Comments on: New Concepts Publishing Under Heat by Authors

By: Erica W.

Erica W. — Wed, 08 Feb 2012 11:59:20 +0000

@Anony3: Raven Willow-Wood: Megan Depasture daughter of the owner!

By: Katrina Tolman

Katrina Tolman — Fri, 12 Aug 2011 14:35:34 +0000

Hey, hate to be a pain in the butt…..but it won’t let me share it on Reddit.

By: char

char — Sun, 06 Dec 2009 22:35:21 +0000

Hello,
I am a fan who is concerned with what has been happening with all the authors and within NCP. I think you might want to check out Ebay and the handle Jamesthefireking2008 because he is selling brand new copies of NCP books. I, myself, have purchased several books from him.
I did not know that all of this behind the scenes turmoil was occuring.
I stumbled upon this site just today and started reading. I’m glad I did. I feel absolutely terrible about purchasing these books now.
I’m not sure what needs to be done? I received an e-mail about my books from a J. Lightsey, I’m assuming the individual behind the e-mail and the James Lightsey aka author liason are the same. But I try never to assume. If he is connected, is he selling these books and passing on the royalties to the authors? I don’t know? I don’t even know if I should be commenting now, but my heart is telling me I must!

By: Debbie Wallace

Debbie Wallace — Sat, 11 Apr 2009 14:16:14 +0000

I finally received the rights back to two of my books, 4 months late and several emails later. However, they removed the books from their site as soon as the contracts were over. Just one more to go!

They were a good company once and it’s really too bad they’ve come to this. They had a good thing going and ruined it for everyone.

By: Review, Market for Love, Jamaica Layne « Racy Romance Reviews

Review, Market for Love, Jamaica Layne « Racy Romance Reviews — Mon, 10 Nov 2008 00:35:23 +0000

[...] (yes, that New Concepts, the one of the web furor earlier this year atÂ Karen Knows Best and Dear Author) Market for Love is published under the Cheek imprint, a division of Random House, which is [...]

By: Angela James

Angela James — Fri, 03 Oct 2008 14:55:25 +0000

Fictionwise gets 50% of the sale price of the book, plus the first $15. of the royalties paid to the publisher.

This amount will actually differ from publisher to publisher and what contract terms (if any) the publisher has with them.

Remember, too, that Fictionwise puts the titles on sale with a 15% discount for the first week, and then offers customers various other discounts during the year.

Additionally, discounts should come from Fictionwise’s share, not the publisher’s, again depending on the contract.

By: Lucynda

Lucynda — Fri, 03 Oct 2008 14:36:18 +0000

Fictionwise gets 50% of the sale price of the book, plus the first $15. of the royalties paid to the publisher. A book has to earn over $30 for the publisher to be paid. Remember, too, that Fictionwise puts the titles on sale with a 15% discount for the first week, and then offers customers various other discounts during the year. Fictionwise pays quarterly, 45-60 days at the end of a traditional calendar quarter.

By: Robin Bayne

Robin Bayne — Wed, 01 Oct 2008 00:08:25 +0000

Bumping this thread up to let everyone know more authors have been added to their “Public Notice” of released authors, including me.

http://www.newconceptspublishing.com/publicnotice.htm

By: Cher Gorman

Cher Gorman — Sat, 27 Sep 2008 19:57:36 +0000

This comment is in regard to New Concepts Publishing.

They published one of my novels as an e-book in June 2006. This book reached #25 on Fiction Wise. I have yet to see any royalties from sales on Fiction Wise. I have received a total of â€œ3â€³ royalty statements from them since my book was released. My repeated attempts to contact them through snail mail and e-mail have been met with silence. I called their office and was met with a voice mail message. I did not choose to leave a message. What would be the point?

