I don’t think there’s much dispute that the many “imprints” under the Author Solutions umbrella are among the most negatively regarded of all the author services companies.
From the predatory business practices that gave rise to two class action lawsuits, to the huge number of customer complaints, to the relentless sales calls and deceptive recruitment methods, to the dubious and overpriced “marketing” services that are one of the company’s main profit sources, AS’s poor reputation is widely known. Along with other factors, such as the competition from free and low-cost self-publishing platforms, this has pushed AS in recent years into steady decline.
Unfortunately, whatever gap AS’s contraction has created has been filled by a slew of imitators. Why not, when hoodwinking authors is as easy as setting up a website and opening an account with Ingram Spark? In some cases, the imitators have first-hand experience: they’ve been founded and/or staffed by former employees of AS’s call centers in the Philippines (as well as ex-employees of other disreputable companies with operations in the Philippines, such as Tate Publishing and BookWhirl.)
The copycats employ spoofed phone numbers and fake addresses (virtual offices, PO Boxes, randomly-selected residential addresses) to convince authors that they are located in the USA or Canada. Their primary targets are self- and small press-published writers, whom they attempt to poach from whatever platform or press the authors are currently with; and the elderly.
The copycats’ approaches aren’t merely deceptive, but blatantly false: claiming writers’ books have been recommended by Amazon, or spotted by a literary scout, or discovered by a Big 5 publisher, or given a favorable review by a conveniently unnamed industry expert. Like Author Solutions, they hawk overpriced publishing packages and deceptively-described junk marketing services (services that cost little to provide and can be sold at an enormous markup). They also approach potential victims by posing as literary agencies and film companies. In a number of instances, they’ve impersonated well-known and reputable traditional publishers, literary agents, and production companies. Some have even gone as far as faking letters and contracts from Big 5 publishers and major movie studios.
Many of the services the copycats sell are completely fictional: for example, book insurance (there’s no such thing), an international book seal (ditto), or retrieving a book’s “license” so it can be re-published (again, no such thing). Nor do the scammers have any connections with Big 5 publishers or Hollywood producers: promises to “endorse” or represent are just window dressing to convince you to shell out money. Marketing services, such as book trailers or press releases, may be delivered, but are frequently of substandard quality.
Often the copycats simply take authors’ money and run. I’ve heard from writers who’ve spent thousands, or even tens of thousands of dollars with these scams, in many cases for goods and services they never received.
I’ve written dozens of posts about these scams and their fraudulent operations, especially their brazen (yet curiously shoddy) efforts to impersonate reputable agents, publishers, and film producers. You can see them all here.
Fortunately, the scams share a set of reliably recurring markers that can help to identify them.
– Cold-call solicitations by phone and email. Like the Author Solutions imprints, the copycats are big on out-of-the-blue phone calls and emails hawking their services. Often they’ll claim your book has been recommended to them, or was discovered by one of their book scouts, or evaluated by a literary organization or traditional publisher. Sometimes they’ll claim to be literary agents looking to transition you to a traditional publishing contract or represent you to Hollywood, or film companies that have discovered your book and think it would be great on the silver screen.
Solicitation is the number one sign of a scam these days. Real literary agents, publishers, and production companies only rarely reach out to authors they don’t already represent. For scammers, on the other hand, it’s their main way of acquiring clients. Any out-of-the-blue solicitation related to publishing or movie rights, no matter what it’s for or who it appears to be from, should be treated with caution.
Copycat sales reps can be insanely persistent and aggressive (another page from the AS playbook). I’ve heard from authors who are being driven mad by incessant phone calls (that can’t be blocked because the callers’ numbers are spoofed) or repeated emails. Some copycats do business under multiple names, and will solicit authors separately under each name; or if they strike out under one name. will solicit again using another.
– Re-publishing or “re-branding” offers. A big focus for the copycats is poaching authors who are already published or self-published (often with Author Solutions imprints–I’ve long suspected that AS sells customer information, and it’s pretty clear that copycats’ staff either maintain contacts with Author Solutions workers who feed them information, or, if they themselves formerly worked for AS, took customer information with them when they departed). They claim they can do a better job, or price the book better, or provide greater credibility.
Often, re-publishing/re-branding is presented as a pre-requisite to representing writers’ books to traditional publishers; traditional publishers, the scammers claim, scorn self-published books, and your book needs to be re-published to remove the stigma. Beyond the fact that the “self-publishing stigma” no longer exists, re-publishing an already-published book so it can be published a third time makes absolutely no sense, and is not how the legitimate publishing business works.
Re-publishing/re-branding may have a price tag–anywhere from a few hundred to a few thousand dollars–or may be offered “free” with the purchase of something else, such as a PR campaign. Either way, it’s a gateway to the writer’s bank account. By demonstrating that they’re willing to pay, writers make themselves fair game for escalating sales pressure to buy more services, and/or fraudulent publishing and movie rights offers involving large upfront fees. Writer Beware has heard from writers who’ve lost enormous amounts to these schemes.
We also regularly get complaints from writers who bought a re-publishing package and have never received royalty reports or payments. When writers get suspicious, start asking too many questions, or the copycat judges that they’re tapped out, the copycat simply cuts off contact, leaving authors with no way to access and control their re-published books.
– Claims of expertise that can’t be verified (in the absence of staff and owner names), or that can be easily refuted (for example, if the scammer claims years of experience but their web domain was only registered a few months ago). Some scammers include fake staff on their websites, using stock or AI-generated photos and made-up biographies. Always make sure you can independently verify any claims of accomplishments or success. If you can’t, or if the company’s website makes it impossible to do so because it provides no specifics, move on.
– English-language errors on websites and in emails. The scams are owned and staffed primarily by people for whom English is a second language. Although the advent of ChatGPT and other AI-assisted writing tools is making grammar and colloquial errors much less common on websites and in written text than they used to be, this is still an important marker that too many writers are willing to overlook.
– Phone solicitors with foreign accents. Callers are in the Philippines, and speak fluent but accented English.
– A catalog of junk marketing services, and heavy pressure to buy. Not all the copycats offer publishing services, but most offer “marketing”: press releases. Paid book review packages. Book fair exhibits. Ingram catalog listings. Hollywood book-to-screen packages. Vanity radio and TV interviews. These and more are junk marketing: PR services of dubious value and effectiveness that are cheap to provide and can be sold at a huge markup.
It’s an insanely lucrative aspect of the author-fleecing biz, not just because of its enormous profitability, but because while you can only sell a publishing package once, you can sell marketing multiple times. The copycats’ marketing services are right out of the Author Solutions playbook: AS basically invented junk book marketing, and most of the marketing services offered by the copycats were pioneered by AS. AS also pioneered the high-pressure sales tactics the copycats use. Prices range from a few hundred to multiple thousands–and as noted above, each time you buy, you tell the copycat they can come back for more.
Are you looking for the list of 200+ copycat scammers that used to be here?
Now you can find it here.
Given how often I have to update the list–several times a week on average–it was just too time-consuming to maintain it in two places.
I know my warnings are having an effect, not just because I’m hearing from writers who’ve found my posts or my list and have been able to avoid being ripped off, but because some of the scams are getting…a little defensive. Book-Art Press now includes this in its solicitation emails:
The links are to anti-Writer Beware screeds from people WB has exposed.
The grievance is definitely on display in this one, from MatchStick Literary (it also showcases the scams’ trademark fractured English):
See ya at Writer Beware, scammers!
UPDATE 12/10/19: I want to highlight this recent comment, which illustrates how ubiquitous and persistent these scams are. Bottom line: if you self-publish, you can pretty much count on being solicited. Be on your guard. (By “GoTo”, I’m assuming the commenter means GoToPublish.)
UPDATE 11/13/20: The latest scammer love note, left as a comment here. Good to know I’m still hitting a nerve!
UPDATE 12/30/20: They still love me! I didn’t let these comments through, but I did memorialize them.
This is an incredibly important and eye-opening post! Your detailed analysis of publishing and literary agency scams in the Philippines is both thorough and informative. I appreciate how you highlight the tactics used by scammers and offer clear advice on how to avoid falling victim to these schemes. This kind of awareness is invaluable for writers at any stage of their careers. Thank you for sharing such a thoughtful and critical perspective!
Dearest Victoria,
I have been reading a lot of comments on this website. I want to let you know that another scamming company called West Harmony Productions in Colorado (bet they are in the Phillipines). They have called me 5 times and listened to a girl whom I suspect to be a new scammer offering me a movie deal. They are all scammers. Kindly look out for this company.
Thank you, open to talk to anybody who were contacted with West Harmony Productions.
Who is Vinci Books? https://www.vinci-books.com/#:~:text=Vinci%20Books%20is%20a%20world%2Dclass%20publisher%20created%20to%20offer,of%20independent%20and%20traditional%20publishing.
These guys have been pressuring me for five years. The same Pilipino accent and same pitch but a different company. Early on they almost got me. I crossed all the T’s and dotted the I’s when I decided to take a chance. So I asked for an address and they gave me one. But I went to go on Apple maps and see their company address. The building was there but a moniker didn’t come up. So I looked for any company near or at the address. Iy turned out that the address was for a mail delivery service. In-other-words, the publishing company was little more than a mail drop. I urge aspiring authors to use map programs and phone search indexing to verify a company. Additionally call companies near the given address to verify there are people with a publishing function next door.
Onze BPO or also known as Prominent Books Edge is a scam. They are located in Krizia Building, Cebu City.
WP Lighthouse, Page Turner Press and Media, New Reader Magazine are all scams.
WP Lighthouse attempted to scam my partner in October 2024. They dug up a poetry book about a traumatic time of her life and told her it was being scouted and could get published. 3 weeks of pretty subtle and patient lying and then when they finally started asking for money, all of they oddities finally came into focus and we realized what was happening. Thankfully no money was ever sent.
I’ve been having fun harassing them over the phone a bit. I have also reported WP’s domain to their hosting company in hopes of getting them taken down. I was able to contact Publisher’s Weekly who sent a Cease and Desist, resulting in the PW branding being taken down on one page, but there are obviously dozens of other companies they fraudulently flaunt as clients.
Thanks for writing about this and maintaining the list, Victoria. I wish we could warn more ppl but it’s nice to see people are becoming more aware of the situation. Seems like the Philippines scammers have found their niche, as Indian scammers have found theres with medicare, IRS, and other scams.
Hi Terry, I am a reporter with Bloomberg Businessweek magazine. I’m reporting a long story on publishing scams in the Philippines and would love to hear more. Please email me at bcamcrane@gmail.com (Victoria can vouch for me!)
Best,
Brent Crane
Victoria, can you tell me more about Primix as a marketing company (as well as being a publisher). I have been contacted by Kevin Jacobson from Primix with regard to marketing my book The Power and the Poison. I have mace no agreement with them, now would I do so without, as a SFWA member, first consulting you and Writer Beware. I see that you have listed Primix as a scam publisher, and I assume that extends to its marketing offers as well.
Raven Tale Publishing [Beware of this publisher, HUGE SCAM]
I have kept silent about this publisher for years now, hoping they would improve their company, but I saw an author post about their experience with this publishing company recently and thought I would also share my opinion and experience with the company.
For those that don’t know, Raven Tale Publishing is a “indie” horror imprint, under DSP which is Dusty Saddle Publishing, a western “indie” publisher. All of their books are only published through KDP on amazon. Authors who are contracted through them do not receive any advance, and only receive the smallest of royalties.
That isn’t even the bad thing about them. Lots of indie publishers work this way, but some of the issues in the company is, they run through their employees at a breakneck speed. The only employees that have been there for years have been the Owner of the company, his main assitant, and his cover designer. Everyone else they hire comes and goes. They don’t have a marketing team. A genuine marketing team to promote their authors. Nor do they care.
All of the books they publish have not gone through proper editing. Read any of the books they publish and they all have typos and look like first drafts of a manuscript. It’s embarassing. The company runs on a speedy publishing cycle. They sign on a giant batch of horror authors every year, contract them to send in manuscripts that are only 30k words, every 3 months, and are only interested in a serialized approach to publishing. That might work for the western imprint, but it has not worked for Raven Tale Publishing in the last three years. Unless you’re their best selling author, Cole, who was well known before signing with them. He already had a big readership beforehand, then trust me, you will not be given the time of day.
They sign on all of these authors, publish all of their stories with little to no editing, and then market the book by posting once or twice to their Instagram and Facebook where, mind you, their Instagram only has followers because they have spam followed thousands of people. That’s not a consistent, true audience. They have extremely poor engagement on their socials, it’s mainly just the authors interacting. Their target should be the readers, not the authors.
They also frequently message and reach out to small indie authors, which a traditional publisher would never do. I’ve also heard from some of the authors that they’ve had issues with receiving their royalties. I was not one of their authors, so I can’t tell you this for certain, but I’ve heard it from several of their authors at this point.
If you are a horror writer, please please please, avoid Raven Tale. You can self publish on your own and have more of a chance to get your book read by readers. If you sign to Raven Tale your book will not be given the time it deserves in editing, and it will simply be thrown on amazon with no promotion.
Some people might still say that they are a legit publisher, but I encourage you to do your own research and tread with caution if you ever submit to them. And please, get those contracts read by a professional before signing.
Hello everyone.
David Lillis from New Zealand here. Xlibris has telephoned me at least 40 times over the last six months. They want me to sign up to publish poetry of mine. Five different people have been pressuring me and I will not go along becaue I have read numerous accounts of their scamming. I talk to them simply to see their techniques that evidently do convince unsuspecting people. Lots of emotional manipulation and always pressuring me to give my credit card details immediately. Somewhere between 12 and 15 phone calls over the last four days.
I am playing them along. I asked them where they work and they claim to operate from Skyrise 4, IT Park, Cebu, in the Philippines. I have looked up this place on Google Maps.
Level 1, Ayala Mall, Central Bloc, Apas, Cebu City, 6000 Cebu, Philippines.
