Aug 27 2007
E Publisher Bankruptcy Alert: Mardi Gras Publishing
On the heels of the Triskelion Bankrupty and the Silk’s Vault troubles, Mardi Gras Publishing will apparently be filing Chapter 7 bankruptcy at the end of this week or the start of next. (registration required). The rights will be returned to the authors but as we discussed previously, the bankruptcy court has the power to bring those rights back into the estate.
Mardi Gras authors do not want readers to be buying the books because they aren’t likely to receive a royalty off the sales.
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Aug 27, 2007 @ 23:22:07
The more I find out the more I think Piers Anthony has some great insider information. I swear Piers is acing you guys on this stuff.
Aug 28, 2007 @ 08:01:21
Piers has also posted some very negative stuff about some very good and honest epresses. i won’t say which ones for fear of starting a rumor–but when you take all complaints you get complaints about all.
Aug 28, 2007 @ 09:25:50
I don’t know Emily. At this point it seems that ignoring those complaints is a bad idea.
Aug 28, 2007 @ 10:16:12
I would like to clear the air. Wendi Felter is one of the nicest, most professional lady I know. She has been online since around 2000, as reviewer for some of the top line review sites. She has done promotion and she helped build Mardi Gras Publishing to include loaning Teresa Jacobs some start up funding. I know, I spoke to both of them during the start up. Wendi is clearly due about $1900. She had been malinged by the publisher of Mardi Gras Press. I have heard through the grapevine that authors are not being paid by Mardi Gras Press, cover artists have not been paid right on down the line. Mardi Gras Authors need to read all the posts from Triskelion to understand their rights.
The information from Piers Anthony post was from Theresa Jacobs so he decided to take Jacobs’ spin on things rather than get the truth.
Wendi never once has sent out one bad email about MGP or any of its authors. She was not part of the down fall as she had no control of what happened, though she was blamed by the publisher. There is so much to this story but Wendi was not part of it.
And I have heard that the publisher thinks she is giving rights back to the authors, truth is as we all learned from Triskelion, the bankruptsy court superceeds her contract and the authors, like the Triske Authors and hung out to dry.
I truly hate to see this happen to anyone, and yet de ja vu.
Linn
Aug 28, 2007 @ 23:35:49
Warning to all (and I pray authors will actually stop before instantly jumping on this “new bandwagon”): I saw this earlier tonight on one of my Yahoo groups……
(I have been informed that Teresa Jacobs, owner of MGP, has parked another publishing concern called Satin Rouge Publishing over at GoDaddy and that she owes MGP authors/staff quite a bit of money, is ignoring emails and phone calls and continuing to sell books of authors who have pulled their books from her company. You might want to investigate this further if you’ve been considering putting a book with her.)
So if this is true, that this woman is dumping MGP and slinking off to secretly start yet another company, everyone should be warned.
Aug 29, 2007 @ 08:12:18
I saw this information on another blog and when I attempted to post there was unable to as the owner has it set for ‘friends only’. *sigh* Be that as it may, I felt the need to correct one bit of information – Satin Rouge Press (satinrougepress.com) is a recently renewed domain, not a new one. According to the WhoIs database, searched via GoDaddy today, that domain was initially registered on 03-Aug-06, renewed on 08-Aug-07 and expires on 03-Aug-08. I was unable to get to the information on who registered the site as it is setup under GoDaddy’s private registeration, but it is not a new domain purchase. Based on a Google search – the cached page for the site in question led to a personal site for Teresa Jacobs. Let me say that again, this is not a new domain purchase.
Yes, since the site in question now showing only GoDaddy’s parked page, she could set up a new publishing venture on this domain, but it’s not something she’d done just this year. This domain has been owned for at least one year already.
Aug 29, 2007 @ 08:40:51
Wait a minute! This reminds me of some horrible telemarketing companies that when bad companies are uncovered they just vanish only to resurface in a new town with a new name.
Aren’t there laws against this?
I heard through the grapevine that one of the reasons was Jacobs is closing down because of a computer crash…….gee, if that is true how is she getting this new publishing house up and running?
And is anyone mentioning to the Authors that even through she is supposedly releasing the rights back to the authors before she goes to the bankruptcy–if the bankruptcy court comes it, its rights superceeds the rights in the publisher/author contract and their books will be tied up for six months or more?
