Lurking predators are always coming up with new publishing scams.
by Anne R. Allen
I read a quote recently from an indie author who said he felt sorry for new writers who fall for scammy vanity publishers — because they obviously have no writer friends to clue them in.
It is true that networking with other authors is the best way to stay safe from scammers in this business. You can usually get by with a little help from your friends.
Unfortunately, the latest batch of scams are calculated to turn friends’ faces and familiar names into weapons to use against you.
Here are some of the nasty ways they’re trying to con you.
1) Riding the Coattails of Publishing Influencers
If you Google “Anne R. Allen,” about halfway down the SERP (Search Engine Results Page) — before a link to this blog — is an ad for a notorious vanity publisher. They’ve obviously used my name as a keyword for their ads.
Flattering, maybe, but also hella creepy.
And recently I saw a link to a “best websites for indie authors” list, and went to check it out. The first few links were to well known publishing blogs like Writer Unboxed, Nathan Bransford, and Jane Friedman. But sandwiched in between the real influencers were links to vanity presses. In other words, the “Best Websites” list was simply a con to steer newbies to scammy vanity presses. Most of the vanity sites on the list are owned or spawned by Author Solutions.
This clever ploy was designed to make the scammers look legit. Plus putting trusted names in there got real influencers to share the list — and put the vanity press names in front of their sizable readerships.
Always check out a publisher with Writer Beware, and ask your writer friends what they’ve heard about it.
2) Vanity Publishers Posing as Big Five Publishers.
Never underestimate the chutzpa of publishing scammers.
One of the Philippines companies that broke off from the Author Solutions scam machine has been posing as “Hachette US” and may be masquerading as other members of the Big Five.
Pretending to be these real major publishing companies, the scammers offer writers freelance jobs that don’t exist.
Hachette has put up this alert on its Facebook page.
“Scam Alert – We have recently become aware that some people are receiving fraudulent messages from a scam artist posing as Hachette HR using a fake email address. The impersonator has been sending fake employment letters using Hachette’s company name and logo to trick people into believing that they are interviewing and hiring job candidates or contracting freelance work on Hachette’s behalf. This is a scam. If you receive any such email, we encourage you to report the phishing attempt to your email provider and the FBI’s Internet Crime Complaint Center.
3) Fraudster Marketing Companies that Use Names of Respected Publishing Professionals.
Mass-spamming the general public with press releases or tweets is worth absolutely nothing. But companies are charging $1000s a month to do just that. Spam is worthless for selling books.
And these people don’t hesitate to use fraud to sell their “services.”
One scammer has been masquerading as a branch of the famous Donald Maass Literary Agency.
Here’s what Mr. Maass had to say:
“Writer friends, we’d like to alert you to an outfit called Techbooks Media in Wyoming, which has been using the name of a highly respected agent at my company to solicit writers for expensive “marketing” services and offering a contract of “representation” by a Literary Agent. If you should receive such a solicitation, be aware it is not from Jennifer Jackson of the Donald Maass Literary Agency based in New York. Our agents are members of AAR, Inc. and do not solicit or charge up-front fees.”
For more on this see Victoria Strauss’s February 7th post, The Impersonation Game.
4) Boxed Sets That Promise USA Today Bestseller Status
I warned people about boxed set scams last year, because there were some that devolved into toxic cults, but there are new scammers in town, and charities have been ripped off as well as authors.
One particular scammer put together boxed sets that were supposed to benefit a charity rather than pay royalties to the authors. Authors were lured by the chance to do good, plus the promise their investment would get them USA Today bestseller status.
So in exchange for the hefty buy-in fee, the author wasn’t going to make any money, but would get bragging rights, plus benefit a charity.
But for each set, with some highly irregular accounting, the scammer claimed the sets made no money. Nothing for the charity, no bestseller status, nothing — except what they got to line their own pockets.
Be very wary of these boxed sets that promise the moon. People who game the system are likely to game you, too.
Real multi-author boxed sets can be fantastic for raising visibility, and they usually make a nice profit. But don’t join just to game the system. They’re best when authors ourselves get together and pool money for design and publicity.
When it’s done by a for-profit company who promises bestseller status, there’s a major chance it’s a scam.
5) Goodreads Print Book Giveaways
I think it’s time to label these a scam. They were once a good way to get reviews, but way too many book re-sellers are gaming Goodreads giveaways to get free inventory.
After paying the Goodreads fee, plus postage, authors not only don’t get reviews, but they see their signed books for sale online.
One bookseller in the Midwest apparently stocks much of her store with Goodreads giveaway books.
I’m not going to use any names, because this bookseller is not only a crook but a sadistic bully. (Scammers are often sociopaths: you can’t have much empathy if you feed on peoples’ dreams for a living.)
Whenever an author complains — no matter how politely — about seeing review copies for sale with no review, this scammy bookseller will then give the author a one-star, four-word insulting review, and post it on all retailers across the Web. This sweetheart also threatens to ruin the authors’ careers by reporting them as scammers to Amazon.
Unfortunately the crook has many clones. And nobody at Goodreads cares.
Of course there are still good, honest people who ask for Goodreads giveaway books and write lovely, thoughtful reviews. But they are becoming scarce.
Goodreads simply has no policing and nobody to complain to when scammers use the site to commit fraud. The chances of getting a review from a Goodreads giveaway are slim, and that narrow chance is not worth gambling your career and well-being.
To give out review copies, try Booksprout, Hidden Gems, NetGalley or BookFunnel.
Goodreads doesn’t have enough moderation, and it has devolved into a site that’s toxic for authors and reviewers alike.
6) Magazines that Charge for Interviews
In 2018 I talked about being solicited for bogus pay-to-play radio interviews. Now you can pay for ridiculously overpriced magazine interviews, too.
Any interview that costs the interviewee money isn’t worth the price of the paper it’s printed on. And some of these are printed on pretty cheap paper.
You may hear from these publications in an unsolicited email (i.e. spam) from somebody who pretends to have “stumbled across” your book and feels it has potential but needs more marketing.
Most of these new print “magazines” are more like advertising circulars, although the price of a print interview can run into the thousands.
And now the once-respectable Publishers Weekly is getting in on the game., They’re selling interviews for their monthly advertising supplement “BookLife” for $1200-$2500. Thing is, the authors think they’re buying a spot in the real Publishers Weekly, and the fact it will appear in”BookLife” instead is only mentioned in the fine print.
Most of these magazines have no circulation at all—except to other authors. Otherwise, they’re just left in a “free-take one” pile at a book fair.
7) Book Fair Placement and Fair Publicity Packages
Paying some company big bux to have your book displayed at big book fairs is money down the toilet. Your book will be lost among thousands of others and the company may not even bother to display it. David Gaughran warned about these book fair scams in a blogpost back in September, and Victoria Strauss mentioned them just this week.
Publishing industry “fairs” or “expos” are mostly a waste of time for individual writers. These are industry conferences where the bigwigs schmooze and booze. This is where the Random Penguins talk to Mr. Bertlesman and Mr. Hachette, not to lowly indie authors.
To them, you’re not on the lowest rung of the ladder. You’re not on the ladder at all.
Unless you’re a high-profile author with your own publishing company, or a star author a Big Five company is promoting this year, you have no reason to be there.
The money you spend for travel, hotels, and a spot in a booth will not do your career any good unless you happen to bump into the head of Simon and Schuster in an elevator, which gets stopped between floors and he has a panic attack and you talk him down so he owes you and takes your book to look at as a polite gesture.
But he probably won’t read it anyway. 🙂
8) High Priced “Assisted Self-Publishing” Companies that are Simply Printers.
