Calling all Sports Publishing LLC authors

[Cory Emberson]

Another question - what does happen with the existing books and those in the pipeline if a publisher such as this goes BK?

Thanks

 

[Moderator1]

Well, I suspect those in the pipeline (not to be confused with THE Pipeline) are toast.
Not sure on the books. I may ask for mine since it doesn't look like I'll get paid.

 

[longgone]

I've had excellent and awful experiences with a string of publishers. The SP experience was generally good on the front end, but the marketing/support was unimpressive. It sucks that all is falling down like this.

 

[BYH]

Well, I suspect those in the pipeline (not to be confused with THE Pipeline) are toast.
Not sure on the books. I may ask for mine since it doesn't look like I'll get paid.

A friend of mine signed a contract with a small publisher (much smaller than SPLLC). They decided to cancel their sports division, so his books are indeed toast.

 

[JR]

Here's the problem with publishers like SP: the publishing philosophy is "feed the beast". It's a publishing sweatshop

Doing 100 plus books a year, mostly midlist books with smallish printings is a labour intensive approach to publishing but from a business point of view it's a good way of managing risk--which is what publishing is all about.

Here's a couple of business models. Both companies project sales of around $5 million.

Publisher A: Most of the books they do have an average print run of 10,000 copies, with an average transfer price (selling price to booksellers, etc) of $15.00. Each book generates on average $150,000 in revenue.

In order to achieve the $5 million in net sales, A will need to publish a minimum of 34 books. That doesn't even take into account a returns provision so it's probably more like 50 books.

Publisher B: This is the big risk taker.

Goal is to generate the same sales but is going after brand name, best-selling authors with a track record.

First printing for each book is on average 75,000 copies. Transfer price is $15.00

To reach the $5 million sales goal, B will have to publish approximately 6 books--- taking the returns factor into account.

You have the same sales at the end of the day, but Publisher A's overhead is dramatically higher thn Publisher B and the amount you can allocate to promotion for individual books is minimal.

If the industry average of 6% is still viable, Publisher A can budget approximately $9,000 per book for promotion, publicity and advertising. Not a helluva lot you can do with that which is why, as FoF explains, it's the author who has to become an active partner in the process.

Publisher B on the other hand can allocate between $65,000 and $75,000 per book.

If you sign up with Publisher A, and expect to receive the marketing treatment of Publisher B you are totally unrealistic.

Now, the flip side is this: if three or four of publisher A's book flop, it's not a big financial hit.
However, if three of Publisher B's books bite the dust, say goodnight.

These are extreme--but not totally fictional examples. I

 

[Speedfreak]

Has anyone had luck making contact with SP recently? In the least, they owe me a sales report. I had one email reponse in June saying they would get that report to me within days, but every phone call and email since has gone unanswered.

Not that I'm expecting much. Their report for the first six months of sales showed a grand total of four books sold. That's right, FOUR. I've spoken to local booksellers who've ordered, sold out and re-ordered the book, and I've attended signings where dozens were sold.

 

[clutchcargo]

In bankruptcy, books in inventory are now under control of the court trustee, alongwith however many other assets there are out there, and are used to entice buyers, with proceeds used to help pay down creditors. Not much--maybe a nickel on the dollar, and that depend on who's first in line, second, etc.

 

[JR]

If they go bankrupt, the authors are probably last in line.

 

[Smasher_Sloan]

S-c-r-e-w-e-d.

 

[editor0101]

If they go bankrupt, the authors are probably last in line.

Which is why I suggested to accept the deal being offered. Better than nothing.

As for Mr. Emberson, I wish you good luck with finding a suitor for your manuscript. There will be other publishing options available soon for those interested in authoring sports books.

 

[swenk]

If they go bankrupt, the authors are probably last in line.

Which is why I suggested to accept the deal being offered. Better than nothing.

No doubt you know better than anyone here what the real story is, so I have to ask this:

If SP is truly offering 10 cents on the dollar, and let's face it, they weren't paying too much in the first place, how much can any individual actually be owed? Is a couple hundred bucks worth relinquishing all rights and future claims?

