FAQs
ABOUT CDPWhy “Circle Dark”?
Why did you decide to do this?
Why only E-Books?
Do you only publish dark stuff?
Do you publish non-fiction or poetry?
SUBMISSIONS
How do I submit my story/novel/novella?
Why can’t I _________?
If I don’t follow the guidelines, will my submission be automatically rejected?
Why all the rules, man?
Why won’t you go to my website to look at my writing there?
Why so harsh?
Wasn’t my story/novel dark enough for you?
Why don’t you pay by the word like magazines?
Why haven’t I received a response to my submission?
ARTISTS
Does CDP have staff artists?
Can I submit artwork/my portfolio to be considered for an artist job with CDP?
PUBLICATION
How I do I know you won’t steal my story […]?
Do I give up my copyright when I sign a contract?
What rights DO I give you when I sign a contract?
What happens when my contract term ends?
EDITING
Editing? I thought you said you wouldn’t ask me to change anything!
ABOUT CDP
We wanted a name that reflected a major point of our mission statement. While we won’t only publish books that can be considered dark, we do want to focus on that, so it seemed the concept should be included in our name. We often shorten “Circle Dark Publishing” to CDP for ease of speaking and typing.
Why did you decide to do this?
Both of us are published authors, and we have friends who are published authors. None of us are Stephen King or Anne Rice, of course, but we have a vested interest in the publishing industry. Imagine our surprise and disappointment when we started hearing our author friends discussing how publishers didn’t seem to get their work, and how publishers kept insisting they change their characters or their plots to suit what the company felt “the average reader” wanted to read. We wondered if anyone working for any of these publishers had read any fanfiction recently, and decided they probably hadn’t.
We also decided two other things. One, that this was a pretty silly way to run a publishing company, and two, we could do it better. As authors, and as avid readers, we wanted to create a publishing company that would focus on the integrity of an author’s work, not molding it into something unrecognizable. We also felt that publishing companies shouldn’t attempt to change the books to suit the readers they think they know, and instead trust the work as it is to attract an intelligent reader base appropriate to the work. We do not believe “the average reader” is stupid.
This is why we decided to open our own publishing company.
To be perfectly honest, it’s because e-books are cheaper.
Okay, well that’s a major reason, but it isn’t the only reason. E-books are also easier and faster to bring to the point of sale, they kill no trees for the use of paper, not to mention Heidi is published through an e-book publisher and adores e-books. She, like many other authors, believes e-books are the way of the future.
Sabrina, on the other hand, adores the feel of a book in her hand and the smell of new paper. She believes e-books are a great supplement and/or alternative, but that nothing will ever beat a real book. Her goal is to open up a print division to CDP as soon as feasible.
Still, e-books are cheaper, and CDP cannot afford a print division at this time. You want CDP to have a print division? Buy the e-books. Don’t like e-books, feel the same as Sabrina and want a book in hand? Do what she does to support her fellow authors: Buy and download the e-book, print it out and take it to Kinko’s. There’s your print book.
Do you only publish dark stuff?
No, however we would like to focus on material other people might consider dark. We are open to receiving submissions for all genres, and it doesn’t have to be filled with blood, gore, sex, violence, and controversial issues. We’d really like it if it did, though.
Do you publish non-fiction or poetry?
Non-fiction, no, sorry. We are only interested in works of fiction. As for poetry, we can say for certain we will not publish individual poems. However, depending on the type of poems, the subject matter, and of course the talent of the poet etc., we might be open to publishing a book of collected poems by a single poet.
SUBMISSIONS
How do I submit my story/novel/novella?
Our submissions guidelines are located here.
The most obvious answer is because it isn’t in the submissions guidelines. Less obvious is that we created the submissions guidelines, then reworked them, then reworked them again in an attempt to make it as easy as possible for everyone involved. If you try to do something not in those guidelines, it throws off the entire flow, like in one of those Visa check card commercials.
If I don’t follow the guidelines, will my submission be automatically rejected?
Yes. The guidelines are there for you, there’s a big ole button on the side of the website, there’s a link to them only two questions ago. If you have any questions concerning the guidelines, there are email addresses all over the website, including staff@circledarkpublishing.net, for people who can answer those questions. There really is no excuse for not following the guidelines.
Whether or not people like to believe it, rules make things easier. Organization is our friend. Having a solid set of guidelines makes it easier on everyone. Not only do you know what we expect from you, we know as well.
