Wheelsong Books for example, was founded on the principle that evry poet has a voice and that voice demands an audience. I deliberately set up the company to be not for profit. When authors come to me asking how much it costs to publish a book, I reply that there is no fee.
I am both amazed and appalled at the number of publishers 'out there' that cynically exploit the heartfelt desire of a poet to be published. They charge large sums of cash to provide 'editing and publishing services' that are little short of a scam. The poor poet ends up splashing out their hard earned cash for very little. What do they receive in return? Often a poorly edited and shoddily designed book that sells just a few copies. They are left with boxes of books they have paid for, but no-one wants to buy.
Popularly, this is known as a vanity press. The people behind many of these schemes are often unfair and unprincipled. They exercise little or no quality control, and all and sundry can get to publish their work no matter how good or bad it may be. Facebook and the web are full of poets desperately advertising and plugging books that no-one is interested in buying. You should be wary of any publisher who asks you for money to publish your book!
Wheelsong Books is different. We will never charge a poet to have their work published. Instead, Wheelsong offers editing, design and copyrighting services for no cost to the poet. We even agree to give ten percent of the sales return on every copy sold to the poet as royalty payments as a standard publishing agreement. If the book does well, and sells many copies, then everyone is a winner.
Everyone who is directly associated with Wheelsong Books works on a purely voluntary basis. Our small, but growing group of ambassadors helps to promote and market the efforts and publications of our poet family worldwide through social media, events and promotions. Each is chosen for their commitment and drive to helping make the enterprise a success for all. For example, our USA ambassador is Matt Elmore, and our UK ambassador is Charlene Phare.
If you are interested in publishing with Wheelsong Books, be assured that we will treat you with the respect you deserve. We will assess your poetry on its merits, and we will be totally honest with you about its quality, its viability as a commercial work, and any future efforts you might need to take to improve it. Any questions you may have about publishing with Wheelsong can be posted to the comments box below! The Wheelsong Books team looks forward to hearing from you.
All live Wheelsong publications can be found on the Wheelsong Books website.
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