Someone needs to get to the MGP Authors and have them read the info here.
Linn
Aug 29, 2007 @ 09:44:52
I know this might sound harsh or hard-line, but:
STOP being intimidated by and afraid of publishers. STOP swallowing not being paid or being told to be a good girl or staying quiet when you’ve been treated poorly. Just cut it the hell out.
Being published isn’t enough. You need to be paid, and paid on time and paid correctly for your work. Your work must be protected. If you’re not paid, paid on time or paid correctly, you’re being cheated. Period, end of story. It doesn’t MATTER that the person who owns/runs the company has problems. They are not your problems. They are not your friend, they are your publisher. If the contract you’ve signed isn’t being upheld by the publishing end, the publisher is in violation.
Is this about your ego, or about your career? If it’s about career, you must expect and demand the publisher act as professionally as you must act. And you must be professional enough to read, understand, consider, have vetted every clause in a contract before signing it. You must live up to the conditions of that contract, and you must the publisher.
Aug 29, 2007 @ 09:54:29
Nicely stated, Ms. Roberts!!
I keep telling authors your books are not your babies, they are your business.
Learn the business of publishing. Learn the business of promoting your books and as you so elegantly stated, be the professional you are and expect to be treated accordingly.
There are wonderful people in the world of publishing, don’t let a few bad apples ruin your dreams!
Aug 29, 2007 @ 11:04:38
Normally I don’t like to comment on others’ misfortunes, but I am moved to say something about this situation. Teresa Jacobs, who writes under the name Teresa Wayne, started MGP at the same time that we started Aphrodite’s Apples, and at one point, she wanted to sub to us, but she wanted us to bump her book to the head of the queue. At that point we’d been done nine months’ lead time on the creation of our house, and we already had authors with previous experience and contracts signed. There was a queue for submissions. She also didn’t want any further edits done to her work. At the time, Kayleigh Jamison (then-EIC) and I told her nicely we’d take it if went through edits and it would go out in order received for publication. While we were reviewing her submission she began to ask a lot of questions about the publishing business, and shortly thereafter she announced that she was starting MGP. At the time, she ran the Pink Posse Review site, and I say all that so that I can link to this: http://katrina-strauss.livejournal.com/151115.html
I am afraid Ms. Jacobs always been unethical. I am very sorry that when this first came to light that we felt we couldn’t speak out on the matter. I am even more sorry for the MGP authors’ current predicament.
And now that all that’s been said, I’m gonna agree with Kitty Strauss. Back to writing. If you guys need me, you know where I am.
–H
Aug 29, 2007 @ 12:19:38
Thank you Nora! I think this is the hardest thing for epublished authors to keep in mind since they are in much more frequent contact with the powers that be. In the ebook culture there is almost a need among authors to think of the publisher as their friend, to defend them as if they were their friend and to worry about discussing issues as if they were about to betray a friend. This frequently leads to issues like have been highlighted in recent threads.
Aug 29, 2007 @ 12:45:30
Yeah, Nora!
As a writer, editor, and now publisher, I couldn’t agree more. Each individual is responsible for their career.
Sandra
Aug 29, 2007 @ 22:55:21
IMO- being an author is a JOB, a profession… making them the EMPLOYEE and publisher the EMPLOYER and as such should, as all other employers must, pay the EMPLOYEE (Author) ON TIME for all services rendered. Duh. Just as you must turn the manuscript in on time, so must they pay you ON TIME.
Aug 30, 2007 @ 08:25:21
I’m on my way to the day job and will address these issues more fully over the weekend but a few quick facts:
Wendi Felter was “released” from Love Romances reviews because of the poor quality of her writing and late reviews.
Teresa Jacobs, aka Tersea Wayne, dba Mardi Gras Publishing has not only tried to open a new site under Satin Rouge, she hwas one started under some ghost name — which I will provide.
We have documentary proof she has understated sales.
She has not paid me for any editing I did, she owes me $350 for promotional work — including turning down a bookstore that wanted to carry the ENTIRE line — not too shabby for a small press house — and NO royalties on my books and I sold over 50 at various book signings and had several stores around the country with copies on the shelves and a few on the front panel.
