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Nightshade Publishing / Nightshade Agency

Harlequin

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The reason I listed both publisher and agency is that this small press claims to do both.

I'm in a group for Mom Writers on fb and one of them posted about an open submission call to their new press, for which they are a literary agent.

I double checked this is what they really do; yes, their press "employs" six literary agents.

Website here
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Final comment from the press owner, after receiving some pushback:

""I appreciate everyone taking the time out of their day to comment on my post. The term 'literary agent' has literally not been ill-received outside of this group. I started Nightshade with the intention of helping Indie Authors because I know that struggle. I wanted to make sure that each author that came to Nightshade had an entire team behind them so they didn't have to worry like I did when I first started. Also, to teach them the ropes of KDP, getting their ISBN, creating and fostering reader relationships, how to get Beta Readers, etc. Because even if they don't stay with Nightshade, at least they would have the tools to go forward and do things on their own. That has always been my goal with the company. For those of you who do not want to submit to Nightshade, you know what, you don't have to. I joined this group because I'm a mom, an author, a small business owner and I thought I would find a supportive group here. Your comments have been downright rude. There is a huge difference between constructive feedback and tearing someone down. But you do have every right to ask questions and protect yourself as authors. We at Nightshade will keep doing what we are doing and I honestly appreciate the support we have received so far, even if it's been outside of this group.""


###


For obvious reasons, I think folks need to stay clear of this place, and I'm frustrated that anyone defended them / that they did get submissions as a result. I don't think they're scammers, just clueless and extremely defensive.

Dozens and dozens of these sort of small disaster presses and I am still amazed every so often by the odd things people contrive.
 
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P.K. Torrens

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Whaaaat theeeeee faaaaaark?

That reply from Sanja is insane. I get the feeling this is a scam. I bet things get funny once your MS is “brought” by the publishing house. I wonder if they employ some pay-to-play editors too?
 

Harlequin

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To be honest I'm not sure they actually understand the diff between indie and trade, given some of the things they said.

Thread is locked now and ofc some desperate people are still wanting to submit. What can you even do.
 

Nether

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If nothing else, that was good for a daily "what the heck?" :oops:

What a strange and confusing model. If I understand it correctly, their "agents" aren't really agents, but just acquisitions editors. The whole thing is egregious since they don't really understand what agents are. If they just didn't call them agents, they'd be in a better place already.

Beyond that, they just seem too new and the professionalism isn't there. If they can't be bothered to buy a domain for their website or email, how can you trust them to spend on editing or marketing a book?
 

mrsmig

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Another startup trying to reinvent the wheel, staffed with people with little/no trade publishing experience and probably undercapitalized as well.

It's a recipe for disaster.
 

zmethos

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If I understand it correctly, their "agents" aren't really agents, but just acquisitions editors. The whole thing is egregious since they don't really understand what agents are. If they just didn't call them agents, they'd be in a better place already.

This was my first thought, too. I'm like, "Don't call them agents if they aren't?" To do so makes the publisher seem (a) unknowledgeable and/or (b) like they're trying to con people, neither of which is a good look.
 

BenPanced

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"If I accept your manuscript, I only pitch it to nightshade. If they don't want it, I won't pitch it anywhere else and your querying can continue."

Yeah, somebody has no idea how this works...
 

Maggie Maxwell

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"The term 'literary agent' has literally not been ill-received outside of this group."
Seems to suggest that they've been targeting groups that have less knowledge about the inner workings of publishing. I feel bad for the people they've roped in with their (Nightshade's) poor publishing literacy.
 
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frimble3

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They deleted my comment asking why they used the term "agent" when "acquisition editor" was more accurate. So...not operating in good faith.
And, apparently, unwilling to learn. Or at least take suggestions.
 
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eqb

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As they requested, I sent them a PM, asking what experience they had in publishing and why they called their editors agents. They read the message but have yet to reply. Color me not surprised.

ETA: They finally got back to me on Friday with the following "say nothing" reply:
Recent events have brought a lot of things to our attention. We are meeting as a team to discuss these matters. As we stated in our previous post, we will have updates forthcoming.
So far, no announcement. I kinda wonder if they expect any critics to lose interest within a week, and they plan to go ahead as before.
 
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Harlequin

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As they requested, I sent them a PM, asking what experience they had in publishing and why they called their editors agents. They read the message but have yet to reply. Color me not surprised.

ETA: They finally got back to me on Friday with the following "say nothing" reply:

So far, no announcement. I kinda wonder if they expect any critics to lose interest within a week, and they plan to go ahead as before.
Interesting! I'm morbidly curious to know if they overhaul.
 
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eqb

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On the one hand, they've updated their website to change "literary agent" to "acquisitions editor." On the other, the updated bios confirm that they don't have any experience, nor do they have any information on what rights they acquire or anything about royalties. They've also deleted my comments and have blocked me on Facebook.

So not impressed with these clowns.
 

Nether

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On the one hand, they've updated their website to change "literary agent" to "acquisitions editor." On the other, the updated bios confirm that they don't have any experience, nor do they have any information on what rights they acquire or anything about royalties. They've also deleted my comments and have blocked me on Facebook.

So not impressed with these clowns.

One step forward, two steps sideways! :LOL:
 
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eqb

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Oh dear. Their page on Publishers Marketplace shows a URL that's truncated, so it doesn't work. Also, the Twitter account listed is completely wrong. (It's for a different Amanda Porter). I did find their official Twitter account. It has six followers and no tweets.

I'd laugh but it's not funny. Newbie authors will end up with their books badly published, no sales, and the whole operation will go belly up within a year.
 
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