According to Writer Beware’s Victoria Strauss, teen writers are being lured into one of these companies with “young writer” contests where the prize is a “publishing package.”
Unfortunately, there are some “self-publishing assistants” who simply print the books through POD, but don’t publish them. They provide no distribution or marketing. Nobody can buy the books on Amazon or any online or brick and mortar retailer unless the author sells them as a secondary seller. The brokenhearted teens find their “prize” is a few cartons of books to sell out of their parents’ car trunks.
Print books are not the primary source of income for most indie authors. Ebooks are. And most ebooks are sold on Amazon. If your book isn’t available to Amazon readers, it’s not likely to make back the cost of production. (Especially when the costs are ridiculously inflated.)
9) Rights Grabs from “Free” Contests
This isn’t really new, but I’ve heard of several contests recently that, in the fine print, say they have the right to use any piece that’s sent to them. That is, not just the winners, but any story you submit becomes their property.
Yeah. You didn’t really enter a contest. You just gave away your work for free to an outfit that will probably publish it uncredited or sell it to a college essay mill.
So it helps to read that fine print.
Unfortunately, sometimes there’s not even any fine print. Writer Beware has reported one contest that posted NO rules or rights policies. Later, the site posted all the stories that had been sent in as entries—with no compensation or even notice to the authors.
And sometimes even very big name publications can include rights grabs. Here’s another warning from Writer Beware: Rights Grabs by the Sunday Times Audible Short Story Award.
So be very wary of free contests, even when they’re sponsored by well-known organizations. If there’s something iffy in the fine print, or no fine print, stay away.
10) Screenplay Scams
Some dodgy marketing companies are offering the “Hollywood option” — making your book into a screenplay.
Paying somebody to write a screenplay based on your book “on spec”— that is, without a contract with an actual filmmaker — is absurd. This service costs around $15,000 and does absolutely nothing to get your book made into a film.
Every restaurant server and parking lot attendant in Southern California has a screenplay. Having somebody write one for you doesn’t give you any more chances than these folks have in selling it to a studio.
You’re better off trying to get a job for a caterer who is working a party where you might bump into Reese Witherspoon or Oprah so you can slip them your novel and they’ll put it on their book club list. Films are made from bestselling novels, not unknown ones.
Some More Help in Spotting Scams
Keep in mind that any self-publishing or marketing plan that focuses on print books only is very likely a scam. Scammers figure that anybody who doesn’t know that self-publishers’ income comes mainly from ebooks is a newbie and ripe for scamming. See my post on the mistake that makes you most vulnerable to new publishing scams.
Also, beware anything that comes to you in an unsolicited email or a Facebook ad.
And remember that any unknown person who piles on generic praise for “your book” (especially when you’ve published many) is very likely a scammer. Especially if they say they “stumbled on” your book. Always ask where they got their copy. If they hem and haw, they’re waving a big red flag.
A lot of the old scams are still out there, so check my warnings from 2019 and 2018. Also some earlier warnings about predators and scammers. If you need more clarity on self-publishing companies vs vanity presses, check out my post on How to Tell Legitimate Publishers from the Bad Guys.
For more reports on recent scams, read Victoria Strauss’s look back at 2019 scams. Victoria is an amazing industry watchdog who looks out for us all. Always check her Writer Beware site before signing on any dotted lines. Marketing guru David Gaughran also keeps an eye out for bad guys. We should all be grateful to both of them for helping to keep us safe.
Update March 10, 2020
Watch out for a new scam publicity company called “Author Capital.” Today I heard from mega-selling author Catherine Ryan Hyde, who had been approached by somebody from Author Capital who tried to sell her bogus book promotions. They were so clueless they didn’t even know she’s a superstar (author of Pay it Forward) who’s sold over 3 million books for her current publisher, Lake Union.
These people called her at 7:00 AM to tell her she wasn’t selling enough, but they could help her career if she just gave them a bunch of money to show her book at book fairs. (Book fair scams are very big with vanity publisher Author Solutions and all their progeny.)
by Anne R. Allen (@annerallen) February 16, 2020
What about you, scriveners? Have you run into these new publishing scams? Have you met up with any old ones? What do you think are the most dangerous publishing scams?
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I cannot even tell you how helpful this is without gushing on and on! This is invaluable information for all of us, no matter how long we’ve been around the block. Thank you so much, Anne.
Patricia–It’s true that some of these folks target veteran writers as well as newbies. We’re all prey to them. Thanks!
I mean damn Victoria, I’ve written a pretty interesting sci-fi script (it’s kinda graphic in terms of how it’s told but it’s interesting).
I just don’t know where or rather who to turn to, everybody is ready to scam the crap out of anyone when they try to publish their material.
The ebook format might be the way I guess, but you still need recognition it seems from a celebrity, or an endorsement from a media production magnate.
Frustrating as hell I tell you! :-/
Jaye–Publishing can seem very daunting when you first start out. Right now you’re ripe for a scammer because you don’t know how the business works. You don’t need to know Cher in order to publish an ebook.:-) Self-publishers sell more in ebook form, but many genres sell better in hard copy. You need to have both. What you need to do first is some agent–hunting. It not only might land you a publishing deal, but you’ll learn more about the business. Do read our page on “how to get your book published.” Then start reading some publishing blogs like this one. I’ve listed some good ones on the “Resources” page.
Writing and publishing is hard work. Any person or company claiming they can simply the process are lying, plain and simple. There are effective methods for approach, but no such thing as a simplified way to success.
Thanks, Anne. A word to the wise and super helpful. Lately I’ve noticed ads for religious publishers preying on inexperienced writers, so watch out for them, too.
The scams never end, do they? Writer scams give “the oldest profession” a run for the money. lol
Bottom line: Writer beware and be sure to hang on to your wallet!
Ruth–Good point! I think Christian and spiritual writers are especially easy targets for these people. Using a few buzzwords, “religious” vanity presses can bamboozle newbies and break their hearts.
Thanks, Anne, for another helpful post. I’m thinking you really nailed it when your wrote, “Never underestimate the chutzpa of publishing scammers,” only perhaps we should broaden that & simply say, “Never underestimate the chutzpa of scammers.” Phone scammers, Text scammers, pub listing scammers, cat fishers — I simply don’t get where the joy comes from in purposely leading people astray. I really wonder how these people live with themselves.
CS–I hear you. Researching scams really makes you despair for humanity. Statistics say that 4% of the population are sociopaths, but sometimes it seems as if that percentage is way higher.
I think you have these despicable people pegged correctly as sociopaths.
Thanks for these tips, Anne. Some of these frauds seem outrageous, but I guess the old saying applies that there’s a sucker born every day.
What’s your take on the legitimacy and value in Kirkus Reviews? I have the impression they’re on the level but I just Googled their website and got a 404 Not Found. Are they still around and, if so, would you recommend them as a promotional resource?
Garry–Oh, my. I’m sure the 404 on Kirkus is temporary. Their “editorial” reviews are not a scam, but they are pricey. And their value to sales is up in the air. Kirkus goes to librarians, so writers who rely on a lot of library sales (especially children’s book writers) seem to find them valuable. But other authors do not.
Amazon considers it okay to pay for editorial reviews, but not reader reviews.
Yikes, Anne. Like seriously, Yikes. Appreciate the savvy reminder to always check and double check any offer, and confirm with your trusted network, and then triple and quadruple check. 🙂 Also love the grounded advice to hold on to a smidge skepticism if the praise is just too off the wall.
Christine–Yes, I say “yikes” a lot when I’m reading about this stuff. A lot of these people have slick websites and can look really legit. So we have to check and double check. It all can lead to heartbreak and shattered dreams.