See:
https://www.google.com/maps/place/Skyrise+4/@10.3302792,123.9060453,3a,90y,52.47h,99.19t/data=!3m6!1e1!3m4!1s562X3KC2LJ9qgl5cgDKrGg!2e0!7i16384!8i8192!4m10!1m2!2m1!1sskyrise+it+park+cebu!3m6!1s0x33a9993f0fb30703:0x51f85a3b4d7f4900!8m2!3d10.3302385!4d123.9062072!15sChRza3lyaXNlIGl0IHBhcmsgY2VidZIBEGNvcnBvcmF0ZV9vZmZpY2XgAQA!16s%2Fg%2F11krs7dh27?entry=ttu
Feel free to contact me at: sigma@outlook.co.nz
Don’t trust them!
David
Hello David, I worked with Xlibris and – long story short – I don’t recommend them. Then I went to Morgan James. Although better, they did very little to market my book. I saw thousands of sales online yet never collected over $100. The publishing world is tough. I am leaning towards IngramSpark now but still undecided. Good luck…John Stagl – Stop the Rain Dance (Amazon)
Yes, please don’t be taken in by Xlibris… They’re a vanity publisher with their hand out too often, can’t keep records, slow to complete, contracts are generic (so you don’t know what the service is for)…and very, very expensive.
I have been scammed. People at Pen Culture Solutions made me believe my book will be on the movie screen. I paid the Hollywood screenplay roughly $12,000 US. I also paid the publishing and marketing services for $8,000. It’s been over a year but nothing has been done. No returns, just promises and consistent calling and asking for more money. My nephew did an investigation and they are not based on the US. They are in the Philippines, Cebu City. Based on thier posts on their facebook page, Their building is located in a place called Hyundai Cebu As Fortuna.
We found their facebook page and it is called PCS Services Corp. The Director of Operations is Pamela Anne Amy Sugarol and the President is Princess Codia. Both are locals in the Philippines. Please help me spread this treachery to make all people aware.
F D R
Over 9months now, I have invested a substantial sum, totaling six figures, in remaking book covers, re-publishing, and luxurious marketing investment in the observation and analysis of these entities.
In my pursuit of due diligence, I engaged the services of an agency facilitated through a D.W….E.B platform. Through diligent study and legal scrutiny, it has come to my attention that there may be infractions of the law within these organizations…. DM me june-nickel.0p@icloud.com
Hello,
You say you were scammed.
I too fell into the same scam.
Can I ask you?
Did you get any kind of justice?
Caution – new ‘self-publishing scam alert: Contacted last fall by ‘amazonpublishinglive.com’ from New York City offering to assist me to self-publish. It appears to be a ‘trade-name’ being used by a recently incorporated Wyoming company named ‘Redline Animation LLC> When I declined, they offered to provide their service first without any prior payment. Consequently I agreed and ‘Hard Kisses, Bitter Tears’ and ‘The English Oligarch’ were duly published and paid for. Then they offered to publish two more novels which I had completed – ‘One Eyed Jacks Are Wild’ and ‘Forsaken Promises’. Contract was signed and a deposit of $2,958.73 (US) was paid on October 28/23. Publication of ‘One Eyed Jacks are Wild’ was supposed to be completed by November 30/23 and ‘Forsaken Promises’ by December 31/23. To date, neither novel has been published; formatting and editing had to be redone (by me) 3 times and they even tried to register the copyright under a third party who was unknown to me. Now they are pressing me for a further $1,000 (US) payment before they fulfill their contractual obligations. I intend to sue them even though recovery of my payment will be slim and non-existent. Contract persons: ‘Steven Smith’ in New York and ‘William Martin’ in Chicago. Contact person for ‘Redline Animation LLC is ‘Andrew Pierce’ in Sheridan, Wyoming.
The Philippines scammer…these companies are owned by their American boss, Xlibris et al., an American company. These companies you mentioned here are OFFSPRING of American-owned companies asking their employees to be the FRONT FACE. Don’t BE NAIVE, or be a great pretender. YOU KNOW THIS. AND If your book sucks, they suck! Don’t blame it on someone else. If a book does not sell, we authors blame it on someone else—oh, I got scammed. Let’s get real. We are in the industry of HOPE. Marketing is not an exact science. Scammed? Why? Services were fulfilled, right? Was it exemplary service for you? I don’t know but marketing is a GAME OF CHANCE, and readers GET TIRED OF THOSE TYPE OF MARKETING THAT SELF-PROMOTE. EEW ‘ My book will become a movie! It’s a good movie material! Eww! MY BOOK WILL BE THE NEXT JK ROWLING! It’s good to have a dream but do some hard work, too. This group is an energy sucker. WRITE BETTER. WORK HARD IN PROMOTING YOUR BOOK! THAT IS THE ONLY WAY! QUESTION. IF I POST MY BOOK HERE, a self-pub book, will EVERYONE WHO COMMENTED BUY A COPY to help me boost my EGO? I don’t think so. We self-pub authors are EGOISTIC! EVEN you, VICTORIA.
When I get a bit more time, I will tell you the long story of Xlibris and me. Writing my memoir, “Why Me? The Luck of the Outlier” was a joy covering my 90 years of life on this planet. Getting it published was NOT a joy. More later…..earle jones
I was a literary agent with Christian Faith Publishing. I will say it is a scam too. It’s the reason I started my own independent publishing company that gives the author full control of their books including having them set up their own KDP accounts so the royalties are paid directly to the author. I can get a beautiful book published in 3 months that is not cookie cutter. Also, I charge one third of the price, use official ISBNs and include an audible book. I am so sorry you had the issues. This should be a fun and fulfilment of a dream.
What is the name / website of your company? You say you can get a book published in 3 months? Would you be so kind as to give me more information on how you can do this and what would be the cost to me? My Mother, (now deceased), and I have about a dozen stories that everyone who reads them say are good: I know, they are friends and want to encourage me. I would like someone who is not a close friend and doesn’t mind hurting my feelings to read/criticize the stories.
Please give me your information. I have a book and have been contacted by a publisher I am not feeling in a comfortable manner regarding the legitimacy of their company.
Check the Overseas Scams list (link at the top of the page) to see if your publisher is on it. If not, feel free to email me with the publisher’s name and I’ll tell you if I know anything.
Do not trust this bitch as she also owns one of these scam companies. Found out a couple of years ago that possibly there are admins who handle the messages here and not Victoria herself.
I’m guessing I had a similar experience with Xlibris. The most joy i found was once they ghosted me. Atleast my phone stopped ringing non stop.
I wrote a book a few years ago about my radio career. Wasn’t expecting to sell a lot of books, though I did sell some. But, I am amazed at the number of cold calls I get telling me, “If only you reduce the price, you’ll sell tons and get a movie deal.” Well, who the heck would make a movie about the life of a journeyman DJ? I wrote it as an exercise and to give hope to future young people who’d like to move into my field. Selling a ton of books wasn’t the goal.
Thanks for your tireless efforts to unveil the overseas book promotion entrepreneurs. As I see it, even with the best of intentions, it would be virtually impossible for a company located in the Philippines or Indonesia to effectively represent an American author whose primary market is in the USA/Canada. That’s because literary agents/publishers must attend conventions in order to “press the flesh” and be on the “inside” of the industry. The cost of doing that, in terms of international flights, hotels, etc. is simply prohibitive for an alleged agent half way around the world. While it is possible that some of these folks may be able to promote and sell a book to Indonesians/Philippinos, it is simply not possible for them to be effective in the USA, Canada or Europe. Not even in India. Hence, any money paid to them is a waste, even if they had good intentions.
That’s an excellent point. Of course, most Philippine scammers conceal their actual location with fake US business addresses.
Aspire Publishing Hub and Aspire Literary Agency. I thought it was odd that they swooned over my book and said several publishers wanted it in their unsolicited first email to me. And then they asked me for the title. LMAO. First red flag. Second red flag went up after I asked to see their contract, and they sent me a boilerplate I found verbatim on the web. Third red flag was after I told them I was not going to pay anything up front, and a few email exchanges later they are wanting $900 to “republish” the book that I had self-published on XLibris 20 years ago. I was still trying to figure out what the foreign accent was when I stumbled upon your web site, Victoria, and yes it is Filipino after I think about it. Nice legit looking web site, with lots of book covers, and not a single one lists the publisher. The Internet is a double-edged sword. Lots of great information and lots of criminals trying to relieve us of our hard-earned money. Once you’ve been scammed, you develop a spidey-sense for something being “not quite right”. We gotta listen to it.
Thanks for your comment, Dave, and I’m glad you found my website. I’ve gotten many reports and complaints about the Aspires.
To Victoria or any interested party, please don’t hesitate to contact me directly at my personal line: 443-478-3823.
Hi, Andrea! Welcome to Writer Beware. The link on your name, wordtalkpress.com, indicates that you work for WordTalk Press, which is just 23 days old according to its domain registration. Given that you’ve been around for less than a month, I’m a bit puzzled how you can already be “known for launching authors’ careers” or be “associated with dozens of bestsellers and award winning projects”, let alone have “negotiated hundreds of major Film, Television, Stage, and Podcast adaptation deals for our clients’ work”.
Could it be, though, that you’re maybe not quite so new? You might want to correct a little booboo on your Services page, where whoever ported content over to your new website neglected to replace “Writers Value” with “WordTalk Press”. You might also want to think about varying the verbiage a bit, so it isn’t so obvious that it’s been lifted from the Writers Value website.
Writers Value is already on my scam list. Thanks for helping me expand it!
I feel sorry for you, Victoria. It seems like you are a very unhappy and isolated individual, perhaps due to past trauma. It’s not right to make baseless accusations against publishers, without any evidence to back it up. You shouldn’t be taking advantage of authors in order to gain their admiration.
I tried calling your phone number Andrea, pings four times then goes dead? And your website is down plus you stopped answering emails: why?
Andrea, your telephone pings four times then goes dead? And your website is down plus you stopped answering emails: why?
Attention all authors!!
It has come to my attention that Victoria Strauss is currently enticing writers to enroll in her subscription service, promising insightful articles without providing any substantial evidence or proof. I urge you to exercise caution and consider the credibility of such offerings before committing your resources. It is essential to conduct thorough research and seek reliable sources when making decisions regarding your writing career.
Stay informed and make choices based on verified information.
Victoria, the Karen of the publishing industry. haha
https://thewriteagenda.wordpress.com/2015/06/01/an-open-letter-to-the-writers-digest-annual-conference-to-remove-the-writer-beware-panelist-victoria-strauss-from-the-2015-annual-conference/
Clean your shit and look to the mirror . Your life is too cheap , you no longer provides information ,instead showing to the public that you really have a psychological disorder. I thought that you are well with your schizophrenia and stage 2 brain cancer ? . I hope you are doing well to hell. Don’t worry your fans who don’t have brain to analyze on what your doing are still here , they are your angels to hell. Rest in Peace soon . Your just a 50 bucks.
I hold a different perspective from Victoria, and it is disheartening for me to witness individuals applauding her actions. I have reached out to her, requesting evidence pertaining to the 150 scam companies she listed; however, regrettably, no response has been received thus far.
thanks for info
What is rerelease of a book in which is being offer as a service to help me get control of my book data and royalties?
Compound Media company says, they got my information from SFWA. Either they are lying, but how could they have my email? Did you sell my information to them or anyone from your company in cahoots with them? I don’t mind getting emails from compound media but I didn’t sign up with them and it’s only you who got my email. I have a feeling someone from your company is selling out our information.
Since you’re not a SFWA member (SFWA members are the only ones who’ve gotten the Compound Media spam), and you don’t subscribe to this blog (I checked), and this is the FIRST time you’ve ever left a comment here (i.e., it’s the first time I’ve ever seen your email address), I have a feeling you’re fibbing, “Steve”. Plus, no one who has read down this far will have the faintest idea what you’re talking about. Nice troll, though (and thanks for confirming you’re a fan of my Twitter feed).
Please don’t bite me Victoria. You’re quick to jump the gun. I was only asking and I am a member, but confidence is not that high anymore. I can show SFWA credit charges, if called upon. This is not the first time it happened, I have these scumbags tailing me after sharing my info here. Now, it’s the compound media corp. Don’t infantantize anyone who questions you. Why not ask me for their explanation? Is it an admission of your guilt or ignorance?
Hi Steve. SFWA’s Executive Director confirmed that you’re not in the membership directory. This is clearly a terrible oversight, and I’m eager to put it right. So please do forward those SFWA credit charges! I will pass them on right away so you can claim your rightful place as a fully paid-up SFWA member.
Seriously, dude. You and your scammer buddies are just sad with this shit.
How on earth did you arrive at the conclusion that I am not a member? Just because you’re unfamiliar with my email, you’d say, ‘oh, you’re not a member.’ Taking the easy way out? Take the high road and admit your mistake! Integrity is easy to preach. Act what you’re preaching. You could have asked for my wife’s books, her name, our membership details, the email we used, etc. But instead, you rant. Is that your way of handling things? You even have the gall to switch to the offensive. Are you not interested in knowing what Compound media has to say? When my wife mentioned how much she spent on her book here on your show, your cohorts went ballistic and called us night and day. My wife only used that email here! Can you explain that? What a shame, Vic! Do you still have your faculties straight and sane, Vic?
Yes, I’ll do that exactly and you return the fees!
You’re funny, Victoria. You list all companies as a scam company and/or vanity company. Look who’s asking for payments now? haha
This is a futile exercise with this group. In submitting a reply, they would either censor or block. We tried replying to several of their posts, and they wouldn’t post our reply that contains helpful information. They own this forum, so their rules. So be it.
I’ll try it here. Contact Please email Ray for any legal inquiries at ray.issacharoff@thebookwalker.com.
Hi Victoria. My name’s Fay Peters, from Writers Press. It seems like you know these publishers personally. Do you have proof that they are scammers? Maybe you are just trying to pull these publishers down to sell your own services. Or maybe you used to work with these publishing companies. Show us how good Victoria Strauss is, and create your own blog by showing the real you.
Help me understand the below statement ( from the website of Science Fiction and Fantasy Writers Association ) Updated March 2022. It reads;
Full member dues are US$100 annually.
A candidate shall be eligible for Full Membership if:
Their catalog of paid work in science fiction, fantasy, or related genres equals or exceeds an industry standard set by the board. (US$1000)
Please address/answer other questions
Thank you for pointing the direction.