If, for example, the existing titles are sold as assets, the new owner would be assuming those contracts and would be on the hook for future payments, yes? From what I understand just from this thread, anyone who signs the proposed offer would be giving up all claims to those existing contracts.

Am I misunderstanding something?

 

[Cory Emberson]

If they go bankrupt, the authors are probably last in line.

Which is why I suggested to accept the deal being offered. Better than nothing.

As for Mr. Emberson, I wish you good luck with finding a suitor for your manuscript. There will be other publishing options available soon for those interested in authoring sports books.

Thanks, I appreciate that. I'm already digging through my vast library of local baseball books and creating a spreadsheet of publishers that might be suitable.

This thread has been extremely valuable in creating a checklist in that search, such as number of books published versus revenue, etc.

By the way, that detailed D&B report cost about a little bit, but it was well worth it. I consider it insurance. I'm concerned for the two local authors who have published with SPLLC - are they likely to know about the company's impending and continued slide? Is there a way for them to salvage their rights to their work? One wrote a standalone book, and one wrote one of the series books.

(I'm a she, but that's okay - I know it's impossible to tell from my name! ;D)

Thanks again for the great board, and I'll create a profile and post in the newbie section as soon as I'm done editing (only 8 pages to go before the next batch comes in).

 

[friend of the friendless]

If SP is truly offering 10 cents on the dollar, and let's face it, they weren't paying too much in the first place, how much can any individual actually be owed? Is a couple hundred bucks worth relinquishing all rights and future claims?

If, for example, the existing titles are sold as assets, the new owner would be assuming those contracts and would be on the hook for future payments, yes? From what I understand just from this thread, anyone who signs the proposed offer would be giving up all claims to those existing contracts.

They get you coming and going. Helluva an endgame for these earnest but unlucky publishers. Somehow, after all that has been written here, there seems to be an absence of good-faith bargaining--claiming to be doing you the author a favor, they make their own despicable enterprise more attractive for someone ready to buy them out.

I wonder if there's any negotiating a different outcome. Say, instead of relinquishing rights/claims, you just ask for a couple of skids of books and their releasing any claim on further royalties. Find a publisher with a distribution wing and make a deal to ship and track your books. I'm sure DS could do better than a buyout with something like that just with a distribution in Toronto and area. Fact is, even without that deal, DS could do better outside the ACC alongside the guy selling Last Row Grays. And maybe if you can find a few of those other stiffed hockey writers you could take out a classified or small display add in The Hockey News.

YD&OHS, etc

 

[swenk]

I wonder if there's any negotiating a different outcome. Say, instead of relinquishing rights/claims, you just ask for a couple of skids of books and their releasing any claim on further royalties. Find a publisher with a distribution wing and make a deal to ship and track your books. I'm sure DS could do better than a buyout with something like that just with a distribution in Toronto and area. Fact is, even without that deal, DS could do better outside the ACC alongside the guy selling Last Row Grays. And maybe if you can find a few of those other stiffed hockey writers you could take out a classified or small display add in The Hockey News.

YD&OHS, etc

I have a hard time imagining they have that much inventory on hand; these are typically very short print runs, and the returns are usually liquidated pretty quickly as remainders (translation: fast cash for publisher). But of course, if you CAN get your books, get every single one in existence and sell 'em all. Buy them at your discount if necessary.

If you can negotiate for anything, beg and whine and pray for your rights to revert to you, maybe you can resell the book to another publisher. You might have a chance if they are technically in default of your contract (ie, they didn't pay your advance after you delivered an acceptable manuscript). Get a lawyer to write a demand letter on your behalf. And put everything--EVERYTHING--in writing from this point forward.

 

[Clerk Typist]

Always ask for the rights to your book as part of the settlement. And do the same to the bankruptcy court if SP goes completely belly up.