Wow! this article us a real eye opener; thank you,
Marta–That’s why I wrote it. Most writers don’t know about these people.
Some of this is too sad for words. Writers are ripe for the picking when they don’t know there are vultures out there preying on their naïveté. You wonder how scammers can live with themselves. Writers are being victimized.
Thank you for your part in sounding a warning to potential victims.
Informative article. Thanks for breaking it down. I’ve noticed some of these and wondered about them. Too bad on what’s happening at Goodreads.
Keep up the good work. You are appreciated.
Norma–Thanks! Sometimes I think there are more predators than writers out there. It is discouraging.
I’m impressed with your research, Anne, and sharing what you learned. You are an amazing resource for writers.
In gratitude, Marlene
Marlene–Many thanks!
I came across “Reedsy Prompts” recently (https://blog.reedsy.com/creative-writing-prompts/contests/29/) and I wonder if they fall under the category of “Rights Grabs from ‘Free’ Contests”. They have a weekly “contest”, with no entry fee, and a $50 prize if you’re selected as the winner. A couple of weeks ago I had a story all ready to submit, but I stopped at the last second when I read the following in the their Terms & Conditions. Basically it looks like they can take your story and do whatever the hell they want with it and pay you nothing.
“All Entries submitted to the contest will be published on Reedsy Prompts… Each entrant retains the copyright to their entry but grants, represents, and warrants a non-exclusive, irrevocable, perpetual, transferable, sub-licensable, worldwide, royalty-free license to store, publish, and otherwise use the entry on any platforms…You grant permission to Reedsy to use your name and entry for promotional purposes without additional compensation, in all media now known or hereafter discovered, worldwide and on the Internet and World Wide Web, without notice, review or approval.”
Jen–Yikes! Thanks a million for bringing this to my attention. I’ll alert Writer Beware. I was a huge cheerleader for Reedsy when they started up. They seemed like a great resource for writers.
But recently Reedsy has seemed to be going over to the dark side. They send spammy emails and promote marketing I consider worthless. Plus they say they vet their advertisers, but I know of two writers who have been stiffed for payment. Now this.
You’ve got an eagle eye that will save some of your fellow writers from grief. I can’t thank you enough!
I’d like to step in here to offer some clarifications.
First, on the alleged “rights” grab, our ToU clearly state that the author retains the copyright to their entry, and grants us a *non-exclusive* license to use and reproduce it.
This means that they can then re-publish their story, or resubmit it wherever they want — we don’t grab the rights to it.
However, we do need that license to reproduce it on our website, and promotional permission to announce the winning story to our newsletter. We often host “takeovers” of our prompts contest, in which a partner will also promote the contest and winning story.
Anne, I understand you were disappointed by Reedsy Discovery. I explained that we had a launch that was a bit too successful, and that, at that time, we didn’t have enough reviewers. This has changed now, and I have always strived to explain the risk element involved with Reedsy Discovery. It’s not a conventional marketing platform, and you may very well spend $50 and not receive a review, or receive a negative one.
I’m not sure what you mean by our “advertisers”. If it’s marketing professionals on our platform, then please have the authors reach out to me. They’re covered by our Project Protection policy so if they have indeed been stiffed for payment, we should be able to recover the funds for them.
Ricardo–Thanks much for the clarification! I do support Reedsy and it would make me sad if you’d gone over to the dark side. I actually don’t have any personal experience with Reedsy Discovery. I’m glad the glitches have been ironed out. The individuals who didn’t get paid may need to try again to get help with payments.
Ricardo, the use on “any platform” sounds problematic to me. If Reedsy can publish the story on Amazon, B&N, Apple, etc,. then where does that leave the author? Can Reedsy have the story available on its account, while the author also has the story available on his or her account? And depending on which copy a reader buys, the money from the purchase goes to one or the other?
Jen, when I first learned of the Reedsy contests, I was put off by the fact that if you submit a story, it’s published – with no pay – on their blog.
This constitutes “first publishing,” no matter what the blogger people say, and therefore the first publishing rights can’t be sold to a paying market. You can only sell the story as a reprint, which typically pays a lot less. In the general fiction market, first rights can go for 5-12 cents a word in professional publications, but reprints only garner 1-2 cents per word, if that.
Also, many literary magazines won’t accept reprints at all, (I read for two that absolutely refused reprints, and yes, we would run searches and plagiarism scans to ensure the pieces we selected weren’t previously published) so you’ve basically thrown away a perfectly good story on a contest with a minimal potential reward and no print publication.
Once again, the most valuable blogsite on the planet! Thanks Anne. I’ll be pointing my students yet again to your site.
Melodie–Thanks! If I can help some of your students protect themselves from these predators, it’s all worth it!
Others have said it better than I could, Anne. I just want to add that it’s such a valuable service that you would bring with your columns so much great advice– often painfully gained, I know– and keep it refreshed to help others. I spoke at a library today to aspiring authors and in response to one young man’s question I recommended he follow your column, and I very often do that with colleagues because time and again I recall you have a post for that. Brava.
Will–Many thanks for the shout-out. People come to me with reports of these things and I feel I must pass them on to our readers.
Shame about Goodreads. My publisher used to do giveaways through them often until they began charging for the service. Guess it was a good time to quit.
Alex–It is. Goodreads used to be reliable for reviews and giveaways, but now it seems to be a playground for trolls and scammers.
I did my first Goodreads giveaway in April 2013, and it made a real difference. Not only did the giveaway book receive 8 reviews, but new readers suddenly became aware of all my books. I’d been completely unknown before the giveaway, selling mostly to a few kind friends. After the giveaway, strangers were buying my books. (And sometimes reviewing them with words of glowing praise. Most readers do not leave reviews. For the record.)
But that first giveaway was the best. I did more giveaways through 2013-2014 for different books, and the results steadily declined. The next book got 6 reviews. The next 4. And every book after that got 2 at most, all too often 0. I did find several of my books being offered for sale by online used book vendors, at a price that made it clear they were not buying their copies from Amazon’s expanded distribution. So the thieves were already starting to operate then, securing books for free that they could then sell for a profit for themselves.
As I became sure that the poor results were not an anomaly—they were not going to get better—I realized I was wasting my resources, so I stopped doing giveaways. When I learned that Goodreads had started charging $119+ for the giveaway service (on top of which the author must pay to buy and ship the books), I was appalled.
Just thought I would share my personal experience to back up your point, Anne. Thanks!
J.M. Thanks for the concrete evidence. Goodreads is increasingly useless, I fear.
Hi Anne,
Thanks so much for the information. You truly “Tell it like it is” and WE ALL appreciate it. I am currently querying my new MS, which may lead to self publisher or querying directly to a publisher within the next few months, so this information is very helpful to me. THANK YOU!
Michael–Best of luck with your querying. Most small publishers are legit and can be a great way to go for new writers. But look for red flags and ask questions. Do they charge money up front? Do they promise the moon? Who else to they publish, and how are they doing?
Thanks for the advice, Anne. I will definitely keep that in mind.
Great stuff! Mixed in with your warnings you also offer good advice on things we authors should do. For example, your short list of good venues for reviews.
Mike–I don’t want to scare anybody from publishing. There are wonderful, nurturing publishers out there, and self-publishing can be a very lucrative way to go—as long as you know what you’re doing and don’t hand anybody great wads of cash. 🙂
And there are good review sites out there. Those four get good marks from my fellow rom-com writers.
Finally someone has acknowledged what I’ve been thinking all along about Goodreads. Thank you.
