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When the late, unlamented Tate Publishing & Enterprises went belly-up a few months ago, I started hearing from Tate authors who were being contacted by self-publishing companies and other for-profit enterprises looking to recruit new customers. Some of these were straightforward, reasonably reputable (if overpriced) businesses. Others…not so much.
Very active trying to snag Tate authors was Legaia Books.
Here’s how Legaia describes itself (bolding and errors courtesy of the original):
Legaia is a book publishing company created to aid writers in seeing their works in prints. Whether you’re a beginner or a published author, and whatever is the genre of your work (memoirs, fiction, non-fiction, children’s book, or even poetry collection), it is always our pleasure to be working with you. Legaia has no reservations to anything in particular other than those that contradict what is in the terms and services. With the application of new technology and information, we are able to accommodate our clients and are maintaining this accessibility for a better relationship.
The whole website is written like this, which should be a gigantic clue that things aren’t kosher. If that’s not enough, consider the eye-poppingly expensive publishing packages (which don’t offer anything that’s not available elsewhere for much less money), the hugely overpriced “online media publicity campaign” (based largely on cheap-for-the-provider services that can be sold at an enormous markup), and the nebulously-described “Online Retail Visibility Booster“, which costs $6,499 and wants you to believe that’s a fair price for something called a Booster Tool that supposedly gets you more reviews on Amazon.
You can also buy advertising in Paperclips Magazine, which among other “opportunities” encourages authors to pay $1,999 for a book review or $4,999 for a “Paperclips Author Article.” According to the Legaia website, Paperclips is “a social online magazine that showcases books and author experiences in the publishing industry”; according to email solicitations like the one above, it has “over 2 million subscribers worldwide” (a bit hard to believe, given the mix of terrible writing, puff pieces, and ads that make up most of its content). (UPDATE 3/2/18: Legaia has consolidated its various Paperclips offerings, and now offers advertising packages for a full spread, a full page, and a half page, ranging from $2,599 to $5,499.)
What both website and solicitations fail to mention: Legaia and Paperclips are one and the same, a fact Legaia admits on its LinkedIn page. This is the kind of profitable closed loop that allows an author-exploiting enterprise to hit up its victims multiple times.
As for Paperclips Magazine, it’s…interesting. Not just for the amount of money that must have been generated by all the author articles and ads. Not just for the insanely awful writing by the “Editorial Team” (screenshot at left).
No. For the plagiarism and the intellectual property theft.
The Paperclips website includes numerous short articles with the byline Chloe Smith. Much of this content actually belongs to other authors. For instance, a piece called 7 Active Reading for Students: here it is at Paperclips, under Chloe’s name. Here’s the original, attributed to the real author: Grace Fleming. How about 10 Keys to Writing a Brilliant Speech? Here it is at Paperclips. Here’s the original, by Bill Cole. Ditto These Are the 8 Fundamental Principles of Great Writing. Here it is at Paperclips. Here’s the original (with a different title), by Glenn Leibowitz.
I could go on. There are lots more examples. And that’s just the Paperclips website. The magazine also includes stolen content. At least Why Print Books are Better than eBooks, and Ways to Improve eReaders bears the name of its true author, Greg Krehbiel…but Greg has confirmed to me that Paperclips published it without his permission. (It originally appeared here.) (I also reached out to two other authors included in the same issue, but as of this writing I haven’t heard back.)
Any bets on whether Paperclips got permission to use images of Dr. Seuss characters on the cover of its latest issue? Or asked George R.R. Martin if it was okay to re-publish his August 2016 blog post–complete with original artwork from the illustrated anniversary edition of Game of Thrones?
A bunch of other things don’t add up. Legaia/Paperclips has a North Carolina address, but it’s a virtual office. Legaia’s LinkedIn page claims the company was founded in 2008, but its domain wasn’t registered until late 2015. Similarly, Paperclips’ LinkedIn page says it started up in 2012, but its domain wasn’t created until November 2016 (I also couldn’t find any issues of the magazine earlier than December 2016). I’ve been able to locate only two actual human staff members (neither website includes staff names, and the two names I’ve seen on Legaia’s author solicitations, Emily Bryans and Serena Miles, appear to be wholly imaginary); both are based in the Philippines, and one formerly worked for Author Solutions.
Between these things, the English-as-a-second-language writing, the overpriced and exploitive “services”, the plagiarism, and just the general sleazy feel of it all, I’m strongly reminded of LitFire Publishing, which has a very similar business model and M.O, and was established by Author Solutions call center alumni in the Philippines as a sort of low-rent Xlibris-AuthorHouse-iUniverse-Trafford clone. Are LitFire and Legaia the same operation? Probably not. But it wouldn’t surprise me if Legaia has the same provenance.
“Emily Bryans” is currently soliciting authors for something called Paperclips Magazine’s Author Circle, which is supposedly arriving this October and will feature “celebrity authors and multi-awarded literary contributors” (wonder how many of them know they’re included?) No word on how much it will cost to join up, but I bet it’s a bundle.
Writer beware.
UPDATE 12/15/17: Just found this, from the Better Business Bureau listing for Legaia. So much for the company’s claim to be located in North Carolina (or the USA):
UPDATE 1/25/18: Legaia is one of a growing number of similar companies that appear to be Author Solutions imitators, staffed and, in many cases, founded by ex-Author Solutions call center employees in the Philippines.
These companies share a cluster of characteristics, including aggressive solicitation, re-publishing offers (often to authors who’ve used the various Author Solutions imprints), claims of skill and experience that don’t check out (or can’t be checked because they’re so vague), websites and written materials full of English-language errors, and an emphasis on selling junk marketing services (which is where these outfits make the bulk of their profit).