I noticed that they only have a P.O. BOX.
Does the Science Fiction and Fantasy Writers Association have a physical office? When you mention sponsorship, does that refer to financial support for your blogging service, or is it limited to using their resources, such as their servers or hosting services?
Do you get financial aid from them or their affiliates?
I’d also like to know if the association gives you assignments on what to write or if you have complete autonomy in choosing the topics you discuss and write about. Who stores the information of your ‘sources?’ Is it the association or you? Do you maintain a shared server? Or do you keep the information on shared hosting?
Science Fiction and Fantasy Writers Association has a tiered fee-based membership, $1,000 for full membership. What is your membership role, and what is your relationship with them?
“$1,000 for full membership”? You are not a very good “legal researcher “.
You never labeled my client a ‘scammer,’ Victoria.
Your post was purely ‘narrative of views’ however, to an investigative spirit, in my opinion, it’s off tangent.
My client is not named in this column; as mentioned previously, you never called my client a scammer but floated/offered the idea.
I’ll do further research to see if the assumption is correct. There is one post which you collectively called a list of links ‘scammers’ and in that list, my client was incorrectly and unfairly referenced. You placed my client in the wrong category. It could be an error or by intention.
On the other hand, sadly, your co-bloggers were not as intelligent as you are, Victoria. In their carelessness, or maybe the absence of the basic understanding of the legal defamation/libel laws, physically, in written form, called my client a scammer, which you never did.
Their actions benefited them in a way; increased site traffic and sales of their books.
I tried looking for your (business) physical mailing address but couldn’t find your mailing address anywhere on your website. Please email it to me.
In reaching out to you, I hope to offer information that may save you, your followers, and your co-bloggers the legal burden and for everyone in this column to understand our freedom of speech and what FOS covers.
As reported, defamation cases involving bloggers are on the rise.
It’s important to understand that freedom of speech is not absolute and is subject to certain limitations, such as laws related to defamation and libel.
These laws exist to protect individuals and organizations from false and damaging statements that could harm their reputations.
These laws exist to protect you, similarly, my client, as well as everyone.
When creating content or making statements about individuals or organizations, it’s important to be mindful of these legal considerations and accurately represent the facts.
Most bloggers are tempted to tweak banner headlines to improve site traffic with the intent to benefit from it.
Suppose you have concerns about the accuracy of the information that has been published about my client; in that case, it may be appropriate to reach out to me or your source of information to request a correction or clarification.
Additionally, seeking the advice of a legal professional can help you understand your rights and obligations in these situations.
Please forward your mailing address to me; if I have fully satisfied the legal requirements to proceed, our office may officially start to correspond with you.
You may remedy any future legal proceedings by removing my client from the said list of links you labeled collectively as scam. Accusations need to be proven first prior to publication, especially if the information is unverifiable and unsubstantiated.
Any legal notices may be sent to Writer Beware’s sponsor, the Science Fiction and Fantasy Writers’ Association. I won’t hold my breath. (And please remind your client–if indeed you have one–that the discovery process can be…revealing.)
Thank you for your response, Victoria.
‘ posted here under two different names’ is an inaccurate description, especially to the uninitiated reader. Sharon Brown and Sharon Brown-Ehrenberg are clearly one and the same, and it’s my only name. In this forum, there is no need to explain the hyphenating of last names; for the curious, it is for professional reasons. For example, my clients, past and present, will be able to identify me.
The creative domain/blogging space has practices open to litigation; let’s take the example of you asking me to publish my client’s name in a public forum, which is an absolute disrespect to our client privileges.
The link to our website has been referenced in your submission forms. It should never be published in this forum.
Yes, you are correct; legal notices are served by legal teams/offices; mine is not a legal notice and should never be viewed as such.
It is to inform you and this blogging space of the legal responsibilities. It is a legal requirement that needs to be satisfied, a step that needs to be taken prior to any proceedings.
No one should feel intimidated, especially if we only speak the truth. In courts, we need to prove what we believe as the truth. Our information should be verifiable; it should be substantiated.
My role here is to inform and fully satisfy the legal requirement.
While the First Amendment protects freedom of speech and the press, it is not an absolute right. Defamation, libel, and slander are considered forms of speech that are not covered. Online platforms have become the target of many lawsuits as they are seen as the primary means of disseminating false or harmful information.
As a result, and you may be aware of this, many websites now have policies to address these issues, such as procedures for removing or moderating potentially defamatory content. Platforms are also taking steps to protect themselves from legal liability, such as the Communications Decency Act of 1996, which provides immunity for online providers and users for third-party content.
However, these protections are not absolute and can be challenged in court. As such, it’s crucial for individuals to be mindful of the potential consequences of their online actions and to understand the laws that govern speech and communication on the internet.
While blogging has provided a platform for millions of people to express themselves, it’s important to be mindful of the potential consequences of our online actions and to understand the legal boundaries that govern speech and communication on the internet.
For your co-bloggers who have reposted with the intent to gain publicity, sell their books, or monetize their websites, it may serve them well to reconsider. Your co-bloggers, as mentioned previously, carelessly called my client a scam, disregarding what the original blog/source was about. If your ‘information’ can’t prove it, or can’t substantiate the claim, best not to publish it. If you trust your source of information, please, by all means, continue. My role here is only to inform.
Thanks for the Very Serious Lecture. As curious as I am to know which scammer you work for, I think I’ll leave it there.
People have yet to learn of their liability when they publish something online. You can post blogs about anything now, but try understanding the legal dangers you could face.
Some posts here and comments are on the threshold. Know your rights, know your limitations, and learn how we can be sued for posting something as mundane as ‘I think it’s their business to scam people.’
If you post unverifiable, unsubstantiated, but damaging claims against persons or businesses, make sure you know your rights and responsibilities under defamation law. You are risking more than you know. I read some of the posts here for research purposes. As a legal researcher, I am reminding Victoria et al. of their rights and responsibilities and also to remind your guests. You should know your responsibilities under the law and, therefore, how to best protect yourself from litigation.
A statement may be defamatory even if it is framed as an opinion. If a negative comment has a basis in truth, this is not defamation. However, liability is appropriate when the statement is untrue.
Make sure you know your rights. We advise you to tread very carefully if you don’t have any proof or substantiate your claim.
As a legal researcher, as ordered, I am only here to research, remind, and save you, us, and our client the time.
Please continue if you are certain that your posts are genuine and accurate. However, If you don’t have any proof, basis or can’t substantiate, it would benefit you if you reconsider.
Now, you’ve been fairly warned.
Thank you for the warning, “legal researcher” Sharon Brown. Since I’m not posting any “unverifiable, unsubstantiated” information, I don’t have any concerns. (I always enjoy it when scammers show up with a new attempt to intimidate me.)
Thank you for the attention given, Victoria. That is precisely the point; if you are confident that you have the proof and your data is verifiable and can be proven, by all means, please continue. You’re doing the writing community a service. As a legal researcher, my only job is to openly communicate the legal responsibilities and obligations to the group, including your followers, and co-bloggers. Let’s have your last statement as an example, ‘ I always enjoy it when scammers show up with a new attempt to intimidate me,’ A non-legal person may see the statement as wisely and creatively framed opinion or bubble thoughts that free up responsibilities, but no, courts look at whether a reasonable reader could understand the statement as asserting a statement of verifiable fact.
Reposting or reblogging does not free up the website owner of legal responsibilities, significantly when banner headlines are modified to generate clicks or monetize their sites. My job is to inform, and this is done to satisfy the first legal requirement. You carefully did not call my client a scam, but your co-bloggers carelessly did, and that leads me here.
Here’s an excerpt from our website
One of our most treasured freedoms in this country is free speech. However, making false statements is different. The physical comment must be false, harm a person’s private life or business, or expose them to public hatred, ridicule, or contempt. Commonly filed lawsuits include news stories/blog posts alleging ( please take note: alleging, before you, published, prove it. )
Crime or fraud
Dishonorable conduct
Dishonesty
Immorality
Sharon Brown-Ehrenberg
You quoted from your website, but didn’t provide the name of the site or a link. You mentioned a client, but didn’t say who it is. You imply you’re working for a law firm or a lawyer, but don’t say who. You have posted here under two different names.
Credible legal notices come from lawyers, not “legal researchers”. Forgive me if I remain skeptical that you’re anything but a shill for one of the scammers discussed here.
Hi Victoria:
Thank you for your blog. As a new and naive author I self-published one book with Xlibris. Received de minimis royalties. Saw the book available worldwide, sometimes for quite high prices. I am shocked that a major bookseller would be involved in such marketing without at least ascertaining that the author receive some kind of royalty. Now I am being drowned by ‘offers’ from scammers all listed on your blog. They all want to republish or rebrand. Some mention fabulous amounts I could supposedly earn. My book is under a pen name, but these folks know my full name, how? From my publisher with whom I refuse to do any more business? From what is said I suspect some of them may have worked for my publisher. Poorer and wiser, any more publishing for me requires an agent and a lawyer.
Keep up the good work, without you we would be eaten raw by the sharks.
I’ve heard from many, many authors who can’t figure out how a scammer got hold of their unlisted phone number or knew their real name (if they published under a pen name). I think it’s likely that Author Solutions sells its customers’ information, although it could also be stolen by people who work for Author Solutions in the Philippines. I honestly don’t know.
Author Solutions is aware of the scammers; I’ve heard from several authors to whom it sent my scam list (without attributing it to me).
How did you know that Xlibris is under the umbrella of Author Solutions? Unless, Author Solutions hired you to pin point its competitors. Because as what I’ve understand. Author Solutions Incorporated is the mother of all scammers in literary world.
Well, it is on Author Solutions’ website.
Another thing about these Philipino scammers is none of them conveniently seems to have a linkedin or any other social media presence.
Because most of them work under fake American-sounding names that the scammers think are better suited to the US/UK/Canadian market.
OMG. No wonder. This is getting weirder by the moment.
I have been contacted by LitPrime Solutions, Inc. and Book Vine Press. I found it peculiar that both of these companies so happen to have Filipinas working for them. They come across as very sweet and conveniently throw in things about being Christian. They are evasive with some of their answers to questions.
Hi Please include Asute Literary Agency from the Philippines.
They scam on creating fake emails pretending to be producer asking authors to pay for screenplay as it presents a guaranteed film contract. Guaranteed by the fake producer. I have heard that they are a product of a company who operates in the Philippines – Page Turner and Pearson Media.
Can you provide me with documentation, such as emails and contracts? My email is beware@sfwa.org. Thank you.
Thanks, Victoria, for your always spot-on warnings. To underscore your accuracy, I’ve received four publishing offers for this year. One came from my literary agent and is with Amsterdam Publishers, widely considered one of the finest publishers of Holocaust books in the world. Another I managed to acquire on my own from Gen Z Publishing for a sci-fi novel, which so far (in our fourth edit) looks better than I expected. The two that contacted me (New Age Literary & Ink Start Media) were odiferous from the start. After 2022, I’ve honed my ability to detect a Filipino accent. These scam artists have overrun the North American publishing milieu, aiming at novice authors who (God bless them) are ignorant about fraud in the publishing world. I’ve never before seen this depth of scam artists in action, making suckers out of countless new authors. Victoria, there are more scam actors at play now than ever before, and they prey upon novice authors who are expecting publishers to play by Robert’s Rules of Order. Today, for such authors, it’s learn quickly or be eaten for dinner by scammers. In other words, Victoria, your services are more in need today than ever before. Thanks for everything that you do!
Thanks for the kind words! It sounds like your experience with GenZ is better than that of the authors I heard from last year (plug the name into the search box to see my post). It’d be great if they’d managed to clean up their act.
I paid Online bookclub for reviews of my book in January 2022, they promised to post on amazon. I did get the reviews, they also reported any typos and mistakes, but they could not post the reviews on amazon because they pay foreign readers and amazon will not allow them to post. No one cares about online bookclub’s reviews so just a waste of money. Today I recieved a request from Goldman’s to pay $1000 for 100 reviews on Goodreads. I imagine it’s the same scam.
Yes, it is. These kinds of “services” directly violate the guidelines of Amazon, Goodreads, etc.–plus the reviews are typically of low quality, so even if they get posted they’re not very likely to be of much help.
Hello Victoria ,
I like your way of marketing by putting shit to someone just to raise your own chair. I believed you are the loneliest person on earth. To be honest, you won’t be an INSPIRATION to the everyone. You have a lot of negative energy inside you . I’ve been working with some companies you’ve said which we need to avoid , but in fact the this companies are the one who helps me to where I am now as an author. My question is that , where are you now ? . Your name is still known in your own world. Keep spreading negative energy !
Hi, Angel. Which scam do you work for?
Madam
I would like to know the credentials of ‘ Writer’s Relief’ They are communicating with me about re-publishing my novel entitled “Aliens and Mafia Susegaad’ first self-published by Partridge.
Anticipating a comment on this.
With regards.
TM konni
Hi Victoria. Thanks for your comments on Ewings Publishing! They talk a really good story about being a Hybrid Publisher, but after getting bitten twice by scammers, I was able to start my own research into their background. It simply amazes the ability to pose as a reputable publisher, display a very good website, and suck in the unwary. Reviews and even taped interviews with authors, but when I asked to talk to one of them, I was told their ‘privacy clause’ prevented them from giving me access.
Usually, we are new authors and that was my downfall as I was completely unaware of the duplicity of the ‘vanity’ publishing (why this name?) industry. They are anything but vanity! They rape and plunder innocent victims based on our desire to have our dreams of becoming a successful author.
My latest problem is that my last scam publisher is still in business and I am not receiving any royalties from Amazon! This is a disaster and after countless attempts to get in touch with Amazon’s legal team in Seattle, I am still getting screwed.
Is there any lawyer who might be able to help me with the Amazon issue? I am out almost $20,000 from two scammers and one screenplay agent who promised a contract with a film producer for my true story of a kidnapping! All BS! Where can we find an honest publisher for new authors? Do they even exist?
Victoria, I really appreciate your publicizing the list of scammers and downright crooks!
