Support for Indie Authors discussion

I’d like to get a little advice about a very frustrating experience I am having with a publisher. My first book Timberwolf came out in late 2015. A few months later, my publisher went out of business, reverting the rights back to me. The book was not widely marketed, as the publisher was in bad financial straits. It was expertly edited and the story got glowing reviews from those who read it.
I wanted to find a really good partner to take over publication. I did my homework this time and got in contact with a financially sound, boutique sci-fi publisher that had a strong track record of supporting authors. I cold-called them and by chance managed to speak to the editor in chief, who spent almost 45 minutes with me, telling me all about his company. I explained that the book had been previously published and he had no strong issues with that. He suggested I submit my book, the rights reversion letter and some summary materials.
They have a no simultaneous submissions policy and I felt really good about my connection, so I had no burning drive to submit to other publishers. I work supporting cancer research and have a special needs son, so I have other things to worry about. A few months pass, I make friends with the editor who was looking at my work and I wait. So, a few weeks ago the editor writes me back and says that they liked the book, but are reluctant to publish something that’s been released previously.
I wrote them back and asked if there was some mistake… “I told you guys about the prior publication and even sent the rights release letter and you had no problem with it.” She replied as if she hadn’t even the materials I had submitted beyond the manuscript, so I sent her copies. The editor promised to get back to me, but I have not heard anything back yet and it’s been 3 weeks. I feel like I’m being ghosted now.
I feel like my time and hopes have been wasted. The chief could have told me they weren’t interested in a previously published manuscript back in November and not wasted seven months of my time. Super angry and furious right now. Trying to decide on next steps. Don’t want to self-publish at this time. Advice or pick me ups in equal measure please.

I have consulted with my all-seeing, all-knowing dog on this matter and he assures me everything will work out eventually.

Going self has the added benefit on not having to deal with all those run-arounds and shenanigans. If you have all the final print-ready docs and ebook materials, it might not be that difficult to achieve. I'm a very DIY kind a guy, so the self route suits me fine. If that is not your predilection, you might search goodreads for other recommended publishers. I recall seeing some threads on this in the past in the Support Indie Authors group. Check it out and maybe you'll find an imprint you like.

Best wishes!

J.N. wrote: "I have consulted with my all-seeing, all-knowing dog on this matter and he assures me everything will work out eventually.

Going self has the added benefit on not having to deal with all those run..."

thanks - it's not the technical nature of it, but more that i was looking for a partner to do the marketing, promotion, etc. i was just reading some of my reviews and this whole process has left me feeling burned.

No - this is the open door!

Publishers these days leave a lot of the marketing (or most of it) to the author. And what do they give you in return?

Amazon, on the other hand can give you 70% royalties (depending on your choice), and they make it super easy to upload. They even publish a short free book telling you how to do it.

They put no pressure on you to produce books to a timetable which surely must be a plus point with your family/work situation and they have ways of publicizing your books that publishers can't do.

Open door - come on in.

The more I hear about conventional publishing right now, the more going the independent route is the answer - but it's not easy - nor- if you want a tangible paperback edition professionally produced, is it cheap

Just go Indie. The water is lovely

I agree, you have the control, and your the publisher. No deadlines or demands, once you get the knack of self-publishing, you won't ever go back to a publishing house

Doesn't cost you to publish. If you want author copies for signings, produce it at createspace first, then migrate it to KDP for your e-book

The good news is you have the rights to your book and can publish with someone else or on your own. More good news is the experience: a forty-five minute conversation on a cold call is good, but at the same time corporate decisions (and this is a corporate decision no matter how large or small the company) are made by more than one person. There are at least two people mentioned above and there are probably more. So the editor ran this by someone, even if not in his own company; could be a fellow editor, whatever, and if they were negative about a previously published work, or lacking in enthusiasm it could be enough to make him change his mind. Also, you said he had no strong issues, so that leads me to believe he may have had some hesitancy. Even though it seems to be officially under consideration, to me it sounds like they have said no.

Indie or traditional, you will still need to do marketing. There are many posts here about marketing. The benefit of indie is that you can regulate it. Good luck!