For more information, see my followup blog posts:
Army of Clones: Author Solutions Spawns a Legion of Copycats
Army of Clones, Part 2: Twenty-One (More) Publishing and Marketing “Services” to Beware Of
From the Philippines, Not With Love: A Plague of Publishing and Marketing Scams
A complete list of the more than 50 companies I’ve discovered to date has been added to the sidebar.
UPDATE 4/19/18: Legaia is still at it. A solicitation from “Frank Parker, Senior Publishing Consultant”, just received by an author I know:
UPDATE 12/18/19: Legaia has re-vamped its website and removed a lot of the pages I originally linked to, so many of the links above go to Internet Archive pages.
It has also removed the costly publishing packages from its site, and now offers 349 Publishing, which it describes as “an all-in publishing service for as low as $349”. The individual marketing services are gone as well, replaced by “marketing packages” of Google ads and Amazon advertising. Prices range from $1,000 to $3,000.
There’s no longer any mention of Paperclips. Sometime in 2018, Paperclips re-invented itself as a sort of low-rent Entertainment Weekly, hosting a lot of paid movie features–but it’s still full of paid author content, and it’s still aggressively soliciting authors to buy in. And its prices have not gone down. Here, from a recent email solicitation,is an “executive full-spread ad” (on sale!):
UPDATE 4/15/20: From Legaia’s BBB listing (where it as accumulated an impressive number of complaints):
UPDATE 9/15/21: The Legaia website is no longer functional, but it is still doing business–under another name, Get Started Books.
Thank you Victoria, for the help you give the authors with your very informative articles and also the disclosure of these 'pirates' scams.
Legaia Books published my book in 2020 and even though John Davis promised me to send some copies for free, they sent me a copy only. Then, they all disappeared from the screen, they are ghosts to me now. No phone calls and email messages answered and no way for me to find a proper method to contact them. I have friends who already ordered via Amazon a number of my books and they received the books on time. This tells me that Legaia Books is still operating 'somewhere' and in control of my book' selling, but where is my royalty? John Davis promised me to sell me my own book with less than $6.00, but how to get in contact with them to order my books?
Do you happen to know if they are still in business? If "YES", then how to contact them?
Thank you
These guys r pirates , nd practice plagiarism, bad communication, no wonder their on the BBB alert
I just learned that the scammed my Mom this past year with the 'screenplay' clickbait. She is in her 80's, a novice poet/musician with a great heart and after getting over $6,500 by wire transfer from her, Legaia, her IP, Screenplay, video 'trailer' and the rest, are no where to be found. Phone shut off, websites/emails gone, etc.
Right along with my Mother's money. I felt horrible when she asked me to help her contact the company and I had to tell her she got screwed.
I am in trouble because of Legaia books right now. I published my book with them about a month ago. Serena Miles's email address is no longer in service. Her phone number is no longer in service. The Legaia "headquarters" phone number is no longer in service. The worst part is I felt so accomplished that I got my book out there and that people were buying it. Any suggestions on how to handle this would be welcome. Thanks.
Good morning. today I was "honored" with an unsolicited invitation that reads, word for word, the 9/22/20 and 10/14/20 solicitations listed here. Only mine was from John Davis. Not that I would have responded, but thank you for your informative and watchful policing of the world of frauds and scammers. I have been "taken" twice now…yeah, I have FINALLY learned my lesson. First by Universal Press and second by Litfire. Fact is, I know my book sold, but I never saw a dime from either.
John Davis
9:03 AM (45 minutes ago)
to me
I hope this email finds you well.
My name is John Davis, I'm from Legaia Books USA. The reason why I'm contacting you today is because of your book Grandpa Grey?s Timeless Tales and Fabulous Fables. I understand that the book has been published for quite some time now and based on your book's current marketing performance I would like to invite you to get it featured on our upcoming Christmas Special for the Paperclips Magazine 2020 Issue.
In this upcoming December issue, Paperclips Magazine will be highlighting the biggest news and stories from the entertainment industry that unfolded this 2020 and key inside articles that our subscribers awaits. We have featured the biggest names in the industry like bestselling authors and Hollywood decision makers – we want you to be part of our circle.
If you are interested with this opportunity please call me at my number 1 (919) 827-4355(John Davis) or simply reply to this email.
Thank you!
Best regards,
John Davis
Sales & Marketing Manager
Legaia Books USA
555 Fayetteville Street Suite 201
Raleigh, NC 27601, US Phone: (919) 827 4355
E-mail: john@legaiabooks.com Website: http://www.Legaiabooks.com
Hi Victoria,
Thank you for a very informative and timely article. I just received an email from Serena Miles yesterday. The email is identical to the one above sent to S. Davenport. The book they referred to was published in 2005 with AuthorHouse aka Author Solutions. It was my first book, we learn as we go. The main thing is that we do learn. As soon as I read the email, it seemed suspicious. I did reply to it out of curiosity–I wonder what their services will cost. I have no intention to work with them, specially after reading this article which confirmed my suspicions. Having said that, I'm still interested in investigating their ruse.
Whenever an opportunity comes across that seems too good to be true, it is wise to Google it and make sure it's not scam.
I'm grateful for your in-depth information.
Stay Safe and Stay Creative!
Thank you for this article! I just received the email below from Legaia today regarding a book I published with Xlibris back in the 1990s. I was one of their first 100 customers and published my book for free. I was upset with Xlibris because the book ended up with four typos in the proof (not in the original manuscript), and Xlibris offered me the chance to fix them if I paid (quite a lot of money for me at the time), so I never bothered. When I sent out the book, I had to correct the typos by hand. I still get these marketing requests occasionally (though Xlibris has given up).
The salutation to "S. Davenport" is a dead giveaway since I go by my middle name and they don't even bother to include it. Here is the full email from Serena Miles.