Here is my contact information in case anyone wants to talk about my problem. I just want to have a resolution to my situation.
Dave Rohee
http://www.daveroheeauthor.com
email: contact@daveroheeauthor.com
Dave – Ewings reached out to me today. Thanks for your post, as it enabled me to give them the appropriate (and unprintable) response.
I have been working with Word House for over a year. i have given them a LOT of money and they have gotten my books into a lot of outlets. Amazon, B & N books a million and others. I saw their name on your list and now I don’t know which way to turn. Tell me why they are on that list, please.
Hi, Dick,
Word House is on the list because it’s a scam. A typical offer from such scams (which comes out of the blue) is to re-publish already-published books. The scammers usually follow through on these promises, primarily because they’re a way to get writers in the door so they can be solicited for more expensive services, or targeted for fraud–such as claims to be printing and distributing large numbers of books. It’s no accident that these claims are unverifiable.
I’ve gotten hundreds of reports and complaints about this type of scam, from authors who’ve lost thousands or even tens of thousands of dollars. I’m also hearing from writers who’ve been ghosted by their scam publishers, and are unable to either obtain royalties or cancel their contracts. Please don’t give these people any more money.
Hi! This is to inform you that I was able to validate the legitimacy of Wordhouse BP and they’re legitimate. Please disregard my comment and make sure that Wordhouse Bp will not be affected by this. Also, if there’s a way to get this comment be deleted I can’t seem to find a way to do that. Thank you for your information Victoria!
They are not. Besides the practices you mentioned, a quick google of their name results in dozens of links and references to their scam. May I ask what proof changed your mind?
They are legit. They helped me publish my book and now I am enjoy a partnership with one of our local bookstore here in our little city, Perugia, Italy.
One of the worst experiences of my life. They have not delivered one thing they promised. 2 years in and no author website, no book signings and 65 calls before a call back. Not to mention no royalties remitted. It is a complete scam. Get word out and talk to a lawyer about getting out of copyright and sue.
Their reply is comical. I have hundreds of emails detailing what they promised. I working with bloggers with 20 k plus followers to get these guys shut down. It’s a total scam. I’m going to invest as much as 100k of my own money to make sure they are out of business. It’s a sham company. Wait until you see the reviews all over the web next week, not by me, people in the industry you can trust. Thank you to the thousand out there that have supported me in getting this scam shut down and prosecuting these guys. I’ll tell you when to let the reviews rip. Love u guys. They did not even provide with my author hard covers. I moved from a very reputable publisher to these scammers all because of fake promises. I’ll share the emails I received from their staff over next couple of weeks. Let’s shut them down!!! Not one cent of royalty remittance. I have 57 other authors with same story.
They screwed with the wrong guy. A corporate attorney, partner with a wide platform. They will not be in business next year. All the bloggers out there put them at the top of the scam list.
I even taped the calls with their reps. It’s unbelievable. Total scam. I’m doing this to make sure they cease to exist. Just be careful they will probably rebrand, rename, and try to dupe you once again. Out of business 2023.
They have not even had their legal rep contact me. Why. It’s a complete scam. My sister, attorney extradoinaire, will be filing suit in September. I’ll keep you up to date every few days. Let’s bring them down!!!!
The good news is when the judge or jury hears the audiotapes and sees the emails they will cease to exist. Looking out for you guys
Why no one do it anything about?
Why people afraid to admit that they scamed. Let’s do something about!!
Which company are you talking about? There are more than 150 on my list.
I have a new one to share! I was approached by Pioneer Media Productions about turning my novel “Stars in the Deep: Destiny” into a movie. Since they did not ask for money up front, I pursued their help. I then found out that I should send payments to Silver Fox Media LLC to get my novel turned into a screenplay. I was a little leery, but I agreed to the need. They also wanted a Video Trailer so that was another chunk of change. I felt it was OK because it wasn’t Pioneer Media asking for the money. I secured an entertainment attorney since I was in deep water and not yet sure about swimming. Together, we found out that both Pioneer Media Productions, and Silver Fox Media LLC are actually ‘AKA’s for Innocentrix, a company located in the Phillippines. I was sending money to the same company with two names. I’m probably out 12,000 because I missed this little pitfall!
Courtside Media Press reached out to me by phone today, saying they operate out of LA in California.
They offered self-publishing for $800 and what she called marketing via story galea for $4000. Hmmm!
I found a teen online who (with the help of her supportive but naive parents) paid a company called Mascot Books over ten thousand dollars to publish her book. A lengthy comment conversation later she still can’t (or appears not to) admit that she was scammed. I hate this is happening to her. Is this the right place to mention the name, so it can be added to your list, or is there somewhere else I should find?
Hi, Leiana,
I’ve gotten a number of reports of Mascot’s enormous fees, as well as some complaints about slow or incomplete royalty payment and reporting. However, while I do consider it a vanity publisher and provide a warning about that to writers who contact me to ask about its reputation, it is a US company–not one of the Philippines-based scams that are the subject of this post.
In this case, the parents are victims as much as the teen is–a price often paid (literally) by those who pursue publishing without taking the time to learn about the industry.
The Bewares, Recommendations, and Background Check forum of the Absolute Write Water Cooler is a good place to report–and research–problem publishers, agents, and others. You have to register in order to post, but it’s free.
Got it. Thank you so much for the link!
Is this a legit company http://www.pen2paperpress.com? There’s a lady trying to solicit money from me and claiming to be a literary agent. Your page is so informative. Thank you.
Hi, Dorothy,
That’s a new name for me, but the solicitation is strong sign of a scam: reputable literary agents don’t solicit and they don’t charge fees. I also see plenty of warning signs at the website: no verifiable information on the company or staff, Author Solutions-style publishing packages, junk marketing offerings, and no prices (which suggests that it’s expensive).
Additionally, domain registration information indicates that the website is less than five months old, which belies their claim to be “best in our field” and to have established lots of “incredible relationships” with clients. Plus there’s their claimed location in Cheyenne, Wyoming–which is actually the address of MyCompanyWorks, the registered agent that filed the business organization papers. Many Philippines-based scammers use MyCompanyWorks.
Again, reputable individuals and companies don’t solicit in the way you describe; these days, that’s an almost sure sign of a scam.
This guy had called me too. Another person called me from this agency using a fake Anglo name but had a heavy accent.
Just received a voicemail, text, and email from a"Vincent Mayfield" at BookTrail Agency. (Booktrail-agency.com) with differing office locations depending on the link you click doing due diligence on google. It was immediately evident this person was in the Philippines on the voicemail. Additionally, this agency had no LinkedIn profile or results for their name including a picture, nor any name directly tied to the ownership of their website or social media accounts. Keep an eye out everyone, Booktrail Agency is still an active ongoing scam!
Hi Victor,
Good day!
I understand that you have decided to postpone your plans in upgrading your website.
I am hoping that you would consider this …because the investment is only USD1500.00 for your Website Upgrade and maintenance for a year. This will be fulfilled with my own marketing firm. This will be a good present for the holidays. Renaissance Publishing House.
Sebastian Lopez
Publicist / Managing Consultant
Renaissance Publishing House
2231 Shattuck Ave. Rm 227, Berkeley CA., 94704 USA
Toll free: (888)335-0630
Phone: (510) 345-3880
Another new self-publishing scamming the authors. Typically they are operating somewhere in PHP. Their website is http://www.renaissancepublishinghouse.com
Victoria, THANK YOU. PS., you have saved me few times.
I have documentation indicating that Bookjet Publicity is the successor to Optage Publishing (which is defunct, as far as I know). So it's a scam like the rest. I've added it to the list.
I have been contacted by a company called Bookjet Publicity Enterprise in Arizona trying to sell me book marketing services. Has anyone heard of these folks?
I wish to report a scam perpetrated by
BookTtail Agency
We are busy publishing our wildlife book, we received a mail from a sean davids at book trail agency
We were advised that we would be interviewed on America Tonight radio station and have our interview recorded on 210 radio stations
All we had to do was pay 1000$ to them
The account they gave us was a 16 digit credit card number belonging to dexter …
We googled up the Kansas city head office
8838 sleepy hollow the head office is a shabby house
Apparently housing teams of marketing staff,teams of financial staff ect ect
When we asked for an invoice from booktrail agency with the company bank account
All they did was fraudulently change the name of the account holder using the same 16 digit credit card number
Len Wilson here again. 18 months ago I wrote a book "Dear Mr Len" – gave it to Xlibris to publish and got scammed $70,000. They lied about everything and sold me every manner of package you could ever think of (Book to film, audio book, book reviews, New York Times supplement, Readers Digest advert). Then a guy called Baste Gomez from Book Magnets came out of space and I paid him $10,000 to translate my book into Spanish and Chinese – I got 2 covers. Then I woke up and took my business to Book Trail Agency. They are smart Filipinos and have an American guy called Scythe Adams front their operation. They were so convincing and I I ended up losing another $77,000 to these fraudsters. They relaunched "Dear Mr Len" and published my second book "'Solly' Mr Len". Adams phoned each night and urged me on to write more books – children's books, school books. I did as told and ended up writing 9 books. Then no royalties and packages paid for like maps for children's books not honoured. They dropped me from a great height and stole my royalties. Don't get so excited about being interviewed on Kate Delaney show Angela Chester TV show. It's all a scam and those two celebrities have no idea what is going on behind their backs. So my advice is stay away from fake Filipino publishing companies and don't pay them anything. Only deal with established mainstream publishers. There are at least 125 fake Cebu based publishing companies on the web. Be warmed, stay away from this mafia outfit.
In 2009, I went to a vanity press to buy 20 copies of the novel I wrote while deployed to Iraq. I never even considered sending the book to agents or publishing houses, because who was I? The books I bought were overpriced, but I wanted the copies to give to family and friends, and they delivered as promised.
Later on, I heard about self-publishing, and I tentatively put my toes in the waters. To my utter surprise, people started buying my books.
But I think having bought from a vanity press, I am on some sort of suckers list. I get constant calls from eveyone who tells me they can make a a success. At first, I would tell them that I am moderately successful, making six figures a year as a hybrid writer, and they'd pause, then tell me they can get me up to seven figures a year.
Now, I just tell them to take me off their call list and then hang up.
I've been writing books and getting scammed by these Filipino companies for 14 months now. First it was Xlibris who sold me every fake marketing package imaginable and eventually ran off with about $120,000. meanwhile Book Magnets approached me with a deal, book translation into Spanish and Chinese. I paid $10,000 and only got 2 covers. I finally woke up to Xlibris and out of nowhere came Book Trail Agency who pretended to rescue me from the other scammers. They sweet-talking me into writing more books and buying more packages. I lost another $50,000. I will only work with mainstream companies directly in future. I have lost so much time and money to these Filipino Mafia-like scammers but wont give up getting my books recognised and sold world-wide. A friend also got scammed by Balboa Print – avoid them too.
Great Writers Media also gave me an 8.6 out of 10 Bruce told me he was not supposed to tell me but mentioned my book would be in 500 bookstores across the world and I would only have to pay £1000 in two instalments.
They seem to have two addresses with different numbers. When he was asking for a payment today then a payment next week and that they just want to get the book out there and there is no time to wait it made me curious. Plus when he spoke to me about how they promote the book they would be no way in China to make their money. I asked so what do you get out of it? He told me Great Writers Media will get recognition, we build our name and make money that way. I'm like huh?
Apparently scams from the Philippines also extend to contacting blog owners. I've gotten many feedback messages on my blog from people who want their links on my blog, and claim to be this or that person at a company or school in the US, but Statcounter tells me they're in the Philippines. I've gotten so many, in fact, that for a while I blocked anyone from the Philippines from contacting me. When the plugin blocking them went defunct, I put a message on my contact form forbidding anybody from the Philippines. So far, it's made at least a couple of people think twice.
Dchap222,
I haven't heard of The Ewings Publishing, but that's not too surprising, considering that its LLC wasn't registered until just last May (contrary to its claim to have been in business for five years).
The business is registered to a Honeylyn Ewing, at a Metairie address where other Ewings appear to live. Which would suggest that it's a business owned by a real US person (Philippine scammers sometimes use US persons as beards to hide their foreign origin, but the names of the beards doesn't usually match the name of the scam). However, given the scam markers evident on the website–faulty English, lack of verifiable info about the company or staff, the lie about the amount of time in business, the array of junk marketing services, and the solicitation–I suspect that the work of building the website and providing the services has been outsourced to the Philippines
Regardless, the services that are offered are ineffective (vanity radio and TV, book trailers, press releases) and hugely overpriced (for instance, they're selling Kirkus Indie reviews, which will cost you around $500 if you buy one yourself, for nearly $2,000).
Thank you, Victoria, You have identified several scam companies that I am personally and unfortunately aware of in my publishing efforts.
Can you comment on the following company apparently based out of Louisiana: The Ewings Publishing? They are offering an email campaign to help me with "marketing and sales campaign" to develop book sales and reviews for a "portfolio" to be presented to traditional publisher acquisition agents.
Thank you for your efforts, attention and time.
Ian McKay Nunn,
Would you share the fake letter of intent with me, along with any emails Silver sent you? You can forward it to beware@sfwa.org. Thank you!
"Silver Literary Agency" in Reno is actually Silver Ink Literary Agency, about which there are a number of online warnings (including mine).
Recently I was contacted by Ali Stewart of Silver Literary Agency , Reno NV 89501 USA.
Subsequently I was sent a fraudulent copy of a letter of intent to acquire the rights to my book by Pengiun Random house. They confirmed it was a scam. posted by Ian McKay Nunn
I too have been slammed with messages left on my machine since publishing my first novel in 2015, and they all have accents. They say they live in San Francisco or New York or San Diego yet do not know of any streets or landmarks.
They don't stop until you change your phone number which I don't want to do. They will send emails pretending to be a movie producer. So I write "Prove to me you are who you say you are." Crickets.
I have changed my message machine to say "unless you are a traditional publishing company, please do not leave a message." Some still do.
I agree. Why would I want to republish with a new cover etc. if I am pleased with the old cover? Stupid waste of money.
