Xulon Press vs. Publishing Options – Beware of Christian Claims & Xulon Press Promises & Publicity

Don’t be duped by Xulon Press & Salem Communications Christian claims & empty promises.

Xulon Press sells an illusion of publicity & media accessibility that it can’t back up. Xulon Press & Salem Communications failed Paul F Davis author of 4 books.<br>

http://www.PaulFDavis.com<br&gt;

RevivingNations@yahoo.com<br>

Xulon Press, a Christian book publisher, provides 10 reasons to choose a publisher on their website – helpful information indeed when considering any publisher. The publisher owned by Salem Communications gives authors some guidelines, but fails to fulfill many of their own promises to its authors.<br>

Author Paul F Davis published 4 books with Xulon Press and gives his opinion in this true & false assessment below.<br>

10 Guidelines to Measure a Publisher By<br>

EXPERIENCE: Xulon Press claims to have published more than 3,900 Christian books since 1999. Title by title, they say they are larger than any other Christian book publisher. That is highly questionable when you consider enormous Christian publishers like Zondervan, Thomas Nelson, and Creation House. I’d like to know how many of Xulon’s books sold more than 100 copies?<br>

AFFORDABLE: For as little as $999 you can get published! If you do your homework when it comes to print on demand (POD) publishing, authors can actually get published for a third of the cost Xulon offers. Therefore $999 is not all that affordable. As to Xulon’s assertion about no “hidden fees” that might be so, but certainly there are flawed promises about publicity and press releases that go unfulfilled. What authors expect and what authors get greatly differs. Xulon’s “proven, time-tested ways to distribute and market your book” are very weak and feeble. I have published 4 books with Xulon and none of their marketing and distribution efforts produced for me.<br>

REPUTATION: It’s important that you find a book publisher you can trust. Well that’s quite obvious. Yet just because someone claims to be Christian or a big Christian company does not make them to be trustworthy. Hitler also claimed to be Christian. Owned by Salem Communications, which Xulon Press claims to be one of the country’s largest faith-based publishing and communications organizations, it is interesting that Xulon Press could not produce in their publicity package for any of my 4 books a single radio interview.<br>

http://www.PaulFDavis.com<br&gt;

RevivingNations@yahoo.com<br>

Yet they sold the illusion on their website that you could get on Oprah or Larry King if authors used their publicity package. Hogwash! Salem Communications and Xulon Press together claim to be connected to more than 100 Christian radio stations, a cornucopia of Christian magazines, and more than 40 million monthly online page-views representing the largest faith-based audience on the Internet. Ironically and curiously, I as an author with Xulon Press never received a single radio interview or magazine article from Salem Communications promoting my books Xulon Press published .<br>

I can assure you the quality of my books content is noteworthy as by reason of my own publicity and hard work I was able to get radio interviews across the country (without any of Xulon’s help – for such help never came, though was falsely promised) and even radio interviews with several outstanding syndicated radio show hosts including Playboy Radio for 45 minutes about my book Adultery 101.<br>

As for Xulon Press and Salem however, their promises about radio stations and multiple magazines are empty promises that never delivered. Authors therefore should not be falsely seduced by such because Xulon Press is just selling assumptions as they are in the business of selling books. Their publicity services are the worst I’ve ever paid for.<br>

QUALITY: Xulon Press does print high-quality hardcover and paperback editions on a trade-quality cream-white paper and a cover stock that is UV coated for a sleek look that adds durability and longevity to your books.<br>

SPEED: Xulon promises you’ll be a published author in less than 90 days; then we can print your book in less than 60 seconds. A word of caution however is unless you submit everything according to Xulon’s specifications, Xulon won’t budge when it comes to your back cover layout (that is without a fee). Xulon wants it’s authors to submit no more than 300 words for the back cover. I once wanted to change the picture on the back cover and they tried to charge me $75 to do so! Thankfully upon refusing they waived the fee, but it was a mini-battle that was less than pleasant.<br>

YOU KEEP YOUR RIGHTS: Xulon lets you keep 100% of the rights to your book. If another publisher comes along and wants to publish your book, you are free to cancel your agreement with them anytime. This agreeably is a good thing for authors, but I have yet to try to do it. When that time comes if anything changes, I shall modify this article.<br>

DISTRIBUTION: Xulon claims to work with book distributors and retailers worldwide. They say your book will be available to 25,000 bookstores and for sale on the world’s biggest Internet sites including Amazon.com, Target.com, Borders.com, BarnesandNoble.com, and many others. True! Xulon does get your book listed with the above websites, for which I commend them. That’s a good thing for authors. I sure would like to know who the “many others” are by name.<br>

100% ROYALTIES: We are the only publisher who gives you a 100% royalty rate on copies sold to bookstores. Unlike other publishers, who keep up to 75% of your royalty, we give it all back to you.<br>

