Samhain Publishing Ltd Weblog

Friends Don't Let Friends Publish America

“I’m going to be a published author too,” my friend Gary (not his real name) announced. “A book of my poems is coming out soon. They’re giving me a hundred copies, and I need to talk to you about promotion.”

Some of my confusion must’ve shown on my face. This wasn’t what I expected to have slapped on my plate in the middle of a Sunday afternoon cook-out. “That’s great, Gary. You’re getting a hundred ARCs? Wow! That’s amazing. How soon are you getting published?”

“October. What’s an ARC?”

“Advance Reading Copy. It’s what you send reviewers three to six months before your book’s release so the reviews line up with the publication date. I guess you don’t have a marketing plan. Have you started making a list of the places where you’d like to see the book reviewed?”

“Three to six months! That’s impossible! The book’s still being edited, and I’m having all kinds of trouble getting the editor to understand the concept of poetic diction.”

My jaw sagged. “You mean this October? And the book’s still in edit…ting?” I pushed my mouth closed, swallowed and tried again. “You mean a hundred finished copies? Who’s publishing your book?”

“Publish America. They’ve asked me to do some legal work for them. Apparently, a number of people are trying to sue them.”

No kidding. But I couldn’t say it. By that point my mouth had stopped working. Inside my skull, my brain was screaming “Noooooooo!” so loud I’d lost the ability to form words. Eventually I recovered enough to start forcing information on him in the form of links to Absolute Write, Writer Beware, and Preditors & Editors.

The experience brought home just how little most people understand the publishing business. Gary is a very smart guy. He’s been a lawyer a long time. He’s won lots of cases which should’ve been slam dunks for the other side. He’s even argued before the Supreme Court.

But when it comes to publishing, Gary’s just another guy with a dream. He doesn’t belong to a writers’ organization like Romance Writers of America, Science Fiction and Fantasy Writers of America or Mystery Writers of America—organizations which make a point of warning their members away from vanity presses. I’m not sure, even after I forced a page of links on him, whether Gary understood what I was so upset about—or why it was important.

I can’t leave it like that. Call it paying forward. I benefited from the wisdom and kindness of many writers, editors and publishers, who took the time to explain to my n00bie writing self how the business of writing works. They kept me from making expensive mistakes. Career-killing mistakes. Heartbreaking mistakes. Now it’s my turn to step up to the plate.

Writing is hard under the best of circumstances. No matter what you write, every line is a piece cut from your soul. Nobody knows that better than another writer. That’s why we have to look out for each other.

Sometimes, it’s hard. In a very real sense, I’m pulling the rug out from under Gary’s most cherished dream. But it’s only a temporary setback. The truth will hurt him a lot less than the alternative. Friends don’t let friends Publish America—or any vanity press.

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