Flutterby™! : On Ponzi publishers

Lili Saintcrow — On Ponzi “Publishers”

If a publisher gets shirty with you over the simple question, “How do you separate out author royalties when distributor payments come in, and where is that money kept before being disbursed to authors at the contractually agreed times?”, it is a giant, fast-waving crimson flag. If a publisher claims they cannot answer the question for any reason, tells you “nobody else has ever asked this”, says “we can’t answer because of Personal Life Drama”, etc., then it’s a very VERY good reason not to sign a goddamn contract or, after signing, time for independent audit and rights reversions.