Brad–I’ve been dismayed to see reputable blogs still telling writers to get reviews via Goodreads. I see so many complaints, I just don’t think it’s worth it.
Thank you for continuing to watch out for your fellow writers. You do us a great service. I’ve been getting the unsolicited emails to pay various services to Tweet people to death with my book. In this instance, I didn’t need to read up to see if this type of marketing works. When I get too many Tweets hawking someone’s book, I block the sender of the Tweets, whether author or service.
Liz–That “Tweetstorm” approach may have worked back in 2011, but it sure doesn’t work now. Total waste of time. All it does is annoy people. And yeah, I block them too.
I want to echo all the other comments about how helpful the post is, and to thank you for your research and for writing it. I saw this post some time back.https://onezero.medium.com/almost-everything-about-goodreads-is-broken-662e424244d5
Julia–Thanks for the link. Interesting reading. They don’t mention the infestation of trolls, which I think is the single most difficult aspect of Goodreads. But they do mention that it skews toward YA, and I think many of the trolls are high-schoolers flexing power they don’t have in other aspects of their lives. And on top of the trolls, they now have the scammers, who behave like trolls if you try to hold them to account.
Thanks for sharing. I had no idea about this with Goodreads.
Patricia–Goodreads is a scary place. Trolls and scammers abound.
Great information, thank you. In other words, trust no one. I keep getting an email from a publisher, even though I checked them out and wrote a rather nasty response to them, the same person keeps sending her ‘personalized’ email. Amazing!
I’ve seen these come-ons for years, though they are getting more brazen. Never fell for any, because I know one thing with absolute clarity: if anyone were to approach me with an offer I never solicited, this is a faux, an fiend, and a fake. Publishing is competitive and hard, and you are the one who must knock on doors.
Mirka–Publishing is a business. A tough one. I wish more writers knew that. So many think there’s an easy way to the top.
Anne, what is a “buy-in” ? I have seen some calls for submissions that state “No buy-in!” with negative language about it, so I assumed it was bad, but I haven’t been able to figure out just what it is?
Amanda–When talking about a boxed set project, a “buy-in” is an investment in the cover, formatting and advertising of the boxed set. It usually runs $1000-$2000.
Thank you!! That seems crazy! Thank you for the warning on that one.
Wow. Scary and depressing. Thanks for all this detailed, illuminating information about scammers, Anne. I’ll be sharing this with writers in various groups. Writer beware!
Jodie–It is depressing. But forewarned is forearmed. I hope this blog will help get the word out. And Victoria Strauss is a hero to keep us alerted about this stuff.
Excellent! The Goodreads through me for a loop! I just did a Kindle Giveaway on Goodreads. What do you think of that?
Thank you!
Belle–Kindle giveaways can’t be scammed like print giveaways, so it’s certainly worth a shot. Did you get any reviews from it?
“Goodreads doesn’t have enough moderation, and it has devolved into a site that’s toxic for authors and reviewers alike.”
Yikes! Like a couple of commenters above, I am really intrigued by this observation. There are several things I’ve questioned on Goodreads in the past (suddenly books appear on my Want To Read List which I never placed there!!!) But this is the first time I’ve seen the site described as “toxic.
I also have my own (not very complimentary) views about all those advance reviews from reviewers who receive free advance copies and then really spoil reads for regular readers. ( I even posted a blog post on my website about those reviews totally spoiling my read of The Silent Patient!)
Is there anyone who can elaborate on this view of Goodreads?
Joanna–Goodreads has always been a haven for trolls. Over five years ago, an agent told me she told her clients: “Go to Goodreads, put up your profile and link to your blog…and never, ever go back.”
A few years later, a bevy of bullies turned it into what I call “Mean Girls meets Lord of the Flies.” There were death and rape threats, rampant cruelty and of course swarms of one-stars for anybody who didn’t belong to the clique. The ringleaders were kicked out, but the attitude still prevails.
Anne,
Once again, thanks for warning and keeping us away from these predators. I have seen some examples of what you have mentioned and have, in a common sense sort of way, resisted the urge to make a quick buck or become famous (what was I thinking?). It is wonderful to have you confirm with solid examples the scammers who are willing to separate us from our money.
Ken
Ken–If you have an instinct for flim-flam, you can usually spot these guys. But some starry-eyed newbies lose all perspective when it comes to their “baby.”
Thank you, Anne! This is so helpful. One of the big ones I’d add are the, “Appear with famous author in this book” — and it includes one article by a famous author (or several) and then one article of your own. Then you can publish with your name next to this bestselling authors. A version of that are the books of nonfiction essays that charge writers 1200-2500 to write an essay that will appear in a book that will sell to no one. By listing it for free on Amazon in a rare category, it becomes a bestseller. And the newest one: the famous author from the first example I gave now offers a video interview for–wait for it– $8000. Yikes.
Rochelle–Wow! That’s a new one to me. I know of the old-school anthology scams–everybody gets accepted and they’re also the only customers. But this is new. Big Name author is in on the scam. $8000 for an interview is a new low. Yuck. Thanks for the heads-up!
I’d decided (twice) that Goodreads was a lot of work for little return. I’m relieved now that I don’t have to feel as if I’m shirking because I don’t keep trying to make use of the site.
There’s currently a site showing up in my FB feed that charges a relatively small fee but advertises that “we can make your book become a movie.” I’ve posted on its ads several times that this company is acting as an agent and that agents do not charge authors. I wish more authors would realize that for the indie authors this site exploits, selling a book to Hollywood is equivalent to winning the lottery. Thanks for the important warnings, and for reminding authors that there are sites like Writer Beware that monitor our choices for us. You and Victoria Strauss are gems.
Vanderso–The Hollywood scam is a biggie right now. Probably some out of work screenwriters have been roped into it. Yeah. No non-agent can “make your book become a movie” except maybe Oprah.
Hello Anne! Thanks for this article – I’m pretty cautious, but am going to share with my writer friends. I was wondering if you knew anything about “manybooks.net” I keep getting messages from them through the Contact form on my website. They have some positive reviews, but are promoted on a couple of sites that may be questionable–eg. Reedsy
Leanne–I don’t know much about ManyBooks. They seem to be a bargain newsletter like Bookbub who also offer “editorial” reviews for a fee. It’s okay with Amazon if you pay for editorial reviews, but some question their value. Anybody who solicits via unwanted email looks iffy to me, so I’d be wary.
Exactly what I thought, thanks! I wasn’t really considering contacting them back, just curious. I think I’ll block them through my site.
Great article, Anne. Been seeing variations of these scams for thirty years. Not sure if it’s still prevalent today but in the past you had to be careful of agent scams, too, that are used as doorways to “your book is great and wonderful but needs some editing. I can suggest a great editorial service for you….”
Sad to see Goodreads is falling like that, although maybe not too surprising. Amazon probably doesn’t have the same intentions for the site so things begin to shift and change. I wonder if it’s still useful to have an author profile, etc.
Thanks for taking the time to keep us up to date.
Vikk–The Web used to abound with bogus agents who were fronts for bad editing services. Most of those have disappeared, but new and more insidious scams sprouted in their place.
I think Amazon has simply abandoned Goodreads and nobody is in charge anymore.
I like your article, Anne. It was very informative. I do check with Writer Beware and receive their newsletter also.As a Goodreads comparison: Prior to the takeover by Amazon I used their book giveaway service. I gave away a dozen books, and received ten reviews. Not a bad return in my book. After Amazon, I gave away ten books but only received one review. Needless to say I won’t do that again. Now I see the book for sale on amazon by a re-seller and its priced less than mine. I gave the book a new title and new cover, and pulled the old one. However Amazon will not remove the old book from its site.They still show it as pending on my list also and will not remove it from there either.