"It's Early Christmas for your book Amphibious Dreamers?!"
Hi S. Davenport,
I hope this email finds you well.
My name is Serena Miles, I'm from Legaia Books USA. The reason why I'm contacting you today is because of your book Amphibious Dreamers. I understand that the book has been published for quite some time now and based on your book's current marketing performance I would like to invite you to get it featured on our upcoming Christmas Special for the Paperclips Magazine 2020 Issue.
In this upcoming December issue, Paperclips Magazine will be highlighting the biggest news and stories from the entertainment industry that unfolded this 2020 and key inside articles that our subscribers awaits. We have featured the biggest names in the industry like bestselling authors and Hollywood decision makers – we want you to be part of our circle.
If you are interested with this opportunity please call me at my number 1 (844) 819-3389? or simply reply to this email.
Thank you!
Just had a email, out of the blue for this company regarding a book I have published through iUniverse. My book has been out years and was done more for me that to make any money so was surprised when I got this email, I did some digging and landing on here…how many authors have fallen for it I wonder?
Many thanks for the heads up.
I just received another solicitation from them and didn't even read it once I saw who it was from. I just deleted it immediately. Thank you again for the warnings about these scam artists.
Anonymous 7/30,
Plug "Author Solutions" into the search box in the sidebar to see the many posts I've written about this company and its various imprints.
I don't see a mention here of 1st Books/Authorhouse/Author Solutions/Life Rich Publishing
(yes,the last is the most recent name I know) also hooking up with our prestigious old Reader's Digest, as their "publishing arm." My Grand Prize winning novel in Reminisce Magazine's inaugural memoir contest, Confessions of a Martian Schoolgirl, was so badly mishandled by "Life Rich," that my fifteen minutes of fame became about six seconds – and only in my neighborhood! Insensitive, uncommitted and deprecating emails came to me from persons who still had their Author Solutions adverts on their emails! Published in July, it was late September before they straightened out the discount with the major book wholesalers, and AFTER "my" indie bookstores had canceled my appearance due to 15% instead of 40% to purchase the books. I took back the rights in December .. and in January got an email that the thousands of banners included in the prize had just flashed on the Reader's Digest website (7 months after publication) and got 48 hits. When I inquired for the 48 hits,I could never receive a reply.
Just a warning to emerging authors .. have no faith in LifeRich, either.
J. R. Nakken
Got the screenplay e-mail today, wording exactly as above, NC address. Sent by a Mr James Wolff. I published a novel through Trafford back in 2008, when they were based in Canada and had an office in Oxford, before they became the scammers they are now.
Good decision Kendragon. I got the e-mail, too and thank God I found this blog in doing research about Legaia.
I just received an email from Legaia congratulating me on my "new book" (my book has been out for several years). This is probably the 6th or 7th scammer to contact me about my book, and I am almost certain they are getting my info from Abott Press, which I naively published with (painful and expensive lesson). I republished my book with Amazon, and I have a second book out (which none of the scammers are aware of). The few times I have bothered to respond to the scams, just to find out more, they are always referring to the edition I published with AP.
Anyway, Legaia claims book scouts found my book, and they are offering to turn it into a screenplay. I am going to ignore the email.
I was contacted by email with an offer to turn my book into a screen play. I finally searched Legaia Books USA and found this blog and the complaints on the BBB website. Thanks for having our backs against these scammers.
I was contacted today by email with an offer to transform my book into a screenplay. Just like the comment above. I published a book of short stories with Westbow Press about 10 years ago. It looked very suspicious, so I began investigating and found this site. Thanks.
I received a mail (04/16/2020) of Legaia's Marketing Director Rod Taylors, offered me to transform my novel into a screenplay. My book was published in 2010 with Xlibris. After all this time I was surprised by it. But when I began to investigate on the internet, found your blog. Thanks for exposing this kind of frauds.
Anonymous – I'm glad I found this blog also. So many are being ripped off and I was one of them when I first started getting published. I thought I was being careful but some of these publishers are really slick in hiding the truth.
Sue C. Thanks for your post of the email. Today, I received the exact letter from Legaia Books USA – word for word with the same typos and spacing issues. So sad that there are companies like these taking advantage of people who are passionate about their work.
So happy I saw this blog in time.
Thank you for exposing these frauds. I have 8 published books and really appreciate the work you do because it is sometimes hard to discipher the frauds from the legitimate, especially for new authors.
Can you please forward me a legitimate publishing company because I got scammed by legalia Books Thank you CrotonaJohn@aol.com
Writer Beware doesn’t provide recommendations. But you can find information on publishers, including scam warnings and resources to help you research appropriate publishers, on Writer Beware’s Small Presses page.
Screenplay and various book-to-film "services" are fast becoming the most heavily promoted by scams like Legaia, especially now that most book fairs have been canceled. Like everything else from Legaia and companies like it, it's a huge ripoff.
Also, interestingly, Legaia seems to have launched a new magazine, with a very strategic name (since it will be easy to confuse "Write" with "The Writer"). Expose to follow.
I got an email from Romel Maxwell today wanting to turn my poetry book into a screenplay. I don't even know how one does that.
I am so glad I ran across this article because I just received an e-mail from Legaia Books wanting to make a screen play from one of my books. Obviously they are still using the N.C. address.
Here is a copy of the e-mail:
Congratulations on your new book “Pursuit" My name is Rod Taylors a Marketing Consultant here at Legaia Books USA. I discovered your book as a referral from our book scouts. Our team was able to review your work and they want me to reach out to you and invite you for a screenplay option for your book.
A screenplay option would give you the opportunity to turn your book into a screenplay written by a professional screenwriter. A screenplay of your book can be written for either a feature film, a documentary or a short. We have turned books into screenplays and have submitted them as entries for film festivals in 2020.
