Anyone got anything to say on Publish Btittanica?
www.publishbrittanica.co.uk

The site looks good and promises a lot, do we know if they have actually published anything or is this another type of scam?

Thanks for any response,

Chris

Sound too good to be true!

Kenny

yes it does sound too good to be true, but I first saw the web site before christmas and its still there so thought there may be someone who has had some experiance with them.

I'm sorry but I think they may be a bit dubious - they're linked to Publish America, I believe, who have very strange contracts and the advance is a nominal amount of c£1, according to what I've read. I'm not sure they're entirely good for authors, but as ever I'm prepared to be proved wrong!

Anne B

Chris, they're one of those Print on Demand companies that offer the whole package if you want it; editing proof reading, ISBNs, and promoting the book on their website. How effective this is for sales I don't know, but I can't imagine anyone but authors interested in using their services visiting the site and browsing the books for sale. It's really up to the author to promote his/her own book, otherwise I can't see decent sales happening, and the big chains are reluctant to take POD books. They usually deal only through wholesalers, which means that you have to persuade the wholesaler to stock your book AND sell it to the chain. Two cuts of profit gone instead of one, not really viable for books printed POD. (A litho-printed trade paperback is cheaper, but then you have to have 1,000 copies.) You could visit independent booksellers and see if it's possible to get books on shelves that way, but it helps to have a niche market in mind or universal appeal. And don't forget that after the initial fee you still have to buy the books at a price that doesn't leave you too much profit for the time spent on promotion. Have you seen Richard Brown's article on self-publishing on the site? It gives some really good advice, but in any case it's worthwhile making sure you've investigated thoroughly before deciding. Lots of good advice on the Internet too.

<Added>

Re: 'the initial fee' above, I'm not sure that this company has one, I was speaking of POD companies generally.

I noticed that they state their books are available in bookshops - well, so is any book, available to order that is, a different thing altogether from being on shelves.

<Added>

And anything that seems 'too good to be true' usually is!

Thanks to everyone for the advice, I shall keep an open mind and read up a bit on PODP but I dont think it's a path I really want to take at the moment. It is awfully tempting to us poor writers isnt it. We spend all that time and effort writing a book that of course we believe to be wonderfull, only to find that we're treated as a minor anoyance to the agents and publishers.
Good luck to all.

Chris

Hi everyone,

I'm having a book published by Publish Britannica and came across this thread so I thought you might be interested in my experience.

I'm a debut author and I completed my first book, a sort of fantasy/historical fiction, back in October 2003. I wrote it for fun, just a story in my head that I wanted to get down on paper. I'm aware that it is very amateurish and many would say 'poorly written'.

However, after a few friends and family members had read it they suggest that it should be published. I searched the www and came across advice about Publishers, Agents etc. and submitted the first chapter or so with a synopsis and bio-pic to around twelve of these organisations.

I received three replies. Is this normal? One said that she was already 'fully-loaded' with fantasy; another that my book was 'interesting', but 'no thanks' and one said that, at 43000 words, it was nothing more than a Novella.

At that time I felt dejected/rejected but was encouraged to try again when I came across the Publish America website.

Packaging off to them the same things that I had done previously, you can imagine my delight when it was accepted for publication.

From then on I can only report that they, via Publish Brittanica, have been most professional. Here is the sequence of events so far:

1) Received invitation to submit full manuscript 9/10/03 (Publish America)
2) Acquisitions Editor acknowledged receipt 7/11/03 (Publish Brittanica)
3) Notitified of acceptance 4/12/03 with contract template attached - returned almost immediately.
4) Copy of contract received - signed by both parties 15/12/03.
5) Author Questionnaire received and submitted 6/4/04 (Apparently they had sent it out to me in Februrary but It had somehow got lost in my emails!) I received a 2nd copy late in March after querying lack of contact)
6) Received fully edited version of manuscript in PDF protected format and advised to proof read and return within 2 weeks. 4/6/04 I set up a good email relationship with the Editor as we discussed such things as 'Oxford commas'. The ISBN was included within the manuscript.
7) Submitted a list of 52 changes that I wanted made - grammar, contextual, storyline amendments. 16/6/04
8) Received a version with corrections 18/6/04 and requested a further two changes. Final proof received 20/6/04.
8) Submitted a copy of my Copyright Certificate. 20/6/04

That's as far as I've got. The next stage, within the next two weeks, is that I will receive my Cover Design graphic for my review. Once I accept the cover design publication should come around four weeks later. I'll keep you informed as to the next stages of Cover, Publication, Marketing, Sales etc. This hasn't cost me a penny - in fact they sent me £2

By the way, the book is called The Villeins and you can see my website at http://www.go-shopuk.co.uk/TheVilleins/ . Please leave a message within my guestbook if you visit it.

Hello Bob H,

It will be very interesting to see what develops with these Publishers. Do keep us informed.

I read the extracts on your website. This is not the place, nor now the time, to offer comments on the work but I hope it all goes extremely well for you.

The question I must ask is 'What was the £2 for?'

Len

Len,

Thanks for your interest. I really will keep the Forum informed as this develops further.

The payment (Sorry, it was actually a $2 note, representing a £1 advance) comes mounted on a certificate. It was acompanied with a letter with the following message:

Enclosed herewith, please find a U.S. $2.00, equivalent to the £1 advance due to you under our publishing contract. This symbolic payment emphasizes that we consider your book to be a serious and professional work, which is what made us decide to publish it.

As head of the Text Production Department, allow me to welcome you aboard and to thank you for your confidence in us. In the upcoming weeks you should expect to see your electronic page proofs. Do not be alarmed that your manuscript looks different. The Text Production Department staff has been hard at work proofreading and formatting your manuscript for print. Our staff proofs your manuscript for errors in grammar, spelling, mechanics, typos, and the like. Because we believe that every author possesses a unique and compelling style and voice, we do not edit for stylistic preferences.

Watch this space.

Hi Bob H,

I sincerely hope that all goes well for you. Thanks for explaining about the $2. I cannot put my finger on it but I do get the feeling about '...the State of Denmark'.

I hope I am wrong.

Len

Chris,

Hate to put a dampener on things, but I'd suggest that you google 'preditors and editors', then click on book publishers, then click on 'P' and look very carefully at the entry for 'Publish America', PB's parent.

Whatever, I do hope that things work out for you.

Best.

Roger.

Hi,

I haven't formed judgement on Publish America yet. So far, as indicated in my first post, they have carried out all of their procedures as promised and have done so in a most professional manner.

Bob_H

It would be intersting to know how things have developed here.

Bob??

Aruna

Try clicking on the website address on Bob's profile....

Methinks it tells a tale (a dead one!)

Julie