Antaeus–Your experience perfectly illustrates the decline and fall of Goodreads. Yes, it once was a great way to get reviewed. And alas, Amazon doesn’t change a cover if you get a new one. It’s really annoying.
Thanks so much Anne. Whenever I enter a contest, it’s one that you have recommended. I trust you. Beth Havey
Beth–Thanks! But always read the fine print, even when the contest comes from me. A couple of rights grabs slipped by me in the past. It’s hard to keep up!
These all suck. The first two are really creepy and sneaky and kind of disturbing, tbh.
I’ve no plan to publish (traditionally, anyway, so wouldn’t be looking into most of these) but will share this. Thank you so much for having our backs, Anne. 🙂 You always do.
Sarah–Thanks! These things are creepy, that’s for sure. Even self-publishers need to watch out for some of this stuff. Indies are told to use Goodreads, but that’s out of date information.
That is true. Self-published (and Indie) authors have to be aware of some of this, too. I’ve always felt Goodreads is a bit of a swamp, but I don’t share that information often as a lot of people love it. Lots of great info on all fronts here. Thanks, again!
Anne…yet again a great post! No wonder I’ve been following you for years. I’m doing a presentation in April to a group of retired people who might find writing as a second career something they’d like to consider. This is just the type of thing I’ll bring up to them and include a link to your site.
Brenda–Thanks for being a loyal reader. Seniors are the most susceptible to these scams partly because they tend to be more trusting and partly because they’re not savvy about today’s publishing realities. You might *ahem* recommend my book How to be a Writer in the E-Age. It’s full of stuff they’ll find helpful. 🙂
Ah yes! Excellent suggestion…your and Catherine’s conversational writing style make reading the information ????you share so fun ????! Thanks…????????
Thanks for this article Anne. It is still frustrating that so many scams circulate around the independent publishing scene. It is also worth pointing out though that there are reputable and transparent publishing assistance companies out in the world helping authors make the most professional books possible. Authors should know that the likes of ALLi have approved partner lists and that any company worth its salt will be open and clear in its communication and transparent on what you get for your $. (And yes, I am involved with one but this isn’t an advert so no I shan’t be linking to it). All reputable companies should have legitimate testimonials and encourage prospective clients to take their time and be 100% sure before entering into any contracts. There should never be any pressure applied. This is not trad publishing and all should be aware of that.
Ian–You’re absolutely right. There are fine publishing assistants out there, and I’ve written about them many times. I have a link to a post on the subject (How to tell Legit Publishers from the Bad Guys) but I probably should have mentioned Alli in the post. Thanks for the reminder!
I wondered if you’ve heard anything good, bad or indifferent about the Bedside Reading marketing group that promises to place your book in the rooms of luxury hotels? In my bones, it feels like something useless, but I don’t know if it rises to the level of scam.
Kathryn–I hadn’t heard of that one! It sounds clever, but a long shot. Until I had evidence of real success, I wouldn’t put money into it.
This is an excellent write-up of the scams and dangers eager and inexperienced writers face. I got taken in by Authorhouse around 1999. The product (I chose paperback) was sub-par, the fees were ridiculous, and their staff was a joke. Unlike some victims, I had a background in legal-ese and knew how to read a contract. I did not sign over the rights to my work and was able to get my books back. I know of many whose work – a lot of it very good – was lost to them until the iUniverse conglomerate imploded and they were able to get their work back.
I had my suspicions about Goodreads giveaways; good to see that I was right.
Thanks for your posts – they are a bright spot and a lot of help.
Diana
Diana–AuthorHouse (later AuthorSolutions) broke a lot of hearts and emptied a lot of bank accounts. They had slick sales people, and not much else. Sorry you had to go through that!
It can be a murky business which is why I think Amazon have cleaned up on the inidie side with their POD internationally. Many of the printers we have worked with in the last 16 years have folded or are now working for Amazon. I personally get very angry with the bookmarketing scammers who are charging an arm and a leg with imaginary numbers of followers who are not visible anywhere on their so called epic platforms. Thanks for the comprehensive list Anne.
Smorgasbord–CreateSpace was good before Amazon annexed it, but having print under the KDP umbrella is probably easier to track. Other POD companies could be iffy.
I agree that the worst threat to indie authors is the aggressive bookmarketing scammers. I get solicitations from them all the time.Most have very poor track records, if any.
Thank you so much, Anne. We can’t live in the past, I know, but how I miss my old mainstream publisher Kogan Page Ltd, London (1983/4) who published my first two factual books. Fast forward to 2005 – oh what disappointments awaited me. Not being technically minded, I’ve found it a struggle (I Push when it says Pull!) Nevertheless,I have had five more books published, while such a different story, especially financially, but writing is a necessary joy! Thanks again for the valuable information. Cheers. x
Joy–The right small publisher can be fantastic to work with.They’re certainly not all scammers. Publishing ourselves can be a huge challenge. Congratulations that you got five more out there!
Thank you for this very interesting posting. There are always news on the desk, not only from authors. I always thought that Google wanted to distinguish between true and false, here.;-( Michael
Oikos–Vanity presses are good at posing as legit publishers. Some manage to get listed in Publishers Weekly, too. 🙁
It’s incredible how many scammers are on the prowl out there. One gets taken down and three more appear! I know someone who coughed up not much short of £10,000 to have her book published. The cover was gorgeous but the inside was unedited and the retail price was around £20 (not sure of translation into dollars but I think you get the picture). Thanks for posting this and I hope it saves some new writers from being taken for a ride.
Mary–It really is like a game of whack-a-mole. Stories like your friend’s are so heartbreaking. They charge so much for so little. And then the price of the book makes it impossible to make back your investment.
I wish the people who put so much time and energy into creating these scams would put that time and energy into doing something good for the world! So annoying and frustrating and dangerous!
Jemi–The sad truth is that many of these people were trained by American companies like Author Solutions. When Author Solutions faded, they lost their jobs, but started their own scam operations in third world countries. Much more lucrative than a regular job there.
Wow. They’re getting bolder. Shame on them!
Traci–Unfortunately, predators thrive when there’s lots of prey to feed on. Spread the word and maybe we can save a few newbies from becoming victims.
This is an outstanding article as so many have declared.
Since my associate and I are fairly new to “self-publishing”, after a failed Traditional Publishing experience several years ago, we have been fascinated by all of the “scams” so prevalent in the author world.
We approach the writing, publishing and sales of our books with the same Mindset that is applied in running our varied businesses.
Lots of diligence used before using services of others. And as it has proved over the years, it is always more successful to be in total control and “Do It Yourself”.
Please continue providing such outstanding information and encourage other authors to fine tune a “Business Mindset” to along with the Creative Talent.
Thank you again
Chuck–That’s the thing: Writing is an art, but publishing is a business. Unless the artist puts on a business hat, they’re likely to get scammed by ruthless business people.
Thank you for this article Anne. Over 15 years ago I fell for PublishAmerica, but at least it didn’t cost me anything up front. But their prices were high to purchase books and the postage was out of this world.
A couple of years ago I came home from holidays to find a message on my answering machine but I didn’t understand much of it except the woman said she had sent me an e-mail. So I checked and there was an e-mail from some publishing company (I was familiar with the name and knew they were scammers). I ignored it. Then I got another phone call asking if I was still looking for a publisher. I asked how she got my phone number and she claimed I had requested information from them. I had done no such thing because I was already preparing to publish on KDP. Besides, I would not have used them even if it meant I would never be published. She insisted I made the request then said maybe someone else had done it for me. I said that would have been impossible.
