A Sad Publishing Story

I’m about to start the arduous process of finding a new publisher. Here’s why:

In 2018, after years of writing and re-writing a mystery set in Chicago, I’d collected about 70 agent rejections when my editor suggested that I submit to an online novel competition. I submitted to several and it led to winning a publishing contract with a small house based in Colorado. I managed to publish three mysteries in the Whipped and Sipped Mystery series (Battered, Smothered, and Charred) before my 53-year-old publisher tragically died of a heart attack in July of 2023. 

He’d always returned emails within 24 hours, so not hearing from him for over a month was weird. Daniel was a wonderful publisher – he rented tables at conferences and invited us join him, he submitted to contests, and he sat on the board of the Colorado Independent Publishers’ Association. He’d built up to about 35 authors, adding two or three each year, and except for hiring graphic designers and editors, did much of the work himself.

Because I love connecting people, I started a messenger group so we could cheer each other on, review each other’s books, and if possible, attend each other’s launch parties. Some of us learned of Daniel’s death in a Facebook post about a memorial arranged by CIPA, and soon we all knew.

What we didn’t know was that Daniel’s successor was going to continue selling our books, would steal all our money, and would keep us embroiled in a lawsuit for over a year. I didn’t know that I’d be so swept up in the situation that I wouldn’t have the bandwidth to focus on writing my next book. 

At first, I helped the successor with some of the details, even though I live several states away. We spoke thrice weekly, and she kept promising to send books and royalty statements and all the other things a publisher needs to do. I felt bad for her, but it soon became clear that she was lying, and I slowly began to understand that 17 out of 35 of us who wanted our money and book rights were dealing with a crook. Maybe a psychotic crook.

I say that based on one stormy evening when I was visiting Denver. I’d offered to help clear out the boxes of books stuck in a storage facility. I sensed that something was a little off with the publisher’s successor and got shivers when she pulled into an unlit, fenced area with nobody around, the supposed storage facility completely locked and inaccessible. I was worried because she was a broad-chested transwoman who towered over me, but earlier, I’d noticed that she wore kitten heels. As we slowly circled the completely empty lot, I hoped that if she came after me, I’d at least be able to outrun her. 

She suddenly took a U-turn and sped away, then dropped me off as planned, but I couldn’t forget the expression on her face. 

We still spoke three times a week, as I’d promised to do, until February, when she lied about having sent out 1099s. That’s when I contacted the Author’s Guild and passed along everything I learned to the other authors. The lawyers recommended that we each submit a complaint to the Colorado Attorney General’s office. Then we waited. 

We got periodic updates, and finally last month, the Colorado AG’s office informed us that they’d come to an agreement with Daniel’s successor: they wouldn’t go after her for the money she stole (shocker: she claimed it had disappeared) if she took down the website and stopped selling our books anywhere, including Amazon. My first two books are only available on Audible (because that goes directly to me). 

Be careful, fellow authors. Get an Authors Guild lawyer to go over your contract. Confirm that the publisher has a healthy succession plan in case of an emergency. Make sure there is a clause that allows you to take back your rights if the publisher stops sending quarterly statements. And save those files carefully.

This month, I’ve finally polished a draft of Book #4, POUNDED: A Whipped and Sipped Mystery. I’ll be grateful if any of you are willing to be on my “review crew” (meaning I’d send you an early PDF of the book in exchange for written reviews). I do a lot of reviewing for my author friends – I think it’s part of being a “Good Literary Citizen.” 

I’m also thinking about book #5, GRILLED: perhaps the final Whipped and Sipped Mystery. There just might be an evil character who used to be a linebacker, who wears kitten heels, and who, after destroying a bunch of dreams and lives, suffers an unfortunate mishap. Just guessing – I haven’t yet started a new outline. 

Did I mention that I write culinary mysteries with fabulous recipes, many of them vegan and gluten free? Or that I’m known for my Cocoa Bear (Dragon’s Milk) Chocolate Cake?

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G.P. Gottlieb’s Bio: I’m a cancer-surviving, loving grandma who enjoys writing, reading, traveling, walking, baking, theater, opera, movies, playing piano, and singing. I’ve interviewed about 240 authors as host for New Books in Literature, a podcast channel on the New Books Network, I write rants and travel/restaurant/theater/opera reviews on Medium.com and sometimes Substack when I remember. I’m a Blackbird Writer, and I’m on the Sisters in Crime Chicagoland board. If you’re interested in being an early reader, want to test recipes for POUNDED, or have written a literary novel that you think might a good candidate for a New Books Network podcast interview, please reach me at Facebook, Instagram, or my GPGottlieb.com website!

Category: Contemporary Women Writers