Kings Way Press discussion

[bugen]

Thanks for posting, Zach.

I was one of the dubious, sitting on the sideline with raised eyebrows over the hullabaloo. But a post like this helps a lot, and I'm much more inclined to give your press a shot based on your candor. Sometimes the undecided don't stay that way.

Good luck in the future.

[Theli]

Very thorough rundown on the happenings of KWP. Sorry to hear of some of the troubles you've experienced over the last year or so. I guess it can be easy for some of us to forget that in the small press publishing business it's more of a personal affair, and not the same as a big business and personal setbacks can affect a small company tremendously.

[KING'SWAYPRESS]

Thanks.

The editions of Frankenstein and Dracula in particular look very nice, although I am curious as to the dimensions of those books (not that I need to know, as they are sold out and I wouldn't have room in the budget even if they weren't).

Thanks for the kind words. I think I may still have one of the Frankenstein signed trade editions and signed regal editions left. If interested, you can PM me and I'll arranged to send you an invoice for it. I can work you a "Welcome to KWP discount".

Z.

[KING'SWAYPRESS]

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8. Some have criticized the new paperback series. Some have asked why? Well, here it is in a nutshell: #1. Many people have contacted me over the years and have told me they'd love to read our books, but don't want to pay $40, $85, or $350 to do so. The paperback line serves the casual reader as well as the frugal collector who loves a great read, but doesn't have the budget for expensive hardcovers. Who doesn't love a book that's signed AND costs less than $20? #2. Additionally, it just makes sense. All businesses tweak their business models as the economy changes and shifts. It makes perfect sense for KWP to capture some of the readers who won't spend as much on their books. Some of these readers might never experience some of these authors otherwise. So, not only does it help grow KWP, it helps potentially grow the fan base of the authors, and possibly brings new readers into the genre as well. #3. It shows that KWP is not going anywhere. We are on track to release 25 paperbacks this year alone. That's in addition to our hardcovers we are working on. As our backlist gets deeper, confidence that KWP is forever should grow. We are also giving each of these paperbacks to our lifetime subscribers for free. That should make nothing but happiness all the way around.

9. So where is KWP going from here? Well, I'll tell you. Some may applaud these steps, some may question these steps, some my hate these steps, but ultimately I will do what it is in the best interests of my collectors and my lifetime subscribers and the health of KWP in general. Here are things I am in the process of implementing or have already implemented.

A. No more preorders. No way. No how. Back to the original business model. I will hold back a handful of copies for the latecomers, but I will no longer mention, announce, or accept money for a book until it is within 1-2 weeks of being delivered. I've already put this back in place. I have several hardcover projects in stages of production that do NOT appear on the site and have not and will not be mentioned until the printer has assured me that the books are on the way. Period.

B. No more advance production announcements or "publication dates" on the hardcovers. Not going to do it. You'll get your books, the same as always. If you're a lifetime collector, I'll be glad to privately answer any questions. As soon as the books we have pre-announced are delivered, I will not be announcing the new hardcovers until they are almost ready to deliver. This will ensure that you don't get hopes up and disappointed if I have to reject a title. You will get your books. Should I have to reject a title that's been printed, I'll keep communication open with you and will advise you of such. I haven't left you behind yet, nor do I intend to. In the meantime, as you wait for more KWP goodness to arrive in hardcover format, you'll have plenty of KWP paperbacks to keep you company delivered to your door for free. Patience has always paid off for the KWP collector and it always will. Books like the ones we produce don't come fast and they don't come easy, but when they do come, I've yet to have a customer be disappointed in them.

C. Better communication. This is a biggie. I've taken several steps to change this for the better. One is that I've changed email servers because too many messages to and from customers were ending up in the ether somewhere. Some communication issues have been my fault and I accept that. Even though I work a lot of hrs at my regular job, I'll be checking my emails daily. I'll respond within 24hrs. As stated before, any additional delays caused by things like rejections of shipments will be communicated clearly and early.

This is the "nutshell" of changes I've made or am making. Not the whole picture at all. I am always working on KWP, even if it looks like I'm not.

I'm sorry for my faults, I apologize for frustrations.

I'm moving KWP forward and we are gaining ground. By the end of next week, my subscribers should be receiving a box of books, including the latest hardcover. Any of you with questions feel free to email me: [email protected]

As I said before, I'm sure there are some who'll critique this word for word or otherwise try to pick things apart. That's expected. But it is what it is. It's an honest statement on the state of KWP and an accepting of my own failures as well as a plan to correct the issues.