That is a plus for authors however the royalty check I received only amounted to $64 from Xulon Press for my 4 books – which is reason for concern. I recently received a letter from another Xulon author who also has yet to receive her royalty check. A third Xulon author wrote me telling me they felt they were overcharged and currently disputing some matters.<br>

Considering many of the executives running Xulon Press were trained and used to work for Creation House Publishers, lets compare apples to oranges.  I published 2 books with Creation House and always get more timely and larger royalty payments from Creation House than I do from Xulon with whom I published 4 books. You would think my royalty payments from Xulon would be larger, but it’s the reverse as my royalty checks from Creation House have been three figures versus Xulon’s two.<br>

HUGE WHOLESALE DISCOUNTS: Each time you purchase copies of your book we give you a HUGE wholesale discount of up to 70% off the retail price of your book. Up to….is always a clever way to say something from a sales perspective. Up to does not always mean you get it. “Up to” means at any given point in time you might randomly be able to. Certainly a 70% discount is good, but usually you have to buy a substantial quantity of books to apply for such a sizeable discount.<br>

I like this department at Xulon because their shipping department actually answers the phone. I suppose when a sale is involved this warrants immediate attention. <br>

PERSONAL ATTENTION: Xulon claims they are “here for you by telephone or e-mail whenever you need help or have a question.” My experience however has been that Xulon communicates best by email and is very good via correspondence. Via telephone I found rarely did they ever answer the telephone. That says a lot considering I published 4 books with them. POD publishing is such that other publishers like Publish America don’t ever answer their phones either and this is problematic for authors with questions needing to be answered. So at least Xulon is good about answering emails, which I found to be way better than trying to get through by phone.<br>

As a Xulon author I just want every author to get a fair shake and know the full details of the publishing agreement and with whom they are dealing. I can suggest some better publishing options for sure for the price and poor publicity offered by Xulon. Don’t buy the lie and swallow assumptions when publishing your prized book.<br>

If however you want a quick Christian publisher and aren’t worried about spending a little, go with Xulon and come to me for your publicity needs. <br>

Paul F Davis – author of “Supernatural Fire”; “Adultery 101”; “Are You Ready For True Love?”; and “Poems That Propel The Planet” all published with Xulon Press<br>

http://www.PaulFDavis.com<br&gt;

RevivingNations@yahoo.com<br>

Paul F. Davis is a worldwide minister who has touched over 50 countries & 6 continents building bridges cross-culturally and empowering people throughout the earth to live their dreams!<br>

Paul is the author of 14 books. Thanks to his own genius and publicity, Paul has appeared on Oprah & Friends, Fox News Radio, and Playboy Radio among many other shows to promote his books.<br>

Paul builds dreams, transcends limitations, and reconciles nations.<br>

http://www.PaulFDavis.com<br&gt;

RevivingNations@yahoo.com<br>

Contact Paul for a book consultation if you are a serious author willing to invest in your future. Knowledge is power, time is money and your life’s work is precious. Design a publicity package that will produce for your book and maximize your message.<br>

Paul’s primary passion is writing and international speaking, but will consider helping a few promisng authors with projects of interest who pay him well.<br>

Paul is the author of 14 books emowering people to love passionately & live fearlessly.<br>

http://www.PaulFDavis.com<br&gt;

RevivingNations@yahoo.com <br>

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What Do Google and Saddam Have in Common? What Can Google Learn from National Geographic?

Dr. Trita Parsi (President of National Iranian American Council) and Babak Talebi wrote on article on May 14, 2008 titled What Do Google and Saddam Have in Common? originally published in The Huffington Post worthy of our time and attention.

It seems Google has a funny way of doing business — one that involves muddying politics in the Middle East. In recent months, the organization has taken the unprecedented step to rename internationally recognized bodies of water. Google Earth has begun using the controversial term “Arabian Gulf” to the body of water traditionally and internationally identified as the “Persian Gulf.”

Much is in a name as a name reveals an intended purpose and ideological persuasion.

In the Middle East, nothing is just a name. The Hebrews name their children intentionally using names that carry meaning and invoke their desirable destiny for each child.  With more than 180,000 US troops in this unstable region, being oblivious to the politics of geographical renaming is dangerous.

Historically, the accuracy of the term Persian Gulf is undisputed. Several legal documents from the United Nations as well as the United States Board of Geographic Names confirm the legitimacy of the term, as do millennia of classical history. For example, the ancient Greeks called the Persian Gulf, “Sinus Persicus,” the Romans called it “Mare Persicum,” and the Arabs called it, “Bahr al-Farsia.”

The political campaign to change the name Persian Gulf to the “Arabian Gulf” began approximately 50 years ago, as part of a pan-Arab strategy aimed at diminishing the status of non-Arab influences in the Middle East, including that of Iran and Israel.

