posted
Out of the blue, I heard today from an old high-school friend. We shot the breeze for a while, but the reason she called was to tell me about a project she is involved with. It sounded like something the folks here might be interested in.
She has a publishing company called Sparkling Press which is collecting fiction, essays, poetry and artwork for an anthology about American Values. The are soliciting submissions for inclusion in the anthology. Each submission is supposed to focus on a single "American value" of the creator's choice.
This is a pretty smalltime outfit, it looks like, and they aren't going to be paying you even if they do include your work. In fact, it looks like you have to pay a "reading fee" of $5 ($10 for artwork) just to be considered. However, it isn't a scam.
My friend described her intended primary audience as immigrants to this country who, once they get past their preconceived notions of what the U.S. is all about, sometimes conclude that we're not "about" anything in particular, except maybe greed and vice.
You can read a description of the project here , along with instructions for making submissions.
Posts: 1652 | Registered: Aug 2003
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quote:Originally posted by UofUlawguy: In fact, it looks like you have to pay a "reading fee" of $5 ($10 for artwork) just to be considered.
quote:conclude that we're not "about" anything in particular, except maybe greed and vice.
Gosh, I wonder why that is?
Seriously, though. They are soliciting contributions from people, and expect to be paid? Sounds like a scam to me.
Posts: 10645 | Registered: Jul 2004
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posted
I would think so too, if I didn't know the people involved.
Okay, I haven't seen her in ten years, and haven't spoken to her in three (until today), so when I say I know her, I'm mostly referring to the past. But I still feel comfortable with this.
Posts: 1652 | Registered: Aug 2003
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posted
It depends on your definition of "scam" I suppose. I will point out that this exact kind of thing is warned about in the Writer's Market books.
Small press not paying you, fine. There is some value to just getting published if you're just starting out. Charging a reading fee when they're not paying anything for publication, not so fine. Reading fees should only be charged in cases where the publishing company is so well known or offerring a high enough payscale that they'd expect to receive far more* submissions than could be published. The fee helps limit it to more serious submissions.
Whether it's actually a scam or not, it's not worth paying to be considered for a small press, just starting, small audience publication.
--Enigmatic
Edit: *By "far more" I mean a few orders of magnitude. Almost every magazine gets more submissions than they'll publish. Big name ones or contests offering "prizes" above normal payscales get 100s to 1000s times more than will be published.
Posts: 2715 | Registered: Apr 2005
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posted
Enigmatic -- 10X is one order of magnitude, 100X is 2, 1000X is 3, etc.
From what you said it appears that big name ones or contests offering prizes get about the same proportion of submissions as normal magazines.
Posts: 16551 | Registered: Feb 2003
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posted
Yes, but I don't think that's what Enigmatic meant. It appears as though he is contrasting 100 to 1000 times to the much lower "few orders of magnitude".
Which, of course, is not lower.
Or I could be reading it wrong.
Posts: 16551 | Registered: Feb 2003
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posted
It looked to me like a contrast between "more than they can publish" and "100 to 1000 times", which is equal to "a few orders of magnitude".
Posts: 10645 | Registered: Jul 2004
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posted
Exactly, with normal magazines getting 'more than they can publish', which could be anywhere from 10% more to 5 times as much.
Posts: 10645 | Registered: Jul 2004
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posted
Exactly my point -- 10% to 500% is not a "few orders of magnitude". 10000% to 100000%, which is 10X to 100X, would be.
Posts: 16551 | Registered: Feb 2003
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posted
It amuses me that there are now more posts in this thread about my footnote than about the offer. KoM is reading it correctly, and seems to get the intent. Mr.PH, I'm well aware of what an order of magnitude is, thanks.
"Far more" = 100 to 1000 times = Big names or contest = the publications who are OK (in my opinion) charging a reading fee. I think that's fairly consistent and easy to understand. I added the footnote because "far more" on its own could conceivably be interpreted as say, 2 or 3 times more, which would be "normal magazines" and thus not charging reading fees.
--Enigmatic (would never write something this boring and defensive if he wasn't at work and very, very bored.)
Posts: 2715 | Registered: Apr 2005
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What are American values? Who qualifies what an American value is? In this case, just the few people selecting works for that project. It's their right to be picky and choosy of what they think is American, but I can guarantee not everyone will agree.
