I’ve gotten a number of reports of solicitation by the individuals/outfits below. Both are services you might want to avoid.
AIMEE ANN / RED HEADED BOOK LOVER BLOG
Back in December, I posted a warning about this blogger on Writer Beware’s Facebook page. But she appears to be soliciting again, so I’m doing a wider warning here.
A woman calling herself Aimee Ann has been emailing authors, offering reviews on her blog, The Red Headed Book Lover Blog. Here’s a sample email, with the recipient’s information redacted:
If you’ve ever pitched book bloggers in hopes of a review, you know how much competition there is. It can be hard even to get a response. So you might find it refreshing for a book blogger to approach you. Note, however, how Aimee doesn’t mention the title of the author’s book, or indeed any specifics at all. That’s because this isn’t a personal approach from someone who is genuinely interested in the author’s work, but a form letter that’s being blasted out, spamlike, to large numbers of people.
Why is Aimee spreading such a wide net? Because she is running a pay-to-play scheme. Authors who respond to her solicitation discover that they must pay $75 for a review. (One author told me that when they protested, Aimee told them that she just forgot to mention it.) The existence of the fee (though not the amount) is revealed in the Terms and Conditions section of Aimee’s blog–but how many authors are going to read the Terms and Conditions?
It’s debatable whether paid reviews are worth the money–even when provided by professional venues like Kirkus–let alone whether it’s worth paying a fee to some random amateur. And Aimee is definitely an amateur. Her rambling reviews are poorly written and mostly chronicle her personal reactions (with lots of exclamation points). Some are so generic that you wonder if Aimee actually read the book (shades of Harriet Klausner). Don’t be impressed by the hundreds of comments sported by some of Aimee’s reviews–she quadruples or quintuples the actual count by responding multiple times to each outside comment.
Aimee’s latest enterprise is Book Editing. What qualifies her to do this, you might ask? According to Aimee, “I have experience with working with numerous publishers both in England and America, as well as this I have a degree in Classical Studies and Psychology which I like to think gives me a certain literary flair!” Note, again, the lack of specifics. Aside from how hard these claims are to believe if you’ve actually read Aimee’s reviews, it’s easy to sound impressive when you don’t name any names.
Authors, don’t pay for book reviews. Even if the reviewer is competent.
UPDATE 12/16/21: I just heard from a writer who was solicited by Aimee–who is still neglecting to mention her fees in her solicitation email. So she’s still at it.
BOOK WRITING INC.
In February, a local chapter of Sisters in Crime received this solicitation:
SinC isn’t alone; individual writers are being targeted also. (Here’s what you can expect if you respond.)
Apart from the spam solicitation (reputable firms don’t do this), the most obvious clue that Book Writing Inc. might not be the best investment is the mangled English that’s apparent everywhere on its website–on this page, for instance:
Or this one:
Looks like these “top ghostwriters” need to invest in their own services. Another warning sign: the Terms and Conditions, which make it clear that getting a refund for late or substandard work will be an uphill battle.
But wait, there’s more! A bit of digging reveals that Book Writing Inc. is just one head of a writer-fleecing hydra. Heads 2, 3, and 4: My Book in 28 Days, Ghostwriting LLC, and Ghost Writing. These sister sites–all of which are at least as English-challenged as Book Writing Inc.–look different, and promise somewhat different things, but they offer the same kinds of services, and–whoops!–their Terms and Conditions include identical, distinctively-written content. They’ve also made a few goofs in the proofing process. From My Book in 28 Days:
And from Ghostwriting LLC:
Although there’s some similarity here to the predatory Philippines-based Author Solutions spinoffs I wrote about in January, I don’t think that Book Writing Inc and its brethren are Author Solutions copycats.
Domain registration information leads to a number of other websites that are not writing- and publishing-related, but hawk unrelated services: logo design, website building, tax and accounting, video animation, and Wikipedia page creation. Altogether, there are at least 30 websites in this complex, linked not just by domain registration info, but by the English-language errors that are present on almost all of them, and by shared content and design. Whoever is running this scheme is casting a wide net, and not just for writers.
ALWAYS be wary of out-of-the-blue solicitations.
Thank goodness for Writer’s Beware! I immediately came here to check when I received this email from Redheaded Book Lover. Strange that I instantly received an email after posting a review so she is still at it and it appears to be the same message others have received in the past.
I have just been approached by Aimee today. It seems she is still copying and pasting the exact same email from 4 years ago. I appreciate this page being available to confirm my red flags. There is always that little glimmer of “someone likes my book enough to review it?”… but that’s followed by, “well, then, why haven’t they just reviewed it…? ” Anyway, I thought it worthwhile alerting you to the continued existence of this scam.
Thanks–I appreciate knowing she’s still at it!
I received a similar message today via my website. I am so happy that this information was available. Thank you.
I too was contacted by Aimee, the "Red Headed" Book Lover, just this week (21/1/2021). I am an author, and I have even managed to get some reviews from my readers. When I read one of her "reviews," I could see that she was only barely literate. Here are some highlights from the review of The True Adventures of Gideon Lev by Julie Gray:
"I already have to recommend that you lovely readers have a read of The True Adventures of Gidon Lev…" This made me want to "have a read of it" right then and there!
