LETHE PRESS

Founded by Steve Berman in 2001, Lethe Press is an LGBTQ-focused independent publisher "specializing in the strange, the eerie, and the uncanny". In a publishing environment where small presses come and go like mushrooms, it has been in business for nearly two decades, and has garnered awards and starred reviews for its books.

Unfortunately, it has recently also been garnering complaints.

Writer Beware has heard from multiple individuals who cite a variety of problems at Lethe, including contract breaches in the form of unpaid royalties (for both authors and editors) and late royalty payments and statements. Contractors (such as audio narrators) have also gone unpaid. Royalty reports I've seen are seriously lacking; among other things, they fail to state sales numbers for ebooks, showing only gross income. 

Poor communication also seems to be a major problem. Nearly everyone who contacted me told me that they have had difficulty getting Berman to respond to questions and emails--or in some cases, to respond at all. Several authors told me that when audio versions of their books were released, Berman didn't let them know. More troublingly, some writers cite retaliatory actions by Berman--for instance, taking a writer's book abruptly out of print after the writer voiced concerns, or sending angry and/or belittling emails (I've seen examples). In one case, Berman posted a negative review of a writer's (non-Lethe) book years after their dispute was resolved (I don't want to out the author so I'm not linking to this, but I've confirmed that it exists).

Although the complaints are recent, the issues--particularly the problems with payment--go back years. Unlike many small presses that face a sudden eruption of complaints, it doesn't look to me as if Lethe is on the verge of failing; I think it's more a matter of long-standing issues reaching critical mass. 

When I reached out to Berman for comment, he referenced the money challenges all small presses face.

Alas, like many small presses, Lethe Press operates on a small and limited cashflow and budget. And some authors have seen unforeseen delays with royalty statements and payments. I do try and do my best to make payments as fast as possible. Should any author request the dissolving of the business relationship, I return rights and pay any and all royalties due immediately. Yes, there has been some rancor, but many of our authors will attest that we publish in good faith and try and make amends.

If there are certain individuals who feel as if I have taken advantage of them, please let them know I am willing to pay them immediately.

Lethe authors, take note. And if you do contact Berman, let me know how you fare.

UPDATE 8/25/20: I'm still hearing from Lethe authors reporting non-payment. So the situation doesn't seem to be changing.

There's a Facebook group for Lethe authors: Survivors of Lethe. Members are sharing experiences and updates.

SEVENTH STAR PRESS

Seventh Star Press is a speculative fiction publisher founded in 2008 by Steven Zimmer. (Zimmer also runs a number of related enterprises, including the Imaginarium Convention and Seventh Star Studios, which develops TV/film and gaming properties.)

On June 6, Seventh Star author Frank Hall posted disturbing allegations to Facebook. Among them: allegations of harassment by Zimmer, as well as royalty payment issues.

The post has attracted hundreds of comments, both from defenders of Zimmer and from individuals who say they've had experiences similar to what's described in Frank's post. Sadly, there's also a lot of victim-shaming, and some of the defenses are vicious. This may explain why, even though I and others have actively invited contact, I've heard from only a handful of Seventh Star writers (who do cite what sounds like a toxic culture). I wish it weren't so common for small presses to develop a kind of cultlike atmosphere, where anyone who steps out of line is persecuted and those who've had bad experiences are too afraid of retaliation to speak up.

In late June, Frank Hall received this, from Zimmer's lawyer. 

The cc's, which I've redacted, are to one of the individuals who shared their experience on Frank's Facebook post, and another who shared the post itself--which seems pretty random, given the number of comments on the post. None of the three have so far complied with the letter's demands.

For more coverage, see Jason Sanford's Genre Grapevine post, which discusses the recent allegations as well as criticism leveled against Zimmer for his defense of right-wing troll Tommy Robinson.