Anyone wanting more information can always contact me through the email address above.

Sincerely,
Zach Powell
King's Way Press

[KING'SWAYPRESS]

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Additionally, the IRS also happened. I used to be like many of you. I was vocal in my political beliefs on FB (while always separating work/politics). This seems to have made a target of me with the IRS. In late 2013 (I think or early 2014), I got a notice that I was being audited on my taxes. It seems they tried to include my personal items sold on eBay and elsewhere as a way to shake me down for tens of thousands of dollars. In 2012 (the last of three years worth of audits), I had sold a lot of my personal collection off to make way for moving. I also sold some vehicles etc. These items weren't taxable as they were all sold at losses and they were personal, not business items. Yet, I had to spend the better part of a year tracking down and listing each of the following: ebay listing fees, paypal fees, final value fees, shipping costs, initial purchase price, etc on every single item sold in 3 years on eBay. Additionally, they were adding items my wife had sold that were personal items and her business together too. Basically, I spent every moment of every day that I wasn't at my day job on giving the IRS what they demanded. They wouldn't accept the generic eBay and paypal reports, they wanted line-by-line accounting for every item sold. Anyway, this took all of my efforts for the better part of a year. Bottom line at the end of it? IRS basically says, "My bad. You don't owe us anything..." I offer this NOT as an excuse, but as a real reason for why there was basically nothing for the space of a year from KWP. This was one of the most frustrating periods of my life and it was all for nought. I've since shut my private facebook account down, because really, who needs that kind of hassle?

Now, I'm sure most of you are well aware that small press publishers rarely make enough on their presses to have that be their only form of work. In addition to working on the press, I also work a job that commands 40-50hrs on a regular work week, quite a lot more on others. Sometimes it carries me places far from home. I made a fateful decision to hire someone I knew and thought I could trust to help with the press. Brought him on and he seemed to be doing well. I got called out of the country for the better part of a year. I brought Chris Mason on, introduced him to KWP collectors and authors and thought I'd made a great decision. During that time I was gone (and working 70hrs a week), it seems that Chris was doing little. I had turned over all direction of the press (Again, I STUPID mistake on my part as I should have at least monitored the in-box). I had weekly phone and messages with Chris, always getting the "things are going well" report. Supposedly the books were progressing, the orders were being filled and all was just fine. It wasn't until I returned home that I discovered the truth. Chris had done nothing. No work on the books, no communication with the customers or authors and no paying of the bills. I was literally ripped off in the worst possible ways. Worse yet, the computers I'd left in his care were riddled with porn and malware and had to be scrapped. Again, the blame for this decision fell upon me. In hindsight, I should have just notified the lifetime sub holders, my authors, and my customers that I would be taking a 6-12 month hiatus because of the work situation. The fallout couldn't have been worse than what it was.

Also, in trying out a new printer I was rooked. I have a sample of each book delivered to me BEFORE I will accept them to be printed. This printer delivered some very nice sample books. I gave them permission to run the books. About 6 weeks later, I received notice that the books were finished. I paid the remaining balance. No books arrived. Called, waited, no answer. No books. The company took my money and disappeared. Learned a valuable lesson about getting some "trade references" in advance the hard way.

So yes, a lot of life has happened along the way. But, still, I take full responsibility. None of this is meant as an excuse, just meant to add context.


5. I remember seeing quotes from Rick Hautala wherein he said, "If you want to make a small fortune in the small press, you need to start with a large fortune first."--No truer words have ever been spoken. Each of my titles costs me $15-$20 to produce when it's all said and done. I use only the best materials, the books are printed and bound here in the USA, and I don't cut corners. When I set KWP up, I knew it was going to cost me a lot. I never expected to see a profit for the first 10 years or so. That's just a fact. I find it odd that "Mr. Smith" and some others would persist in calling me a crook. I thought the purpose of being a crook was to profit? No, I haven't made a dime on KWP and including the money that was lost due to Chris and other pitfalls (like the printer who closed after taking $10k+ of my money). I've thrown quite a lot of cash at KWP and will continue to do so. KWP will NEVER close shop because I will continue to deliver books as promised in the beginning. Upon starting KWP, I set aside a certain portion of my yearly income dedicated to KWP. This money comes directly from my account into a reserve account. Within every 18-24 months, this money has built into enough to pay the print run for at least one hardcover title. That's why I said, KWP will NEVER go out of business. I won't happen. I made a promise to my lifetime subscribers and I made a promise to a very old friend that I will honor until my last breath is taken.