The ONLY reason she is “threatening” bankruptcy — which under the new laws she may not get, especially when there is criminal intent behind it — and yes, we are pretty certain we have that proof — is to avoid paying the authors, editors and cover artists what they are owed.
Please feel free to ask me any questions. I will do my best to provide a factual answer.
Aug 30, 2007 @ 08:44:25
Reagan, Wendi left because she was owed $1900 by Teresa Jacobs. Side swiping what Wendi did or didn’t do years ago has nothing to do years ago has nothing to do with the much bigger issue here.
Please make sure all the MGP authors are aware that if Teresa does declare bankruptcy that books that have been released up six to a year come under the control of the bankruptcy court. That means they cannot just go out and offer the books to another publisher.
Please read the very through post about Authors Rights and Bankruptcy on the Dear Author site.
I am grieved that this has happened to any author. Its sad and if Teresa hasn’t acutally declared bankruptcy, she may want to rethink this. Opening up another publishing house under a different name to scam a new bunch of authors might cause her more legal problems. Right now, she has alternatives.
I am sorry to hear this has happened to the authors, editors and cover artists at MPG.
Aug 30, 2007 @ 14:11:42
Update—word is MGP cannot file Chapter 7 as Chapter 7 is for a personal bankruptcy. Owners would know this if they had actually talked to an attorney.
A business can only file for Chapter 11 or Chapter 13.
I doubt if MGP has the funds to actually file.
I am guessing she has not actually filed yet –though nonpayments, lapses in contract fulfillments, etc, etc are happening at MGP. Also it appears she is planning on or has already started another publishing company.
Aug 30, 2007 @ 14:28:04
Maybe that's the biggest issue. With the smaller presses, authors are more likely to get comfortable, friendly, and fell guilty if they have to complain about something. I admit it. I'm guilty of that. I let a publisher string me along for 7 months+ with no contract. Why? Because personal issues, and stress was getting to her, and I felt sorry for her. Was that less then smart of me? Yep. Will I fall for that again? I hope not. ï?Š
Thing is, part of it is loyalty, but part of it might also be fear. I've seen some darn nasty mudslinging go on because an editor, publisher, (or even author) felt slighted. Bad form. It's one thing to tell the truth, another to come out claws blazing. Does this mean a person needs to hold their tongue when being mistreated? No way. They can protect their fellow writers/editors/whatever by voicing the issue in a professional way (assumingly after all other mediation avenues have been tried and have failed)
Just my take on it.
Moondancer Drake
Aug 30, 2007 @ 19:50:25
As an author, I am flabbergasted at other authors who don’t get paid for months on end and do nothing. Would you work for free at any other job? If my royalties are past-due, I don’t wonder what’s going on. I find out even if it means pissing the publisher off. Yes, I’ve been there. Thankfully, I managed to get out from under that publisher before they went belly-up.
This is a career to me not a hobby, and being e-published doesn’t make you any less published or deserve any less than an author who has a book in print. I write for both big houses and small houses, and I expect the same treatment from all of them…professionalism, courtesy, and adherence to the terms of the contract at all times. If any of these fall short, I don’t cower from my publisher nor do I vehemently defend any one of them no matter what the situation.
That’s just my take.
Aug 31, 2007 @ 02:27:49
I can understand people’s concerns about authors staying when they weren’t being paid. In my situation, she lied. There is a clause in the contract that states you have to sell $10.00 worth of books in order to be paid. Teresa claimed I didn’t sell enough in the 1st quarter to get a royalty check. By the time 2nd quarter royalty statements came out, I was wrapped up in some personal things and by the time I realized I didn’t get my second quarter royalty statement, she was already MIA. After talking with other MGP authors, I learned that there were quite a few authors who had proof they had sold more books than what they were told in their royalty statements. I believe by stating a low number of sales, which amounted to less than $10.00, Teresa was able to get away without paying quite a few of us, when in reality, we actually sold more.
Aug 31, 2007 @ 09:37:56
Editors, authors, cover artists are not the only ones not getting paid. I was a proofer for them and I haven’t seen one penny, either. Based on the contract I signed, I was supposed to get paid every three months and it was time for it now, since I joined in the middle of the last quarter.