Rosanna Brand
Lewis Kempfer,
That's one of their stock responses: that I'm a rival publisher badmouthing competitors, hence my "bad blogs". They never offer my supposed publishing company's name, though.
FYI, I've written plenty about the problems with Author Solutions–you can see all those posts by plugging "Author Solutions" into the search box.
I’ve had a steady stream of calls ever since I self-published my memoir two years ago. The frequency picked up once I started winning awards in book contests. All the calls start with the “Your book/you was/were referred to us…blah blah blah.” They always want to send an email with details and usually the emails read like they were written by someone whose native language isn’t English (that’s not a jab at people who speak other languages). The latest is Book Vine Press from someone named Zach who is the Senior Publicist and Marketing Consultant. Here’s his response when I called him out as being listed as a scam:
“I appreciate this email. I agree that those publishing companies that he mentioned on his website are all existing. However, it is very questionable why Westbow Press, Xlibris, Balboa Press and so other branches held by their mother company "AuthorSolutions" are not on his list. So maybe he is one of our competitors trying to destroy the reputation of a certain publishing company and is being paid to create bad blogs.
We are stepping on somebody's toes and these are big toes. Most authors from AuthorSolution are in our business enjoying and satisfied with the services that they have from us. We totally understand why they came to us since their publishing company has the most expensive services.
Now of course it will be up to you if you're going to believe that. As long as we know from our own selves and our authors that we are doing our best to fulfill every service that they purchase from us.”
The writing is better than most but still has odd syntax.
I self-published with BookBaby. They are legitimate and not a vanity press. They did everything they said they would and have always been reachable. My only problem with them is their in-house POD but that’s getting off topic.
Some of these companies sound so convincing. But why would I pay to re-publish a book I’ve already self-published?
You can email me at beware@sfwa.org. Thanks!
Thanks for the info. I just received a call and an email from the following person saying I was lucky because one of their book scouts just read my book Thunder in the Mountains (Lyons Press, 2014) and wanted to discuss a plan for acquisition/distribution, etc. The offer was clearly a scam. Here’s the info:
Andie Collins
Senior Literary Agent
Stellar Literary Press and Media
Email: andie.collins@stellarliterary.com
Phone Number: 424-388-0919 Ext 356
Mailing Address: 1968 S. Coast Hwy #3880 Laguna Beach, CA 92651
Corporate Address: 222 West 6th Street, Suite 400, San Pedro, CA, 90731
A couple days later I received a call from a guy who said his name was Sam Wilson and advised me that Stephen Shellon, Founder of Lionsgate Films, had read my book Midair (2016, Lyons Press) and wanted to buy the film rights and begin production on a movie. He’d already secured Netflix as the distribution partner. Though “Sam” was calling from a number with a 310 area code, my phone tagged it as Potential Spam. I spoke with “Sam” about this deal. “Sam” said Lionsgate was prepared to pay $300k for the film rights to my book. The connection on the phone was a little fuzzy and sounded like it was coming from overseas. Also, though Sam spoke reasonably decent English, he definitely had a heavy Asian accent. Not sure if it was Philippines, but definitely that part of the world. Furthermore, while speaking with “Sam,” I looked up Stephen Shellon and discovered he was an actor best known for A River Runs Through It, Gone in 60 Seconds, The Body Guard and others. Shellon has no apparent connections to Lionsgate.
The email came from entertainment.lionsgate@gmail.com.
Authors beware!
Thanks! I’ve gotten many, many reports of solicitations from Stellar. I don’t know if the fake Lionsgate offer was connected–but I love the gmail address.
Until a couple of years ago, pretty much everyone I heard from who was targeted by one of these scams was self- or vanity-pubblished. But there are so many of these ripoff companies now that I think it’s getting tougher for them to find customers, so along with increasingly elaborate impersonation scams, they seem to more and more be approaching trad-pubbed authors.
Thanks for clarifying, Victoria. Do you have an email address I can use to forward all the documents? Or you can just message me personally. CliffHatt75@gmail.com
Hi, Cliff,
Thanks for this further information. I'd be really appreciative if you'd forward me the contract (the refund clause you quote sounds a lot like the one in the various Author Solutions imprints' publishing agreements) as well as any other written communication you received from them–including, if possible, a screenshot of the text you mentioned.
Hahaha on the stuff about me. That's one of their stock responses when writers cite my blog (I wish they'd share the name of my supposed publishing company–I'm super curious). Another is that I'm paid to run the blog by Author Solutions.
Glasslink and similar outfits aren't the only ones that play games with royalty terminology; the "100% royalty" promise is an example. What they actually mean is 100% of sales income, which would be your book's retail price less whatever fees and discounts are imposed by retailers (this will vary depending on the retailer). It's just a fancy way of saying they don't take a cut. (Also, a "royalty" is by definition the author's share, so no matter how it's calculated, and whether it's fair or not, you're always getting 100%). Bottom line: they do give you a bigger payout than Xlibris does, but they are also way more likely than Xlibris to lie, cheat, and fail to perform.
Update: The day after I found this blog, the rep from Glasslink who goes by Vin Lopez, and his email signature lists his title as Senior Branding Adviser & Executive, called me and left a voice mail. I blocked him. Three days in a row he called multiple times. Finally, I had enough. I called back and he didn't answer. I left a nasty voice mail explaining how I had found this blog and I knew he was a fraud. I demanded my money back, and told him not to contact me again. 10 days later, he called again, leaving a message that he had been out of the office with a bad cold, but just got my voice mail and wanted to talk about processing my refund. So I called him back. As expected, instead of refunding my payment of 200, he proceeded to ask what information I had found that made me distrust him. I told him about the two bad reports I found online, including this one. He said he already knew about them. His excuse was that you, Victoria, are a disgruntled publisher who is trying to discredit your competition by slandering legitimate re-publishing companies. He reassured me that he had already had a face-to-face meeting in Hollywood last week (when he supposedly had a bad cold and couldn't work), and things were looking up for me. He said he was going to put me in touch with a co-worker named Pearl, who would take my ideas for a brand new book cover, and said that my design would be created by one of their artists, many of who "work with Disney." LOL! At the end of the long conversation, I still did not believe anything he said, and he told me that Glasslink Solutions was a "root company" that discovers content to forward to both Harper Media Partners, (https://harpermediapartners.com), (on close examination, this website looks just like one of the fake scams that you report on), and Harper Collins, (https://www.harpercollins.com/), which is an actual legitimate big-name publisher that has books by celebrities, among others, including David Grohl of the Foo Fighters and Anderson Cooper. This is obviously a falsehood. My gut tells me that Glasslink Solutions absolutely has no affiliation with Harper Collins, but their relationship with Harper Media Partners seems suspicious. Also, the text message receipt I got on my phone after I authorized payment to the Glasslink rep lists Harper Partners as the merchant. This is also reflected in the statement on my credit card. Nowhere in my documentation is Glasslink Solution listed as being linked to Harper Media. Furthermore, the initial agreement that I e-signed states that I will receive 100 percent of royalties from sales. I find this too good to be true since when I published with XLibris, they only offered me 25 percent. Check out this section in the contract about refunds. What a rip-off!
6.2 Refunds. Subject to the exception in Section 6.3 below, upon Termination of the Agreement, We will refund
amounts paid by You for Publishing Packages or individual Services ("Refund") as follows:
(a) Publishing Packages. The potential Refund for a Publishing Package is exclusive to the amount paid for such
Publishing Package as set forth in the Service Order(s), and will be calculated as follows:
i) Prior to submission of the Manuscript: 50%, less a non-refundable $150 (USD) Setup Fee
ii) After (i) above but prior to the start of interior design work: 25% iii) After (ii) but prior to
Final Approval: 5%
iv) After Final Approval: No Refund
There is also this disturbing clause on indemnification at the very end.
The more I look closely at this company and deal, the more sinister it seems. I'm expecting another call from "Vin" later, and I plan to play along in the interest of getting more info and possibly catching him in a blatant lie that I can prove. I really wish I had found this blog before I handed over my precious cash!
Unknown 10/06,
Do you have any emails confirming the connection between Harper Media LLC (which I've just started getting reports about) and Glasslink Solutions (which has been on my scam list for some time now)? If so, would you share them with me so I can update my list? beware@sfwa.org . Thanks!
Harper Media LLC is supposedly the parent company of a website, glasslinksolutions.com who claim to provide republishing and marketing services for self published authors. They took my money as the first installment of a plan to republish my book, but upon payment did not provide the services agreed upon, and when I did some research online, I found a review on a scam alert website that was written by an employee, naming Glasslink Solutions as a fake business based in the Philippines. They have a fake address in Wyoming, and use a phone number that shows up on caller ID as Wyoming. But all the employees I spoke to on the phone from their company had Filipino accents. And the website has many broken links, and the Featured Author page is full of self published authors who if you look closely, you'll find that all their books were published in 2016, and only got a couple of reviews on Amazon.com, and none of them were published by Glasslink Solutions. Upon further investigation, I found this blog. Thank you for exposing this craziness! I am working with my credit card company to get my money back, and I will be sharing this article around. Below is the link to the ripoff report.
https://www.ripoffreport.com/report/glasslink-solution/cebu-bogus-company-scam-1501851
I have also received numerous calls from Mike Ramsey, who claimed to be a publicist for direcTOr John Sacci. I don't see Grovepress on the long list whom Ramsey worked for but you said they're a scam.
Wish I had seen this many months ago. Have been duped by Mike Ramsey, a so called literary agent, who claimed to work for a publishing company called Inspirium and promised republication and a host of advertising openings.
Hi Victoria; just received this e-mail from Great Writers Media which you show as a scam. Thank you!!! Self publishing authors beware!
—-This is David Wolman a Senior Literary Manager from Great Writers Media. I'm contacting you about your book entitled " Men of Principle: A Novel about Power, Betrayal and Free Will". It was scouted and recommended to us by our literary reviewers. They find the book very interesting.
They have reviewed the book and they also gave a rating of 8.6 out of 10. This is not supposed to be shared but you might be happy to know this. This is what they said:
''This is what sets the author apart from all other writers. Author's unique way of stringing words together, formulating ideas, and relating scenes or images to the reader. In any piece of writing, the voice should be consistent and identifiable which the author has done a very good job."
I'm not sure if you realize it but you have very good material here and at the same time you were able to catch the attention of literary agents.
However, the price of the book is too high. I guess you understand that at the end of the day it's all about business so they need something that will guarantee them the marketability of the book.
You are just a few steps closer to achieving what most authors have been dreaming about and that is to getting picked up by a traditional publisher. However, what's keeping the literary agent from moving forward is they want to know first how sales are doing.
Do you know how many copies have been sold since the book came out? I was hoping to ask you some questions about your book. I'm very interested in your work so if you could, please let me know of the best time and phone number to call you.
Sincerely,
David Wolman
SENIOR LITERARY MANAGER | PUBLICIST
Great Writers Media
24A Trolley Square #1580 Wilmington, DE 19806-3334
P: (302) 425-9753
E: dwolman@greatwritersmedia.com
I have been receiving lots of emails from a Regina from Pearsons Media Group. Looks like I was right. If it sounds too good to be true, it probably is. SO many scammers.
Thanks for your help.
There's another one who's reached out to me called Pearsons Media Consultancy. I bet they are all linked.
Unknown 8/24: I responded to your question in email. Short version: it's a scam.
Anonymous 8/28: I'm sorry, but Grove House Press is also a scam. It's got most of the markers: solicitation, poorly-written English text, false information about the company (it claims to have been in business since 2010, but its web domain was registered only this past May), and more. Your experience of paying a lot of money and then not hearing anything back is also a strong indicator of scammery.
My suggestion would be to file a dispute with your credit card company or bank, if that's how you paid and you're still within the window to do so. Companies and banks take disputes seriously, and will investigate. I've heard from authors who've gotten most or all of their money back that way.
I have paid GroveHouse Press $4000 and never heard any feedback from them.
I emailed Trevor Smith and Maria Miller acting as finance manager but they're all gone.
Can you help me check if this company is legit?
Check out their listed address on their website. 440 N BARRANCA AVE. From the Street View, I can’t decide if they are the ABCO or Barber shop. Either way, they are not that high rise building shown in their website. Researching that address shows it is just a mail forwarding service address, not a leading book / marketing business. If it smells fishy, ……………………
Hello. Have you heard of the company book writing prime? They meet some of the scammer criteria but so far they have been seemingly editing my manuscript well each week. They asked me for a sizable amount of money for marketing.
thank you for this list as I have been called and emailed by every scammer, it seems like, in existence
(pen name – Saavo – Survival From The Start …
I just got a phone call from Lit Prime Publishing. Since I didn't recognize the number I didn't answer. They left the following message. "Congrations, you have won a slot with Lit Prime." They didn't leave any information about who they were, only a return phone number. If I had not done a Google search on them, I would not know who they were. I found their website and they look like every other site that offers many publishing services. I'm sure I would have to pay fees for all of their services. No matter what I won, I will not be returning there call.
Thanks for this enlightenment.
I have forwarded to your email two such questionable proposals to further rip me off after WestBow Press did theirs publishing my book with no royalty report since 2014 despite millions of e copies downloaded on various platforms.
God bless you.
I just had a call from BookTrail. I just have to pay $1000.00 for all of the registration costs like copyright and the barcode. And 100% royalties. Guaranteed.
Thank you for this article. You just saved me a lot of money, heartache, and trouble.
At least I now know what a Filipino accent sounds like.
I could hear a lot of sounds in the background of the call. He could have worked from home, or it could have been a call center. Strange for a senior executive. And his name was Edward John. Not a surname as far as I know.
I have been getting calls from Ennoble Press. I am highly suspicious, so I never return their calls.
1) Also, Philippines pronounce the word book – sounding like boo …instead of book – sounding like – look!
2) Dearest Anne instead of Dear Anne
3) How are you doing? In the first line of their letter.
4) They will not take, ‘No’ for an answer!!
Is word house publishing company legit or a scam
Hiw do we get money back
Lawyers are expensive
Bye from a writer pseudonym Aqua
Unknown 7/29.
See the list above. Diamond Media Press, Author Reputation Press, and Book Trail are all on it.