I live in Colorado but since they are located near Valdosta, Ga I contacted the Georgia Attorney General's office and was told to contact the Georgia Office of Consumer Affairs. They told me they handle non consumer transactions on the retail level and that I should contact an attorney in Georgia to go after them. Unless I can go together with other authors who have had similar treatment from NCP the cost would mean thousands of dollars I don't have to spend. I fear my book is lost. Granted it isn't the greatest book every written but it's my story and I deserve payment for the sales. I have no way of knowing which sites they have sent it to for download other than Fiction Wise. I don't know at this point exactly how many copies have been sold on the NCP site or on Fiction Wise. I do know they have huge two page ads in RT every month that are quite costly. The money is coming from somewhere and I fear it's from author royalties. I'm going to make one more at tempt to contact them through a certified letter and see what happens.

I also e-mailed Fiction Wise in hopes of determining how many copies have sold from their site. I e-mailed RWA and Romantic Times Book Reviews as well.

Anyone reading this e-mail who is considering sending their work to NCP I strongly caution you to reconsider.

Cher Gorman
http://www.chergorman.com

By: Kristi Ahlers

Kristi Ahlers — Tue, 27 May 2008 20:55:42 +0000

Kristina~
I totally have to agree with you. I haven’t made it to the big leagues yet…but I’m working hard to meet my goal. Eventually I’ll be there along with the rest of you! LOL!

I think “formula books” have taken a hard rap and one that is not deserved. Let’s face it…there is a formula to writing. Point a to b to c. That’s the nature of the biz. Plus it doesn’t do well to bad-mouth the industry. This world is sooo small, word gets out and then it’s all that much harder to succeed.

And for what it’s worth…I’ve enjoyed your formula stories. LOL!!!
Kristi~

By: Laura Stephens

Laura Stephens — Sun, 25 May 2008 03:03:08 +0000

I have just spent the last four hours or so reading all the comments about NCP…wow. Just… wow. I’m not published yet, but as I get closer to finishing a manuscript, I’ve been doing research on different e-houses (is that the correct term?) as well as your traditional houses. I stumbled upon NCP and will now stay far, far away from them thanks to all that I’ve read here and on other blogs. It is absolutely deplorable what NCP is doing to their authors and their readers. Why in the WORLD you would mistreat the people that would make your business successful is beyond me. As a small business owner, I can’t fathom doing that to my clients – I build author websites, so mistreating them would just be ridiculous as I intend to be an author myself. Doesn’t make sense. Even if the owners of NCP are writers themselves, why would you mistreat a fellow author?

On that note about websites, and this is just my personal view… I’ve been to other e-houses who’s websites make me, as a reader, want to come back because they care about the quality of it. It may sound silly, but it tells me that hey, they care about their authors and what they do, too… so, if NCP weren’t in dire straits (as they seem to be now…), they should consider hiring a professional to redo their site as well as one to handle their legal problems!

Last about cover art… anyone who needs a cover artist for a book they are trying to self-publish because of this fiasco, let me know. I’m all for helping my fellow author friends. :)

By: | What would you do? By Samantha Storm aka Chaoscat

| What would you do? By Samantha Storm aka Chaoscat — Wed, 21 May 2008 01:38:04 +0000

[...] http://dearauthor.com/wordpress/2008/03/12/new-concepts-publishing-under-heat-by-authors/ [...]

By: Karen Scott

Karen Scott — Sat, 26 Apr 2008 15:01:33 +0000

Sorry but I find this site to contain a bunch of negative crap…definitely not to my liking. Not particularly helpful just a lot of whining and bitching as far as I can see.

What on earth are you doing here then?

I’m guessing that either you’re a fan of TG, or you’re a new author at NCP.

By: Michelle

Michelle — Sat, 26 Apr 2008 05:07:31 +0000

Sorry but I find this site to contain a bunch of negative crap…definitely not to my liking. Not particularly helpful just a lot of whining and bitching as far as I can see.

By: Chris Spaulding

Chris Spaulding — Thu, 03 Apr 2008 05:33:36 +0000

Madris,Megan and Andrea are all Depastures. Check it out on the net, or on People Finders. Possibly the law suit re: taxes which Madris and her ex lost has caused the money flow to ebb.