I admire the passion that you’ve shown in publishing your book and I hope you’ll find the intentions of this email adding value to where you want your book to be. My team would love to talk to you more about this opportunity. Please give me a call at 1 (919) 827-4459 (Rod Taylors)or at our Troll Free number 1 (844) 819-3389.
Looking forward to hear from you!
Rod Taylors
Book & Marketing Director • Legaia Books USA • Writes Magazine
phone: (919) 827 4459 • fax: (984)-292-0856
email: rod@writemagazine.co
555 Fayetteville Street Suite 201 Raleigh, North Carolina 27601
http://www.legaiabooks.com
http://www.writemagazine.co
I just got an email from "Rod Taylors" the supervisor of "Emily Bryans" from Legaia Books. Can't they at least use the name of someone not quite as famous and well known to try and scam people?
I wanted to say thanks for this article. I too have been aggressively solicited by "Jim Belfort"/Legaia Books over the last year. I'm glad I trusted my suspicious instincts and chose not to engage with these lying lowlifes. I have also previously been solicited by both LitFire of Georgia and BookVenture of Michigan in the 2 years before that. I think all of the above offer the same grossly-overpriced vanity book-marketing scam where what they sell you isn't worth even 1/100th of what they make you pay for it. I finally realized that if you're serious about either a traditional or hybrid (part-traditional, part self-published) contract that it's better if you're the one who solicits them instead of the other way around. If they're calling you, chances are they are more interested in trying to sell you something false and utterly worthless than they are in actually helping you achieve sales success with your book. Sad, but true.
I also received the Screenplay email from Emily. Thank you Writer's Beware for this article. You saved me.
I received the exact same email. Made the call. Spoke with a foreigner who immediately told me how much I could make if the Screenplay is selected to turn into a movie. The cost to turn your book into a Screenplay is $8000. They were willing to prorate the initial investment from me to $500, which is a savings of $2800. He wanted to transfer me to Finance quickly. Phone disconnected. Thank you for this blog and the Warning.
I also just received an e-mail from 'Emily Bryan' regarding my book and wanting to turn into screenplay, etc., just like Little Lotus's comment above. Thank you for this post!!
I received an email today from Emily Bryans wanting to turn my book into a screenplay to subsmit to film festivals. I’ve kearned to at least Google a company first before I make any contact, I’m glad this was the first thing that popped up! Thank you for keeping us informed!
Thanks for the info I just got hit up by a rep today via LinkedIn for editorial services. Funny.
Thanks for posting this article. I've received a phone message and an email from Legaia. They've offered to have one of their screenplay writers develop a screenplay of my novel. Of course, that process could lead to a film version of my book. Thank goodness for the BBB and websites like yours!
Unfortunately, People have been swindled from all over the world!!
The moral of this post is
There a good people with morals, values and ethics.
Then there are people that lack all or some of the above mentioned.
People are people it is not the countries that make them bad, it is their belief system, core values, and poor decision making that make them horrible
Good luck on your future writing career.
I receive the same emails and calls from legaiabooks.com and http://www.paperclipsmagazine.com.
The person that calls me from the same 919-914-9865 number is Francis, he speaks with an accent and swears his office is located in North Carolina. He contacts me several times a day.
If I tell him I am unavailable, he still contacts me anyway.
He sent a proposal letter stating he would publish my 4th book and include 3-6 months of book promotion/marketing for 500 dollars. Do Not Trust this company at all.
Last year a lady named Emily and another man named Geof called all year long!!
I'm another Tate-to-Legaia transfer author. In Feb. of this year, I was sent a sales report for 2018. A royalty payment was sent to my PayPay account on Mar. 1st. Then, on Mar. 7th, the payment was refunded back to Legaia! I have been sending query emails to my marketing representative, Bradley Perkins, asking what happened and when I would see the money but there's been no response since February. Any suggestions? At what point to I claim breach of contract and re-publish the book on my own?
Thanks for any guidance you can give. – Jim
Anonymous 6/10,
America Star Books, a.k.a. PublishAmerica, went out of business in the fall of 2017, without official announcements or returning rights to authors. Given that the business is dead and hasn't reappeared, I think that authors can assume that their rights have reverted to them and they are free to re-publish. I'd just suggest that you check Amazon to be sure there aren't current Kindle versions of your books available (apparently ASB/PA failed to cancel its Kindl account when it vanished)–if there are, you'll need to contact Amazon to have them taken down.
I had two novels with American Star, the first novel in 2004. I only received royalties the first two years. Then nothing. I'm retired in the Philippines and on low income. I have saved and hope to get all the info from you to publish them through you. I have the PDF of each novel, but its locked. Once we begin to process each novel. can you unlock it and allow me to make some corrections? How much will it cost? Is your printer available to foreign book stores like National Book Store here in the Philippines? What would it cost me to get copies here in the Philippines? I hope you will feel free to email me with all details, as I have budget to get at least one novel going in August and the other in September. My email is wmvasquez1@hotmail.com. Thank you for your time.
If you need a very reasonable publishing cost then visit one of the biggest distribution of books that also publishes a book, Ingramsparks.com
Unfortunately my book was pubbed by iUniverse back in the day, and I have gotten several calls and emails from these goons wanting me to buy their services to promote it. If I could get it taken down from Amazon I would, but they refuse. The book is not going to go anywhere because I can't do anything with it. I went through H** trying to clean it up after they (iUniverse) introduced many, many errors in it so I would have to keep going back and paying to fix their mess. A hard lesson learned.