Xlibris is an imprint of Author Solutions. While not as predatory as the scams on the list, it's overpriced, has customer service problems, and uses high-pressure sales tactics to push authors into buying worthless "marketing" services. Plug Xlibris into the search box in the sidebar to see what I've written about it.
I don't know what you mean by "a publisher in Wales Europe." If you'll provide a name, I'll research it. If you're talking about Europe Books, it's a vanity publisher–plug the name into the search box to see my post about it.
I TRIED 4 DIFFERENT PUBLISHERS
ALL IC THEM ASK FIR MONEY
DIAMOND PRESS AUTHIR REPUTATION
XLIBRIS. BOOK TRAIL. AND A PUBLISHERS
IN WALES EUROPE.
KIBDLY TELL ME WHICH ARE SCAMMERS
BYE ANNETTE A WRITER PSEUDONYM AQUA
See the list, above. Goldman Agency is on it.
Has anyone heard of Goldman agency? I have been contacted by someone at this agency to do a book review:
xxxx
Marketing Supervisor
Phone: (877) 528-3299
Website: http://www.goldmanagency.com
What about readApple
They have scammed me for a film deal?
Martin & Bowman, LLC, is sending out unsolicited emails offering distribution and representation services, with an emphasis on getting your material in front of film producers. Of course, their victims are expected to kick in, to the tune of several thousand dollars. Their website is full of red flags. Don't fall for it. http://www.martinandbowman.com/
Thank you for this information. This happened to me yesterday in regards to a book my mother wrote. They are relentless. They go by a script and stick to it. When I asked, have you read the book? The person said yes, and when I asked what it was about, he didn't have a clue. He said something that had nothing to do with the book It's a shame they prey on the elderly, Thank goodness my mother passed their call to me. DO not fall for their tactics of trying to convince you to give them any money. Do your due diligence and research. Everything is available on the web.
Keep up the good work! Youronlinepublicist just cold called me. They claimed they would publish my book and then give me 80% of the royalties. They failed to mention in that initial conversation that I would have to pay them $1,000 up front and then $20 per month in order to have them list my book on their website. Their entire schpeel is about marketing the book, but all they want to do is remake the cover and then list it on their website. They claimed worldwide distribution, but instead, listing their book on their website seems to be all they offer.
If they call my house, I'm keeping open this page and quoting it until they leave me alone.
Thanks for putting up with scammers' little tirades. Don't worry! They are more funny than anything else, and it shows what a difference your posts are making.
I think more people should post their experiences with these companies on review sites. I just put mine on the Better Business Bureau. Sitejabber is another one, so if you've had any negative experiences with this company, post it until the entire world knows.
Thanks so much, Victoria.
I was just contacted by Parchment Global Publishing. When I was on the phone with them I googled them. When I told them I was looking at the BBB website and that they were listed on the site as a scam. They said What do you mean? I replied with: You are scamming people and should be ashamed of yourself. They then hung up and I found this website.
Thank you Victoria for all of this information. I am looking to republish my book that I originally published and got scammed with by Tate.
I will be checking your site often looking for a self publisher that is not out to take my money, but to help me!
Brenda Crout
http://www.welcometoelizasworld.weebly.com
I have paid tons of monies to Golden Ink Media Services a.k.a. Greensage Agency or Pen Culture Solutions sent bank transfers to some P One Media Marketing Consultancy under a very Filipino lady name in the Philippines I think the owner Ms. Sugarol. I filed a bank dispute and found out their bank in the US was under a guy called Brian Dominic Padilla. Right after purchased their screenplay service for $25,000 Authors' Breakthrough Solutions, Inc. kept on calling me too. These are a bunch of people changing imprint names but all running businesses in Cebu City, Philippines. Don't be scammed with these people.
I’d like to add ganpimedia for a company to WATCH out. They're a group of scammers so BEWARE people. They claim to be in Canada but in reality they're just one of many Author Solutions clones. I put the link to their website for your reference. https://ganpimedia.com/
RUSHMORE PRESS – SCAM Company! BEWARE! The address, the company, the office you see in Google and on their website is FAKE. That Las Vegas Office doesn't exist. It is actually hiding in a very small apartment in Punta Princesa, Cebu City Philippines ran by Danie John Gumalo, aka Daryl Hayes, aka Geri Williams – one and the same person.
Athena Wilson from Great Writers Media, "You have been one selected out of only eight!… We already have a draft of your cover… Completely free! Completely free! Only a $1200 marketing fee… The offer is only available today." So many obvious red flags. Do not get scammed by them.
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Hi Victoria, I was contacted by Regina Wilson of Pearson Media about my book Of Poems. I almost got scammed for $3000. Then I found your informative research while researching this company. They even sent me a proposal via email. I will forward the original email and the proposal.
Ah yes, I've been getting contacted lately by Glasslink Solutions, stating:
"I am pleased to inform you that your book, " Soldier of Rome: The Centurion" has been reviewed and endorsed by our evaluation team for its cinematic potential. and the probability of being adapted for film/TV.
If you would like to take the next step, we can set a time to discuss the details. Would you be available for a phone call this week?"
The first immediate red flag for me is that The Centurion is the fourth book of six in my series, The Artorian Chronicles, and it came out ten years ago. Why the deuce would they ask about a book in the middle instead of the beginning of a series? It feels almost as if they simply chose a title at random (I do have twenty-five works published as of this posting). They enclosed a couple of PDF files, but I have not opened these, as I fear they may be infested with malware. Has anyone else dealt with Glasslink Solutions? Cheers!
James
HAHAHAHA indeed.
WRITERS BEWARE IS A BAIT TO AUTHORS! LET'S PUT IT THIS WAY DO THE PUBLISHERS OF THE BOOK SCAMMED THE AUTHOR? IF THEY SCAMMED THE AUTHORS HOW COME THEY HAVE PUBLISHED BOOKS UNDER THE PUBLISHERS NAME? MAKE SENSE? HAHAHA
Anonymous 4/27,
Writer Beware doesn't make publisher recommendations, but Australian Writers Marketplace is a good starting point: https://writersmarketplace.com.au/. The online version requires a subscription fee, but you can also buy a hardcopy book if you prefer.
Linsey Knerl,
You are among the very, very few trad-pubbed authors to be targeted by Great Writers Media and its ilk–at least, as far as I've heard in several years of tracking these scams. They overwhelmingly focus on self-published authors. Unfortunately if one of these outfits has gotten your contact information, others have it as well, so brace yourself for more solicitations.
Great Writers Media has been calling and emailing nonstop, even after telling them to take me off their list. After I explain that I already have a marketing team with my book that was just recently published by Simon & Schuster, they seem surprised for a moment, and then ask "how are sales?" and try to tell me that they should take over the marketing from my publisher. They must call hundreds of people a day because they have no record of past calls and every time they call is from a different number. They call at the worst times (when kids are napping, etc.) Make it stop!
Thank you for this info . My husband received an email from so called Ben Harris of Pearsons media & consultancy. My husband showed me the latest email he sent about the so called promising good future of the book and asking how much he will spend for publishing the book. I told my husband is something bit fishy to me so I'm doing some research now to find out if it's legit and I discover this helpful information from you. Thank you.
My husband had been scammed before by Xlibris. We even visited the place in Cebu City. It looks like a call center. Wish we research about this before.
Can you suggest any legit publishers based here in Australia? My husband really want to publish his book. And I don't want him to end up always submitting his manuscript to the scammers.
You can stop now. Should be ashamed of yourself – preying primarily on the elderly and on writers who've self-published. You had me going there for a while – FROM THE PHILIPPINES, NOT WITH LOVE: A PLAGUE OF PUBLISHING AND MARKETING SCAMS
– Silver Ink Literary Agency (aka Editors Press and Media / Editor's Creative Media / Paper Bytes Marketing
Sent from Mail for Windows 10
From: Andrew Wilson
Sent: Friday, April 23, 2021 4:47 PM
To: Name withheld
Subject: Re: FW: File Request
Hello A…..,
Thank you for this offer, I really appreciate how honest you are. I really wanted to help you become a traditionally published author, at your age it is still not too late for your dream to come true and I'm here with you every step of the way. You have my word. I want you to be credited for your hard work on making this book.
How about if I will propose a meeting with my project manager so we can communicate with the finance department and shoulder the 60% of the cost, so the total amount that you will be paying for the developmental editing would be $744, and we will get 20% commission. Would that work for you?
This is already a guaranteed acquisition and I don't want you to miss this opportunity and what you might have become as an author.
Hoping for the best! Trust me.
Best regards,
Andrew Wilson
Senior Literary Agent | Silver Ink Literary Agency
200 S Virginia St 8th floor, Reno, NV 89501, United States
https://www.silverinkliteraryagency.com/
Email: andrew.wilson@silverliteraryagency.com
Phone: (775) 993-6956 ext.125
Great Writers Media has been endlessly calling me about publishing stuff. I'm baffled as to why, as I don't have any self-published books (I was epublished many years ago, but that isn't online anymore either.) I'm just ignoring them, but I can see how someone might be fooled.
Fifth Pillar Books should be added to your Philippine scams, recently tried to take them to small claims court but was unable to find a legitimate address to serve them. I hired and Investigator and they found the owners to be from the Philippines. Real scam artists.
I was scammed by Silver Ink Literary as well. They talked a good game, even produced a contract. Once they talked me into editing fees, then they never answer their phone. I put in a complaint to the BBB but I highly doubt i will get my money back.
Austin Macauley Publishers are worst than vanity publishers. They ask you a "contribution" but the editing they provide is hilarious. They assume from the start that the book has no chance on the market, and make a profit from your contribution. They take the money to destroy the author’s chances.
Zoe,
Please email me: beware@sfwa.org. I need to know more about what you're experiencing (including the publisher's name) in order to offer advice. All information shared with Writer Beware is held in confidence. Thanks@
Silver Ink Literary Agency apparently have only been in operation a short while, I became quite suspicious especially when one of the agents has a Twitter account started early in 2020.
I have a question, I had been receiving regular royalties from a publishing company, they the royalties and the company have ceased, their website is down as well as their phone numbers. Emails haven’t bounced back yet, and I’m wondering what I do next. Any advice would be greatly appreciated.
Zoë
Continue your good work; it is already having a sanitising effect within the publishing space.
I just got a mail from Silver Ink Literary Agency. For a full disclosure, I belong to the group of writers who are already severely disillusioned with scammers posing to offer literary services with intent to fraudulent ends. I have twice fallen to a couple of them.
Could you kindly use your good connections to assist to check the credibility of Silver Ink Literary Agency. I am wiling to send their mail to you to read first hand, if you don't mind.
God bless.
O. K.Oyenekan
Dear Victoria,
Thank you so much for your quick response.
Your scrutiny on Pearsons Media & Consultancy is thorough with details pointing towards a scammer.
I really appreciate your kind heart, great care, and effort to help so many authors, just like me who can be easily blinded, fall into scammer's prey. God's blessings are always within and without you.
I abide by your invaluable advice to stay off this scammer, Pearsons Media & Consultancy.
Thank you once again, Victoria!
Keep well and stay safe
Jeremy
Victoria, you have the right name. You are victorious in this job of yours. Better than the Police (as Pirot says).
I too have been scammed by Xlibris;(Got 2 books and a video $AU12,000) AuthorHouse, Capstone, Stampa. Some are still contacting me by email. Almost lost $40,000 from a Filipino agent. (Yes, she had the accent) Stopped in time! Imagine that credid card!
I am now a publisher, simply because it was the way forward with my writting and publishing. I have helped a few new authors to publish their titles. (No money involved)
Victoria, if you need volunteers to help with this, I am willing to assist in some way. I have a detective's heart and actually found out some interesting facts of telephone scammers who took all our savings on 28 September 2018. The bank finally reimbursed 50% after I gave them this information through ACCC. It made me suicidal at the time.
These are crimes that deserve some justice for the unfortunate author whose dreams are crushed without care. I want to see this happen.
Thank you so much for your due diligence. Marie
Anonymous 3/12,
Without knowing anything else about Pearsons Media & Consultancy, I would guess it to be a scam, simply because of the unsolicited approach and the "partnership" proposal. Overwhelmingly these days, such approaches are by scammers.
Other than that…my hunch is that Pearsons (with an S) is NOT the same company as Pearson (without an S). But doing some research on Pearsons with an S, it's clearly the same type of scam. Most of the markers are present: unsolicited emails, re-publishing offers, unverifiable claims of expertise, multiple grammatical errors in website text, and big money for junk marketing.
Other anomalies: I did a spot check on the books they claim to be "our works", and none of them exist. Their web domain is less than four months old. They also claim to be located in New Jersey, but they have no business registration there and the copyright notice on their website is "Pearsons Media Ltd.", which suggests a UK company. There is a Companies House registration (Companies House provides business registrations for UK companies) for Pearson Media Consultancy Limited (no S, no &), run by a Mr. Benjamin Pearson, but its SIC code indicates it's a management consultancy, and it was incorporated in 2019. So I don't think it's the same as the outfit that contacted you.
Bottom line beyond all this background info: my strong suspicion is that Pearsons-with-an-S is a scam, and my advice would be to tell it to stop contacting you.
Dear Victoria,
I received an email from Pearsons Media & Consultancy seeking a partnership proposal for my book.
From what I understand from your blog, Pearson Media Group is categorized as one of your Scam List.
Is Pearsons Media & Consultancy associated with Pearson Media Group?
Your advice is very much appreciated.
Thank you.
I agree. Victoria?
Thank you for providing information about these scams. Several years ago I published a book with Lulu. Last year I received many calls from Book Times and they scammed me out of thousands of dollars for re-publishing and advertising my book. Last week I received calls from others on your list, such as Spark Literary and Media. The author was very pushy and kept calling me back after I told them that I was not interested. These companies promise that an author will receive hundreds of thousands of dollars in book sales, which is a story that is too good to be true. The scammers use different phone numbers (fake numbers) when they call.
