Archive for 'Triskelion'
I received an email from a Triskelion author giving an update on the state of the bankruptcy. Apparently, the list of contracts provided to the court by Kristi Studts aka Triskelion was incomplete and inaccurate.
The schedules of contracts for sale that was issued by the bankruptcy court included contracts that were concluded (rights returned to authors) long ago and omitted contracts that were with Triskelion at the time of its bankruptcy filing.
This week the court issued a new list of expired and returned contracts but the wrongfully omitted contracts still were not included. This leaves authors in limbo if a sale goes through on the 15th. The bankruptcy filings are public information and anyone can see if she is included in the list of contracts for sale.
The authors have requested that the court release all of the contracts that were held by Triskelion after the sale whether formally mentioned but there is no response from court on that issue.
Another epublishing house closes its e doors. Apparently a family issue has caused the owner to not continue at this time. I heard some conflicting reports of unpaid bills for the last 2 quarters but I also heard that the rights are all reverting and royalties will be paid.
Also Siren Publishing is bidding on the Trisk assets with a promise to return all rights unencumbered.
RWA offered to serve as a Trustee and bid on the Triskelion Assets on behalf of the authors. The authors were requested to send $100 per contract to RWA and RWA would bid in the bankruptcy proceedings on their behalf, returning all of the unspent money to the authors. There appear to be over 200 contracts in question and which amounts to a bid of a little under $8 per contract to beat out the Loose Id bid of $1500.00
The Triskelion authors rejected this, apparently believing that the Loose Id bid is in their best interests.
I did see that there are some authors making the argument that the contracts are not the property of the estate and so it will be very interesting to see what the ruling will be on that issue.
The auction is currently slated for November 15, 2007, but I am not sure how the auction can take place when there is a challenge as to exactly what the Trustee is entitled to auction off.
Loose ID Bids on Contractual Assets
Last week, the week of October 8, 2007, Loose ID made a bid for the contractual assets of Triskelion Publishing. This is a brilliant public relations move by Loose ID as e authors on various message boards are already treating this as a gift. The press release by Loose ID states that there is a fourfold purpose in its bid:
Loose Id’s intentions in bidding on the contracts are fourfold: (1) to facilitate the unencumbered acquisition of works offered to the company by former Triskelion authors; (2) to assist authors in securing release or reversion of rights to their work; (3) to potentially acquire and re-publish top flight manuscripts that match Loose Id’s publishing guidelines; and (4) to reassure authors pursuing e-publishing careers of the sound business practices and corporate ethics of reputable e-publishers.
Essentially, Loose ID is going to bid on the entirety of the contractual assets with the intent of acquiring the ones that make money and releasing the ones that don’t (i.e., the ones that couldn’t generate even $25 in royalties). The bid that Loose ID has made is $1500.00 for the entirety of the contracts. …
Update: I was emailed that Ms. Studts has begun a new venture called Magickal Media, a web design corporation. While there appears to be no corporate filing under such name in Arizona, GoDaddy’s whois information shows a company out of Scottsdale Arizona (same county as Suprise) as the registrant (DomainsbyProxy.com).
One thing that occurs to me is that if there was mingling of funds between the personal accounts of the Studts and the corporation, it might be that the corporation is an alter ego and thus the Studts might be personally responsible for those debts.
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The Arizona Republic reported on the Triskelion bankrupcty on August 17, 2007. While most of the article is a rehash of things that we have already covered here at Dear Author, there are a few details that might be of some interest. Kristi Studts, the owner, lauched Triskelion Enterprises in 2004. She lives in Surprise, Arizona. At one time Triskelion had "a stable of nearly 100 international authors." The Trisk Bankruptcy Trustee notes that the financial decline began when Triskelion attempted to make the move from ebook publisher to print publisher with authors’ royalty payments bouncing or …
DISCLAIMER: Just to CYA, I feel like putting up a disclaimer. There is much that I don’t know about the Triskelion situation and any discussion regarding the law and the legal issues surrounding copyrights and publisher bankruptcies are general and not to apply to any one particular situation. If you feel like you are in a position where you, personally, need to apply this information to a case, you should seek a lawyer right away. My posting of my thoughts regarding the legal issues surrounding this matter or matters similar should not be construed as specific legal advice nor does it create an attorney/client relationship.
When Triskelion announcement that it would be closing its doors and filing bankruptcy, the issue of authorial rights arose. I did a little primer on copyright law a couple of weeks ago as it related to Simon & Schuster’s rights grab. For ease of reading, I’ll include the pertinent parts here.
Brief summary of copyright protection:
When an artist creates a work of art, this art has a copyright. The copyright is a form of protection that is granted by the U.S. Congress. Essentially, the writer of a …
Triskelion Publishing has announced on its website that it is closing its doors on July 2.