I am trying to start an editing business and even going to school to learn more about my (proposed) craft, so to me, reputation is everything I have. I don’t have an outside job at this time, because my wonderful husband has said to go for my dream. I work for several other companies too, thank the Lord, they are all honest and pay me when they’re supposed to.
I have no legal leg to stand on, with MGP, unfortunately, so for me, this is just a lesson learned.
As to the charges of plagiarism, I have copies of some of the books I proofed and am more than willing to check them against an authors work to see if anything I’ve proofed was non-original’ work. I refuse to let my growing reputation be blackened by things this company may have done.
Sep 01, 2007 @ 13:31:45
I am hearing some pretty harsh things on here. Many seem to lay a lot of the blame on the authors. The publisher isn’t your friend, etc. However, if a writer is not being paid according to her contract, the only real avenues she has is to try to get out of her contract (usually that is something written into a standard contract for non-payment) or hire a lawyer. And most of these epubbed authors just don’t have the money to do that. Plus, as was stated on here, bankruptcy court couldn’t care less what your contract states. Doesn’t matter if you asked for rights back months and months ago, they can pull you right back into it if they so choose.
There is a lot of trust between a small press and a new author. Some of us waited to submit until we felt a publisher had a positive history. For example, I was a new author with Triskelion right before they filed. I’m no dummy. I knew they had been in business for a little over three years. I knew they were RWA recognized. I had read authors’ successes with this company. I thought I was good to go.
But what can I possibly do when my publisher fails to pay? Please tell me. The only way we can feel comfortable is by looking at a company’s history. That’s about it.
So, please, can we focus on the publisher’s mistakes and problems? The authors are not at fault for this company going under. And there really was very little they could do once the contract had been signed.
Sep 01, 2007 @ 14:07:05
Actually, there are several things a writer can do when a publisher fails to pay.
First, look at the terms of your contract to determine what you have to do in event of a breach. Most of the time, you will need to send a certified letter, return receipt requested. A lot of contracts allow a publisher anywhere from thirty to ninety days to correct the breach; however, I would negotiate that down before you sign the contract.
Once you have sent the letter, calendar the date you sent it plus five days (that allows time for delivery of the letter).
If the publisher refuses to pick up the letter, it will be returned to you and that is the evidence you need to prove you have adhered to the terms of the contract. A publisher can’t refuse to pick up a letter and then state he/she didn’t receive the letter as grounds for any type of defense.
If the publisher corrects the breach, you stay alert for any future signs of trouble. Pour over your contract and make sure you understand each and every term. If not, look them up. Call an attorney in your area who specializes in contract law. Most of them give free first-time appointments.
If the publisher doesn’t correct the breach, you should send another certified letter informing them that the breach has not been corrected, and you are demanding the full return of rights to your books.
On another note, I would urge all new authors (or even those with two or three books with small publishers) to join something like Pre-Paid Legal. For a small monthly fee, you get access to unlimited phone calls to an attorney plus letters sent on your behalf. It’s an attorney on retainer type of thing. If you’re putting any money at all into promoting your book, you should seriously consider putting money into protecting it. (Just FYI, I don’t sell Pre-Paid Legal nor am I in any way affiliated with them.)
There are plenty of things an author can do once a contract has been signed, but most importantly, there are plenty of things an author can do before they sign the contract.
I’m not trying to blame any of the authors here because that would be preposterous. I’m just simply offering some tips on how an author can protect himself/herself from this type of crap in the future. No, we can’t all afford attorneys, but there are alternatives.
Sep 01, 2007 @ 16:20:05
Bankruptcy takes away many rights an author thought he had upon signing a contract.
You could have all the clauses in the world in there, but it doesn’t mean a damn thing to U.S. Federal judges. When publishers stop paying on time, this is already a sign things are not going well. That they will likely end up filing bankruptcy. And once that happens, the court can look back up to 12 months, pulling authors who thought they were free and clear right back into the mess.
Until you’re in the situation, I just don’t think you’ll get it.