I wish I had found your site a year ago. I was scammed by OdysseyMediaPress. The payments went to Charezz A. Capin in the Phillipines. Other OdysseyMediaPress contacts were: Carlos Devarra, Gia Torres and Raphael Garcia. They called me and told me they wanted to make my book into a movie, but first I had to complete a social media marketing ($10,000), 2 cinema promotions ($4,400). Then I had to pay $20,000 for my part in the movie production. Later they said they needed a treatment ($3,000), treatment copyright ($2,299) and literary agent pitch ($2,400). They listed an address in West Virginia as their business. I stopped by the address on the way to visit my son and found it was a private home and they knew nothing of OdysseyMediaPress. I had believed I was safe because I had paid through PayPal, but that turned out to not be true at all. When I raised the disputes PayPal ruled in favor of OdysseyMediaPress stating that they had stated that they would fulfill the contracts. I saw that PayPal was only interested in closing the disputes and protecting the merchant. As soon as OdysseyMediaPress won the disputes and knew they could get no more money from me, they shut down their web site and email addresses so I could no longer contact them. I went back to PayPal and they would not share any information about the merchant citing privacy reasons. The scam is to keep an author paying for things that they never actually do, but instead keep finding new things that the author needs to pay for before the original contract can be fulfilled, and then when the author has had enough, just disappear.
All scammers should have to pay back what they stole from vulnerable people who believe everything they say, especially the forlorn and elderly. They think their book is going to sell and make them money, and when a scammer comes along, they lose whatever money they might have, borrowed, or saved. It is not right. The person getting that money should give it all back, plus interest.
Seems I may have been scammed by Editors Press and Media as well! Paid a whole lot of money for various republication work including website, publicist, and professional book reviews. Have only received 2 book cover images and a poor quality book draft! I’ve given them a deadline of 3/31/21 to complete contracted services, else refund my money. Will fight this company with all I have if this is a scam because honest people should not be taken advantage of like this!
Email me:
Will keep you posted on developments
simpletips888@gmail.com
N Tochi
I concur. Seems l’ve been scammed by editors press and Media/ SilverInk Agency!
Only time will tell, trying to stay optimistic and not be bitter. But if this is a scam, will engage them incessantly till I get my money back!
Hi Victoria, I am currently working with Editors Press and Media. The “literary agent” who cold called me in October was so “nice”, prayerful and Godly ( so I thought). I was told that my republication was diverted to SilverInk Agency in November and have since made several payments! I am clearly in shock reading all these! This March would be 4 months since the process started and all I have received is book cover images and a poorly done editing! I am confused at this point and not even sure what to do next. I have reached out to them with a 30 day notice that if the process is not completed by 3/31 , I need my money back. I am still awaiting a reply!
I shutter to think that I’ve been scammed out of my hard earned money!!!
Still holding out hope that they will fulfill their promises before end of this March
Thanks for your comment, BlingSkyWrites. I'm afraid that for me, your experience only highlights the predatory nature of Rushmore Press and similar scams, which prey particularly on people just like you. You shouldn't have to throw a fit just to get the services you paid for, and the difficulty you experienced in getting a Rushmore rep to contact you just further further highlights that (although I'm glad to know that mentioning this blog seems to have shaken something loose for you).
I hope your experience continues to be satisfactory, but I would urge you not to pay them any more money (as they surely will try to persuade you to do, now that they've put up a front of being helpful and responsive). Please come back and let me know what happens.
I would like to give an update of my progress to date with Rushmore Press. From my previous post here where I was very concerned that I was possibly being scammed again by these companies wanting to publish our cherished written work, I have to say I am (at this present time) a happy camper thus far. Rushmore Press has shown me great promise and they are doing what I understand they said they would do and also what I signed on for. What happened after the post I did on here about my dismay with them at that time was that I was able to contact my representative (after a lot of posts on their Facebook site) – he actually called me. I then communicated loud and clear my frustration with the company at that time and I will share those feelings with you here.
My husband and I are senior citizens on a fixed income. We worked hard over the years to manage our lives and we take pride in all that we have obtained from the hard work we did. That said, this is what I communicated to him in my phone conversation that day when he called me back, "you would think that a company that took several thousand dollars from senior citizens on a fixed income, would take note of that somewhere in their files and make an extra attempt to stay in good communication with these people to give them trust and good faith that the money they just gave up was not a huge mistake! You people need to know that I saw your name on Victoria's list and therefore, I need to you assure me that we have not been ghosted and that what I signed on for is actually going to happen – it's been over like 45 days!" He went on to say that they were aware of Victoria's list and that I needed to understand that many of these companies make the list because of one or two customers who were not happy with the service they got and that they are working fast and furious to correct those mistakes and thus gain a better name for themselves, etc. That said, I let him know that we were getting very worried and impatient and that "taking senior citizens hard earned and very much thought about whether to give it up money and then ghosting them was not going to get them on any positive list anytime soon." Immediately, after that phone call, I got emails from the new girl who is their Product Manager and she assured me my manuscript was being worked on and that they were waiting on the illustrators to do their necessary work, etc. Then, within a day or two of those emails, I got an email showing me the work the illustrator had done to date. With all this, I signed on last September 2020, and I can say that my project is in its final stages and I just signed off on the manuscript for the book (hard cover, soft cover and e format) and I am pleased with their work and their better communication. It is now my hope that they have learned something from my words conveyed to them and that they will seriously take into consideration the fact that when people fork over serious money, they need to understand that serious communication needs to happen and you need to work with your customer and treat them with the highest regard if you want your company to flourish. I am enthusiastic with the work they have produced for me thus far and am hopeful that all will continue to fruition and my book will have good success and good sales. Time will tell in that regard but I do hope that this post helps those wondering about this company and that it helps people to have some hope that they are not all impossible, you may just have to be that "squeaky wheel".
333
Unknown 2/27,
Yes. I looked at its website and it's got all the markers. I've added it to the list.
I've been contacted by Authors Avenue Media Group. Are they among the scam artists? A yes or no reply is all I need. Thank You.
Thank you Victoria. I can't tell you how therapeutic it was to read your post. I have been battling URLink Publishing over the book company's exploitation of my very disabled, elderly mother who is an amateur poet. They call my mother at the crack of dawn when she is asleep. My mother's caretakers have told them for nearly a year not to call at this hour because she is sick. URLink Publishing has swindled thousands upon thousands of dollars from my mother's retirement account.
I became suspicious when I was helping my mother pay her bills and found that in December 2020 alone, URLink had taken nearly one thousand dollars from her account. When I asked the "company" for an invoice, they said $600.00 was for a prize submission. I am actually a professor of literature and know that reputable, honest presses do not charge for prize submission. When I looked up the prize that they claim they needed $600.00 to submit her book, I found that the registration fee for the prize is only $100. They pocketed $500.00 for something that anyone can do for free. When I asked them for a refund based on astronomical, unethical charges, they said "no" because professional services had been "availed."
This first encounter lead me to find lie upon lie piled up: fake names, huge withdrawals, extensive coercion of my mother by individuals with fake names like "Jordan Baxter," "Bella Dy," and "John Keith." The phone numbers on their own emails and webpage do not work.
But the only wish of my poor mother who is terribly sick and in late stages of a disease is to have her poetry published. But this company is not to be trusted. And they have depleted significant sums from her retirement account that is vitally needed for her in-home care. I told them this fact and they were indifferent. They took the money (illegally) and ran.
I have contacted the Better Business Bureau. I will also contact the FBI and federal consumer protection agency. If other people have been damaged to the extent that our family has, then please let me know if you are interested in a class action lawsuit.
I've just heard from Jurnal Press (yes that's the way they spell it) from Sheridan, Wyoming. They're offering 2 years publicity FREE, and 100% royalties. Sounds too good to be true and I'm sure it is. They're not on your list but you might want to look into them. And thank you so much for saving me from another one – Readers Magnet – which is on your list.
MJD
Hi Victoria,
By posting the list of scammers you have saved me thousands of dollars.
I found two names of advertising companies that I was debating on accepting their offer.
Thank you so very much.
DC
If you've been scammed by a Filipino-owned (Cebu-based) publishing company pretending to be in the United States, you may contact The National Bureau of Investigation Cybercrime Division.
Gather all your documents, record every conversation with your Publishing Consultant and contact the following agencies in the Philippines.
National Bureau of Investigation
Cybercrime Division
Taft Avenue, Manila
Tel: (632)523-8231 to 38 local 3454, 3455
Email: ccd@nbi.gov.ph
Philippine National Police
PNP-ACG Operations Center
Camp Crame, Quezon City
Tel: (632)414-1560
Fax: (632)414-2199
Email: info@acg.pnp.gov.ph
DOJ Office of Cybercrime
Padre Faura Street
Ermita, Manila
Tel: (632)521-8345 and (632)524-2230
Email: cybercrime@doj.gov.ph
Carey,
I haven't heard of this company before. My main concerns are the founder's lack of professional publishing experience (you can find articles about her if you do a websearch on the company name) and the fact that this publisher is brand new–just started up in October–and hasn't actually published anything yet. There's a very high failure rate among new small publishers, and it's wise to wait on approaching them until they've been issuing books for at least a year and have shown some stability. This also allows you to assess important things like quality and marketing, and gives time for problems, if any, to surface.
Has anyone heard of Cahill Davis Publishing? They're out of the UK. They look legit, but just being careful.
This has been happening to me from the time I published my book through Author House. My email has been private, not published, and I am highly certain Author House sells that info out. It all started with marketing attempts from Phillippino reps that Author House actually has working for them. They never know the name of my book until the second it pops up on the computer and they stumble over the title, not even knowing the genre, etc… One ingrate actually called and demanded I give him "a straight answer" why I wasn't marketing my book. Then he said he's waisting our time, when I was just about to hear him out. Guerrilla marketing. Creepy.
Terry the Wombat,
Editor's Press and Media is on my Big List of Scams (see the sidebar). Also, here's a link to my blog post on Editor's Press and Media's fake HarperCollins, etc. offers, which are also a scam: https://accrispin.blogspot.com/2020/08/alert-scammers-impersonating-major.html.
Would you email me? I'd like to know more about your experience. All information shared with Writer Beware is held in confidence–your name and identifying info will never be shared. My email is beware@sfwa.org . Thanks.
I want to know more about Editors Press Media Literary Agents. Are they legitimiate or have I sqaundered thousands of dollars for nothing. I have had to get a Developmental Edit of my self authored book so they could recommend it to Harper Collins or MacMillan Publishers.
Beware of Stellar Literary Press and Media. They wanted $1300 up front to publish and market my book. They have a legimitate looking website but when I typed in "consumer reviews" for this company, this Writer Beware website came up. Their address is in Laguna Beach, n upscale acommunity one hour north from here in San Diego. In the background I could hear a rooster. I asked about the noise and Ryan Wilson said his neighbors had a cockfighting ring. cockfighting is very illegal in the US as well as zoning restrictions for roosters in Laguna Beach. Kinda funny this guy got busted by hearing "cock a doodle do" in the background.
Crazy Victoria Strauss!!!
Its simple! She created this website simply because she was paid and she wanted her own publishing company to flourish!
Most of these companies really fulfill their services. I have worked with some of them. They are way cheaper and faster when it comes to fulfillment.
Victoria's ultimate motive is MONEY! She discredits her competitors. Not a good sport!
Why dont you just improve your services and make your fulfillment faster rather than using discredit tactics for your own business to succeed???
I bet your mother didnt love you!!!
I was scammed BIG time with CAPSTONE Publishing…now I believe (from your helpful list) using STAMPA as there name……I have also been contacted recently by SILVER INK….again, thank you for your list as I searched it out and guess what!!! once again, it is listed as a scam. I did also years ago, have contact and very little money involved with Xlibris….Janelle Gresham
Anonymous 11/09,
You asked what the protocol is for submitting to a real publisher. It depends on the publisher. For the Big 5 (Penguin Random House, HarperCollins, etc.) and the larger independents you really do need a literary agent, so if a bigger publisher is your goal, that would be the place to start. If you're willing to consider smaller publishers (which can do a good job but generally have fewer resources and less distribution), you can submit directly: the guidelines for doing so should be on the publisher's website.
For more information, see the Literary Agents and Small Presses pages of the Writer Beware website: http://www.writerbeware.com/.
Thanks for this info and warnings. I self-published with Authorhouse, and for the last few years I am getting many calls. I have kept a list and seen quite a few of them on your list. Shocking! Even the one I thought sounded legit is on there. Also knowing real publisher's rarely or never call authors is good to know. I have never accepted any of these scams, b/c I have been used once for a marketing scam from AH, and that was enough to teach me to beware. What is the protocal for submitting a manuscript to a real publisher?
Hi Victoria,
I need some input here. I am a self-published author of 3 children's books thus far and all were published with Xlibris Pub. Company. I had a very negative experience with them and spent a lot of money since 2014. So for a year or two, I really have not worked with any book publishing companies and really did not have the momentum to move forward with anymore publishing of books. That said, I got a call this past summer from a Literary agent from Rushmore Press Literary Agency and Publishing Company. The person asked if I had any work that had not been published and of course I did, so after chatting it up with me for over 2 hours, I was given the opportunity to send my unpublished manuscript to him with the idea that it would get reviewed by a strict review committee at an upcoming book event they have every year to scout new material. After about 14 days, I got an email back from him stating that my book faired very well with the review committee and they wanted to work with me in marketing and publishing my book. I paid very good money (not going to list the amount just yet, but rest asuured, it is a substantial amount). My manuscript is a children's book (middle-grade) and the subject matter is very unique and trendy and I was told it was written very well (did not need editing as I edited it myself) and that they felt it could be a popular seller for the upcoming book selling season. OK, so I pay them the desired amount (which they also stated was a small percentage of the total cost of producing my book and a short trailor and a strong marketing plan). I paid via credit card and I got several calls back from the agent. Got documents sent to my right away explaining my book package, etc. which I signed and sent back in a timely manner. Received emails from the Project Manager (a woman and this person has left and soon I got a new email telling me the new persons name, etc.) Ok, so this new person asks me for a bit more detailed information for the illustrator to use to do their illustrating (5 total including the cover). So, now it is about late September 2020, and I have not heard much so I email this new woman and she tells me the illustrator needs 30-45 days to do their work. OK, so recently it has been on my mind that I should be hearing something pretty soon. I want so much to believe I have not been scammed, I can't take another one of these scammy things right now. I honestly did do some research and did not see their name on any list, so I ran with it. And, I believe strongly in my work that it is good and worthy of what they told me. As of this date, I have called several times to the company and it is a 1 800 number and it goes directly to a voice message that says if you know your parties ex, blah blah do this, etc. Did that, and also sent emails recently. I realize it is Saturday, and it is also Covid days, so with all that, I do hope I hear something very soon. Can you tell me anything that will give me some hope? I don't like the 1-800 number thing and I don't remember that being the case earlier this summer when I would call. Ugh!
skybookstuff88@gmail.com
Anonymous 11/3,
Are you talking about Europe Books/Europa Edizioni? If so, I've blogged about it here: https://accrispin.blogspot.com/2020/09/pay-to-play-alert-europe-books-europa.html
Not published but spoke online with the editor. Mentioned two types of contract (Traditional and Co-operative if I recall) to be discussed at a team meeting. Unsurprisingly I received the latter type, where they were asking for £2300 for the first 200 books but would only receive a refund when additional 500 sold. Offer was a plan for my writing but found same worded document online. Strange??
