Dorrance Publishing Company
| Status | Active |
|---|---|
| Founded | 1920 |
| Founder | Gordon Dorrance |
| Country of origin | United States |
| Headquarters location | Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania |
| Publication types | Books, ebooks |
| Fiction genres | Fiction, non-fiction, poetry, how-to, business, children’s literature, coffee table books |
| Imprints |
I-Proclaim Books Red Lead Press Rose Dog Books Whitmore Publishing Company[1] |
| Official website | http://www.dorrancepublishing.com/ |
Dorrance Publishing Company, Inc. is a Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania–based self-publishing company. The company publishes both traditional printed books as well as ebooks.
History
The company's website reports that they were founded by Gordon Dorrance in 1920. The Catalogue of Copyright Entries for that year lists "Dorrance & company, inc." publishing works The Pocket Chesterfield and Broken Shackles.[2] Dorrance set up the company after a work he was editing did not complete publication with Scribners.[3]
They have been accredited by the Better Business Bureau (BBB) since 1995.[1] The BBB lists them as having started in June 1989, and also operating under the alternate business names I-Proclaim Books, Red Lead Press, Rose Dog Books, and Whitmore Publishing Company.[1]
Services
Dorrance Publishing offers book production, promotion, distribution, and ghostwriting services.
After publication, authors’ books are made available through the Dorrance Publishing bookstore, and may be sold through other large-scale book retailers, including Google Books, Amazon, and Barnes & Noble.
Activities
In the 1990s, the company held four annual "Contemporary Poets of America and Britain" contests, which it advertised as awarding 100 cash prizes and publication in a printed anthology of winning poems, with non-winning entries "published at the author's request with purchase of a copy of the anthology."[4][5]
Accusations of vanity publishing and complaints
Dorrance Publishing has been called a vanity press.[6][7] However, it lacks the most deceptive practices of the worst vanity presses, as it does not attempt to hide its charges and makes no claims of selecting clients based on potential for commercial success.[8][9] Reviewers who obtained a standard Dorrance contract report significantly higher costs to the author than competitors in the self-publishing business, and cast doubt on whether this results in a higher quality of service for prospective authors.[3][10]
As of January 2014, the Better Business Bureau listed 43 complaints about the company in the preceding three years.[1]
Selected published works
- Navajo Code Talkers, by Doris A. Paul
- 1960 Pittsburgh Pirates Day by Day: A Special Season, an Extraordinary Postseason, by Rick Cushing, was profiled in Pittsburgh Magazine
- God’s Plan for Peons, by Susan D. Criddle, was featured in the Cecil Whig newspaper
- The Juggler, by Phillip D. Farrara, was featured on a local ABC affiliate
References
- 1 2 3 4 "Dorrance Publishing Company Inc Review". Better Business Bureau Accredited Business Directory. Better Business Bureau. Retrieved January 12, 2014.
- ↑ "Catalogue of Copyright Entries 1920". Library of Congress. Retrieved February 2, 2015.
- 1 2 "Dorrance Publishing - Reviewed". The Independent Publishing Magazine. Retrieved February 2, 2014.
- ↑ "Poetry contest set". The Catoosa County News. June 16, 1993. p. 1A.
- ↑ Reynolds, Jasper (September 8, 1993). "Newsome is poet contest semifinalist". The Catoosa County News. p. 9A.
- ↑ "Dorrance / Whitmore / RoseDog Books / Red Lead Press / I-Proclaim". Retrieved July 15, 2014.
- ↑ "Stealth Vanity Publishers". Retrieved July 15, 2014.
- ↑ "Dorrance Publishing Co. Inc. :: FAQ". Retrieved July 15, 2014.
- ↑ "Blurred Distinctions: Vanity Publishing vs. Self-Publishing". Retrieved July 15, 2014.
- ↑ Levine, Mark (2011). The Fine Print of Self-Publishing. Retrieved February 2, 2014.