Judging Publishers

The Rise of the Machines

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Paul Whybrow

Full Member
Jun 20, 2015
Cornwall, UK
How do you choose a publisher to sign a contract with? Hopefully, the guidance of a literary agent will be worthwhile—if you can ever secure the services of one!

Over the last three years, I’ve made a total of 250 queries, mainly to literary agencies, but also to publishers with an open submissions window. In researching the requirements, tastes and overall feel of an agency or publisher, there have been a few that I really liked the look of, and some (often the largest) where I thought my books would just be another product on their corporation’s stock list.

These days, there are many more small independent publishers around, and a few have done really well with their authors being shortlisted and even winning literary prizes. Other independent publishers encourage direct submissions, though many of these only handle eBooks. I noticed Katie-Ellen’s post about Bloodhound Books seeking new talent and looked at their site.

It’s an attractive site, and they are the sort of publisher who might be interested in my four Cornish detective novels, as they handle grit lit, crime fiction, suspense, mystery, domestic noir and psychological thrillers and chillers. They specialise in publishing eBooks, but also print on demand paperbacks for all of their titles. They also have an imprint for women’s fiction, chick-lit and romance.

I noted, with a tiny amount of cynicism, that one of Bloodhound’s founders Betsy Reavley is published by them, but this is not uncommon in publishing. Salt Publishing’s owner Chris Hamilton-Emery publishes his own poetry. Even Hollywood star Viggo Mortensen runs a publishing company, handling his own work among other obscure writers.

Googling them, Bloodhound appear to have a good reputation in taking care of their authors, and the books they publish are well-reviewed, but it troubles me that there’s no indication on their site of what percentage of sales they pay their writers. Sadly, this is typical of eBook publishers and doesn’t encourage confidence.

It made me wonder how we’re meant to judge whether a publisher is any good. There’s the Nielsen BookScan data provider, which gives the point of sale statistics for book sales, so you can see how well publishers are doing commercially with their latest releases. But, how do we judge what a publisher is really like?

It worries me, that if I continue to seek representation through a traditional publishing contract, that I’ll sign up with an outfit that doesn't promote my work and are only in it for their 15%.

What do you think?
 
Start with knowing your genre. You want to target publishers who publish what you write, and who have a proven track record with sales in that genre.

Talk to their current authors. Most authors are happy to tell you the good and bad about their publisher. You want to know how approachable they are, whether they answer emails and phone calls, and how quickly they do, how negotiable their contract is, whether they have in-house editors or contract them out (which is very common, by the way). Even if they use freelance editors, do they work with the same ones, or is it a hodgepodge? How much input (if any) will you have on the cover? What distributors do they work with - where will your book be sold? If it goes to print, is it print-on-demand, or will you find it in physical bookstores? What do they do to help market/promote your book?

As far as the contract, you want everything spelled out. What rights they take, when you'll be paid, what percentage your royalties are for specific distributors, who keeps the copyright (it should be you, not them!!), how many years the contract covers, what happens if the publisher goes out of business, and how you go about getting your rights back when the contract period is up, or the company folds. This is not an exhaustive look of what to look for in a contract, but it covers the basics.

Also, look for their books on third party sites like Amazon. How well are they selling in their genres? In the sub-categories? Look for a social media presence for the publisher, and if they have one, how often is it updated?

Look at their website. Are there typos? Is it easy to navigate? Do they list their authors and staff? Are their submission guidelines straightforward? Is there a way to contact them with questions before you submit?
 
Bloodhound look interesting but one thing strikes me as odd - they seem to have s very fast turn around time. Looking at their blog books acquired in March are scheduled for publication in July the same year! Am I reading that right? How do they manage to fit in all the editing and proofreading and cover design not to mention putting together a marketing strategy etc! I was 13 months from offer to publication which was considered quick!
 
I've had books published within a month of being accepted. But, like @AgentPete says, those books are e-books. That being said, and although most digital first publisher operate this way, I'm often doing second round edits a week before the book is out, and a few times I haven't seen the cover until four or five days before. So... there's no time to do any sort of advanced promotion.
 
Hi everyone, I'm new to this group ( I was a member a while back but my membership lapsed due to time constraints) and wanted to comment on this thread as I am an author with Bloodhound Books. They published my first novel, Undercurrent in March this year. They are ostensibly a digital publisher with a print on demand function for paperbacks. They are a small publisher but growing by the day having recently formed an alliance with Lorella Belli for Film, TV and foreign rights. They do specialise in Crime/Thriller books but have another company called Bombshell Books that prints chick lit/romance. The turnaround can be fast but it all depends on their backlog of submissions and books by current authors. My next novel due to be released next week (Her Dark Retreat) was completed in May but not published until October so plenty of time for edits/proofreading etc. They are now a heavy presence in the publishing world and although nowhere near as big as Bookouture or other more established publishers, they have sold over a million books. They are also very reputable and do very much look after their authors providing lots of support. Their response rate is second to none and are available at any time to the authors they have on their books. I hope this helps!

www.jabakerauthor.com
 
Welcome back :) That's really interesting to know, and many congratulations on Undercurrent and Her Dark Retreat. I'll be wandering over to Bloodhound to find out more.

Did you approach Bloodhound Directly, Judith, or via Lorella Belli or other agent?
 
Hi there, I've read some good things about Bloodhound books. Does anyone have an idea on the royalty rates they offer?
 
I don't, but it would be good if someone found out. Smaller pubs sometimes split their ebook income 50/50, which is better than many older publishers...
 
Hi everyone. It's a 40/60 split but authors also get royalties from kindle unlimited readers which can really bump up the income. They cover all costs and have recently employed a marketing director and art director for the covers which are amazing. I realise I'm biased but even before the new cover designer, they produced some of the best covers around. This link leads you to my Amazon page where you can see my covers. https://www.amazon.co.uk/J.A.-Baker/e/B06XSNWB4T/ref=dp_byline_cont_ebooks_1
 
Hi everyone. It's a 40/60 split but authors also get royalties from kindle unlimited readers which can really bump up the income. They cover all costs and have recently employed a marketing director and art director for the covers which are amazing. I realise I'm biased but even before the new cover designer, they produced some of the best covers around. This link leads you to my Amazon page where you can see my covers. https://www.amazon.co.uk/J.A.-Baker/e/B06XSNWB4T/ref=dp_byline_cont_ebooks_1

Hi Judith

Thanks for your reply. That's really helpful. Bloodhound and Bookature seem to be going great guns at the moment :)
 
Hi everyone. It's a 40/60 split but authors also get royalties from kindle unlimited readers which can really bump up the income. They cover all costs and have recently employed a marketing director and art director for the covers which are amazing. I realise I'm biased but even before the new cover designer, they produced some of the best covers around. This link leads you to my Amazon page where you can see my covers. https://www.amazon.co.uk/J.A.-Baker/e/B06XSNWB4T/ref=dp_byline_cont_ebooks_1

Judith

I love your covers. They look great. I'm going to submit to both Bloodhound and Bookature and see what response I get. I've self-pubbed my first 4 police procedurals, and finishing off the first draft of book 5. So I hope they take a look :)
 
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The Rise of the Machines

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