I kept getting calls and multiple e-mails even though I made it quite clear I was not interested. She tried to tell me I would have to pay $500 for a book on KDP. Obviously she had no idea that I had done my homework. She was sure determined. The calls finally stopped until very recently I had another call. She asked if I was still looking for a publisher. I told her I had already self-published several books and she proceeded to tell me about their shared cost program. They don’t give up easily.
But I can see how easy it is to fall for this kind of thing when a person had spent hours, months, maybe even years writing a book and is desperate to have it published. I tell everyone I know who is interested in being published never to pay someone to publish.
success–PublishAmerica was a clever scam. They didn’t take money up front, but they kept your rights for 7 years and nobody could afford the books. Heartbreaking.
And your experience suggests that they sold their list to other scammers and put you in the hands of relentless telemarketers. What an awful thing. I hope you’ve finally got rid of them!
Thank you, yes I did. They actually released me from my contract early. I have since rewritten the book, given it a new title, created my own cover and have published it on KDP. I was fortunate to get out before they started charging to release authors. But my PA book is still “available” on Amazon and GoodReads. I understand there is no way to get Amazon to remove books, and I’m not sure it it can be done on GoodReads either. I don’t know who put it there even.
Everything has been said that could have been said. Everything has been thanked that could have been thanked. Every book has been tanked that could have been tanked.
In this day and age, when ISBN numbers for authors and books are given away for free, and printing a book is a synch with modern technology, and binding pages into a book is a bit of an exercise, but easily done, why would anyone want to publish by any publisher who demands money from the author? I published several books, printed them, bound them, and sold 3 copies and gave away as gifts 23. Yes, I lost money on the whole, so far about $400. I made some people happy and my name has been preserved.
Nevertheless, there are scams on teaching you how to self-publish, there are scams on promising to teach you to write, there are scams that teach you the letters of the alphabet, such as public school education.
One scam I have very high suspicions it exists is the Creative Writing degrees, diplomas and certificates issued by accredited universities and colleges; and even higher on my suspicion list are literary contests. It is ridiculously easy to rig a literary contest, and therefore I only enter those that are free. I used to win once in a while, but not in the last 15 years. And I fear that in order to be published by a reputable publisher of articles and stories, one needs to show a creative writing acadmic achievement, otherwise they won’t look at your writing. The publishing industry and the educatonal institutes, it seems to me, want to reward those writers who paid forward by putting money into the system, more than they feel like rewarding talent or originality.
My philosophy on publishing is: never give up hope, always give up expectations, my writing is not worth the paper it is written on, and beware of my poetry altogether.
Andrew–Or should I call you Eeyore? You certainly see the glass half empty. Sometimes extreme pessimism can be the result of clinical depression.
Thank you for this article. As a new writer, I can understand how easy it can be to fall into these scams. You really want to get your work out there and have people read and enjoy your stories. Scammers feed off emotions. This article has already reinforced my own wariness of scams: 1. If my book was good enough a publisher will pick it up. 2. When I plan to publish as an Indie writer I will contact reputable organisations, such as the Australian Writer’s Centre and the Associations for advise, and websites as yourself for advise. I know as a writer, writing is hard and being published is not easy and that where people offer a quick fix for publication, even editing services, and asking for money rings a big loud red siren in my head.
Mia–You’re so right that these people appeal to emotions and make people forget publishing is a business. If you are thinking of going indie, you can get a wealth of advice from David Gaughran, whose revised version of his bestselling Let’s Get Digital is a blueprint for indie publishing and is absolutely FREE right now. Check out his website and download it. Best of luck whatever path you choose, and don’t try to publish a book before its time!
Thanks so much for the article, Ann. I just finished writing my first book, which is academic. I am contacting the big academic publishing houses directly, but so far no takers. Do you have any advise for my genre? The book is on the natural history of a group of islands in Indonesia.
Federico–Academic publishing has its own rules and conventions. I know because my parents were both academics and I watched my mom go through hell trying to publish her book on Shakespearean productions in 19th centuray London. She finally found a home for her book at the Wesleyan University Press. I’d suggest you approach University presses and look for universities that specialize in your field of expertise. There will be long waits for peer reviews and such, but it’s worth it to be with a press that will get you into university libraries.
BEWARE-BOOK WRTING HUB’s A BIG SCAM After 11 months of paying BOOK WRITING HUB over for them to obtain worldwide copyrights, provide web hosting, and premium marketing servicies for 2 books with countless requests and communications requesting to fulfill their contract guarantees, the company has failed to deliver on services for which I paid them or refund me for overcharges for copyrights and web hosting.
I have requested via emails and their Basecamp communications since back in July 2020 to Frank Martin and Sam Jones to do the right thing and refund my money to part ways amicably. They simply do not respond especially now after being forced to take action. They have cost me the loss of so much money that I could have paid to an honest company to deliver on marketing services, all of my time lying to me, and so much anxiety and emotional turmoil truly it’s been the worst customer experience ever.
There are so many reviews now on TrustPilot but were not when I hired them. Thanks for exposing SCAMS in Publishing and add Book Writing HUB to your valued list!
Melissa–Many thanks for this heads-up. I hadn’t heard of Book Writing Hub, but I Googled them just now and see they have lots of complaints, including some scathing ones posted at the Better Business Bureau. All recent. So you probably didn’t have any way to tell they were slimy. But marketing companies like this very often are. The best way to market your book is to learn to do your own social media marketing. It is time consuming, but it doesn’t have to take over your life. I recommend following Rachel Thompson’s blog, and also David Gaughran’s (and his videos) and Penny Sansevieri’s. They all have inexpensive books that will teach you everything you need to know. Penny will be visiting us in March. And my book The Author Blog: Easy Blogging for Busy authors is only $2.99 for the ebook and it teaches you how to promote yourself for very little money. Good luck! You deserve some. 🙂
Thanks for these suggested reads to help with marketing and any tips to help get my money back are appreciated.
Melissa–Alas, I don’t know any way to get your money back if they have evaporated. But you can report them to the FBI at https://www.fbi.gov/contact-us . I strongly urge you to do that. You’ve been robbed of a lot of money and these people are committing felonies.
BTW, you don’t need to pay anybody to copyright your book. I think it costs $35 to do it yourself with the US copyright office. That copyright is valid anywhere in the world. Most authors don’t officially copyright our books because they’re automatically copyrighted when they’re published. But it is good insurance to have if you ever want to sue a book pirate. Personally, I don’t worry about the pirates. I figure piracy can be a form of advertising. Just yesterday I found a pirate site where a bunch of people were praising one of my books they couldn’t find for free. (Poor babies couldn’t afford 4 bucks 🙂 .) I read the praise and ignored the rest.
Anyone heard of “the universal breakthrough”? Got an unsolicited email from them then more and more unsolicited emails claiming to want to talk to me about a book I wrote 6 years ago. Kinda fishy.
Sue–I’ve just given the phrase a Google and it seems to be a brand new “magazine” and YouTube channel. But the scam has been around a while. They sound like the same outfit in the Philippines who pulled that stuff on me a couple of years ago. They sent emails and then phoned, wanting to promote a (trad-pubbed) 15-year-old book. They of course weren’t aware that I’d written 12 books since then, several of them bestsellers. But they piled on the phony praise as if I were a complete newbie and told me how much they could do for me (all very vague.) You’re probably dealing with the same outfit with a different name. These scammers change their names a lot, just ahead of the law. You were right to be skeptical. Stay away!