"The reader in this book will learn about his journey…"Amazing! Evidently there's a reader right in the book!
"Lev’s journey is hard-hitting at points, and although the events throughout this book are, the primary feeling associated with this book is inspiration, as Lev’s courage and determination throughout his life is truly beautiful."
I was impressed by Aimee's description of the events in the book as "are," and I wanted to know more about a journey that was hard-hitting at points (for example: what this phrase might mean.) I have no doubt that Lev's courage and determination is beautiful.
"I found myself reading The True Adventures of Gidon Lev quickly from beginning to end, and this is the sign of a well accomplished and brilliant author."
It is an unmistakable sign of a well-accomplished author.
Here is the lovely finale, in which she thanks her lovely readers multiple times, reminds them in her own inimitable style "to have a read of" the preview, and suggests that said lovely readers follow the links she has provided (three times each,) including repeating an entire paragraph, word-for-word:
"To conclude my thoughts on this wonderful book, I would say it is an inspirational and honest tale. It will take you through a host of different emotions and leave a lasting impression and so, this book gets five stars from me! So be sure to have a read of the preview below book lovers, you won’t regret it!
Thank you so much for reading book lovers! I appreciate it so much. Here is a preview of the book for all of you lovely readers to enjoy! Please have a read of the preview and if you find that you have loved what you have read then all you need to do is follow the links below!
Thank you so much for reading book lovers! I appreciate it so much. Here is a preview of the book for all of you lovely readers to enjoy! Please have a read of the preview and if you find that you have loved what you have read then all you need to do is follow the links below!
Goodbye for now book lovers,
P.S. Below I have attached some links about the author and this wonderful book so if you would like to learn more about the author and the book then please have a browse. Thank you so much again for reading book lovers!"
If it wasn’t for the poor, befuddled victims who for this word salad and wrote testimonials about how wonderful Aimee is, the site would simply be laughable. Of course, since it is a scam from beginning to end (and a shoddy one, at that,) it may well be that the “testimonials” are written by Aimee herself. I am doubtful about this, however, since the testimonials, although they fall somewhat short of Shakespeare, are much better written than the alleged reviews.
Aimee Ann is still at it. Her email to me is almost identical to the one you posted.
Thanks for posting this!
It's probably an even bigger complex of sites than I found in the few hours of research I did.
Thanks for posting this, Victoria. Was just contacted by one of these and your post is a community service to authors.
Good morning, and indeed I think you are correct: "Charles Gladney" appears to be a fake name. There was one person named "Charles Gladney" convicted of fraud, not related to anything regarding publishing. I bet $100 that the owner and/or operator of BOOKWRITINGINC.COM has some criminal indictments against her or him, if not also some convictions.
As far as I can find, there is no "Oakridge Lane" in Dallas Texas: the address and name are false, which is against ICANN policy. Gosh, maybe I should file a complaint with ICANN.
Thomas Sipos–
I'll check it out. Thank you!
Desertphile–
The WHOIS info for BookWritingInc.com also includes an email address for "Charles Gladney" (who I don't believe is a real person); searching on the address turns up some interesting results.
Also interesting: BookWritingInc.org is registered to "Michael Burnside" (it's also very interesting to search on "his" email address)–but the URL defaults to BookWritingInc.com. And Ghostwritingllc.com is registered to "Daniel Longoria", who has also registered (among others) logodesigninc.us, whose website template is suspiciously similar to the one used by Ghostwriting.us, which is registered to "Charles Gladney."
It's probably an even bigger complex of sites than I found in the few hours of research I did.
You might want to do a Writers Beware warning about: https://writers.work/
I found them through an ad on Cragistlist: https://portland.craigslist.org/mlt/wrg/d/writers-bloggers-wanted/6536535781.html
The CL ad offers high paying freelance jobs for writers at WritingChamp.com
When you click it, it forwards you this this FindYou.Work page: http://www.findyou.work/careers/writing-job/job-1a2f?utm_source=cl&utm_campaign=dailywriting&utm_medium=domain
That page promises many jobs, and asks about your skills and requirements. I filled it out, and it found "One Match" (i.e., one "employer" who fit my profile). I was forwarded to that "employer" which was the Writers.Work page.
That page promised me lucrative freelance work, after I watched a 5 minute video. Which turned out to be a sales pitch for some "writing tools" that cost $47. Apparently, I must buy these "writing tools" to be considered for freelance work.
Domain Name: BOOKWRITINGINC.COM
Registry Domain ID: 2149643225_DOMAIN_COM-VRSN
Registrar WHOIS Server: whois.publicdomainregistry.com
Updated Date: 2017-12-13 T02:15:21Z
Creation Date: 2017-08-03 T01:35:24Z
Registrar Registration Expiration Date: 2019-08-03T01:35:24Z
Registrar: PDR Ltd. d/b/a PublicDomainRegistry.com
Registrar IANA ID: 303
Registrant Name: Charles Gladney
Registrant Organization:
Registrant Street: 1203 Oakridge Lane 0
Registrant City: Dallas
Registrant State/Province: TX
Registrant Postal Code: 75201
Registrant Country: US
Registrant Phone: +1.4697891973