A funny thing happened to me last week. As I finally got the fantasy trilogy I've been working on ready for querying, I submitted the copyright application for all 3 books at the same time. This is because group applications cost less. Since I knew I wouldn't be querying until I finished all 3, it made more sense for me to wait.
I haven't officially started querying yet, because I always wait until I have the official letter from the US Copyright Office in hand before sending works out to anyone. So I was very surprised to get an email from a publisher asking me to submit a draft of my first book in the series by name. There is a company called Dorrance Publishing that is basically a vanity publisher; and what they do is monitor new novel copyright applications and then reach out to the writers offering a chance at publishing. It's only after you get invested that they tell you about the fees you have to pay to make publishing happen. Or at least that's what I learned from Googling them.
I didn't follow up with them, as I don't want to do a vanity publishing at this juncture, but it was interesting to feel like my books were already in demand. LOL.
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Thanks for giving everyone a heads up, Terrence Sellers.
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Yeah, I would definitely avoid those type of publishers. They tend to be rather predatory, take advantage of aspiring fiction authors, and their quality is usually [imagine a poop emoji here]. You're right to ignore them. You'd be better off doing digital publishing where you can at least get paid for views/reads and still attract an audience (and possibly publishers). I just read a story from a romance author this weekend who was rejected by many agents, started publishing on WattPad, and 6 million reads later, agents and publishers are coming to HER.
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I met my novel publisher at a writers conference. I worked on my pitch. She overheard me talking with another writer and asked me to send her twenty pages. Two weeks later she asked for the entire novel. A contract followed. There have been three more since then. My suggestions are, for what they are worth: 1. Finish the novel. Don't pitch unfinished work. 2. Do it face to face at a conference. 3. Work on your pitch, make it short, deliver it, and shut up. 4. Agents and publishers are busy, The business is rough. Don't go into a lengthy discussion about who you are, etc. They don't care. They just want to know what you have and if they can sell it. 5. Never give up. Do it again and again if you have to. Meanwhile, keep working and editing your work. The writers work is never done.
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I'd definitely avoid those vanity publishers like the plague, Terrence Sellers. Look into going digital. Also consider looking up how Andy Weir did it. It's akin to what Jonathan is talking about if I remember correctly.
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Leonardo Ramirez I first heard Andy Weir's story of getting The Martian published while taking of tour of Sony Pictures studio lot in Hollywood. I love that story.
I encourage you to raise your expectations.
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Yeah, Terrence Sellers. It’s a great story.
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Thanks for that info, Jonathan.
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Terrence, appreciate the heads-up on this. Too true about vanity predators.