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Lady of the Land

Registered: 05-2003
Location: Germany
Posts: 6984
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The Author Exploitation Business


This is a must-read blog post for anyone who is considering to get help with self-publishing.

There are HUGE exploiters out there, run by traditional publishers like Penguin, Writer's Digest and even Hay House. I'm actually shocked those companies have no qualms whatsoever to own and run daughter companies that take money from authors for services that can be had elsewhere for much less. Some call this a scam.

How do those publishers do it? Well, they use a company called Author Solutions that offers deals for formatting and putting up ebooks and print books. And those deals include taking a large percentage of the author's earnings in addition to having the author pay for those "services" up front.

It would be much, much better for any author to find affordable services and pay for them once and then share their earnings only with Amazon etc. rather than with a company that does nothing extra on top of that. (Take a look at Blue Harvest Creative, for one idea.)

Is this actually true? Oh, yes. Check it out here:

The Author Exploitation Business

So please, share the word, let people know that publishing a book doesn't cost a fortune, that they don't have to sign away 80% of their earnings, or use up their savings. It can be as simple as formatting your novel yourself, or asking a good company to do it for you. And then you can upload your novel to amazon and all the other channels - and start promoting it.

That's the way to do it. Stay away from anyone who wants percentages of your royalties. New rule #1 of getting published.

Last edited by Firlefanz, 5/8/2013, 9:25 am


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Shepherd

Registered: 03-2006
Posts: 2138
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Re: The Author Exploitation Business


Does sound suspicious if they want a percentage, yes. Aside of advertising, the other things tend to be fairly fixed in cost I believe.
5/8/2013, 11:44 am Link to this post Email QS2   PM QS2
 
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Lady of the Land

Registered: 05-2003
Location: Germany
Posts: 6984
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Re: The Author Exploitation Business


Well, they should be. Editing and graphics are the two things most authors should commission (and which tradional publishers pay for). And they should be fixed costs, although I have been suggesting to editors to look at a small percentage in addition to a fixed sum (creating passive income for them, plus adding an incentive to help with marketing).

These new "robber barons" make an author pay for those "services", and promise marketing, but don't have a good track record for actually selling any books (on average 150 per author). The cost for the author goes into high 4 digits, btw.

It's shocking and infuriating, escpecially as they are now run by formerly reputable traditional publishers. They are preying on young / inexperienced authors.

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- Firlefanz

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Shepherd

Registered: 03-2006
Posts: 2138
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Re: The Author Exploitation Business


I don't know... maybe the publishers always were preying on the author in a sense?
5/10/2013, 1:05 am Link to this post Email QS2   PM QS2
 
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Lady of the Land

Registered: 05-2003
Location: Germany
Posts: 6984
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Re: The Author Exploitation Business


Well, they needed each other for the longest time. So I think that there was a kind of balance - even though it became gradually skewed a little as publishers grew huge with globalization. And then some things happened with electronic rights that were less than nice ...

However, what's happening now, and what the blog post describes really has a new dimension. Those new companies "supporting self-publishers" are really exploiting inexperienced and naive first-time authors by selling them services at a much higher cost than they would find elsewhere.

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- Firlefanz

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Grand Master

Registered: 05-2011
Posts: 218
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Re: The Author Exploitation Business


Sickening and disheartening, really, that traditional publishing houses are also running these disreputable self-publishing houses.

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Lady of the Land

Registered: 05-2003
Location: Germany
Posts: 6984
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Re: The Author Exploitation Business


I suppose there is no way around treating self-publishing as a business, and then learning as much as you can about it.

I just wish that people would get more educated and avoid those exploiters. Because they do find their customers among the uneducated, who feel they get a great deal, when in fact, they get the most rotten deal of all.

 emoticon

It's an interesting fact that most authors leave them after publishing one or two books with them. Seems they smarten up the hard way.

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- Firlefanz

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Grand Master

Registered: 05-2011
Posts: 218
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Re: The Author Exploitation Business


 emoticon Sounds like an expensive lesson to learn.

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Lady of the Land

Registered: 05-2003
Location: Germany
Posts: 6984
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Re: The Author Exploitation Business


It is. Which is why I do my best to warn people.

  emoticon

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- Firlefanz

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6/9/2013, 5:27 pm Link to this post Email Firlefanz   PM Firlefanz Blog
 


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