you to review before the final PDF is made.

Upon approval, you will be provided with a digital copy of your finished book layout in a print quality PDF file created with Adobe Acrobat Pro using the PDF/X-1a 2001 standard that is requested or required by most printers and publishers

Our book formatting services do not include: editing or proofreading, image editing or manipulation, creation of charts or graphs, indexing, or formatting of books written in a language other than English. We retain the right to not accept formatting jobs for books that are too complex.

We also offer Manuscript Critiquing.
What is a critique?

A critique is a thorough review that highlights both the areas that need improvement as well as the good elements of a written or produced work.

This is an important first step in the process to producing a quality book.

A good critique of your work will help to highlight areas to improve such as grammar, punctuation, plot inconsistencies, incomplete character arcs, unbelievable situations (fiction might be fake, but it has to be believable), etc. Along with areas to improve, a good critique can also highlight areas that are working well within your story.

Contact me here via PM or stop by our website for more information.
http://www.risingsignbooks.net/p/serv...

Hi guys, if you want a great website that's free to format your books into the different formats like pdf, epud, mobi, etc...There's a website here http://www.2epub.com/ I always go to it when someone sends me something to review that's not in mobi format =) x

Heather wrote: "Hi guys, if you want a great website that's free to format your books into the different formats like pdf, epud, mobi, etc...There's a website here http://www.2epub.com/ I always go to it when som..."

You are right, that is a great site and the conversions are quite good.

Hi,

Thanks for the opportunity to post.

We are a small publisher of fiction and non-fiction books. Please drop by http://syeopub.com and check out the SUBMISSIONS page. There are also some guides for writing a book proposal and the quality concerns when publishing in today's world of digital books.

You can also find us on Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/pages/Shoot-... The Facebook page posts current digital publishing stories and you are free to comment there.

SYEO publishes ebooks on the major digital catalogs and Createspace. We also publish on the Espresso Book Machine catalog in local bookstores and libraries - and soon in CVS stores on Kodak kiosks.

Thanks and good luck with your writing and publishing.

Mike

Thanks for the opportunity to post.

My husband, Jim, is an ebook formatter. He has reasonable rates. Please see his website for more details and contact info:
http://www.myauthorservices.com

Heather wrote: "Hi guys, if you want a great website that's free to format your books into the different formats like pdf, epud, mobi, etc...There's a website here http://www.2epub.com/ I always go to it when som..."

Hey, thanks Vincent, for putting up this thread, and thank you so much, Heather for your site suggestion. I was just about to do some research in this area. Getting ready to release the paperback, book 3 in my series. I'll be loading the ebooks shortly thereafter. Working with Nook is the hardest and B&N is my favorite! No problem getting Kindle loaded, though. I downloaded a free program to generate Mobi files: Mobipocket.com.

These forums have been a big help - found several editors last month. Thanks again Vincent.

Susan wrote: "Heather wrote: "Hi guys, if you want a great website that's free to format your books into the different formats like pdf, epud, mobi, etc...There's a website here http://www.2epub.com/ I always g..."

Hi Susan,

You're welcome. :)

My goal is to help authors, so I'm glad these forums are useful.

-Vince

PUBLISHER SEARCH

What I need from a publisher is:

1. A book price that is friendly and reasonable, $4.95 - $7.95 softcover, $7.95 - $9.95 Hardcover.

2. The freedom to sell this book on Amazon.com and to also sell this book through Amazons Kindle Direct Publishing at different prices and make use of its special pricing events.

3. Monthly Royalties.

4. A publisher who will list my books at every book fair all over the world.

5. A publisher who will provide personalized illustrations tailored to my request.

6. A publisher who will allow my say so of the interior design and layout.

7. ISBN assignment

8. Copyrights issuance.

9. A publisher who has or will help develop a relationship with book stores and get my book in brick and mortar stores so I can do book signings.

10. A publisher who will contact libraries, schools and department store chains.

11. A publisher who will do press releases

12. A publisher who get my book listed in Ingrams catalog, the several different library catalogs, Foreword magazine, and the Independant Voice catalog.

13. A publisher who still gives advances for signing deals.

Is the day and age of this kind of publisher author relationship dead and gone, or do I just not have the proper resources to connect?

If you are out there Publisher and you hear my requests, and your company still handles business in this manner, I would like to talk to you.

PLEASE CONTACT ME!

Here is the 1st book in the series which cann be downloaded for FREE, I am currently working on the 2nd and the 3rd.

Foster Fox: A 10,000 Lakes Tale

William, believe me, unless you have a 200 page block-buster that will be heavily discounted by the Mass-merchandisers like Walmart, you'll never see a mass-market paperback from a mainstream publisher retail for $5 - $8. Just can't happen. Printing/design/distribution costs all add up, and then there are the returns if your book doesn't sell! Publishers are in the business to turn a profit. Jus' sayin'.

I have started an online literary magazine called Kansas Literary Review.
https://sites.google.com/site/kansasl...
We will publish any sort of fiction (besides erotica) as long as it is good! Besides short stories, we are going to be publishing poetry and art. Check it out and see if it's for you! Thanks.

Hey everyone, I am looking for a publisher for my new book. Its a western horror and its around 26,600-27,000 words. Anyone know of any good publishers i could look into? any that specifically tend to horror? Im open to any though. I already have a list I need to go through but will look into all of em. I wish I had this chance last time before going with PublishAmerica..blah.

I provide affordable eBook and pBook formatting. Check out my website: http://pinkcashmerepublishing.webs.co...

Hello Authors,

I'm glad to introduce our Company - We format your books to the Digital Versions - ePub/Kindle-Mobi/Fixed Layout/ePUB 3.0!

You can have a look at our website - www.eglobusgroup.com

Can mail your queries and get a quote as well - mailto info@eglobusgroup.com

Awaiting your responses,
ANU

Does anyone know of any good publishing companies or horror publishing companies?

How important is a print book?

I would love to hear from indie authors and publishers about this question. I have an ebook only, but lately I've been hearing from readers who don't do kindle, can only hold a book in their hands. Obviously, going into print is a whole other proposition, and an expensive one, too.

It appears a small print run of a typical novel would cost around $8. If the author priced it at $10, then added shipping and tax, that's much costlier for the buyer than a $2.99 ebook. Would buyers pay this for an indie author?

Thanks for any thoughts about the desirability of print. Obviously, you look like more of a real author with a print book, but is it worth it for a few more sales?

Is anyone else getting slow response from pubit right now? Just curious if I need to be patient or try again to get in touch with them.

For me, print books seem important, but when you realise that almost all sales are eBooks, it seems print books might be more of a personal choice by the author to say they can physically hold a copy of their book.

For sales, until you start selling 400+ copies, print books, might not be worth it.

Deb wrote: "How important is a print book?

I would love to hear from indie authors and publishers about this question. I have an ebook only, but lately I've been hearing from readers who don't do kindle, can ..."

Thanks for your comment, Rebecca. I am not at the 400+ mark yet, so I guess I need to be patient.