Sep 02, 2007 @ 07:41:09
As a former Triskelion author, I came late to the party. When I was asked to join an anthology with three other authors, I did because one of the writers was a good friend. I'm not sorry I wrote the story, the anthology received an 2007 EPPIE nom., but I am sorry I didn't push more when I had concerns and questions. I had them almost immediately. Still, when they told me they wanted a shapeshifter cowboy from me, I did the story for them. And it did terrific for the two weeks I was paid. And then the next quarter, they filed for bankrupcy. I don't know the solution, since publishers seem to be popping up every day. And I didn't get involved with Triskelion because I thirsted for publication, I have a book with an RWA approved publisher under another name and I write for another epub. From my experiences, I think we'd better grow balls. I have them, but I let them shrink. When I had concerns, I should've pushed until I had the answers. I think we need to be more open with one another, and not think we're snitches if we talk openly about a percieved problem.
For example, I have a story with Romance at Heart. It's a fun story and I'm really proud of it. It was the first thing I ever had published. It was published in January 2005, (I'm fussy about the date) and is part of an antholgy. When I went to the website today, it's listed as the number two bestseller. In the last year, I've received .64…cents…for royalties. I have the check, right here on my desk. And this my way of speaking openly…
Brit Blaise
Sep 02, 2007 @ 07:42:56
Fuzzy about the date…not fussy.
Sep 02, 2007 @ 07:51:37
Brit, if you can write one best seller in one venue; you can write another one. Thank you for your post, your words, your heart and your belief in yourself come shining through.
Best of luck always, Linn Random
Sep 02, 2007 @ 09:18:11
Thanks, Linn
I'd like to add a codicil, all of us have personal lives which can at times interfere with our perception. When I got involved with Triskelion, I'd just learned my daughter had stage three cancer. My mother had died, and my daughter came with me to the farm. She was pregnant and sick continually. We thought it was the pregnancy. It wasn't, it was colon cancer. So there I was, mourning my mother, scared spitless about Tiff and without my husband, who stayed in AZ to sell our home. Plus, I suddenly became the primary caregiver to three little ones under five…in my fifties. This went on a long time, and it's no wonder I couldn't concentrate on the business aspect of writing. And I'm not alone. Most everyone has crap to deal with. So while it is a business…sometimes it's a release. After Tiff's chemo, I'd make my bed with her sock-monkey sheets, and put her in my bedroom so the kids wouldn't jump on her tubes. Writing kept me sane when my world spun out of control.
Brit Blaise http://www.butterscotchmartinigirls.com
Sep 03, 2007 @ 10:05:28
Okay, here’s a little something I don’t think anyone considered in all of this… The publisher can file bankruptcy without alerting the authors. And once that happens, there’s nothing you can do in regards to the publisher. The whole matter is in the hands of the court, and their appointed trustee.
Yes, authors need to treat writing as a business, not a hobby. Yes, your books are your business, not your babies, and yes, you need to read and understand your contract before you sign it.
Yes, authors are responsible for their own careers… I take mine very seriously, as do many of my fellow former Triskelion authors. Many of the Triskelion authors have picked up and moved on with their writing, landing contracts at other publishers, while still fighting to get rights back to their works at Triskelion. Now is the time to quit blaming the authors, and start looking at the genesis of the real problem, which isn’t even the publisher. It’s the law.
We all sign contracts that entitle us to our rights back, in the event of a bankruptcy. This is bogus. The COURTS take the rights, and then decide if they can sell them off… uh, HELLO? To my way of thinking, when I put my name on a piece of paper, agreeing to do certain things in exchange for certain securities, I expect that, as long as I live up to my end of the deal, everyone else should be required to live up to their end, as well. My issue is with the courts, and I’m working to get them to see that by violating our contracts as stated, they violate our basic right to earn a living, because who wants to sign a contract supposedly protecting them, when that protection is nothing more than lip service? It’s like being handed a gun to protect yourself in a lion’s den, only to discover that the damned thing isn’t even loaded.
So, as authors, we all need to quit deciding whether the problem is the author’s or the publishers, and instead band together and confront the lawmakers. Make THEM responsible for upholding the contracts when we cannot (as in the case of a bankruptcy). Authors, artists, and musicians are all in the same tenuous position, and we need to make a united stand to the courts, and the government, and SHOW them we are professionals, concerned with the securities granted to us in our contracts, and the fact that they are trampled by the very courts who should be protecting them.
That’s my two cents worth, anyway.