By: Nicoel Suzanne

Nicoel Suzanne — Fri, 28 Mar 2008 06:12:06 +0000

I blog when I booze, fair warning to all.
I was looking to publish years ago through an e-book company. I had a ton of books written, and my husband was bitching at me to do something with them for all the damn hours I spend typing away like a crazed word-junkie.
That said, I surveyed many of the e-houses (that's what I call em') I carefully scrutinized and dug for complaints. First thing I noticed is they are not a Better Business Bureau accredited business. (tiny flag its an e-thing)
New Concepts sounded great, but as a small business owner and a debate group moderator, I was very leery. Though some great authors I had become friendly with published there, I noticed right away that their sizzling sellers section was extremely out of date. (thus removed recently after what 4 years?) So out of date that I had to wonder WTF was going on where they didn't even update their best sellers list? Any idiot knows this is how you tell newbies what is coming, and newbies are your bread and butter if you plan to last. It became clear everyone who bought or published was directed to a group where authors gave things away, and the publisher announced what was coming. Great idea and fun, but to do this and not update your very own website? This told me right away that someone was lazy. I can only expect correspondence as well as other time-oriented aspects of this company would be handled in the same I got out of bed at 2PM because I closed the bar last night, manner. This phrase will be referred to again–it is a metaphor only. I do not actually know if these people party like rock stars. Therefore, I want to make it clear that I myself being a childless adult writer, often do. I am however, not running a publishing house.
It is also clear to me the â€œauthor liaisonâ€ is just an aspiring author himself, as he certainly does give it a go, however poorly, in his posts. More than likely the poor sap just likes to write and took the position out of the kindness of his heart, and because NCP isn't getting out of bed until 2PM, and with hangover, they could care less as long as someone is doing it free. It was made clear this person only took the position because the last person either quit, or jumped the proverbial praising perch to voice some of her own opinions about the plethora of slackers that run the joint.
There are a lot of good authors out there that never get published. Maybe, it is not such a horrible thing that they have the opportunity to show-and-grow on these lesser run e-houses. Though in a perfect world all houses would conduct themselves with glory and the idea that things must be done correctly and beneficial for all, if they are to last.
The person makes it clear, look we aren't hiring a super editor to edit your work. You should learn to do it anyhow and by doing it yourself; you save us cash and thus increase your chances for publication. You know by this–very clearly, they do not edit most works, if any, because he wants you to submit your work, as you want to see it and expect no changes. Well hello? LOLOLOLOL!!! Even the best authors need editing. By the time I am done editing I have read a work so many times that a repetitive paragraph could be staring me in the face, I would probably, and have, missed it.
As far as favoritism, well yeah of course. It is all about making money, any agent or publishing house should not have to tell you; if you don't sell well you aren't going to be getting advertising dollars wasted on you and therefore, self promoting is always a great idea. Free blogs, and Myspace and Yahoo groups and so many other forms make it too easy for an author to work their magic. It only makes sense because any authors I find myself enamored with, I want to know as much as possible about them. Anyone who doesn’t take advantage of this well known fact is either lazy, or doesn’t get it. You should have your own website, blog, self promotion thing where you talk to your fans (aka bread and butter).
Another thing I have learned having run some smaller companies in my short 33 years is this; you have to decide if you are going to close or expand a small business right from the start. There is no in-between, you decide either you don't want to hire more people and make more money, or you do and are constantly striving for the goal of expansion and growth. You see this with a LOT of small business owners. They start off with some success after quite a brawl and think they have learned everything there is to learn, and know everything there is to know about their business. This appears to be the case with NCP that either they changed the original plan from just publishing their own works, with no real plan to be a successful e-house, and only fell into it because the market was so great at the time, or something has gone terribly wrong there, either physically or mentally, and the business is no longer the main concern. Ie, closing the bar and getting up to go to work at 2PM. One can only deduce that being a successful publishing house for the long run, is not their current goal. The only proof one needs for this, is the unpaid position of just anyone to be an â€œauthor liaisonâ€.