 

[editor0101]

Lots of speculation from people in this thread about SP and its motives, which is natural. Unfortunately, I can not shed any more light on why they are making the offer they are, and what it means for the author's future rights as it may pertain to a purchasing company.

I can say that the chances of an author getting another publisher to roll the dice on a 1- or 2- or 3-year-old book that has sold 3,000 copies (or fewer) through retail and is a specific, series-based, regional book are probably not too great.

I think negotiating lots of books into your settlement makes a lot of sense.

Take care authors. Best of luck. And please don't let this experience convince you to stay out of book publishing in the future. Just learn from it.

 

[Moderator1]

So these messages they keep leaving for me are to offer me 10 percent?
10 percent plus the rest of my books and maybe.

 

[friend of the friendless]

Ms Swenk,

I wonder if there's any negotiating a different outcome. Say, instead of relinquishing rights/claims, you just ask for a couple of skids of books and their releasing any claim on further royalties. Find a publisher with a distribution wing and make a deal to ship and track your books. I'm sure DS could do better than a buyout with something like that just with a distribution in Toronto and area. Fact is, even without that deal, DS could do better outside the ACC alongside the guy selling Last Row Grays. And maybe if you can find a few of those other stiffed hockey writers you could take out a classified or small display add in The Hockey News.

YD&OHS, etc

I have a hard time imagining they have that much inventory on hand; these are typically very short print runs, and the returns are usually liquidated pretty quickly as remainders (translation: fast cash for publisher). But of course, if you CAN get your books, get every single one in existence and sell 'em all. Buy them at your discount if necessary.

If you can negotiate for anything, beg and whine and pray for your rights to revert to you, maybe you can resell the book to another publisher. You might have a chance if they are technically in default of your contract (ie, they didn't pay your advance after you delivered an acceptable manuscript). Get a lawyer to write a demand letter on your behalf. And put everything--EVERYTHING--in writing from this point forward.

The over-under on what would make it worthwhile (for a very regional book) is probably 300+ to make it worthwhile. Who knows what returns are. Just guessing. Like I say, with DS's book, to find someone to flog/ship ten copies of the tome to the Toronto-area big boxes, probably not the toughest deal. Factor in some library sales (not like this other operation would be on top of that) and it starts to get to critical mass.

YD&OHS, etc

 

[Pistol]

At what point do workers at SPllc, like Editor0101, become complicit in the overall operation of the company? It seems to me that you would have to be deaf, blind and dumb not to realize the ship was sinking--and has been for the past few years. To come back and say that the editorial staff was great and did a knockup job with the authors seems a bit disingenuous. At the very least I would think you would hear back from the authors that you worked with saying that they weren't getting paid. That would raise a red flag about my employer. At some point you are guilty by association.
There will hopefully be new opportunities for the authors who got burned by SPllc as there is a definite niche for the reg'l sports books. I would invite you to take a look at a group out of WI (KCI Sports Publishing) who have done a number of reg'l sports titles including Univ of WI football coach Barry Alvarez autobiography which was a suprisingly good read, as well as Bill Snyder at K-State, Bob Harlan of the Packers and a series of 25 Greatest Moments coffee-table type books (Lambeau Field, Camp Randall,ect). Their authors have included Mike Lucas of the Madison Cap Times, Dale Hofmann of the Milw J-S, Cliff Christl of the Milw J-S, Mark Tupper of Decatur Herald too name a few. They may be able to shed more light on contracts, advances, ect.

 

[friend of the friendless]

Mr Pistol,

At what point do workers at SPllc, like Editor0101, become complicit in the overall operation of the company? It seems to me that you would have to be deaf, blind and dumb not to realize the ship was sinking--and has been for the past few years. To come back and say that the editorial staff was great and did a knockup job with the authors seems a bit disingenuous. At the very least I would think you would hear back from the authors that you worked with saying that they weren't getting paid. That would raise a red flag about my employer. At some point you are guilty by association.

Exactly. And you're under-stating it when you say "a bit." Which is why the suggestions to lighten up on a company's ex-staffer here are hard to take.

YD&OHS, etc