I had a phone call a couple of weeks ago wanting to turn my book into a movie. I can’t even remember who he claimed to represent. But he didn’t even use the title of my book. He probably didn’t even know it. I just told him I wasn’t interested in doing anything else with it and hung up.
Success–You were smart to hang up. All those book-to-movie things are scams. Here’s Victoria Strauss on the subject of one of the worst. https://accrispin.blogspot.com/2019/08/universal-book-solutions-anatomy-of.html
Thank you for this info. I’ve been inundated by pitches saying they will help me make “five figures” a month if I take their training course or enroll in their “self-publishing school”! And they all use the same messaging. But their must be legit sources to help the writer who just wants to publish a couple books without losing your shirt. Can you recommend any?
Truvost–They get worse every month. This post is from 2020, and I have another for 2021, and posted another last month. Just this week I was contacted by an outfit that charges up to $27,000 a year for their self-publishing services.
YES, I can recommend self-publishing help that doesn’t cost your shirt or anything else. David Gaughran’s book Let’s Get Digital is FREE on his website. And Jane Friedman’s blog is a goldmine of honest, helpful publishing information. Here’s her guide How to Self=Publish a Book.
So right about Goodreads giveaways. I gave away 25 ebooks and got about five reviews, three of them appallingly bad-written, and two of them 3-stars (all my other reviews 4 or 5-stars).
Is Bedside Reading a scam? – they have approached me (never a good sign)…
Yours gratefully,
Alice
Cello–I’m surprised Bedside Reading is still at it. It seemed pretty iffy when they started a few years ago. It’s a cute idea–putting copies of your books in hotel rooms. But the price is ridiculous. And, as somebody commented on the Kboards, you can leave copies of your book in restaurant bathrooms for free. Besides, people who read voraciously tend to buy ebooks these days. Hard copy giveaways don’t usually lead to sales.
Hi Ann, thanks for this list of warnings!! Do you – or any of you here – know the #TheWriteAngle challenge of Book Leaf Publishing? It’s based in India. It’s not a contest and they say they publish every one’s book (in paperback & as e-book). You purchase the package deal for 50 Euro’s (I’m in The Netherlands) this includes: publishing (on Amazon, KOBO etc) the marketing materials they provide (so promotion is entirely up to me, but I don’t mind), a certificate on completion of the 21 day challenge, access to library of cover designs, 100% royalty of the profits.
They also say the copyrights remain with the author. The 21 poems will be submited online by means of jotforms.
It would be sooo nice to hear some comforting words on their credibility. And if anyone recognizes this challenge and/or publishing agency I would love to hear some personal experiences with them!
Thanks in advance ????????????????♀️
Phoebe–I’ve been asked about Book Leaf before, and my research doesn’t show an outright scam. It seems iffy, and I guess some people have found the printed product is shoddy and they’re slow to deliver. They don’t vet their authors, so it’s definitely a self-publishing outfit. I wouldn’t put much store in their “certificate”, but you will have a published book. Some people are very pleased with their books. So far I haven’t heard about royalty payments. If it does work out for you, and you do get paid your royalties, do let me know.
Hi – I have had my entry fee refunded. I lost my nerve after reading the comments a d am glad I pulled out, as,I didn’t want to trust my work to them. I could not have afforded any subsequent costs either. Lesson Learned.
Jam–Good news! That means they aren’t an outright scam, since they are honorable about refunds. Still, it sounds shoddy, so I’m glad you got out in time.
Yes – they kept £5 back for admin fees, but I am calling that enough of a result. Good luck to the others. Hopefully it will actually be good in the end.
Hi,
I just submitted my work in BookLeaf 2 days ago. I haven’t heard from them yet, and reading your comments made me anxious.
May–They may be fine and just shaky getting started. I hope it works for you.
I have entered this, due to start soon, and am now worried I might have made a mistake. Phoebe – did you enter? At least it seems there are people who have actually received print on demand books as advertised …. ????
I have entered. Just submitted and charged me $120.00 for add on for illustration and consultant. I added these on. But the small print said you would get a consultant free! I am yet to see if I will be able to edit my work to my specifications as I have used particular acrostic formation and structural choices. Very very anxious as communication is limited to emails only.
Nabeela–This all sounds very sketchy. I hope things turn out all right.
I have messaged through their message centre asking for a refund to cancel my entry, before the one I entered starts (1st October) but am not receiving a reply. I feel like an idiot for paying now.
Jan–I hope you can get your refund. Let us know if you do. This company is impossible to track down, because they seem to have bought all the entries on the Google search page. Everything that comes up they wrote themselves–except for one or two articles about scams, mostly mine. But Writer Beware and Alli do not mention them. I’m assuming they’re brand new. Or at least the name is. But the whole operation sounds dodgy. Running a contest in order to get known is fine, but this is looking like the age-old poetry scam anthology game. You pay a bunch of money to enter a “contest” where the prize is they get to charge you way too much for a shoddy poetry book. And the fact they had to buy all the Google search pages suggests a big-time scam. Legit companies don’t have to do that.
Hi Jan, jusy seinf this now sorry! I have, today is my last day (of the 7 extra days before sending it in). So… fingers crossed for the end result. I won’t be buying any add ons to lower the risk of them messing things up and losing more money. Btw: Glad you got your refund!!
Any further details on book leaf? Anyone who’s entered and had a good experience?
Adam–I haven’t heard anything. If it had been a major scam, I think we’d have heard more.
Beware of a company called Authors Note 360, they debited my 90y/o dads bank account $10,000 last month claiming he signed a virtual contract with them to republish a book he wrote 15 yrs ago. My Dad has dementia, lives in a nursing home and hasn’t a clue that such things as virtual contracts even exist. A Google street view of their corporate headquarters shows they list a dumpy apartment in Queens NY. My research is kind of indicating they are actually in the Philippians, I don’t know that for sure but it sure is looking that way. Doubt we will ever his money back but hopefully will prevent any other elderly author from being exploited.
Dianne–OMG!! This is it this is the big scam I’m talking about. They use dozens of different names and websites, and rent cheap mailboxes in the US to appear to be here, but they are all in the Philippines, spawn of Author Solutions. These are the scammers who’ve been calling me at 7 AM and scamming so many of the people who contact me. I didn’t know they were using the “virtual contract” scam, but this means they’re even more widespread and more dangerous than I thought. Could you send this info to Victoria Strauss at Writer Beware? (link is in the text above) She can get the word out too. And report it to your local DA. Even though these thugs are overseas, there are ways to stop them from taking money from US bank accounts. This is expanding into serious organized crime. Thanks so much for alerting us!
Hi Anne,
This seems like a possible scam, but not sure. Level 4 Press (level4press dot com). Saw the job posting on LinkedIn. Maybe it’s legit but just what it says, low-pay for a lot of work.
This is directly from their “Write for us” page:
Job Description:
“Level 4 Press, Inc. and Level 4 Films, Inc. are seeking assignment writers for a wide variety of books we are developing in-house.
“Our goal is to hire writers on a work-for-hire basis to write novels to our specifications. We will provide a detailed outline of the story, and editorial guidance and support throughout the process. We will also provide independent outside quality assurance reviews of the draft material. Level 4 Press, Inc. will publish the book, and Level 4 Films, Inc. (a division of Level 4 Press) will then work to produce the film adaptation.
“Publication of the book is entirely within our control and, provided the specifications are met, is a “sure thing.” To be clear, however, we require writers to follow the story outline exactly as provided, and we will only publish books that do so. We have several check-in points during the writing process intended to help writers succeed on that front. On the film side, only a subset of the titles are expected to successfully navigate the gauntlet of Hollywood and eventually get made.