I have to say I think the previous AL (?) James, (insert home James joke here) said it best; there are two kinds of artists. Ones that write for themselves and for pleasure and ones that write for pay as well as pleasure (commercial). Most agents and houses will tell you they have to be able to market your product and you must be professional about it and roll with the punches. I think NCP is great if you just write for pleasure, and do not actually care how you works sell, nor generating devoted readers for life. Clearly, they are lax at being professionals and a commercial artist would hopefully think twice before publishing with them. I believe many commercial artists who are established with NCP, now publish through huge print houses, and only leave their older works and short stories to generate publicity which is ultimately still making royalties, sitting at NCP. Who wouldn't?
Put simply, if you have no idea what you are doing, but only know you must write, NCP isn't a bad place to start, but there should be no doubt, there is better out there. Everything from day one is a learning experience. If you lose out, or are screwed over, my father always had this saying, â€œcall it tuition for the education you just received.â€ The man has a point, though I would be hard pressed to admit that to him. (grrr dad!)
There is much room for improvement throughout the e-house industry, though from my own personal experience, I would not ever have thought my gritty, self indulgent, sociopathic, demented yet lovable characters, could ever have found a home let alone a following. E-houses are the entire reason I went for it. I knew I didn't have to fit into certain rules and e-houses were nothing if not risk takers.
I think we can all thank God for that.
Moreover, not for nothing, but I have seen some serious typos on the best and most published author's work. It just happens and many things can contribute. A recent release from a major reputable house comes directly to mind, and was just spell-check-fodder. I had to reread many things because they just kept popping out at me and completely destroyed the story. Though in hindsight I suppose reading in the bathroom as little time as I spend in there, more than likely, did not give it it's due. Or perhaps it did….HA!
I believe this to be true, if nothing else in this industry; it is like managing a fish tank, a career, or the best thing to use for cleaning out bloodstains from white fabric; everyone will tell you something different and it is up to you to learn what is best for YOU. If NCP has worked great for you and you feel like you are being well taken care of, by all means, if it aint broke… But if there is something rotten in Denmark, make sure you follow your contract and like any contract you must use actual paper with signature to get out of it, and within the time frame allotted by the contract. I have a feeling some of these authors, submit, get through, are just happy to have a contract, and then are relaxed about getting a notice to quit letter in with 90 days notice. Also, hearing this is a classic feature in their contracts I cannot help but to be reminded of the time I signed up for 4 free magazines, only to be charges 400 bucks a few weeks later when I did not write them in an actual letter and tell them I wasn't interested. Sure, efficient for them, but if you aren't on your game you are going to get taken advantage of, and I gotta say, if you signed that without knowing, ya learned something didn't ya?
I think what has happened here is the Internet finally caught up with bad business practices. They signed an author or two and were body-slammed back into reality when she got bloggy on their ass. Good for her and any publisher worth their salt knows this is part of the business. Not everyone gets along, but I thought we all learned that from Oscar The Grouch.
I dare say all of this could have been avoided if you find an agent that believes in you and you hire them to handle the particulars for you. With a little research into your genre you can find an agent who more than pays for their 10% the first contract. Any publisher is glad to work with agents because these things do not happen nearly as often, and your agent, not you takes the fall or any bad blood-’which is their job. Your editing is done, and done well, so regardless of the lax methods of the house, you don’t put out a crappy product. Who can say 100% that a poorly edited work only reflects on the publisher, and doesn’t hurt the writers career. If I buy one of your books, and it sucks, or is a pain to read, I probably won’t buy from you again for a while, if you last that long, until you have time to get your act together.
NCP, if they had any idea how monumentally bad this negative publicity is for them, would hire an agent of their own to clean up this mess. The fact they have not speaks volumes.
I hope everyone who has read this blog and who has learned as much as I have from it, accepts this to be true; NCP can turn this around if they do it genuinely and sincerely. A public apology would be a great start, along with the immediate release of any and all works that have been requested heretofore.
NCP if you are reading this, and I believe more-than-likely you are, do not waste time arguing, you blew it, hire a professional and fix it. If you have sucked from the start, and only now the Internet is catching up with you in blogs like this and http://www.hipiers.com/publishing.html , if you want to stay in business, hire someone to handle all this for you, or maybe it is time to buy a yacht with the money you get from selling to someone who will care. A change in ownership or management can often times rejuvenate a great idea, into a great company. If you love your company, it doesn't matter who is at fault, its long since time to do something about it.
Either way, a public apology can go a long way to show that you are eager to do the right thing in the future, even if possibly you somehow dropped the ball. Just ask my husband, he is an apologetic genius, I tell ya.