This is the email I got today:
Hi, (Name removed)
My name is Emily Bryans I represent Paperclips Magazine. I'm sending you this email regarding your book " DSOCH". I actually stumbled upon your book on amazon and I really like your vision in this work- I showed your book to my team and they wanted to know more about it. How's it doing right now?
Anyway, I think the book is very interesting and it seems like it wasn't marketed extensively and I think if more readers would stumble upon it they would feel the same way as we did. Don't you think?
We believe if you are able to tell more people what this book is all about and basically enlighten them why they should read this book then book sales would be a lot better for you. Our team strongly believe so. Well, I hope you are still interested to make that happen. Actually, Paperclips Magazine has articles written about well-known figures in the publishing business like J.K. Rowling author of the Harry Potter Series and the bestselling author Stephen King who sold 350 million copies worldwide. I would like to see you and your book be part of that prestigious opportunity to promote your title. I hope this is something you are still interested in, are you?
By the way check out the magazine at www. paperclipsmagazine.com and read it so that you'll know what I'm talking about.
If you want to know more about the Paperclips Magazine please call me at 1-844-692-2665 and I'll have one of my agents discuss with you how we can be able to help you with your work and get your book out in the market. We are currently offering 40% off on our advertising services until the 15th of next month. Hopefully we can talk about it before then.
Thank you and I'll look forward for your reply.
Emily Bryans
Book Scout
Legaia Books USA
P: 1 (844) 692-2665
E: emily.bryans@legaiabooks.com
North Carolina, USA
Privacy Policy This policy covers how we use your personal information. We take your privacy seriously and will take all measures to protect your personal information. Any personal information received will only be used to fulfill your order, and may be used for internal analytical purposes. We will not sell or redistribute your information to anyone.
Yup, just got an email from Emily today about my book. What a crock. I can't tell you how many of these scum bags come out of the woodwork promising big things.
Yawn, yeah right…
That sounds exactly like who contacted me from them too.
I just got a call from a young woman (very distracted) who wanted me to describe, in detail, the plot to my first novel (which I self published). However, throughout the conversation, she acted as if she hadn't heard a thing I said. She said she was with Legaia Books and they wanted to publish my novel. When I told them I'd revised it, they said; "Oh, give the latest version." I also published with Tate and got NOTHING for my novel. The Attorney General of (Utah?) contacted me on a phone line, or an assistant, asked me a few questions. They followed that up with a letter. Nothing came from it. I never heard from anyone again until this evening. The young girl had a heavy "Asian?" accent, not sure country origin but it wasn't India. She had that sort of giggly "airhead" quality I found rather strange in a solicitation person. In fact, she cut the call short, said she'd send me an email and abruptly hung up.
Legaia is still up to its tricks! Email received yesterday offering to help people "stumble upon" my book:
Hi [hopefully gullible writer],
My name is Serena Miles I represent Paperclips Magazine. I'm sending you this email regarding your book "[title]". I actually stumbled upon your book on amazon and I really like your vision in this work- I showed your book to my team and they wanted to know more about it. How's it doing right now?
Anyway, I think the book is very interesting and it seems like it wasn't marketed extensively and I think if more readers would stumble upon it they would feel the same way as we did. Don't you think?
We believe if you are able to tell more people what this book is all about and basically enlighten them why they should read this book then book sales would be a lot better for you. Our team strongly believe so. Well, I hope you are still interested to make that happen. Actually, Paperclips Magazine has articles written about well-known figures in the publishing business like J.K. Rowling author of the Harry Potter Series and the bestselling author Stephen King who sold 350 million copies worldwide. I would like to see you and your book be part of that prestigious opportunity to promote your title. I hope this is something you are still interested in, are you?
By the way check out the magazine at http://www.paperclipsmagazine.com and read it so that you'll know what I'm talking about.
If you want to know more about the Paperclips Magazine please call me at 1-844-692-2665 and I'll have one of my agents discuss with you how we can be able to help you with your work and get your book out in the market. We are currently offering 40% off on our advertising services until the 15th of next month. Hopefully we can talk about it before then.
Thank you and I'll look forward for your reply.
I came across this post while trying to research Paperclips magazine, to confirm that it is a scam. 'Emily Bryna' from there sent me an email yesterday on a book I originally published (1999) through AuthorHouse and subsequently republished, myself, after doing my research and getting back the rights. It 'smelled' odd to me:
My name is Emily Bryans I represent Paperclips Magazine. I'm sending you this email regarding your book "Pharaoh's Son". I actually stumbled upon your book on amazon and I really like your vision in this work- I showed your book to my team and they wanted to know more about it. How's it doing right now?
Anyway, I think the book is very interesting and it seems like it wasn't marketed extensively and I think if more readers would stumble upon it they would feel the same way as we did. Don't you think?
I see that I am correct. Thank you for addessing this.
H.R. Green,
I think it's pointless to answer them back; they don't care. Even if they don't continue to pursue you, if one of these outfits has your contact info, a lot of others do too. Expect more solicitations.
I was just contacted by PaperClips today. (It's a Sunday. Already I know they aren't legit.) About my first book, Listen Like Fiends, that the person who sent the email claimed they found on Amazon. (Quite possibly.) They went on to rave about the book and how wonderful my 'voice' was, etc. The problem is that version of my book was self published in a very terrible way. To start off, it's a rough draft, so already I see red flags. Also, it's a collection of stories with my first novel, Machete Mauler, which is one of the worst works of fiction I've ever written. (Really, I wrote it without using an outline thinking I didn't need one.) I have two other books on Amazon and both were rewritten at least 7 times before I felt I was done they seem to choose this particular book.
I'm thinking about answering them back about the mistake they made. Do you think they follow my suggestion and let the volume rot in a shallow grave or do you think they'll still try to pursue me in hopes i'll spend a couple of thousands on their so called generous services very much the same kind of help that Xlibris provided? I believe the latter, but I'll probably be a bit salty tomorrow after seen a specialist that I might have some S's & G's at their expense by answering them back.
