Published . . . . not really
One of our ex-VPs at work has published a sci-fi book. We all thought it was great he had become a published author. So, being the dutiful employees we are, we looked up the book on Amazon. It got a glowing reveiw. Wow! I'm impressed.
Wait. . . something's not right. The person who wrote the review is an old buddy of the author. Oh, look. Who's the publisher? Booksurge? I haven't heard of that publisher before. A quick google revealed BookSurge to be a vanity press.
We weren't impressed anymore, we were laughing. The ex-VP paid to have his book published.
Well, not all self-published books were crap. So I decided to see what BookSurge was publishing. I don't have a wide experience, but I know a good romance when I read one.
I ramdomly choose one romance and opened the sample chapter. yuk. And to prove it, here's the first few paragraphs. (Names have been changed to protect the innocent)
John Smith would remember that particular April 28th for a long time, because it somehow managed to be both the worst day and the best day of his life.
The mail had arrived as usual the night before, but he hadn’t bothered to read it until he got up that morning. When he had, he’d found out that he and his buddy Jack Jones, who shared an apartment, had just been evicted. The letter from the landlord had informed them that a couple of 22-year-olds had never been his idea of prime tenants. Especially when they cultivated bait in the bathroom. John thought it was unfair to blame both of them for something Jack had done.
Now we know why this was not picked up by a reputable publisher. I can only imagine what my former collegue's book is like.
I've just listed two reason why I will never publish with a vanity press. One, I won't really be published. Two, no editing. Now with all due respect to BookSurge, professional editing is available for (another) cost. How many books would you have to sell at $14 each to recover $2000 spent for artwork, editing, printing, etc at a royalty rate of 25 percent?
Okay, I know I'm being snarky and laughing up my sleeve at vanity press authors. But I will never forget a comment made in a writer's meeting.
"It's good to be published, but it's great to be paid."
Let's keep sight of the real goal.
Wait. . . something's not right. The person who wrote the review is an old buddy of the author. Oh, look. Who's the publisher? Booksurge? I haven't heard of that publisher before. A quick google revealed BookSurge to be a vanity press.
We weren't impressed anymore, we were laughing. The ex-VP paid to have his book published.
Well, not all self-published books were crap. So I decided to see what BookSurge was publishing. I don't have a wide experience, but I know a good romance when I read one.
I ramdomly choose one romance and opened the sample chapter. yuk. And to prove it, here's the first few paragraphs. (Names have been changed to protect the innocent)
John Smith would remember that particular April 28th for a long time, because it somehow managed to be both the worst day and the best day of his life.
The mail had arrived as usual the night before, but he hadn’t bothered to read it until he got up that morning. When he had, he’d found out that he and his buddy Jack Jones, who shared an apartment, had just been evicted. The letter from the landlord had informed them that a couple of 22-year-olds had never been his idea of prime tenants. Especially when they cultivated bait in the bathroom. John thought it was unfair to blame both of them for something Jack had done.
Now we know why this was not picked up by a reputable publisher. I can only imagine what my former collegue's book is like.
I've just listed two reason why I will never publish with a vanity press. One, I won't really be published. Two, no editing. Now with all due respect to BookSurge, professional editing is available for (another) cost. How many books would you have to sell at $14 each to recover $2000 spent for artwork, editing, printing, etc at a royalty rate of 25 percent?
Okay, I know I'm being snarky and laughing up my sleeve at vanity press authors. But I will never forget a comment made in a writer's meeting.
"It's good to be published, but it's great to be paid."
Let's keep sight of the real goal.
posted by ~~Olivia | 1:16 AM
2 Comments:
I totally agree with you. Boy, that sample you posted was pretty awful.
Believe me, I've seen MUCH worse come across my computer screen. Here at the office we have an endless supply of amusement. There really are some great books that come in, but they are few and far in between.
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