6. Speaking of last breaths, few know this (I think I shared this with a few collectors, not many) and I did not intend to disclose this here, but I will. I also suffered an unexpected heart attack last year. Scary stuff. Still ticking, taking better care of myself and expected to be fine.

7. Many reading this won't know what truly goes into a KWP book. We do it right and we do it well. Does it take more time sometimes for it to happen? Absolutely. But ask anyone who's ever held one of our books and you'll see what I mean. It's not a mantra. It's not propaganda. It's a deep commitment to books and feeling like a limited edition should be a limited edition. It's this commitment that has also frustrated my collectors as well as myself at times. Many of you reading this will be surprised to hear (although I've shared this with my collectors over our newsletters more than once), that I have had some titles reprinted as many as three times after rejecting them. We had one case where The Ghosts of Benevolence and another title looked fabulous. Then upon further inspection, some of the pages were bound upside down and backward. I sent the shipment back. This means we had to start from scratch on the whole process all three times. The second go around the gilding on the page edges looked odd. It looked more like someone took a silver sharpie and colored the page edges. REJECTED. The next time, everything looked good...until I looked deeper into the book...some of the pages bled off of the side. It's like the pages got turned a little off center in the printing process. The fourth time was a charm! Finally the books passed muster and were accepted. Every time I reject a book, it adds about 3-5 months to the process because we have to start from scratch. It's a process. It's a real bitch sometimes. It's also vital that if the book bears my logo that it be right. I just rejected the books on another title just last week. Took a box off the truck. Inspected it. Looked great on the outside. Looked good on the inside. Something about it just seemed off. Then it hit me. I pulled the headband back and the binding was glued, not sewn. We only use sewn bindings. Think Cemetery Dance. The sewn bindings just feel different. Sturdier. I compared another book, same thing. Sent the whole shipment back, return to sender. Not as ordered. Sorry won't fly. Not with me. Would it have been great to get another title out to assuage the anxious collector? Sure. But then it wouldn't be a KWP book, now would it? I know it's frustrating. I do. I get it. I also know that at least this aspect will NOT change. Never. Not at all.
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[KING'SWAYPRESS]

Okay. Time to clear some things up. I'm gonna do this once (already posted a response to most of this but it was nuked with the original threads). After this, some of these things won't ever be addressed by me again (like the Zach is Paul, Paul is Zach theory) because in the end, something a very smart publisher told me once about why he doesn't post on threads a lot holds true: People will believe what they want. Those dead set against you will likely remain so, those for you will remain so, and the undecided will largely stay that way. You can drive yourself crazy with things taken out of context, misquoted things, and explaining the same thing over and over again. Simple answers can be seen as rude, condescending, or evasive when not intended that way. So here goes.

Before we begin, those who are truly interested in remaining on top of KWP news should sign up for the newsletters and/or like us on Facebook (I'm keeping FB updated regularly now). Much of this has been addressed directly to our collectors and customers through those venues.

Here we go.

#1. I am not Paul Little. My name is Zach Powell. I am a long time friend of Paul Little. In fact when he started FMP we worked together at Barnes & Noble. I did most of the editing on his first title and my signature appears in the book. I also wrote a piece in the Dracula edition that FMP was set to release. My signature appears in those books as well and those signature pages were signed some 2-3 years before the press failed, as evidence by the print run being listed at 350 rather than the true 150 edition print run. Once again, to believe that we are the same person, you'd have to believe that in starting FMP, Paul planned on failing and that he made up an alt personality just for that purpose...nearly 3 years in advance. "Mr. Smith" who posted this conspiracy theory has been pushing this since KWP started. He also harangued and harassed Paul for years before he closed. He's not now, nor was he ever as customer of KWP. He also got so much wrong in his diatribe against KWP that it would be funny, if it wasn't so serious. I have no qualms at all about comments and opinions such as "KWP sucks" or "I didn't get my emails answered", "Takes to long to get books out", etc. That's all well and good. Slander and lies are not welcome.

