AUTHORS WANTED.....

Laurane

Laurane

Canadian Loonie
is the title of the ad in the National Geographic Mag for this month......

Vantage Press Inc.
419 Park Ave South, New York, NY 10016
Phone 1-800-821-3990

www.vantagepress.com

All you aspiring writers might want to contact them.....good luck.....Laurane
 
fruit loop

fruit loop

Inactive
No, don't

Vantage Press will print your book - for a price.

The author is responsible for paying to publish the book and has to market it themselves.

That's all Vantage is.

You can do this on your own through Kinko's if you want to self-publish and get the same result. All Vantage is is a printing press for you. They do not market or promote.

No reputable publisher will ask you to pay upfront. Neither will a reputable agent.
 
Laurane

Laurane

Canadian Loonie
But if Vantage helps to get publicity....

I guess it depends on what the fee upfront is, and whether it is worth it to you to try......unless you have a way of accessing local reviewers, I don't know how else you would do it, except by the usual way of printing/mailing a manuscript to every publisher you can find.

Maybe online free publishing would be a good first step - then if someone read and liked it, it might be a reference for a regular publisher......must be a hard field to break into.

I have friend who has just published her second book, and she said it cost her quite a bit to have it printed and bound, but she did it herself and then kept on sending it to all the Canadian publishers she knew......she is now making money and loving the publicity. Maybe it is easier to become known when you live in a small/midsize town where the local newspapers print up reviews of the "leading lights of the literary field" as they put it round here.
 
fruit loop

fruit loop

Inactive
Vantage DOES NOTHING but print the book

They do not promote. They don't edit. THey do nothing but print what you pay them to print and bind, even if it's obviously crap. They get their money no matter what.

Self-publishing is exactly that. You pay to have it printed, you sell it, promote it, etc.

If you've got a book with a limited market, like How To Raise And Cook Prairie Dogs, you might do well. You'll know the market and can probably sell some copies.

The problem with self-publishing is exactly that...anyone can do it, so it has little credibility with major chains. You CAN bust through the door with it, but it will be a struggle.

I've seen self-published books that had a great story but looked like they were written by illiterate kindergartners....."Susie wocked down da street an met Joe."

Major sellers know this and aren't willing to sift through the slush pile of self published books to find a good one to sell when they have professional editors and publishing houses that can guarantee a professionally written book.
 
fruit loop

fruit loop

Inactive
Here's some advice

Visit the websites of major publishers. Some accept unsolicited (unrepresented by an agent) manuscripts. Check to see what their policy on submissions is. Follow their guidelines EXACTLY. If they say no more than a hundred thousand words for a mystery novel, don't send them your 600 page masterwork no matter how good it is.

The first step is usually a query letter. Even if they say they don't accept unagented work, most will still look at a query letter. Address it to the editor in charge of submissions for the line - AND GET A NAME, even if you have to call the publisher. Ask "Can you please tell me who your acquiring editor for cookbooks is?" Don't send the cookbook query to the editor who does romance novels.

BE BRIEF. A query should be no more than a page. Tell them briefly about your book. Do NOT send your manuscript with it.

NEVER make the most obvious amateur mistake: "ABC Mystery is an excellent novel and would also make a nice movie" "I'm available for appearances on talk shows" or "I will accept opening offers for 25,000 dollars." (YES, lots of people do this.)

Editors, if interested, will ask for a partial, usually the first three chapters plus a synopsis. If they like that, they'll ask for the full.

Some editors will take the query plus a partial initially. Again, look at the website.

Manuscripts should be professional looking. USE SPELL CHECK and have someone proof for grammar. White paper, one inch margins all around, double spaced.

The procedure for submitting to agents is the same. Check out agent's websites.

A reputable agent or editor will NEVER, EVER ask you to pay money up front.

The publishing house will promote your book and make sure it gets into the bookstores.

Good luck
 
Christian for Israel

Christian for Israel

Knight of Jerusalem
wow! thanks fruit loop!

do you have any other secrets about publishing to tell? or a list of decent publishers and their websites?

and btw, what do you think of my little story? understand that it'll be completely rewritten at least once.
 
J

jlee

Inactive
Another "must" is to know what sort of book a publisher specializes in before contacting them. You don't want to send a romance to a publisher which specializes in handyman/home repair. Or to send a children's book to a publisher which doesn't do children's books.

It's also a bad idea to find out who's published a book on the same topic as yours and send them your book: generally publishers don't want to repeat the same subject too frequently. Even a specialty publisher that does a lot of do-it-yourself (think Sunset) isn't going to be interested in doing a book on building your own wine cellar two years after they published one on the same subject.


Re. Vantage Press -- even in this day of easier self-publishing, "Vantage Press" on the spine and title page is a major liability.
 
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