Monday, May 9, 2016

Well, that was cool for a minute


I'm so bad at keeping up here lately!  Must do better!


A few weeks ago, we got an offer on the book. It was a good offer, and for a few hours we were really excited.  But then I did some more research and found some accusations about the company.  There was an author claiming he hadn't been paid royalties due to him, and he was backed up by a former owner.

I didn't want to believe it, and it was very 'he said, she said', so I decided to contact some of the other authors that have been signed by this publisher.  One said she had no complaints, but oddly she hasn't received any royalties in awhile.  She said it was possible she hadn't had any sales, but she wasn't sure.  Another said she didn't have any problems with the publisher, and she was aware of the other author, but the publisher claimed it was just a mistaken address and it had been corrected. She did say that after the ownership changed, her sales dropped dramatically. She had other works published by a different company, and she admitted she got a lot more support from them.

A friend of ours (also a published author) also helped us research and found that one 1 author currently signed with the company had any books on Amazon. She said that was very odd and not encouraging.

All in all, we decided it wasn't a good risk, so we declined the offer.  I hope it was the right decision.  I hope it's not the only offer we get.  I've started sending the book out to agents as well, hoping we might do better with representation.  Many publishers will not accept manuscripts unless you have an agent.

So we'll see, onward on this journey!

A few bullets!
  • I turned 34! 
  • We are working like crazy on the house and are slowly getting close to ready to list! Aside from cleaning/decluttering, we are completely done with 3 rooms and nearly done with 3 more.  Carpets will be installed in the upstairs hall and downstairs family room at the end of the month, so then the hall and family room will be done too.  The kitchen just needs lighting and just touches in AJ's room and the downstairs bath.  Mom's room needs painted and floor repairs and we have lots more to do outside.  But we're making real progress
  • Tyler is getting ready to lose his first tooth!
  • Mother's day was great--chocolate covered strawberries, a new coffee mug, a necklace, balloons, and lots of hugs, what more could a mom want?
  • Tyler and I went to the Mother/Son Luau Dance at school on Friday.  He's so stinking cute.

 
Don't we make a cute couple?
Cutest date ever!
He (and Gaga) even got me a corsage!