RWA contacted its attorneys on behalf of authors who are under contract with Triskelion. After reviewing a sample contract that Triskelion submitted with its application for RWA recognition, the attorney advised that the best options with respect to the Triskelion contract are:
i) Authors whose books have not been published should send a notice that the contract is being terminated based on Article III, section L that voids the Agreement if Triskelion has not published and made available for sale the manuscript within sixty (60) days of the agreed-upon release date, which is in Article III, Section A;
ii) Authors who have not received advances that are set out on the contract should send notice as specified in Article VI, Section B that addresses breaches of contract. Authors should state that the Contract will be terminated in 30 days unless the breach is cured;
iii) Other authors should send notice to request Triskelion to release them in writing from the Agreement.
Correspondence should be sent immediately by certified mail or other receipted delivery service. Authors need to be aware that even if Triskelion grants the termination …
DISCLAIMER: Just to CYA, I feel like putting up a disclaimer. There is much that I don’t know about the Triskelion situation and any discussion regarding the law and the legal issues surrounding copyrights and publisher bankruptcies are general and not to apply to any one particular situation. If you feel like you are in a position where you, personally, need to apply this information to a case, you should seek a lawyer right away. My posting of my thoughts regarding the legal issues surrounding this matter or matters similar should not be construed as specific legal advice nor does it create an attorney/client relationship.
Edited to add: The following contract clause is known as an ipso facto clause and generally held to be invalid by bankruptcy courts.
I was provided this and wanted to share it with the authors. This should be in your contract. Utilize it to protect your rights. Please note that this is no guarantee of a reversion of rights but if you don’t take action now, you might be in worse shape. I would not only send an email but a certified letter showing …
DISCLAIMER: Just to CYA, I feel like putting up a disclaimer. There is much that I don’t know about the Triskelion situation and any discussion regarding the law and the legal issues surrounding copyrights and publisher bankruptcies are general and not to apply to any one particular situation. If you feel like you are in a position where you, personally, need to apply this information to a case, you should seek a lawyer right away. My posting of my thoughts regarding the legal issues surrounding this matter or matters similar should not be construed as specific legal advice nor does it create an attorney/client relationship.
On the heels of its RWA dis-invitation; complaints of unpaid royalties; and the resignation of Gail Northman, Triskelion Publishing is closing its doors. From a source, it appears that Triskelion will be filing Chapter 7 Bankruptcy which is a liquidation of assets rather than a Chapter 11 or 13 which is a re-organization.
The rights that Triskelion owns, depending the contract, may be sold to benefit the creditors, which can be an author who hasn’t received royalty payments to the internet service provider to the web developer …
Over the weekend, Gail Northman resigned from Triskelion. This has led to a flood of authors demanding their rights back as Northman, regardless of the questionable email, was considered by some authors to be the backbone of Triskelion. Let’s hope that Triskelion doesn’t go the way of Venus Press. However, authors like Lynne Connolly will be finding a new home.
Dear Jane:
Bit of background information here. I’ve been with Triskelion Publishing since it opened its doors. I’ve grown with the company, and during that time I’ve received promotion several times. As of June 1st I will be Triskelion Publishing’s Publisher. The present publisher is stepping down in pursuit of her own writing career which has taken off and I wish her much success.
As you are no doubt aware, we’ve had several disgruntled authors, which have chosen to not only go to the RWA but also various online forums. In some respects I understand the reason behind the RWA after all that is what they are there for however, what I don’t like seeing is dirty laundry aired in public (British saying). However, the very nature of the beast means that we are damned if we do and damned if we don't.
First off it is in my opinion that way too many authors don’t read their contracts or neither understand them, nor do they obtain advice from a literary attorney so – then they complain and get angry when contracts are quoted (This I might add I can fully understand why large companies use …
I asked two Triskelion authors, one a former author, and one a current author, about the changes at Triskelion. Theresa Meyers, President of Blue Moon Communications, and author of The Spellbound Bride, related this tale:
My book was contracted to come out in print with Triskelion and would have been in bookstores in less than two weeks. There were multiple signings scheduled with Borders and Barnes & Noble, ads placed, I had gotten media coverage, high reviews from multiple sources and had spent a considerable amount in printing ARCs and excerpt booklets for massive mailings out to booksellers and bookclubs nationally. It was the bookstore who was to have my first signing that called me to tell me they couldn’t order my books for the signing and that I might want to contact my publisher. I did and that is when we all found out via email that the company had decided to restructure.
