DV Press: A Publisher That Cheats
Over the years I've had many sub-optimal interactions with publishers having to do with editorial direction and the strength of marketing plans. But none of this has stooped to the level of DV Press, a small producer of instructional DVDs whose business model appears at least partially to be based on cheating its authors. (I am not supplying a link because the DV Press site is currently not responding.)
I'm spurred to go public with this because I recently received a mass email from Eric Rockenbach, who owns DV Press, calling for new authors to produce material relating to the 2005 release of Visual Studio. If you are considering working with this company, you should definitely regard my story as cautionary.
In part, the email states:
"DV Press is signing author trainers for their VS.NET 2005 titles. DV Press has 16 available titles on Amazon, most of which hold extremely high customer ratings. ... DV Press is quickly growing into the number one leader in video related courseware...DV Press DOES NOT pay advancements [sic]. We have found that in the past authors who require advancements do not put the required effort towards the title and give no support in marketing and self promotion. These titles typically perform the worst. We guarantee that if you are confident about your abilities both on camera and your immediate marketing abilities your title will do extremely well."
Almost two years ago I authored two DVDs for Eric (one about C# programming, the other about Javascript programming). I've never claimed to be a telegenic personality, and these DVDs are certainly the victim of poor direction and production values, but you can (if you want) judge this for yourself. In fairness, it is also true that my discs have not sold particularly well.
Since authoring the discs, my relationship with Eric has been one of dealing with his bounced checks and prodding him for my past-due payments. He's generally had some "dog ate my homework" excuse, although up until recently he has also eventually paid.
I think the most recent dialog speaks for itself:
Harold: "I am really upset to get this email in light of the lack of statements, royalties, and responsiveness from you. As I've said before, I am really disappointed personally. I do think it is in your best interests to keep your commitments to me if you plan to continue publishing in this area."
Eric: "We have moved into a new space and things are starting to settle. This is a business and of course it will honor the royalties. Right now we are 30 days late on your royalties payment… last quarter for instance Baker Taylor was over 120 days late on their Pos. This is the nature of the business from what I have learned Harold. Your titles aren’t exactly hot sellers either ranking at the bottom of our list, yet I seem to get the most amount of negative energy from you.
I would like to try to keep this as professional as possible, neither of us had an ideal experience with the other party but we still must continue doing business with each other."
Harold: "Your assertion that being late with royalties is comparable to payment terms on a merchant account is, of course, false. Every major publisher I have worked with have been prompt with their royalty payments. If you want to keep our relationship professional, then it is incumbent upon you to honor the terms of your contract.
BTW - obviously I am disappointed in the sales of my DVDs (although the Amazon comments haven't been bad). However, the sales rankings on Amazon of my two titles are 16, 837 and 20, 260 (as of today), not very significantly less than the Neal Ford Java title you tout as one of your good performers at 11, 532.
Eric, with a bounced check from you, a check for taxi fare that the cab driver wouldn't honor, and consistently late statements (that only show up after prodding), I don't see how you can blame me for being somewhat negative. As far as I know, I've lived up to all my commitments to you, including promoting your titles (for example, see my web sites).
So get off it, and honor your contract. In my opinion, until you can do this basic thing (and, yes, you always do have a good excuse) you have a heck of a nerve soliciting new authors."
Eric: "I guess we threw professional out the window with this last message. I will be more then happy to show you Neal’s rankings. Amazon numbers flucate daily and for a long stretch Neal’s titles were in the 700-900 rank below the 1000 mark. I would really enjoy a more professional tone with you. This is one of six businesses I own and for me to spend this wasted time bickering with you is pointless. I have honored the contract to date and I will continue to do so.
I never wanted to indicate this in previous emails, but you have driven me to it. Your tongue is hanging out of your mouth for the majority of the video giving a “fruity” appearance to most viewers. Everyone who has actually ranked your DVDs besides you, your wife and myself have given them 1 star. I know you are a very talented author and I’m not denying this fact, but some things don’t translate well into video.
Your royalties will be paid within thirty days after the quarter has ended. I will stop responding to your emails if you continue in this tone."
Eric (in a separate email): "Your royalty check for $172.80 has just been sent out. This includes 43 sales of the JavaScript title and 53 copies of the C#.NET title."
In light of my past experience with Eric, I'm not surprised that this check has not, in fact, shown up. I have no idea what his six businesses might be (or why someone who claims to have so many business interests can't honor his commitments). I do not believe his assertion about all the positive Amazon reviews for my DV Press titles, but find it interesting that he admits to having written false reviews.
Unfortunately, the economics of the matter ($800 per year of dwindling royalties) do not permit me to sue him in Texas. However, I am posting this so that other potential authors who research Eric and his outfit will be warned.
Posted by Harold Davis at September 8, 2005 10:13 AM