And it helps us weed out people who don’t follow directions or work well with others.
Why won’t you go to my website to look at my writing there?
Because that is not our job, that is not how the publishing business works, not even an author-friendly publisher such as ourselves, and because we do not have time. We have day jobs, and there are other parts of running a publishing company than simply looking over submissions, not to mention we have submissions to look over from people who can follow directions.
Because the person writing these FAQs is a blunt, straightforward person who has little patience even less tact.
Also, bluntness and no tact seem to be the only things some people understand.
Wasn’t my story/novel dark enough for you?
Just because your story/novel is dark, doesn’t mean it was written well, or that it is a good fit for CDP. If it’s a story, it may not fit with the anthology you submitted it for (although, you may get an alternative offer to publish it as an individual piece). There are many reasons a submission may be rejected.
Why don’t you pay by the word like magazines?
Because we are not a magazine.
Why haven’t I received a response to my submission?
Probably because real life took over and ate up our time. If this is the case, we are very, very sorry. If you do not get a confirmation email within a week of your submission, please send a query email asking us why. Also, the same applies if you haven’t received a yay or nay within a month after receiving your confirmation email.
There’s also the possibility that you so blatantly and arrogantly disregarded the submission guidelines that we felt the need to return your submission with silence. You know who you are. You know if you don’t follow the guidelines. If this is you, don’t bother emailing us, because you know what you did.
ARTISTS
No. We have one artist who does all of our cover art, and at this time we have no need for any other artists.
Can I submit artwork/my portfolio to be considered for an artist job with CDP?
No. If we ever need more artists, we will make an announcement.
PUBLICATION
How do I know you won't steal my story and print it without my permission?
This wouldn't benefit anyone, and it would ruin our reputation as a publisher. Integrity is our highest priority and we put it before profit. Both personal and professional integrity are paramount. Without this, we may turn a profit, but it would be hollow and void of any real meaning.
This is why we offer contracts. If we decided not to print your work, rest assured that we will not turn around and use it. We may want to work with you in the future and to ruin that by stealing is hardly the way to foster good author relations. The contracts we send out are subject to negotiation. We will do everything we can to accommodate any reasonable requests to change clauses, etc. There are provisions in the contract that ensure that the work you have given us the right to print will be available within a reasonable time frame. And you don't have to sign anything with which you are not comfortable. The contract protects you as well as us. It also gives both of us a clear idea of what is expected from each party.
Do I give up copyright when I sign a contract?
In a word, no. Copyright is different from print rights, which are different from one-time publishing rights which are also different from electronic rights. Copyright stays with you until you give it away in a lengthy, time-consuming process. We do not want to take your copyright. We even offer to register copyright for you, in your name, so that you have that legal protection as well.
What rights DO I give you when I sign a contract?
Depending on what division of the company you are signing with, it might be only electronic format rights or print rights, or in rare cases, both. There are clauses in our contracts that allow for some other rights related to the work. Such as the right of first refusal on printing the work, or right of first refusal on your next work. It's all negotiable. We are always happy to take the time to answer any questions you have about why the contract says something, or to broach the topic of changing the terms of certain clauses if that's your wish.
What happens when my contract term ends?
When your contract ends, for whatever reason, any and all rights revert to you for that work. Each contract stands on its own and does not affect any other works that might be under a different contract. Each contract must (for legal reasons) be dealt with on a case by case basis.
A few last words on this subject:
We work very hard to ensure that our authors are protected. ALL contracts WILL lean in the author's favor, it's just the way we believe this crazy thing called publishing should work. We are authors as well as publishers, so we feel we have an inside view of the industry and what you want. We are not here to take advantage of you, but to foster a long-term working relationship as you and we establish ourselves. We give respect and we expect it in return.
EDITING
Editing? I thought you said you wouldn’t ask me to change anything!
No, what we said was we would not ask any author to change the nature of a character or dumb-down their plot for the sake of “the average reader.” We did not say we wouldn’t edit your submission for grammar, spelling, and stylistic purposes. No matter how awesome you are, you will make typos. It happens to the best of us.
We will also make suggestions when something sounds awkward, or we believe the same word is used too often in a single sentence or paragraph, or if we believe something could be expanded. At least one of our editors likes to ask the author questions they believe the reader will be asking. All of this falls under the category of suggestions, and an author is free to make their case about why they chose a certain word, or chose not to show a certain scene. Grammar and spelling are required changes, stylistic suggestions are not.