2. Despite "Mr. Smith's" false claim that I was "forced" to honor FMP lifetime subs, nothing could be further from the truth. In fact, most of the lifetime sub holders were contacted by Paul ahead of time and told that they had the option to stay on for KWP. In fact, it was a prerequisite of Paul and an agreement that we made before KWP was ever formed that he would help me get some of the titles he'd already had in progress (like Frankenstein, Killer's Diary, Dracula, and The Skull Ring) out by helping with author contacts, artist agreements, etc. In return for getting a print ready book (KD) and the artwork/files, etc and the benefit of the prepaid author advances and prepaid art, I agreed to honor the lifetime subs and preorders. This was beneficial to all involved: myself, the customers, and Paul himself as it freed him to seek treatment for his illness while not having the burden of all of this hanging over him. As Captain Marvel said on his old thread, I willingly and cheerfully honored his old account with FMP. No questions asked and no one had to hold anyone's feet to the fire to make this happen.

3. When I started KWP, I wanted to build on the vision that Paul had for FMP. Despite his health problems and the bad business decisions that combined to kill the press, no one can dispute that he had a love for fine books and that The Wildman and Carmilla were some very, very nice offerings. I took what he started, lowered the print runs and added much more in the way of production values and "curb appeal" to the books. The end results are books I am extremely proud of. I can proudly say that there really no one offering the same type of books, with the same production values. Our limited edition books are comparable or surpass most press's lettered editions.

4. When I started KWP, I could never have envisioned some of the difficulties I encountered along the way, but I will say this: I've learned with each one. I also will point out that in my first communication to customers and lifetime subscribers I clearly stated that I wouldn't be holding to any specific timelines or artificial publishing dates. I guaranteed everyone who was a member that they'd get their books, even if it was only one a year or so. Unfortunately, and this is all my fault, I didn't hold to that policy after the success of the first couple of books. I now wish I had. Another policy that I wish I had kept in place was the policy of zero preorders. But alas, as the saying goes, sometime you're damned if you do and equally damned if you don't. I thought it was a good thing. I kept KWP plans under wraps from all but many of the former lifetime subscribers from FMP. I worked with Cemetery Dance to announce Killer's Diary. The book sold out in a day or so. That's when I found out about the flaw in the "no preorders" plan. People started sending me angry emails about how they would have liked to have ordered the book, but it sold out before they could order on. In retrospect, I should have held back a few copies for this purpose. Again, I made some mistakes. Then the conspiracy theorists, led by "Mr. Smith" went to work. Not only did the "Paul is Zach, Zach is Paul" conspiracy begin then, but I was also castigated for the "odd" circumstances of how KWP burst on the scene with no prior mention to the general public! But, guess what? From where I was standing, this is what I saw happening had I announced the press in a traditional way: Had I announced KWP before Killer's Diary was released, I would have been mired in the same things. "Can we trust this guy?", "Don't buy anything from him!" and all the rest for the 6-8 weeks before the book arrived. I thought it best to say, "Here I am and here is my first book!" instead. Even then, there were some on some message boards saying "Don't buy anything until you see the product!", even when the product was already out. So, yes, I made some mistakes, but you just can't please everyone. I seemed to have avoided one pitfall to trade it for another. I do have to say that I find the "Not a single Zach Powell lives in Georgia!" to be more than a little humorous. I happen to personally know another Zach Powell...in Georgia. A quick google search for "Zach Powell Georgia"" nets 35 listings.

Now here's two of my biggest mistakes: #1. Putting out publication timelines. and #2. Allowing preorders. Let me explain: My vision for KWP was to put out the best. Period. No rushing. No "I gotta get this out by February 5th because I promised I would!", no artificial timelines. Why? Because crap happens. A perfect example of this is Poker Night by Ray Garton. The book was 90% done when we announced it. Ray gave me an estimate of when the book would be done. Factoring in the time to edit/proof, I gave my customers an expected window of when it would be done. Guess what? Life happened. Ray got cancer. Then on top of that, the treatments caused him to become ill. He's been through hell. I can't really push a guy who's sick to get the book out. With that said, I'm looking forward to the book possibly more than you all. Like I said, like intervenes. Take Solomon's Seal and Silver from Steven Savile. Somehow, the signature pages keep ending up back in his hands. This has gone on for some time now. Needless to say, sending signature pages to Sweden and back is expensive, not to mention time consuming. Three tries later and the signature pages are back in his hands...again. In fact, we just discussed around Christmas waiting until the new year to try again. We didn't want the package to get lost in the shuffle again with the Christmas rush and the after Christmas returns rush. This can all be verified by Steve. I've been sitting on $20k in already printed books that are just waiting for these signature pages to be complete. And, while I've still been at fault for some issues, having $20k in finished books just sitting here took away $20k that I could have spent on other titles and getting them out. Again life happens.
***continued****

[St. Troy]

http://kwp-books.com/

Thanks.

