New Chapter in the Chronicle/Blurb Story...

You may have seen it reported recently that Chronicle Books was forming a partnership with print-on-demand publisher Blurb.com in which Chronicle would refer writers to the service and in turn receive a fee from Blurb.

Now Publishers Lunch quotes Sarah Williams at Chronicle saying that information cited in Newsweek was not correct: "Chronicle Books will not receive a referral fee for recommending Blurb.com to aspiring authors or artists," she said.

She goes on to say: "Chronicle will provide a landing page from our website to which our editors may refer authors or artists whose works they feel are a good match for Blurb.com. For their
part, Blurb.com will offer us discoveries they might make in terms of online trends, notably how consumers are finding books online. There are many self-publishing options in the marketplace, though far fewer for illustrated book authors and artists. As an independent illustrated book publisher in San Francisco, Chronicle Books felt an affinity for the locally-based
Blurb.com and the quality of the product it is offering the public."

We can't help but wonder here at the Writer's Digest Books office whether Newsweek got it wrong or if Chronicle changed the terms of their partnership after the fact due to reactions of the writing/publishing world. It makes me uneasy to think that a reputable publisher like Chronicle would enter into such a deal, referring rejected writers to a self-publishing outlet for a fee. Even without the fee it still feels a icky.