I just needed to chime in here and point this out, because it needs saying:
Matt Drake runs a tight, professional organization (
http://www.spectrepress.com). He stayed in communication with me, told me what he wanted, told me how he wanted it and worked with me to get it into the format he needed. If there were delays, he told me why. If there was something that needed tweaking, he explained what it was. I never felt neglected by Matt, never was stonewalled, and he never disappeared when bad news reared its ugly head. But by far, this is what clinches it:
Matt paid me. For the amount he promised. On time. In other words, Matt did what he said he was going to do.
Another example: Christian Walker runs Scrollworks Press (
http://www.scrollworkspress.com). He tells you what he wants, he tells you when he needs it, and he provides just enough information to let you do the job but not so much that he's cramping your creativity. I've worked with Christian on two occassions. Both times, it ended with a check. Scrollworks isn't a large print magazine, but it's run professionally and consistently.
Christian also happens to be my first printed credit. I cherish that credit because I was paid for it for the first time. I have it framed on my wall. Thank you Christian.
Matt and Christian are excellent examples of people who keep their eye on publishing done right. This is, unfortunately, not always the case.
Matt's recent article deals with e-publishing. Until I worked for Matt, I swore it off permanently. I've signed contracts with no less than three different PDF-publishers, only to see them collapse under a complete lack of vision, direction, and professionalism. Part of the reason PDF-publishers have a bad name is because for every Matt and Christian, there are the littered corpses of a thousand forgotten online publishers with their next big product.
The print folks aren't excluded of course. I've come across the same problems in the print industry too -- they're just not as obvious to Joe Consumer. On the Internet, everyone can hear you scream.
Freelance writers -- if you get the chance, work with Spectre Press and Scrollworks Press. They won't steer you wrong. Both have shown me that business ethics can make a world of difference.
Matt, Christian, it was a pleasure working with both of you.
Mike "Talien" Tresca
http://www.retromud.org/talien
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