Seriously, that version is a bad book. I've edited most of the stories (Not the short novel) and rereleased the book on lulu.com. That one is the better one.
Eventually, all I have to do is tell them I have no money at all and they'll leave me alone. (I can still dream)
Thank you to all you authors. I was just contacted by PaperClips Magazine and the next day Legaia. I had my suspicions. That is why I'm checking them out. I've been badly burned in the past. I would like to know if any of you have found a "legitimate" self-publisher who'll take us authors seriously and not take advantage of us. If there is no one out there I can trust, I've come to the point where I'll print my own book.
I just got an e-mail from the, alleged, James Wolff. The content was exactly the same as Tom's e-mail. It smelled fishy right away, as I wrote a poem by the name of the "book" that James purported to have read. I started investigating "Paper Clip" and then dug a bit further and ended up here. The resulting feeling, for me, is amazement and disgust at how many bottom feeders are in the creative fields of endeavor, taking advantage of desires to communicate by genuinely creative people.
The whole experience will probably result in a scathing poem about the situation. Unfortunately, bottom feeders don't read, they raid.
Someone from Legaia left a message on my phone asking me to call them and referring to my latest book. I'm glad I read all these comments. I won't be calling Legaia any time soon. Thanks.
Hi I also just received a call from Legaria saying the want to republish my two books from Tate. They make it sound so good. My contact person was Greg Murphy. It was word for word like Frank Parker.I am so thankful i saw this blog, you have saved me a lot of headache.
Just had an emailthus morning from Frank Parker saying he'd sent my book to his marketing team. Came on Google to see what was being said and found this blog, thank you for being so thorough in your investigations. Mind made up, ignore Frank Parker, thank you for the blog.
Just got a call from them and an email. It fits into the mold of everything you've said so far. Such a pitty folks like this are out there taking advantage of people with a dream. Well…I won't let them put a spear in mine!
Thanks for all your info,
Dave
Unknown,
Tate outsourced a lot of its work to the same Philippine call centers that serve Author Solutions and gave birth to all these copycat operations. I wouldn't put selling authors to the devil past the Tates, but I think it's more likely that people who worked for Tate are now working for Legaia and others, and when they crossed over took Tate author information with them.
I posted the comment above. After thinking about it, I sent a strongly-worded email response, ordering them to cease and desist their operation. I also cited copyright law.
Anyway, about 5 minutes after hitting send, these people CALLED ME ON MY PERSONAL CELL PHONE!!! How the hell did they get my info? I published my book under a pen name!!
Tate probably sold all our contact info to these animals. I wish we could sue them, but the bastards are hiding behind bankruptcy.
I just found an email from this "press". I was weeding through an old, partially inactive email address that was associated with my Tate days. I'm not even responding to them. It's despicable how we were already fleeced by Tate, now the vultures are swooping down on us.
I plan to republish my book, plus two more as part of a 3 for the price of 1 trilogy on Amazon or something like that. Screw these vanity publishers. I should have known better, but dagnabbit, we PAID for marketing, and got zilch!
Oh well. I'm lucky I sold some books and also have a middle school teacher friend who teaches my book to her students. So I get to go for an author visit a couple of times a year and talk to kids who have actually read my work. I'm sure some of Tate's victims don't even have that. The whole thing is sad, and it sucks.
Thank you so much for this article. I was contacted (at work!) by these guys. They identified me as a former Tate author and told me that the founder of their company was also a former Tate author and has "personally extended you an invite to republish your book at half the normal cost".
Thank goodness I Googled their name and the first article to come up was yours!
Deborah Williams Rodenhizer
As a former and very disappointed author of a Christian romance novel, I too have been contacted by jerks who try to work on the egos of writers who take pride in their hard work. I speak for myself for I'll not reach the status of truly standout writers. I look into the mirror and see the image of a person who was a high school dropout, and after a tour of military duty, went on to earn four college degrees. I was told as a youth my twin and I would never amount too much. Needless to say those people have vacated my childhood history. I went on to complete my first novel–forty years–followed by three novels, two of which are sequels to the first, and am in the midst of writing my third sequel. I'm 84 and pray I live long enough to finish the four-book series. Enough about me. My experience and love of writing is as strong as others who have crossed path with the UNCHRISTIAN PUBLISHER (Tate). The family are a disgrace to the name, Christian. I'd put them in the same pit in hell that Legaia Books Publisher representative (John Davis, Patterson, etc)need to be assigned. This company has contacted me a number of times telling me how great my book is (not was). How do they know all these great things? They mention Amazon. I can't believe Amazon is part of this sad conspiracy. I'll more than have to watch how this Tate, etc. story will end from the Publishing room in the sky. Until the Head Librarian calls my creative efforts in to His Books of Life I'll work hard at finishing my Labor of Love; my fifth Christian romance novel. Dr. Morris
I was contacted by this company in regards to an older and less popular book published by WestBow Press (Who is also an Author Solutions company). Here is the email I received:
Your book "Testing and Temptations" looks utterly great and it's absolutely brilliant. I wonder why you haven't gone much on public with this book. If you don't mind I forwarded it to my marketing team who I think could really help you with your goals on this book.
By the way, we represent Paperclips Magazine an online content distribution channel that features influential authors and aspiring bestsellers to the reading market. When I was looking at your book's ranking in amazon, though, I realized that you badly need a marketing platform to boost your book's visibility and ranking in the market – this really makes me want to talk to you.
Feel free to check out our magazine by clicking here or visit our website http://www.paperclipsmagazine.com.