And I'm sick of people talking about "American values." Don't get me wrong. I'm equally sick of people dissing the US. It's the richest country in the world, with the greatest functioning democracy (arguably) and the most centrist government.
What the hell is an American value, though? Are we saying that Americans have moral values that are different from the rest of the world? If we are, that's just not true. People everywhere value EXACTLY the same things. I could argue that for a while, but I digress - what angers me is that Americans have an annoying habit of thinking that they are the sole progenitors of goodness in the world. All this talk of supporting "American values" and the "American way" is people talking through their derrieres. Who in the world doesn't want "Life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness"? Who's willing to qualify what those are?
Sorry for the rant.
Posts: 28 | Registered: Jun 2005
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I beg to differ. Each culture has their own set of values. There are many common values among like nations, but there are almost always differences. One of the bigger differences is in religion. Countries that have been influenced by different types of religions tend to have different standard values.
I think the main problem with defining "American values" is that America is so diverse. In a country where the culture can vary greatly from one side of a city to another it is hard to pinpoint "American Values".
Posts: 1015 | Registered: Aug 2004
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posted
[QB] Out of the blue, I heard today from an old high-school friend.
Very nice description, thank-you.
Sparkling Press is my subsidy imprint--people pay for publication under the Sparkling Press name. The submissions that I have already are from individuals who wish to be a part of the project, enough to contribute to the setup and print costs involved. For this particular work, the authors will not receive payment--but it isn't likely to hit the bestseller list, either.
A warning against paying for publication or paying a reading fee is very good advice for an author wishing to hit the bestseller list or become amazingly famous. Most trade publications and newspapers will not review a subsidy or self-published work. I always recommend that writers at least attempt to find a traditional publisher for their works before signing with a subsidy publisher.
If any of you are interested in participating, I would love to read what you have to say about American Values. My own curiosity is one of the reasons that I am doing this project. Another is that there are values I believe in, and values that others believe in, and I honestly believe that this is a good way for us to share our ideas.
Posts: 25 | Registered: Jun 2005
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posted
>What are American values? Who qualifies what an American value is? In this case, >just the few people selecting works for that project.
Since I am the selections editor for this project, I will tell you that I am not going to decide what an American value is. If that was the plan, I certainly would have told people what the values were.
>It's their right to be picky and choosy of what they think is American, but I can >guarantee not everyone will agree.
I'm looking for sound arguments and strong ideas and intend to show a broad and diverse range of opinions. However, I am only human, and will admit that if someone submits a sound argument that I strongly disagree with, I may intentionally seek out and select a counterpoint.
>What the hell is an American value, though? Are we saying that Americans have moral values that are different from the rest of the world?
Because we live in a country full of individuals with an extraordinarily broad range of beliefs, it is extremely easy for newcomers to think that we don't believe in anything at all. With this anthology, I would like to demonstrate that although each of us may have slightly (or wildly) differing beliefs and values that we live by, most of us do believe in something.
Posts: 25 | Registered: Jun 2005
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posted
Well.....The Better Business Bureau main site or Houston's have never heard of: Sparkling Press, American Values, or Dusty Spark Publishing.
Posts: 2064 | Registered: Dec 2003
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quote:Originally posted by Valentine014: Well.....The Better Business Bureau main site or Houston's have never heard of: Sparkling Press, American Values, or Dusty Spark Publishing.
That they have not heard of my company means that I have not registered with them (which requires paying membership dues), and that I have not received a complaint--because they do report on nonmembers.
I'm not trying to make strangers participate in this project, really, although I'm sure some of them have some great ideas. It was very nice of my friend to tell you about the project, and I'm sure that he did so with the very best intentions.
Posts: 25 | Registered: Jun 2005
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posted
The bigger question I have with the selection process is if you read a sound argument that you AGREE with, will you also seek out a counterpoint?
Personally, I think our strongest value is the one that gets the least press (in my experience). The rule of law. We may complain about it, stretch it, expand on it, or restrict it, but almost all Americans disdain in the actual breaking or systematic subverting of it (see the large stigma surrounding governmental bribes [which isn't uncommon elsewhere in the world], corporate malfeasence, etc).
quote:Originally posted by Bokonon: [QB] The bigger question I have with the selection process is if you read a sound argument that you AGREE with, will you also seek out a counterpoint?