“Writers must have the discipline and time, in addition to wordsmithing skills, to devote to this endeavor. Novels will be approximately 100,000 words and we are looking for writers willing and able to commit to composing 5,000 words per week to our specifications/outlines, expressing their creativity within the boundaries of the provided guideposts. We will try to match assignments with writers’ preferred genres (e.g., comedy, action/adventure, historical, etc.), but we’ll also offer the opportunity for you to stretch yourself and try something new if that is your desire.
“We anticipate releasing roughly sixty books in the first cycle, and forty per year after that. Writers will receive co-author/writer credit for their books and “Based on the book by” credit for any screen adaptations. Writers receive a $5K royalty advance in three installments. Writers will receive 100% of the royalties (they will not be asked to share the royalties). Royalties are calculated as 10% of book net sales. But please note that this is a work-for-hire agreement: Level 4 Press will own the rights to the created material and the only financial compensation will be the initial Payments, as well as the royalties on book sales and the same royalty on the sale of book rights for film and television (see FAQ for more info on royalties on book rights for film and television).
“We recognize that the stipends are not much money for the work required. We hope that the work we have already done to craft detailed story outlines, the support provided throughout the process, combined with the publication and author credit, will balance that out to some degree. We also hope to make the entire experience fun and professionally rewarding.”
David–I’ve seen some complaints about Level 4 books. The pay is so low that it’s hard to believe they’re scamming people. (Scammers usually promise big bux.) But they have no published books that I can find and apparently their staff consists of two people. At best it sounds like a nasty, bullying work situation with abysmal pay. I’d give them a wide berth.
An update from me: I entered BookLeaf challenge last October. I was already contacted by one of their publishing consultants. Will give further update on its turnout.
May–Thanks for the update. “Publishing consultant” can mean somebody helpful, but it can also mean a hard-sell marketer. So hang onto your wallet. Good luck!
I have been approached by an organisation calling itself Rare Books Media, offering to get my book converted to a screenplay and promote it in Hollywood. They are asking for what I consider a substantial amount of money. Have you heard of them? Is it legitimate? Should I be beware?
Isa–This is a classic “Hollywood scam.” Even if they produce a screenplay for you, all you’ve got is a screenplay. As does every barista in the greater Los Angeles area. These people don’t have the insider status to get your screenplay read.
This is an invaluable post. Thank you. ❤️
-working on my first book
Nathan
Nathan–The scammers are always out there, waiting to pounce on new writers like you. You’re smart to educate yourself. Do check my Scams to look out for in 2021, and all my other warnings of scams. Just put “publishing scams” in the search window to the right.
Lover you e-newsletter, Anne. So helpful, but you need to update your subject line so it reads 2022 and not 2020. Make me think the list of scammers hasn’t been update. Thanks! Reading your first book now.
Will–This post says 2020 because it is from 2020. Here is the post from 2021 . I have not written one for 2022. The year is young. But you can find many, many post on publishing scams by putting “publishing scams” in the search window on the right of the page.
Oh, good to know. Thanks!
Thank you so much for this helpful article. I am a traditionally published author because I’m aware of the sharks in the water. — Dr. Mary Hill Wagner, author of “Girlz ‘N the Hood: A Memoir of Mama in South Central Los Angeles”
Mary–Unfortunately, most of the writers being scammed think they are signing up with a traditional publisher. These people have very convincing websites and claim they are traditional publishers, and most people believe them. I even heard from a writer whose agent fell for a notorious scammer, and sent his ms to them. To the average person, these outfits look totally professional. I’ve talked to so many writers who think being traditionally published requires a hefty fee. They don’t even know how to reach a real publisher, because these scammers have permeated the writing community.
I totally agree. The parasite publishers have completely entrenched themselves in what was respectable publishing industry.
The way I see and predict that the 99.9% of the parasite publishers will go down unfortunately the 1% of the good and reputable publishers will go with them. What will emerge is a complete extermination of the parasite publishers. The honest publishers will re-emerge.
I would like some advice on how to see the parasites from the honest publishers please.
Sonia–Here’s my post from last week on how to stay safe from publishing scams, and there are links to all the popular posts I’ve written on the subject. The most important thing: if they ask for money up front, run. They are very likely scammers. That’s not how the publishing industry works. They may possibly be “hybrid” but probably not, and I don’t advise newbies to go with a hybrid publisher.
Hi,
I have used three publishers in the States and each one a parasite.
The latest Universal Breakthrough. They have renamed themselves. I thought I would be wary. This scam drags in The New York Times. I paid USD 1,599, for something you couldn’t read. Asked for a refund refused.
I am leaving America. I am an Australian Author.
Sonia–I’m so sorry you got scammed. I know it’s heartbreaking. Actually most of the scam publishers are headquartered in the Philippines, They are the evil spawn of Author Solutions, which did get its nasty fingers into a lot of legit publishing pies, and for a while even did business with Simon and Schuster and Random House. But the Big 5 all cut ties with them several years ago. But that meant Author Solutions just sprouted more copycats. They will buy a postbox somewhere in the US to seem American, but 90% are in Manila, so you’ll have to watch out for them in Oz too. Here’s my post on how to tell legit publishers from the bad guys. https://selfpublishingsites.com/2018/10/legitimate-publishers-or-bad-guys/
Do you have any suggestions as to a good publishing company. I had a book published in 2008 and the company I used basically took all the money except $5.00 from each book sold at $19.99. They also got extra money to have my books sold internationally. Some new authors have such a hard time getting published. I have a short story to publish now. I was advised to look into Literary Magazines. When I did that the word count was less than the count I have for the story. So I’m lost. 🙁
Kasunta–Any publishing company that expects the author to pay THEM is not a good publishing company IMO. They should pay YOU. Yes, there are hybrid publishers like She Writes that are okay, but they are still pricey and not right for most first time novelists. A great source of lists of legit small publishers is the newsletter Authors Publish. https://authorspublish.com/ They also list literary and small journals that pay for stories. Erica Verillo’s blog is another great resource. https://publishedtodeath.blogspot.com/. Always check a publisher with Writer Beware and the Alliance for Independent Authors for scammers before you sign a contract.
I gave away 100 copies of my book A Changed America on Goodreads. I got a 4 srar rating from one reader and another reader who seemed to be a self professed reviewer and wrote that she didn’t like the book and gave me 2.5 star. Because I answered to clarify her claim, immediately she reduced the rating to 1 star. I got puzzled and reported to Amazon about it to delete it but they didn’t do anything.
Kevyargy–So sorry you got caught up in the Goodreads dramas. A lot of people use the Goodreads giveaways to get free books they resell and never review. And the people who do review are notorious for giving bad reviews. Especially to books they haven’t read. And it’s a major no-no for an author to respond to a review, no matter how inaccurate. In fact, I wrote a novel about how responding to a review leads to murder (So Much for Buckingham.) My first agent warned me against Goodreads and told me never to read reviews there. “Go to Goodreads, link to your blog, and never, ever go back” is what she told me. That was many years ago. It’s much worse now. I wish the whole platform would go away. I don’t think it helps anybody. There’s a “reviewer” named Annette who “reviews” 100s of books a day–all one-stars. Obviously she’s being paid by competitors, because the books will all be on one particular subject each day. Goodreads will do nothing. The trolls are running the show.
Do you have any suggestions as to a good publishing company?
Charles–You know the names of the Big 5 publishing companies, I’m sure, but they require an agent. So you’re looking for a good reliable small press. There are lots of them. You’ll have to do some research to find the ones that publish your genre and reach your demographic. You can start with the vetted listings at Authors Publish magazine. No cost to you and very reliable.