Please connect with me and let's talk about your book. My number is 1 (919) 439-4733 (James Wolff). I'll look forward hearing from you.
Thanks!
Best regards,
James Wolff
SR. PUBLISHING CONSULTANT
LEGAIA BOOKS
Publishing Service Provider
555 Fayetteville Street Suite 201
Raleigh, NC 27601, US
Phone: 919-439-4733
E-mail: james@legaiabooks.com
Website: http://www.Legaiabooks.com
————-
Thanks for the article, it was helpful to connect some dots! Fortunately I will be removing my business from Author solutions entirely in a month or so.
Stand in line, it would seem …
My email this morning came from someone called Greg Murphy. It's word-for-word identical to Greg Russell's.
My reply is below:
Hi Greg,
I would like to believe that this is a genuine offer to help me market my book, however, the fact that there are “?” appearing instead of the dash and apostrophe in the book’s title indicate to me that this is just another marketing ploy done on a large scale with a very large number of books and authors being contacted.
I have gone through enough experiences with Amazon, CreateSpace and Balboa Press, and do not wish to throw away any more dollars to people who offer much but deliver very little.
If you truly are a genuine person, then perhaps you will actually read this email and contact me in a manner that allows me to believe that you have specifically read part (at least) of my book and not just send me links (dodgey or otherwise) to somewhere in the ether where I have to spend my time chasing up the next tree. Not interested in doing that; thanks all the same.
Kind regards,
…
Thanks Writer Beware for the information here about this latest scam.
Ugh. I too just recieved an email from Frank Parker. I unwittingly used Xlibris several years ago and then found out they didn't issue my IBSN numbers correctly. After many calls back and forth I told them to pull my book and stop contacting me. Now I'm getting this.
Hi all.
I too was contacted by these folks I never heard from and wondered who gave them my Email?!
I am not a published author yet but had contacted three publishing companies in the last year…it's all new for me.
I have a historical fiction series in the works with five books written and another four to complete this series. Would I be able to get some feed back on a good writer friendly publisher that I can trust?
I'm new and want to be treated with trust.
Thanks in advance!
Greg
Below is what was sent to my email. I have no plans to associate myself with them.
Hi Gregory Russel,
My name is Martha Page a Book Agent for Legaia Books. I wanted to touch base with you regarding your book "" to see if you are still trying to market it. Anyway, I did look into the publicity of your work but couldn't find any relevant publicity releases that could help you sell this book to readers. It makes me wonder if your publisher is even helping you market this beautiful work – are they?
Look, I would like to share with you an opportunity to get your book featured in Paperclips Magazine. The Paperclips Magazine has been a traditional route to promote books that need direct attention from book readers. Think of it as a common place where book readers and even literary agents discover their new favorite book titles and even order them straight from the magazine. If you follow this link http://www.paperclipsmagazine.com you will be able to read the magazine for free and see for yourself the opportunity that I'm giving you here.
I hope you still have dreams for your book because I believe there is more to it than what you have achieved right now.
Looking forward to speaking with you.
You can reach me at 1 (919) 914-9865 (Martha Page).
Thank you!
Martha Page
Sr. Publishing Consultant
LEGAIA BOOKS US, partnered with PAPERCLIPS MAGAZINE
Phone: 919-914-9865
E-mail: martha@legaiabooks.com
Website: http://www.legaiabooks.com | http://www.paperclipsmagazine.com
Privacy Policy: This policy covers how we use your personal information. We take your privacy seriously and will take all measures to protect your personal information. Any personal information received will only be used to fulfill your order, and may be used for internal analytical purposes. We will not sell or redistribute your information to anyone.
Unknown,
I usually suggest that authors start by investigating the free or low-cost services with good reputations in the self-pub community: Createspace, IngramSpark, and Lulu if they want to do print as well as ebooks, and Smashwords, Draft2Digital, and the direct-to-ereading-device services (Amazon's Kindle Direct Publishing, Barnes & Noble Press, and Kobo's Kobo Writing Life) if they want to do an ebook only.
All of these are DIY-style services. If you'd prefer a less hands-on, more soup-to-nuts service, BookLocker and BookBaby are worth checking out.
I generally advise authors to avoid the Author Solutions self-publishing services (iUnverse, Xlibris, Trafford, AuthorHouse, BookTango, and the self-pub services Author Solutions runs for major publishers, including Thomas Nelson's WestBow Press and Hay House's Balboa Press), since I've received many complaints about quality, price, and high-pressure sales tactics. There are also many copycat services that are even worse and that are actively soliciting authors; I've written
a blog post that identifies a number of them and provides tips on how to recognize them.
Some self-publishing services claim to specialize in particular genres (such as self-help) or markets (such as the Christian market). This really isn't meaningful. Self-pub services do no targeted marketing (unless you buy it a la carte), and they all use the same distribution channels.
For information to help you comparison shop, a rundown on the benefits and challenges of self-publishing, and links to helpful resources, see the Self-Publishing page of Writer Beware.
Are there any legit self publishing companies out there? I too am a former Tate author and have been contacted by a few companies wanting to represent me. After my experience with Tate, I am very hesitant to give them any of my time!
I got exactly the same email from Jim Belfort and I have a published book on iUniverse.
Anything that sounds sounds so good should should signal buyer beware.
Interesting that he sent the email to me and not the name I used to publish the book. The only ones with this information are iUniverse.
March will make it a year since my book was published by America Star Books aka Paperbacks. After months of ceaseless emails coaxing me to promote my books, they suddenly went silent till now!They don't respond to my emails anymore. I tried one of their emails few weeks ago and my computer system malfunctioned!
This was my very first manuscript, and I had worked on the book for three years and at the end of my graduation from the University, I thought I should give it a try. I can as well say that I dropped it in the Atlantic Ocean!