Bokonon, that is an excellent question, and I wish I would have addressed it before you asked. If I know the idea is controversial, I will certainly seek out a counterpoint. I wouldn't think to seek out a counterargument for an essay about loving one's family, but if there is a reasonable argument against love, kindness, and care that someone submits--not only would I be surprised--but I might include it.
A more likely scenario would be that I would get several submissions about family which all explain what our responsibilities are as parents, and some of those might conflict with each other or my opinion. Including this range of ideas would demonstrate a common value of familial commitment,even though we have our different ways of going about it.
Posts: 25 | Registered: Jun 2005
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posted
I'm sorry, but I must urge everyone here not to pay reading fees to have essays or stories published or considered for publication.
There are many, many places where you can submit such things to legitimate anthologies for no reading fees and be paid for your efforts if they decide to publish them.
Having been published by several of them, I can tell you that getting paid for your story is a lot better than paying someone else to read your story. I've been published several times and never, never had to pay a reading fee or any other type of fee - the publishers paid ME. And I'm not trying to be a bestselling author, and I never had to pay anybody to help me "break into" publishing - I just submitted stories and essays, got some rejections, submitted again, got published. It's not necessary to put out any of your own money to make it into print - well except for printer toner and postage.
I'm sorry if you think this offensive Anastasia, and welcome to hatrack, but I don't want to see any of my friends taken in by something. Many of you here are talented enough to be professionally published, heck if I can do it, virtually any hatracker can. Please submit stories and essays to legitimate paying markets and bypass anyone who wants to take money from you.
Posts: 14428 | Registered: Aug 2001
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I'm actually going to agree with you about it not being the right way to break into publishing. I'm not offended. If your goal is to be a published author, and you have stories, essays, or poetry that you would like to see in print it is always best to seek a traditional publisher. I publish works of cultural interest under my Dusty Spark Publishing imprint, and I'm being extremely transparent about collecting a reading fee (or other costs for full-length works) for works under my subsidy imprint, Sparkling Press.
Many publishers of anthologies who do not collect reading fees do charge an excessive amount for the finished book--so much so that it is unlikely for anyone else other than the authors and the author's families to purchase the book. I thought it was more fair to collect a fee up front. I'm not telling you this to say that my way is better, but that it is something else that the people you are warning should also know about.
The finished book will likely sell for about $12, depending on how much artwork is included. I want the ideas that will be in the book to be distributed to people, not remain with the authors.
There are quite a number of traditional publishers out there, and it in no way hurts my feelings to say that it is ALWAYS best to have the publisher pay you. Oh, and don't let them deduct costs and expenses from your royalties.
Posts: 25 | Registered: Jun 2005
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quote:>What are American values? Who qualifies what an American value is? In this case, >just the few people selecting works for that project.
Since I am the selections editor for this project, I will tell you that I am not going to decide what an American value is. If that was the plan, I certainly would have told people what the values were.
Ok but what do you see as American values then.
Posts: 3564 | Registered: Sep 2001
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quote:Originally posted by jebus202: Ok but what do you see as American values then. [/QB]
The short and honest answer is that they are whatever values Americans think are important. If the question is meant to be what my personal values are, I am about to send you a private e-mail about them. They aren't secret, but I know that people tend to fixate on whatever values that I mention instead of what would otherwise be important to them. If I listed certain values, most of the submissions would fit within those themes--which may or may not be the most important value to the author.
Posts: 25 | Registered: Jun 2005
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posted
Anastasia, none of the anthologies that have published me have ever charged me any kind of fees, all sent checks and a free copy of the book to me after publication and none of them cost over 9.99.
While I don't want to turn this into an argument, I can tell you that I see your calling your reading fee a way of "charging fees up front" dishonest. You aren't charging fees "up front" you are charging people to have their stories read. It has nothing to do with the final price of the book. Sorry, but I'm still going to stand by my belief that this is nothing more than one of the hundreds of unethical ways to get money from people aspiring to break into publishing.
Also, I'm not so sure that perhaps Papa Moose should consider removing this thread. Doesn't soliciting for submissions that require reading fees violate the terms of service?
From the TOS (emphasis added):
quote:Please note that advertisements, chain letters, pyramid schemes, and solicitations are inappropriate in this BB.
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