Esther Mitchell
Sep 03, 2007 @ 23:00:31
Esther, I agree with you. We should all be banning together and fighting this fight together to change the laws. It is the only way we will ever be able to fully protect ourselves from this sort of thing in the future, after all, no author, regardless of who their publisher is, is immune to this.
Sep 07, 2007 @ 21:48:33
I am like other MGP authors in that I wasn’t sent my last statement either. I see that MGP has now posted my Lipstick Ladies on a Franklin webpage for selling. There are no replies to either emails and a phone call was made to the number Teresa gave me and the phone is disconnected. I sent her a letter to get my rights back but there has been no response. I’ve gotten a good review on this work from a review site and the original $7 check she sent me just doesn’t seem like enough money to me.
Sep 11, 2007 @ 20:08:19
What I would like to see is an organization that offers legal advice–real legal advice–to all facets of the publishing community for a reasonable fee. I often wonder how much of this sort of thing could be avoided if there was adequate access to information of this type.
A root issue is that all you need to start an epublishing house is a website and a self-granted title. There’s no standard to meet or tests to take, and it’s the authors who inevitably pay the price.
Some of us are starting to band together to try and change that, so that we become accountable and this sort of thing can’t go on without it coming to light long before it gets to this point.
Situations like this only bring the whole industry down, and it reflects on all of us.
Oct 11, 2007 @ 20:35:42
Hi everyone, I am just seeing this website after searching for romance e-publishers. I used to be a MGP author and yes I was one of those that never asked questions. If many of you have read anything I have written you would see that they are interracial. Mostly with African American characters. My covers from MGP never had African American avatars, only caucasian avatars shaded to look African American. I had issues with never getting reviews that the publishers had recieved (I knew I got them when a very good friend of mine googled my name they popped up). I was told that I didn’t sell enough copies when I know for a fact that friends of mine and people I went to school with bought my work.
My work was never promoted as interracial, they were simply out there as erotica.
There’s something in the contract that said the publisher had to have the work out by a certain amount of months/days. I had to threaten to leave before they even made me a cover….
There are many other issues I had, those are just a few. A part of this was my fault because I never asked questions. That’s something I wont be caught dead doing again. Guys its simple, nothing in this business is a sure thing, and we need to open our mouths and ask questions. If things seem fishie chances are, your instincts are right.
Another thing that is bothering me is all the name calling, and the dirty emails etc…I know we are better than this. Sure we were hurt by what MGP (and all the other e-pubs that went under the way MGP did) but we have to stick the blame and anger where it is due and not at people standing on the sidelines (I wont call anyways but I got one really nasty email from a group I was on because of this MGP thing).
And another thing, before you send your work out, please please please please please, research; Ask someone who’s been around for a while if they know who this new publisher is, email them and ask them questions and if they dont answer your questions to put your heart at ease, dont send your work to them. It may seem harsh but us authors really have to protect herselves after this fiasco.
*shrugs* we’ll do better next time, no?
Anyways guys, have a good one, and remember, its about the writing and the art of it all. Our writings are our babies because they came from us, they are a part of us so we have to see to it that they find secure homes.
Hugz
Tigra-Luna
Dec 11, 2007 @ 01:12:18
Did you all know that Teresa Jacobs has opened another place? This time a self publishing firm called LA Media. And Jaden Sinclair has joined with her as one of her authors. I wonder if she was paid for her other books. I wonder if Teresa plans to pay any of the authors of MGP out of this new business.
http://www.lamediaonline.com/index.html
Seems kinda sucky to open a new buisness when you left others hanging.
Dec 11, 2007 @ 06:16:55
I sent an email, lol, not that it will get a response. There is no information on the site regarding who runs it, however, in the bookstore section, one of the (the ONLY) upcoming title is by Teresa Wayne and when you click the cover for more info, it says the cover was done by Teresa Jacobs.
Dec 11, 2007 @ 11:06:43
Wow, that totally doesn’t sound like a vanity press!
Not.
Dec 24, 2007 @ 13:54:45
I know how others and you think you know me and how evil I am, accused of plagerism, without documented proof, but the Christain thing to do is turn the other cheek, in saying this, I congratulate you on your new endeavor, and Merry Christmas and good luck, throughout the year.
Lanaia