In 1996 I wrote a book about the life of Jesus and the origin of Christianity (The Rise and Fall of Jesus) and because I could get no publisher interested, published it myself under the imprint Explicit Books. I printed only 1000 copies and tried to market it and get it reviewed. It was reviewed by a few people but not by anyone who seemed to have read and understood its message. Almost all those copies were sold and it is now out-of-print.
By 2006, the need for a one-off print run was made unnecessary by the emergence of print-on-demand (POD) printing, sometimes called ‘new media’, where a publisher prints copies as they are ordered. My brother pointed out that he was making use of such a publisher to reprint one of his books. So I approached that publisher (WritersPrintShop Ltd) run by one Chas Jones, known personally to my brother. He agreed, for a fee to publish the book, which I had by then revised slightly, correcting some errors, and it was first published by him in 2009, being advertised on the Amazon website. That edition is still available.
However, the only statement I received (dated 14 March 2011) covered up to the first half of 2010 but with a promise that the payment for the second half of 2010 would be made 'within the next 6 months'. I heard nothing more. So it seems that I am due about five years of statements and, hopefully, royalties. I have no explicit contract and attempts to contact Chas Jones have usually been unsuccessful. My brother has had the same experience and has lately considered legal action against Chas Jones. We know his address in Oxfordshire, but letters go unanswered, as do emails. On 13 October 2015, WPS Ltd was dissolved at Chas’s request, but we think he will continue selling books as a sole trader under the WPS imprint. A search on Amazon’s website shows that WPS is the publisher of almost 100 books. So one wonders what all these authors think about him, especially if they have had the same experience as my brother and me. I have only been able to contact a few such authors.
Chas Jones’s attention seems set on archaeology, especially to do with excavations on the site of the Battle of Fulford in York. He is the author of a book about it. His behaviour as a publisher is disgraceful.
If anyone reading this has been or is involved with WPS or knows anything about Chas Jones, I would like them to contact me.
By 2006, the need for a one-off print run was made unnecessary by the emergence of print-on-demand (POD) printing, sometimes called ‘new media’, where a publisher prints copies as they are ordered. My brother pointed out that he was making use of such a publisher to reprint one of his books. So I approached that publisher (WritersPrintShop Ltd) run by one Chas Jones, known personally to my brother. He agreed, for a fee to publish the book, which I had by then revised slightly, correcting some errors, and it was first published by him in 2009, being advertised on the Amazon website. That edition is still available.
However, the only statement I received (dated 14 March 2011) covered up to the first half of 2010 but with a promise that the payment for the second half of 2010 would be made 'within the next 6 months'. I heard nothing more. So it seems that I am due about five years of statements and, hopefully, royalties. I have no explicit contract and attempts to contact Chas Jones have usually been unsuccessful. My brother has had the same experience and has lately considered legal action against Chas Jones. We know his address in Oxfordshire, but letters go unanswered, as do emails. On 13 October 2015, WPS Ltd was dissolved at Chas’s request, but we think he will continue selling books as a sole trader under the WPS imprint. A search on Amazon’s website shows that WPS is the publisher of almost 100 books. So one wonders what all these authors think about him, especially if they have had the same experience as my brother and me. I have only been able to contact a few such authors.
Chas Jones’s attention seems set on archaeology, especially to do with excavations on the site of the Battle of Fulford in York. He is the author of a book about it. His behaviour as a publisher is disgraceful.
If anyone reading this has been or is involved with WPS or knows anything about Chas Jones, I would like them to contact me.