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Tuesday, September 13, 2011

Why I'm Irritated That Rhemalda Publishing is Listed on Preditors & Editors as Not Recommended





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23 comments:

  1. Okay, that is weird. Nothing I've seen of them would make me run screaming for the hills so that P&E has so negative about them is beyond me. Thanks for this.

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  2. that's weird. I wonder who notified P&E?

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  3. Preditors and Editors is a good resource, but is based on opinions. What's good for one author may be a heinous crime to another.

    P&E is a good resource, but not one to bet your career on.

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  4. I remember when I first discovered and fell in love with Rhemalda because of my initial love and discovery of J.S. Chancellor. I did my research on Rhemalda and the first thing I found was a sad forum post full of people downing publishers or questioning Rhemalda endlessly and that Preditors and Editors did not recommend them. So, back when Rhemalda had that forum (where IS that forum anyway? I don't think it's up any more), I posted about it.

    I still love Rhemalda. It's still my dream to fix my story up big time and submit it to Rhemalda and hope, hope, hope that they'll have room for at some point in their future. I love everyone there. I'm prepared to get turned down, but I can't fathom being with another house for my first book.

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  5. I am going through the editing process right now and haven't had a single problem. They have been very communicative and have included me on every facet of publishing my book. I don't feel like another brick in their publishing wall.

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  6. That's good to know. They seem like a really professional, if small, press.

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  7. Strange. Is it because of complaints or because of something like the advance policy? It used to be that any publisher who did not offer an advance was considered illegitimate, although since that is now the norm for all the smaller e-presses, I wonder if that 's still true.

    Tara Maya
    Faerie Tale (The Unfinished Song)

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  8. It seems like many small presses are stigmatized, whether it's fair or not. As long as a publisher maintains a professional demeanor in dealing with its employees, authors, and readers, then that is what should be looked at. When I find people who claim to have a bad experience with a publisher that I am considering, I try to look at both sides of the issue before deciding whether or not to sub to the publisher. Rhemalda is one small press to whom I would not hesitate to submit a manuscript.

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  9. Seems to me that the best place to get accurate information on anyone or anything is to go directly to the source, and those closest to it. It's always easy to find disgruntleds in any arena.

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  10. P&E also lists Random House as "not recommended." So if Random House makes an offer, I'm supposed to say, "no thanks?"

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  11. I think, like everthing else, it's all subjective. I normally check out Absolute Writer and P&E, plus do a few Google searches as well when considering small press/indie publishers.

    The thing I find strange, and maybe I didn't search far enough, is the reason for the 'not recommended'. At least Absolute Writer gives a reason why they're not recommending a certain agent and/or publisher.

    I also noticed someone is suing them and they've started up a donation button to build their legal fund. Hmmmm . . .

    Thanks for posting.

    S

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  12. I looked at what was being said about Rhemelda on Absolute Write and a lot of it seems to have come from people who knew nothing about the company or were suspicious of the owner's background. The thing is...with the internet stuff lingers forever. And this stuff got put out there and needs to come down but I've no idea who you would contact.

    I will go on the record and say that I think your publisher is absolutely amazing. Your book monarch has little butterflies on the page everytime there's a scene break. Like really? Little butterflies? That's frickin' awesome.

    I want to know the story on how you come up with some of your stuff. The mud that smells awful because it has squished larva in it but is a natural bug repellent or the canoes that are on the bottom of the lake...it's intriguing.

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  13. P&E gets their info from public input a lot of the time. Have you considered contacting them and letting them know of your positive experience?

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  14. Stephanie: Glad you've seen nothing but positive. Yay!

    Creepy Query Girl: I have no idea because I'm pretty sure it wasn't any of the authors. :(

    Martin: Definitely based on opinions. I just get sad when authors don't see them as opinions.

    Tiffany: Yeah, that forum is very sad, I agree, but I think the people there were mostly intending to be helpful. There just wasn't a lot of information about Rhemalda at that time and they were still very, very new. So I can see how it all came about. That forum thread is still up, I believe.

    I would love to have you as part of the Rhemalda family! I hope for it to happen one day!

    Brian: Sounds like my experience. They include me in almost everything. It's very nice.

    A.J.: Yes, professional but small, absolutely. And very friendly.

    Tara: It might have been the advance policy, I'm not sure. I think Rhemalda might offer advances in the future, but who knows. It's definitely not a requirement for me right now. For others it is.

    Lester: That sounds like what I've found when I've searched around. A lot of speculation and trying to help with not much basis, or what was found before is no longer valid as the company has grown.

    Wendy: Yes, you are smart to look at both sides. I usually shy away from "I hate them" comments because many times it can be based on something odd or very personal.

    Bridget: Yes, when people ask me about Rhemalda I'm always glad they had the thought to come to me instead of relying on google searches alone.

    Scott: I almost wrote about that in this post but decided not to. It strikes me as very, very odd that Random House is on there as not recommended.

    Scott: It's definitely subjective, yes, and like I say in the post Rhemalda is beautiful for me, but might not be for the next person. That's really strange about the donation button. I hadn't heard about that.

    Michael: I believe Rhemalda has already contacted them and they don't take things down like that because all opinion. If it's not outright slander, there's no reason to take it down. Rhemalda has proved themselves beyond what was said there, I think.

    I adore the butterflies for my page breaks. I open up the book and look at them all the time. My publisher is awesome because they pay attention to little details and suggestions like that from the authors. Although, I think the butterflies were their idea.

    Also, about some of the things you'd like to know about, I'd love to answer a lot of that in the live chat on Thursday night if you like. Will you be attending that?

    Lisa: You know what, that's an excellent idea! Why didn't I think of that? Thank you. :)

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  15. I know of another small press that got a NR from P&E. Turned out it was based on one complaint, from a writer who thought she should be making millions from a book that wasn't selling. The writer had also been arrested for making death threats against Bill Gates. But her say-so was enough to get a bad P&E rating. P& E is a good resource, but not infallible.

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  16. I had no idea they were on there! I've only heard positive things - and now I've added yours to the list!

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  17. Anne: Wow, that's crazy! Yeah, I think they either might be very slow at updating things or they just have too much to keep up with to be completely accurate. Who knows.

    Ali: Yay! Thanks!

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  18. I did not know about this but it really irritates me too.
    I'm officially boycotting P& E because clearly, they are not a reputable source.

    Rhemalda has been BEYOND fantastic and professional every step of the way with me and my story.

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  19. Karen: Yeah, same here. I've had nothing but amazing things to say about them.

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  20. Michelle, Thanks for doing this post. I certainly don't rely completely on P&E for anything. It's a jumping off point. But I was curious about this issue and am really glad you stepped up and defended your publisher. I wish more people would read this:)

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  21. Christa: I'll admit one of the reasons I did this was my hope that this post comes up with a Google search for Rhemalda Publishing so that people see it before or at least with the P&E link, as well. I just can't stand false information in any form, and what irritates me the most is that Rhemalda contacted P&E about this and they won't do anything about it. Grrr.

    Oh well. I think the longer Rhemalda is around and the more it's obvious that they are a reliable, fantastic publisher, the less things like the P&E Not Recommended status will matter. Thanks for stopping by! :)

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  22. Hi,

    It's strange how bad rumours evolve and become "Bad News". But, it's usually instigated by professional jealousy, much the same as when a author's work is rubbished with a bad review for no good reason!

    Chins up, keep right on with whatever publisher does it for you! ;)

    best
    F

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  23. Francine: Professional jealousy - I like that. Well, I hate it, but I like the term for it. Thank you for stopping by here. :)

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