The editions of Frankenstein and Dracula in particular look very nice, although I am curious as to the dimensions of those books (not that I need to know, as they are sold out and I wouldn't have room in the budget even if they weren't).

[Brian James Freeman]

I ordered through Cemetery Dance so it will go through them but I am glad to hear it is coming soon. Thanks.

I can't wait to see it, too! Should be a beautiful book!

Brian

[Martin]

Already out and shipped. If you have a sub or preorder, you'll be seeing it this week or next.

I ordered through Cemetery Dance so it will go through them but I am glad to hear it is coming soon. Thanks.

[KING'SWAYPRESS]

I have some pretty big reservations regarding KWP. There's quite a bit of controversy surrounding the company and it's current owner. However I do hope that these issues get resolved, as there is some prospective books that interest me, and I do know that they can make a good book. I have one Full Moon Press book, Carmilla, and it is really top notch. So Zach, the ball is in your court to uphold the quality of these books and have open and honest communication with customers new and old. I look forward reading what you have to say.

Yes, there was quite a bit of controversy. A little was legit, much was made up. A lot of it false and generated by this same "Mr. Smith" who posted the rant here. He's authored many such threads, in fact about 1-2 a year all over the web. All containing falsehoods and innuendo. I am addressing all in a much longer post. I won't go into much detail about this person, but his name's not Smith, he's never been a customer, he's not a subscriber and 99% of his post was false.

I appreciate that you like Carmilla. Can't take credit for it as it was an FMP title. I can tell you that if you think Carmilla was nice, you'll love our other titles. We basically took the production values Paul put into Carmilla and put them on steroids. Added in gilded page edges, more art, etc.

PM me and I'll send you a free "sample". Till then, I'm working on the rest of the response.

[KING'SWAYPRESS]

Hi Zach. It will be good to have your input. Do you have an estimate when the Limited editions of Ghosts of Benevolence will be released?

Already out and shipped. If you have a sub or preorder, you'll be seeing it this week or next.

[KING'SWAYPRESS]

Zach, your two lengthy PMs to me here @ the forum would be better served to post in this thread, so that other people who share my skepticism can read your responses to my earlier comments. I don't pretend to know the truth, nor do I have any money at risk whether or not your company succeeds; I have no horse in this race. I am simply someone who could have been a customer, but has chosen not to be due to a number of issues w/ your company and its history that make me uneasy, most of which have been revisited here and elsewhere. If you wish to assure other prospective customers that, in fact, all is well with KWP, I think you'd be better served doing so publicly than privately. Food for thought.

Working on it. I actually did type a rather lengthy response to the entire thread (took over 2 hrs). That was lost when the thread was nuked. It was in "moderator hold status" at the time. The only reason I PM'ed you was that at the time, the responses weren't going through and some of the misconceptions in your post concerned me.

[RonClinton]

Zach, your two lengthy PMs to me here @ the forum would be better served to post in this thread, so that other people who share my skepticism can read your responses to my earlier comments. I don't pretend to know the truth, nor do I have any money at risk whether or not your company succeeds; I have no horse in this race. I am simply someone who could have been a customer, but has chosen not to be due to a number of issues w/ your company and its history that make me uneasy, most of which have been revisited here and elsewhere. If you wish to assure other prospective customers that, in fact, all is well with KWP, I think you'd be better served doing so publicly than privately. Food for thought.

[Theli]

I have some pretty big reservations regarding KWP. There's quite a bit of controversy surrounding the company and it's current owner. However I do hope that these issues get resolved, as there is some prospective books that interest me, and I do know that they can make a good book. I have one Full Moon Press book, Carmilla, and it is really top notch. So Zach, the ball is in your court to uphold the quality of these books and have open and honest communication with customers new and old. I look forward reading what you have to say.

[Martin]

Thank you Dan. Since many people saw the old thread and the posts by someone pretending to be a lifetime subscriber (and yes, I know who he is and no he is not now, nor was he ever a KWP customer or subscriber), I will address some of the criticisms here, as there have been REAL concerns with KWP that are buried and obscured when one has to answer false charges. I will address these later and hopefully help clear some things up.

Zach Powell

Hi Zach. It will be good to have your input. Do you have an estimate when the Limited editions of Ghosts of Benevolence will be released?