While I understand that Triskelion, like any business, needs to protect its bottom line and that a healthy Triskelion will ultimately be better for ebook authors all around, I am disappointed that in my case the book didn’t make it to the shelves
…
Dear Jane,
Thank you for offering me the opportunity to comment.
You are most likely aware that RWA's mission is to advance the professional interests of career-focused romance writers through networking and advocacy. In striving to fulfill its commitment to members, RWA established standards that publishers must meet to participate in RWA programs such as the annual conference. RWA recognition generates a significant amount of credibility and free exposure to the publishers who appear on RWA's list.
The following statement, which explains in part RWA's reasons for reviewing recognition standards was included in a notice sent to RWA members on March 20, 2007:
RWA standards for publisher recognition determine which publishers will be allowed to attend RWA’s annual conference and listed in RWA’s Market Update to solicit works written by RWA members. Unfortunately, the standard has been construed as a “stamp of approval” by RWA. That was never the purpose in setting the standard.
A publisher’s recognition by RWA is not a guarantee of an author’s publishing success. RWA’s standards merely indicate that the publisher pays royalties, is not a subsidy or vanity press, has been in business
…
Triskelion has published some very entertaining reads, my favorites probably being Shelly Laurentson’s Pack series which is now available at Samhain. We’ve been critical of its editing but not necessarily of the books. Triskelion has, however, hit some rocky ground. The news is flying today that Triskelion has been disinvited to RWA and therefore there will not be any Triskelion related promotions or editor meetings.
It is also rumored that Triskelion will not be putting out print titles. I find this ironic because when Blog Happy and I were at the bookstore the other day, we both commented on the Triskelion mass markets. (readers like mass markets). I can’t help but wonder whether the decision to not move forward with print titles will void some contracts. Triskelion actually sent print review copies to bookstores to assist sales which might also be why it was able to sell sufficient titles to meet the RWA guidelines to be a recognized publisher.
It was previously announced that RWA would be rethinking its guidelines on RWA publisher recognition status. There’s no …
Dear Mrs. Treanor,
 As I started to read The Other Sea, I was all set to brave Triskelion and buy all your backlist at once. Despite the editing problems that I’m coming to associate with that publisher (smiles at Angie), I was prepared to glom. After finishing this book, I’m still willing to try your backlist, but I will restrain myself, buy them one by one and hope that they don’t have the same problems as this one.
Overall, my impression of this book is favorable. You have a wonderful, little used setting (1068 in Scotland or Scotia as some of your characters call it) and you appear to have done your homework regarding the politics and people of your story (thanks Maili). You use period names (again, thanks Maili for the pronunciation lessons) instead of incongruously expecting us to believe that medieval women were named Chelsea or medieval men were called Cody. Your descriptions seem accurate and thank God you don’t attempt to have the characters speak in dialect nor use anachronistic words. Huzzah!
I like that you don’t spoon feed us by stopping to awkwardly insert information nor dump a history lecture on …
Dear Triskelion,
Earlier I wrote about the bad experience I had buying 2 ebooks from you. Now I’m sorry to say but the reading experience for one of them has been less than wonderful and it’s not due to the author’s voice or style. It’s due to your poor editing.
I was reading the first book on my IPAQ and all of a sudden — the font totally changed. Different size, different style and for no apparent reason. Then it happened two more times.
At first I thought maybe there was a blip during the file transfer so I pulled the file up on my pc and discovered that it was even worse there. Not only did the font change but the lines didn’t wrap and I had to scroll waaaaaaaaaaaay across the screen to read the entire lines.
Then I began to notice the editing errors. “Red made it to a tree and almost over when he lifted his leg.” Did the dog almost fall over, tip over, sprawl over, crash over, jitterbug over? What?
Dear Ebook Publishers,
Do you people not want readers to purchase books from you? It certainly seems like it. I decided to buy 6 books, 2 from Samhain, 2 from Triskelion, 1 from Cerridwen and 1 from Liquid Silver. By the way Liquid Silver people, this is what is listed on your dl page
Liquid Siver Books
Imprint of Atlantic Bridge Publishing
10509 Sedgegrass Drive
Indianapolis, IN 46235
Copyright (c) 2003 All Rights Reserved Do you people not have a spell check?Anyway, after finally navigating my way through this site, I entered my information as new customer at Triskelion and bought one book. And then waited and waited and waited for the email with the damn dl key. It took over an hour and a half to get to me. One of the nice things about ebooks is the instant availability. An hour and a half isn’t instant to moi. Then I bought a second book. Or tried to. Your site kept declining my credit card purchase. The same cc that was just accepted 2 hours ago. Finally, after 3 tries, I said *&^%$# it and purchased the book with paypal.
On to Samhain. Good Lord your site is hard to navigate. Harder than Triskelion …
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