Very Truly Yours,
Nicoel Suzanne
Aka Paxton Hood

By: Ellen Ashe

Ellen Ashe — Mon, 24 Mar 2008 15:24:47 +0000

In regards to New Concepts not-so-subtle threat to sue me for defamation please refer to my blog..
http://ellenashe.blogspot.com/

By: PJWomack

PJWomack — Sat, 22 Mar 2008 21:09:11 +0000

I was eager to sell my work, way back in 2004, anxious and dumb. I settled. before you could spit, I was being published with no edits and no real say on the cover. I got in deep doodoo when I made a suggesstion for improvment on the first cover. The real trouble started over the third book cover which I thought looked disgustingly like child porn. The word of my being a malcontent followed me to Loose-id, and I didn’t fare any better there. None the less, my recent unhappiness with NCP is the stupid letter I got from Jim, explaining they were having to look into the activities of a certain book dealer. That was morris code for YOU DONT GET A CHECK THIS QUARTER!!! The books I have there have all reached their limit in contract time. All but the final one and its the best of the four. I have learned a valuable lesson here. Don’t settle.

By: debbie wallace

debbie wallace — Sat, 22 Mar 2008 00:17:15 +0000

With regard to FW, the last book I had published with NCP never made it there. When I inquired why the liaison told me it was considered too old to submit, at the time it had been out a couple months. Of course, this was AFTER trouble began between me and NCP. Probably just a coincidence:)

By the way, smart move not to submit to NCP, Chris. I thought they were the cream of the crop when I submitted my first book and was so happy when they offered me a contract. I didn’t figure them out until they had 3 of my books. One returns to me at the end of this year, I hope.

I’m extremely happy with Whiskey Creek Press! There are some great epubs out there:)

By: KillerKarma

KillerKarma — Wed, 19 Mar 2008 18:18:40 +0000

To Maya and everyone else out there who might/will read into my previous post sentiments I didn’t mean (and no,Maya, this is no way a negative comment toward you, but a clarification):

I wish only the best for NCP’s writers. Hell, I write for NCP too. My point is that many of the writers need to stand up for themselves. And I’m not saying they need to bad-mouth their publisher. I haven’t said one “bad” word about my publishers. I have stated the truth. Period. But it wouldn’t hurt if NCP’s authors, as a whole, supported NCP to be BETTER and FAIR to their authors.

It just seems to me that if you think so little of yourself that you don’t deserve to be treated with respect, then that’s what you’ll get. No one can step all over you if you don’t let them. But that’s what these authors are doing by embracing NCP’s poor treatment. And it’s these same authors who ask, ever so nicely on the loop, where their edits are, who to contact for release dates, where they can get their free copies of their books, what the author liaison’s email addy is because their messages keep bouncing, etc. Stuff their editors/publisher should have already given them, so I know these amenable authors are really receiving no better treatment than the rest of us (not the stars, mind you, haha.)

Much of this discourse seems so negative, and sadly, it is. But if you don’t stand up for what’s right, you get the crap that’s left over. And it would be presumptuous of me to point out in history how many times people have done what’s right, not what’s easy, to rectify poor situations. This is e-publishing, and not a human rights discussion, but the argument is the same.