I'm indie. It's hard. But from what I hear, unless you're a famous person then publishers want you to self promote heavily too anyway. If I'm doing that, personally I prefer to keep all my meagre royalties and not pass them on to someone who's frankly not doing very much to help.

Whatever you decide, good luck xx

I do my very best to try and be a sunny side up person. I'm also something of a optimist pessimistic in that I am sure things are going to get better but it's going to need to get a lot weirder before that can happen. So ... it sounds a lot like you've got the weird out of the way so only the good stuff can happen now. Somebody suggested to just jump into the indie waters. It doesn't sound like bad advice. You've already got an expertly edited manuscript, the blurbs, and the cover art. Or check out the agents book and flood them with queries. You've got all the cards and the cards look pretty good. ;-)

Thanks - appreciate it team. I'll take all of this under consideration. I do plan to confront the publisher in stern, but professional terms about their behavior. They really shouldn't act this way. In the meantime, I had a chapter of my book recorded like an audio book. I think the guy did a really good job. Won't post a link here, as per the iron rules but if anyone wants to see it let me know, I've been using it as a calling card.

I know several authors who were traditionally published, and doing very well, who decided to self-publish instead. Traditional publishing is difficult water to tread, so is indie. You will have to do ALOT of marketing and promotion but at least with indie pub you have more control over your work and you're not left waiting and wondering.
Other than that, look around for another publisher.

I think you've been given a gift...

I decided to go indie for several reasons. I worked for a year on my book and I do not want to give away my hard work. I have known several authors who signed contracts only to lose all rights to their work. Reading the fine print, they have to wait 7 years after the publisher stops printing the book to get it back. That doesn't seem to be happening, in a world with Amazon and print on demand. At least one book sells a year. Also, it seems to them that their book was bought and buried. I think you may have gotten lucky, as you got your rights back.

I also have had conversations with some traditionally published authors, it's worked for them, and yet they still have to do a tremendous amount of marketing, traveling, etc. If you're going to have to all the work anyway, then why not do the work for yourself? Just my 2 cents.

So tonight I was at a 4th party and my friend from Iceland was there who I have not seen in a while. Turns out on the very first page of the book, I used an Icelandic word for a prison planet. HINT: When I need a cool sounding planet or thing, I look through google translate for ideas. Turns out the Icelandic word for prison – Fengelsi - was the coolest one I could find. Anyway, this guy and his brother-in-law freaked out when they saw that word and were totally psyched I had used Icelandic. I had a really nice talk with them about how much they loved the book. What a great surprise when I was feeling down! The book is a nice hit with the Icelandic people ; )

I'm Indie and Trad. The Trad stuff is much slower, but it costs me way less out of pocket. The control of Indie is very nice.

Decide what the perks/why you want to do Trad and if that is very important to you, keep working in it.

The thing is for this project is that that it's already nicely edited. That's a huge cost savings for you. Do you still have the cover? Second huge cost savings. With all of this already done, going Indie on this book might not be a bad idea, because the publishers will not do much for you for publicity. They've already gotten the launch era reviews, so that's done. What else can they do?

If I were you, I'd self publish this one and for the next, try to do that one Trad. IMHO.

Nat wrote: "I'm Indie and Trad. The Trad stuff is much slower, but it costs me way less out of pocket. The control of Indie is very nice.

Decide what the perks/why you want to do Trad and if that is very impo..."

Really good points! very much appreciate it.

The previous publisher probably owns the right to the cover, or has licensed the image from someone that might not be happy if someone else beside that publisher uses it unless he or she gets paid for it. I'm not certain about this, but if you decide to self publish your book, it might be worth it to go with a different cover to avoid any hassle.

Anyway, as I'm Icelandic I thought it was interesting how you've used Icelandic for the name of the prison planet. :-)

I have the option to buy the coverage art very affordable price so I'm not worried about that and thank you for being psyched about my use of Icelandic. I've got some very nice Icelandic friends. Apparently, Iceland is now enraptured by having Costco just arrive on the island. That for real?

Okay, that's good. It's a cool cover. And yes, Icelanders are appearantly very happy about Costco.