I am not very worried about the book in question because each time I look at it, it sulks! After writing other books after that first one, I now realise that ASB published just anything it picked on the bin.
I have come to learn a few things as an African who used to look up to a great country like America and Americans as my models:
1) Even in a civilised country, educated people are still capable of stealing from African writers kilometers across the Atlantics without any shame.
2) How do I ever trust any American or and individual from there with my work?
3) It has given me a totally different view of those smiles I see on screen.
It is companies like ASB and others who give America a bad image to the world.
The day I travel to America, I'll claim my due_ rest assured it will be a media scandal_ an American company swindle an African upcoming writer. I still can't believe it, anyway. Good luck to the other authors_ if ASB can do all what I read above to you who are closer, then how more of authors like me kilometers across oceans?
Ha! I like how "Jim Belfort" doesn't mention the huge amounts of money you'll have to pay for this "prestigious opportunity." Thanks for sharing, Tania!
This is what I received today. Likely not finding me on Amazon, but through iuniverse, I would assume, since they are head hunting through vanity press. Hi Tania Ramos,
How are you?
My name is Jim Belfort a Consultant here at Legaia Books USA. We sent you an email before regarding your book "Life by Chance". I would like to touch base with you again and see if you are still trying to market your book – we actually saw your work on amazon, I wanted to know more about it and that's why I contacted you personally. Anyway, I represent Paperclips Magazine a social online magazine that promotes success stories of influential authors and brands in the literary industry. I would like to invite you to promote your book with Paperclips Magazine and be part of this growing author circle and reach millions of readers worldwide.
Paperclips Magazine has articles written about well-known figures in the publishing business like J.K. Rowling author of the Harry Potter Series and the bestselling author Stephen King who sold 350 million copies worldwide. Anyway, Paperclips Magazine is known for having an Author Circle Community and their monthly magazine. In this community authors can fully express themselves by publishing articles and launching books in the magazine which actually boost their visibility since book readers can directly interact and buy their books within the magazine. I would like to see you and your book be part of that prestigious opportunity to promote your title. I hope this is something you are still interested in, are you?
I got an email from them yesterday. I didn't know who Emily Bryans was and Geof Gilbert sounded exactly the same as the person claiming to be the receptionist. I trusted my gut feeling and hung up. Then this blog confirmed it. Thank you
I received a email from Mike Luke at paperclips yesterday. After the Tate Publishing incidence I am leary of anyone reaching out to me. I was concerned about them due some grammatical errors in the email that I received. Thanks for the validation
Caleb,
Would you share the form letter with me? beware@sfwa.org . Thanks!
Hah! They just contacted me today. They sent me a form letter that had typos, and the the wrong name at the top of the letter.
I bit, because I had some time to kill and I wanted to see what they would say. They claim to have 2 million subscribers to their E-magazine, and were asking for $1,900 for an advert (on sale from a regular price of FOUR GRAND!?).
I laughed, told him I could not afford any of that, and hung up.
Trolls, trolling. I think the comment above is from the LitFire folks, who are peeved about my expose of them and have trolled this blog on other occasions.
Hi Victoria, is it true that you were the Co-Owner of legaiabooks? and that you were terminated because of being unethical at work?
Erin, I don't make recommendations, but if you're looking to self-publish I can give you some general advice. Ditto for traditional publishing. Drop me a line at beware@sfwa.org .
Thank you! Are there ones you recommend? I had looked up Paperclips before agreeing to do an article and didn't find anything bad about them in January. So tired of getting dipped and taken advantage of.
Thank you for this article. Got a call from Paperclips yesterday and when I was told the price I said no. Then this morning my phone lit up with Legaia. I immediately went to the Internet to look them up and found this article. It confirmed my suspicion.
Erin Lilly,
I've gotten some questions about Reader's Magnet, which looks to me like a scheme very similar to Legaia (and probably also run by ex-call center employees in the Philippines).
I haven't heard of Booklix, and a websearch doesn't turn up much. Do you maybe mean BookLogix? If so, it is certainly soliciting ex-Tate and possibly ex-America Star Books authors. Though there's no explicit mention of money, it's clear that it is pay-to-play, with a pretty standard suite of Author Solutions-style self-publishing services–from the lack of prices on the website, though, I'm guessing it's seriously overpriced. If you're interested in self-publishing, there are better, more cost-effective options.
I'm so frustrated! I'm a former Tate author, never got paid. In March Paperclip magazine. Now I see this article. I've been contacted by Reader's Magnet,and booklix (think spelled that right) publishing. Either one safe? I'm finding some bad reviews about Reader's magnet.
I am surprised to read about Legaia Pub. The information that is included in this article do not represent how Legaia approached me. The author prices are very reasonable for me to re-establish my books. I am not overflowing with money either. I did not have to use a complete team to re-start my books because they only needed to be re-printed. That might be the reason why my prices are good. I will have to revise 2 more books. Maybe, after that, the new book starting right from the beginning will be a different experience for me. When that time comes, I will tell you how it went. I can say at this moment, I am pleased with Legaia Publishing.
Thanks for the comments, Victoria. If I learn any more about Stairway, I'll share it with you.
Good writing to you!
This Stairway Press? http://www.stairwaypress.com/
If so, they don't say they charge for publishing (and they deny they're a vanity press, which often means the opposite), but the wording on the website suggests it: "We offer complete marketing services powered by online media, social media and internet communities, professional editing and world class graphic design."
If you look at their book covers, I think they're exaggerating just a tad about that world class design.
Have you heard of Stairway Press? I know of a Tate author who was contacted by Stairway and he is now published through them. I'm not clear if they're another vanity or legit. Any information anyone could provide would be helpful.
You provide an essential service to writer's. Thank you.