On March 27, 2019, I wrote a post on this blog titled “Why I Bailed on a Book Deal.” It is the first post I have ever taken down, with my apologies to those who commented on it. In that post, I chronicled the communication I received from a publisher who had accepted my fourth poetry collection. As I learned more about their terms, I withdrew my manuscript from consideration and wrote about my rationale.
For me the sticking points were the high numbers of advance pre-orders required before a book would go to press and the fact that the royalty rates for the book were determined by the advance sales rate. As I recall, there was a provision for royalties to go higher once the book sold a certain, fairly high amount.
In my original post, I indicated that I knew some poets who had published with this press, and though I couldn’t speak to their experience, I had to surmise that the terms were worth it for them.I also knew that it wasn’t the kind of contract I wanted, and I encouraged everyone to be informed and to make their own decisions about publishing.
Today, I received an email from this company, complaining about my 6-year-old post and threatening legal action if I did not remove it, saying “The information is false and is hurting my business. The author of this article has included information that is not correct. [Deleted] Press does pay in royalty payments. Your article is outdated and misleading, and has been brought to my attention by a writer who wants to publish with us.” and “Please remove the article from your site. In the event you refuse or are unable to remove the liable content, I will seek legal action against you personally.”
I could take the high road and call their bluff, but I don’t earn any income from this blog and it would certainl cost me time and money to do so. My point in writing the post was not to malign the company but to discuss the changing world of small press publshing — there are several other publishers that blur the line between traditional publishing models and hybrid models. My point was that writers need to research prospective publishers before submitting, and even then, need to carefully read contracts and be willing to walk away if the terms aren’t right for them. This does not make the publisher a bad choice for everyone, as I wrote then, but only that is not the right fit for you.
I do not retract what I said in that post—it was accurate when I wrote it—but I also don’t need to be hassled with these kind of threats. That post has done its job. I’m adding this post to explain why it is no longer available and to reiterate the point that writers should carefully consider every publishing offer.
If the press in the original has changed their terms in the six years since I wrote the post, as they claim in their email, then I applaud them for it. But their threats of legal action tell a different story and make me that much happier that I made the decision I did at the time. Sometimes, you need to follow your gut.
For anyone who is considering a book contract, I highly recommend the Model Trade Contract published by the Author’s Guild and other contract resources and their advice on avoiding publishing scams. Other resources such as Writer Beware can also be helpful.
As I said in my last comment, I am very happy with my current publisher. They worked with me to include some language from the Author’s Guild Model Contract that made sense for them and for me, and they have been very open with me every step of the way. We have an excellent working relationship, and that is the main thing I’m looking for when I agree to publish with a press.
Please don’t ask me who the publisher in that original post was. I no longer feel comfortable naming them. All I will say is that it was not any press I have published with in the past, nor do I ever plan to work with them in the future.
Kendall Dunkelberg 