- This topic has 9 replies, 6 voices, and was last updated December 27, 2012 at 12:38 am by
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has anyone used publish america or destiny housing publishers? i am a new writer have completed 1st book not published yet and now begining a fiction one first one was my story want to use it as witnessing tool any suggestions?
Check Preditors & Editors before considering any publisher. There’s a link somewhere here on the site – I’d try to find it for you, but I’m in the middle of a mess.
As for Publish America – unless my memory is worse than I think, I wouldn’t go within a thousand miles of them…
Publish America, for the well-informed writer, is Bad News. They take advantage of writers–or they did years ago, and I doubt they’ve changed their stripes.
Ashe Elton Parker
"Just love me, fear me, do as I say, and I will be your slave." ~ David Bowie as Jareth in Labyrinth
~*~
Member since 1998.
~*~thanks for any advice you can offer don’t want to get myself involved with a bad company as it will be a reflection on my writing thanks again new friends!
I actually can’t find the link to Preditors and Editors on the new site anywhere. Anyway they’re right check here:
ESPECIALLY read this page to know how to avoid scam publishers:
http://pred-ed.com/pubwarn.htm
Publish America is horrible news you can read their huge page on them here:
http://pred-ed.com/pebpublisham.htmI couldn’t find the other one you’re interested in a quick search (all I had time for) but I’d be sure to check both on their site and the others they recommend to see if there’s anything about them anywhere.
I took a very quick look at Destiny House – I don’t think they’re scammers although I am not sure enough of that to suggest you should go ahead without a lot more research into them. Also, as a former printer (letterpress), self-publisher (back when that meant I ran the press – offset, since I was in high school at the time and doing it as a class project), and researcher (used to forming snap judgments that are not always perfect, but usually worth following up), I don’t think these are people I’d want to deal with. Their name is Destiny House – but the main link to them on Google results reads “Destiny Housing”. If they’re that sloppy about proofreading their own site, that is a huge black mark against them, at least in my opinion.
Edited to add: Depending on how Google picked up that spelling, it may come from links to the site – but if that many links contain that glaring an error, then it was their SEO efforts they failed to proofread. Either way, I’m not impressed…
A publisher’s site editing (spelling and grammar errors, etc.) has always been one of the things which comes up on any list of things to look for when considering using a self-publisher. Bad site editing generally means the writer won’t get much better editing of their stories–if it’s offered at all (and if it is, it’s generally accompanied by a fee which gives no indication of the editor’s skill).
Ashe Elton Parker
"Just love me, fear me, do as I say, and I will be your slave." ~ David Bowie as Jareth in Labyrinth
~*~
Member since 1998.
~*~Ashe wrote:A publisher’s site editing (spelling and grammar errors, etc.) has always been one of the things which comes up on any list of things to look for when considering using a self-publisher. Bad site editing generally means the writer won’t get much better editing of their stories–if it’s offered at all (and if it is, it’s generally accompanied by a fee which gives no indication of the editor’s skill).Exactly. A publisher who doesn’t give much attention to their own site is hardly going to give more to their authors’ books. That’s even more true in a case like this, since they profit from selling you their “packages”, not from selling many copies of your books.
(I’d add, although it will require more work from you, that you can usually get better results at the same or a lower price by looking around for services yourself. Although the cheap packages may cost less – but that tends to be a case of “you get what you pay for”. There are certainly companies which offer packages like this that are legitimate – but that does not mean you always get the best possible results, either. It may suit some people, but I don’t think I’d ever want to go the “package” route myself.)
Publish America, Author House, and any company that uses them as their way to ‘offer’ you services are places to avoid. There are VERY few situations where they would be a good idea. Mostly, they just deplete your bank account without giving back the value.
If I may suggest, if you aren’t able to do the work yourself, then go for a flat-fee service. There are several out there, but one that has been getting good reviews is Lucky Bat Books. This is a link to their listing of flat fees to pick and choose what you need to make it happen. Use what you need, don’t pay for anything you don’t. And once you are done, you are done. No percentage taken from sales for the rest of your life. No contracts attempting to take a portion of your copyright.
The old advice to writers is that money ALWAYS flows to the author. If it isn’t, then you aren’t likely dealing with a legit operation.
With the changes of the last few years where you can have your own publishing company to release your own work without the (old) stigma of self-publishing haunting you, that still is a good guide. MOST of the money should always flow to the writer. Be cautious. Read up. Ask help from other writers (like you did here). Keep Predators & Editors bookmarked and look up any potential company you are thinking of working with. Another resource is “Writer Beware,” although they are not right about everything they report on.
If you feel you MUST go with a whole-package company, then keep this in mind: “Work with companies who make money off selling the book, NOT by selling to the author.” Publish America and companies like them make money off the author, not by selling the book. STAY AWAY!
J.A. Marlow
The String Weavers, Salmon Run, Redpoint One series.Writer alter-ego of Dreamers Cove
janicemoody wrote:thanks for any advice you can offer don’t want to get myself involved with a bad company as it will be a reflection on my writing thanks again new friends!I am going to give you a bit of advice that goes with what you have said in this post.
If you are worried about something reflecting badly on your writing, also take the time to write ‘real’ sentences and use proper capitalization, even in a fast posts like this. We are all potential readers, you know. Anyone coming across this would be unlikely to buy any of your stories thinking this is the way you write. Corrected, it would be:
Thanks for any advice you can offer. (I) don’t want to get myself involved with bad company as it will be a reflection on my writing. Thanks again, new friends!
Really, this will make a huge difference in how people continue to treat you here at the site. We want to believe the people who come here want to be professional in their work, and that means even in their posts.
I hope this helps!
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