It is a term whose very purpose has been to create divisions in an already divided region. Egyptian President Gamal Abdel Nasser used it to rally the Arab masses against Israel and Iran. A decade later, Saddam Hussein used it to mobilize the Arabs in the war against Iran. Today, the term is frequently used by radicals and militants in the Middle East — again, with the aim to create divisions and fuel conflict.

Google now has the dubious distinction of joining Nasser and Saddam Hussein in this political campaign.

In February 2008, the National Iranian American Council (NIAC) sent a letter to Google’s CEO, Dr. Eric E. Schmidt, to explain the political background of the term and request that Google refrain from entering into the politics of geographical renaming and let the Persian Gulf remain the Persian Gulf.

More than three months later, Google has yet to formally respond to NIAC’s letter. In fact, the closest response NIAC has received is an ambiguous April 8 blog post on Google’s Public Policy Blog: “As the publishers of a geographic reference tool, we believe that Google should not choose sides in international geopolitical disputes. For this reason, we’ve chosen to implement a uniform policy of “Primary Local Usage.”
But what exactly is “Primary Local Usage”? And what is Google’ threshold of measurement?

Google defines its current policy of primary local usage as a combination of three separate markers (primacy, commonality, and locality) that they believe help Google avoid choosing “sides in international geopolitical disputes.”

According to a post on their public policy blog, the primacy marker means that out of each possible name only the most common name(s) for each body of water will be used. As for the commonality or the frequency of its use, a name must be widespread and not subject to arbitrary government renaming. Their final qualifier is the input of the neighboring nations that have a “stake” in the body of water; meaning that the deciding factor will be that neighboring nations all have input in potential names.

Although Google claims that this method allows for an “optimal combination of neutrality, objectivity, and legitimacy,” this unusual and uncharacteristically amorphous standard counteracts any “sensitivity” Google had hoped to convey.

In fact, it makes Google the very political tool it claims it seeks to avoid becoming.

In defense of its methods, Google has said that its safeguards will prevent a ruler from naming “the Pacific Ocean after her mother,” by requiring any potential name be commonly accepted by the general populace. Contrary to Google’s purported intentions, however, this policy actually opens the door for politically motivated geographical renaming.

By bypassing traditional academic sources, Google has turned itself into an enabler of those who would use name disputes to fuel conflict.

Had Google Earth existed in 1980 when Saddam Hussein first attempted to use the label “Arabian Gulf” as a way to rally support for invading Iran, it would have embraced the Iraqi dictator’s policy. By Google’s standards, Hussein’s arbitrary renaming would be (and is) a justifiable manipulation of geographical naming for political and divisive goals.

In fall 2004, the National Geographic Society (NGS) made a similar misstep by using the term Arabian Gulf for the Persian Gulf; but after a campaign led by the National Iranian American Council, the NGS recognized the folly of getting involved in the politics of geographical renaming and corrected their mistake in their 8th Edition maps.

Google could learn a thing or two from the NGS’s sensibility.

http://www.niacouncil.org/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=1116&Itemid=2

International speaker and author of United States of Arrogance Paul F Davis interviewed Dr. Trita Parsi at the National Iranian American Council headquarters in 2008 discussing for an-hour-and-a-half foreign policy in the Middle East and most importantly between the U.S. and Iran. That video can be obtained by writing RevivingNations@yahoo.com (or) gmail.com

http://www.PaulFDavis.com

Paul F. Davis is a world-changing leadership & diversity speaker who has touched over 50 countries & 6 continents building bridges cross-culturally and empowering people throughout the earth to live their dreams!

Paul is the author of 14 books. Paul has appeared on numerous internationally broadcast radio shows from Oprah & Friends to Fox News Radio to talk about conflict resolution, peacemaking, foreign policy, and diplomacy. Playboy Radio host Tiffany Granath calls Paul an “awesome” relational coach and recommends his books on love, dating, and sexuality.

Academically outstanding Davis was trained in transformative mediation & conflict resolution (Hofstra Law School); strategic negotiations (Harvard Business School & U. of Washington); advanced interrogation (Reid & Associates founders of the polygraph); and NLP & Life Coaching (NLP & Coaching Institute of California).

Paul humorously and elegantly transforms individuals and organizations.

Paul’s organization Dream-Maker Inc. builds dreams, transcends limitations, & reconciles nations.

Paul worked at Ground Zero in NYC during 9/11; helped rebuild a home at the tsunami epicenter; comforted victims of genocide in Rwanda; spoke to leaders in East Timor during the war; inspired students & monks in Myanmar; promoted peace & reconciliation in Pakistan; and has been so deep into the bush of rural Africa where villagers had never before seen a white man.

Paul empowers people to love passionately and live fearlessly.

http://www.PaulFDavis.com

RevivingNations@yahoo.com