Thank you for your kind warnings and hints. Luckily, I have not yet gone into any financial commitments. After your advice, I refused to enter any agreement with a representative posing as a free agent, but only an employee of PageTurner Publ. co. After some 6 months, she called me again, having forgotten my case. Imagine, I recognized by her curious drawl. Same talk of approaching the Big Five among publishers etc. So, you notice how your advice has kept me off the hook for the second time. THANK YOU!
JT2Associates,
What I suggest on getting your money back: if paid by credit card and you're still within the dispute window, file a dispute with your credit card company or your bank. They take disputes seriously and will investigate. I've heard from writers who've been able to get at least some of their money back this way. Best of luck.
Victoria, I wish I had seen your blog. They scammed me. Is there any chance I can get my money back?
Don’t feel bad. It happened to me as well just recently. At first I blamed myself for being so trusting but that’s who I am and I’m not going to allow low life’s, regardless of their financial situation to change me. There’s no excuse for scheming honest people about if their money and interfering with their morale as writers. I’m going going to be wise going forward and keep writing. As someone said, no one should call you and ask you to pay for your own product.
Thank you! They have contacted me as well.
Unfortunately I was scammed by Editor’s Press in Media. Their number is a google number and the office is virtual with a Virginia address. I sent my check to Virginia but it was cashed in Florida. I’ve hired an attorney and filed charges in Virginia. Has anyone had any luck in receiving their funds back?
I recently was contacted via email from a literary agent or someone claiming to be a literary agent wanting to reformat my already self-published book. Unfortunately with the documentation they provided when I accused them of being scammed i fell for it and gave them a partial payment. Now in a ten week agreement process I have not heard from them since the middle of September. Unfortunately its one of the companies you listed on your blog. Now I dont know what to do. Any advice?
Thanks for the update regarding the company, Pearson Media Group. I just received an email from them saying they had thoroughly reviewed my book and want to talk about an International Film and movie recommendation. As I've done with other companies, and there have been many, I tell them that if they can tell me one thing about my book's story, other than the title, then I would be willing to at least talk to them. I usually get some excuse and I never hear from them again.
I self-published a memoir last year with BookBaby. They’re legit but expensive and have issues. But today I received a call from Authors Press. They said I was on a list provided by Amazon of popular titles. They said my book is getting a lot of traffic but it’s not converting to sales due to price. I agree with that because BookBaby priced the book above what anyone would pay for a book by an unknown author. They were recommending a re-launch. Again, not a bad idea as my launch in September 2019 was disastrous due to how BookBaby deals with Amazon. But this isn’t about BookBaby—they’re not perfect, but they do what they say will and are actually reachable. I smelled a rat right away as the woman’s accent was very much like those of reps in Phillipines-based customer service call centers. I wasted 90 minutes on a phone call but it was actually good practice answering questions about my book. My book has received two awards and many positive reviews. I don’t know if the Amazon traffic angle is true or just a ploy. Anyway, Authors Press appeared on Reedsy’s list of known scam companies, most based in the Phillipines. I’m disappointed but not surprised.
Unknown 9/22,
I've recently written about Editor's Press and Media and their HarperCollins scam: https://accrispin.blogspot.com/2020/08/alert-scammers-impersonating-major.html. Glad you found my blog.
I got an email from editorspressandmedia and a follow up phone call saying that Harper Collins was interested in acquiring a photo book I self published. They sent me a copy of the email that they said came from Harper Collins with the editor's name. I know a little about publishing, especially photo books, so I did not bite on their "fee" of $3500 for editing and an author website. I found you blog while I was on the phone with "Stacey" and saw that their name is on your list.
Thanks for doing this
NC Talker,
I'm really sorry this happened to you. I'm working on a blog post about Fact and Fiction–which I agree is a scam. WOuld you please share with me any correspondence you received from them, as well as documentation of the payment so I can research the account and the account holder? All information shared with Writer Beware is held in confidence. My email is beware@sfwa.org. Thanks so much.
Fact and Fiction Entertainment and Literary Agency appears to be a scam. The paypal payment actually went to an unverified account overseas, Probably to the Phillipines. Payment went to Carlo Carpio
The receiver of this payment is Non-US – Unverified
finance@factandfic.com There is no listing of this company in NYC or Delaware. No business permits. I did a reverse image check online and that photo of Andie Millstone is a stock photo attached to severe different names online.
I wish I had scrolled all the way to the bottom before paying this crew. I hate to pile on, but Fact and Fiction Entertainment and Literary Agency is pure FICTION. They are not listed as a corporation IN NYC nor Delaware. The photo for Andie Millstone is also fiction and associated with several profiles online. The CEO does not exist. They are supposed to have been around since 2005 there is no online trail.
Dr. Alikhani,
I'm glad you've found my blog useful! Please feel free to contact me directly if you have a question about an individual's or a company's reputation: beware@sfwa.org.
I've just become aware of Fact and Fiction, which appears to be very new. In my judgment, it is another scam. Watch for a blog post this week.
As far as marketing goes…reputable PR companies are extremely costly, and for a small press- or self-published book, that expense just doesn't make sense, since the economics of those publishing methods don't favor volume sales, and volume sales is what PR is all about. Smaller, less expensive marketing services or individual PR providers are too often either inexpert or outright scams. That's not to say all of them are, but the likelihood is high. As a rule of thumb, a reliance on junk marketing methods (methods that are cheap to provide and can be sold at a substantial markup) is one of the main warning signs. Such methods include press releases, email blasts, book trailers, book fair display, paid book reviews, paid radio interviews, Facebook ads, and more.
Literary agents represent manuscripts to publishers and help manage authors' careers, but they don't do marketing. Literary agents may be interested in representing a self-published or small press-published book to larger publishers–but that's usually on the basis of substantial sales–on the order of thousands of copies sold in a relatively short period of time, such as the first year of release.
Dear Victoria
I wanted to thank you for saving me because I have been contacted at least by half of these fake agencies that you have listed here. I have always referred to your posting and exited the contract in the last minute. They are relentless. I have 2 questions and hope you or someone can rescue me again: 1) Is a company called "Fact and Fiction" based in New York legitimate? They claim to have great Literary Agents. 2) Is there a legitimate company out there (for Gods sake) that can help me market the book? I'm interested in finding a real Literary Agent and/or a company that can help market my book: Untethered, Children of Cyrus. It's a great book that need marketing. I can be reached at balikhani5@gmail.com. I'm willing to partner with anyone who's real, not fake like these people that you have alerted us. THANKS AGAIN.
Hi, fellow authors. Has anyone published with Europe Books, specifically working with an editor called Ginevra Picani? Just want to know if they're legit.
Thank you for this list. I just got off the phone with Teri, who told me she was Filipino like me, from Authors Press soliciting promotion of my book at the LA Times Festival of books for $999. I will not be moving forward with them. Their content online, her follow up email with videos that screamed stock video/photography made me cautious that this seemed like a scam and then I saw you had them on the list. Authors BEWARE
Please add RUSTIC HAWS to your list. They are a scam too. I paid them $999 and they did nothing for me only sent back exactly what I emailed with no change to the book cover or editing.
I have recently been contacted by Pearson Media Group because they claim they want to sponsor my book into a movie. They are allegedly based in CA USA and the Production Supervisor is Markus…
Please advise…
I have been. driven crazy recently by YourOnlinePublcisit, YOP, to the point that they call call me 3 or 4 times a day. I have hung up on them immediately, screamed at them, cursed. them—they still call. I realized a while back what this is all about: they want to soak you. for. $8,000—that is their optimum fee. All they have to do is get 100 suckers a year and they've made $800,000—that is a lot of lettuce in the Philippines. Or, they can soak 50 suckers, and that is $400,000. So, why not just keep at me, or. you, for that matter? I've had these same jerks call from an endless list of phony publicity companies. They seem to get more urgent and. desperate with time. But, there is always that $8,000 pay off for them if they find the right pigeon at the end. Perry Brass, Belhue Press.
Mary,
Book Vine Press is included on my scam list in the post above and also in the sidebar…I've gotten many reports and complaints about their fees and poor service.
Receiving several emails from "Book Vine Press" (bookvinepress.com) Not interested in dealing with them even if they are legit, but thought you might want to take a look & see if they actually are legit. Otherwise I'm tired of calls from a Florida area code several times a day. I don't usually answer the phone if I don't recognize the caller, however, one company from "Florida" actually filled my voicemail box after 3 weeks. They called several times a day. Ugh. Thanks for your work Victoria, much appreciated! -Mary
Thank you, Anonymous 8/26. Always good to get confirmation that I'm doing my job!
Mercedes–I honestly don't know. The solicitations from these scams heavily focus on writers who pubbed via Author Solutions imprints (since many of the scammers worked for AS, or have contacts there who feed them information). I also hear from writers who haven't used AS, though that's more unusual. I really don't think it's Kindle, though, simply because I rarely hear from KDP authors. I get questions and complaints about the scams almost daily, and if Kindle were selling authors' contact info, I think I'd be hearing from a lot more of them.
Sweet Baby Jesus. It's not just self-published writers. I've gotten about a dozen calls from these dweebs over the past couple of months, all asking for me by name and then if I had written "random book of mine" although once it was "someone else's random book," and then going into their spiel. The thing is, I can't figure out how the hell they got my number. The ONLY thing I can figure is that I published the e-versions of a handful of my old books that we never sold e-writes to (because e-books didn't exist) on Kindle via the White Glove agency program, and I had to be listed as the "publisher of record." Could Kindle have sold these rat bastards our contact info?
fuck you Victoria Strauss!!!!!
diana, I'm sorry to hear about Crest Media Distribution. Hopefully you can get your money back; one way to do that is to file a dispute with your credit card company, bank, or PayPal (depending on how you paid).
Book Trail Agency is also a scam (the same kind of scam as Crest Media). For more on why paying for radio interviews is not a good idea (even if you get the interview), see my blog post: https://accrispin.blogspot.com/2019/12/vanity-radio-why-you-should-think-twice.html.
I just found out I was scammed by Crest Media Distribution. I feel so naive and stupid now. I am trying to get my money back. Interviews with Kate Delaney led by Book trail agency are they also a scam?
Victoria Strauss you're MEAN NAYSAYER defaming start-up businesses with no VALID PROOF! – truth is you're PAID by AUTHOR SOLUTIONS! GET A LIFE!
Thank you so very much. The Green Sage Agency emailed me today saying they had received an endorsement for my book from Amazon. Below you will find a quote from the email they sent me.
"I got an endorsement for your book…from Amazon and this was given a very impressive rating. I'd like to invite you for an interview and ask you some questions to see if this would be a good fit for our company to offer partnership with or invest in."
It is a good thing I did my research and found your blog. I took your warning to heart and deleted their email. Thank you, for saving my rear and the sequel I am working on.
Thank you so much for your post to let authors know if the email you received is a scam or not. It happend to me, the other day, so glad I had a place to check the name and know it was a scam I was dealing with. Thanks again and I will let family and friends know about your site so they too can check into their scams if they ever need the information.
Thank you SO much for your post and making it easy for authors to know what's a scam and what isn't. I really, really appreciate your work, you have no idea!!!
Thank you, thank you, thank you.
Having Authored Way Of Life, Rhymes N Reasons The Lyrical Expressions, Meadow Skipper The Untold Story and co authored others, I found myself inundated with callers and e mailers promising all sorts of sales and recognition for a fee of course but none thought so highly of Way Of Life in particular that they would do their services on a contingency basis even though I offered under contract to provide them with the lions share of the royalties they promised I'd receive.
Approaching 78 with very limited income I cannot throw away limited finds on potential scams. Thank You for providing this material. BOB MARKS
Thank you so much for letting us self-published authors in on the pitfalls of answering our phone! Trafford & Co. has published all 3 of my books with integrity and attention to my requests for corrections of my errors in spelling, rewrites, etc., but using them has put me on the Author Solutions telemarketing victim's list, including many of the outfits which you have listed, in fact! I'm scheduled to talk with one of the "many" agents working with Beacon Books Agency, when in fact they have 2 employees who use, you guessed it, standard broken "Enlish." Thanks for your warnings! Narelle
Hi Victoria,
This is indeed a very helpful content. Not all are scam. I have published my book and everything went well. You are already giving people a bad impression in self publishing. I understand that you have had bad experiences about publishing but I don't think it's right that you are putting words in to the publishers' mouths. I think it's only fair that we listen to them. I wasn't given rainbows and butterflies when I published my book. It's just a matter of having a follow up after everything that's done. Also, I don't think language should be an issue here because not everyone in America speaks good English. I just don't think that we should be pointing at people/countries with our misfortune here in the publishing industry. I had a really nice experience with them. Just saying.
Thank you very much for your work. I have been approached by such publishers and had to check out with your list to make sure they do not appear there. They all do! Some wrote faulty English, one even mentioned a wrong title as mine.
As I felt I may again get hooked by a fake or vanity publisher, I wanted to try a regular publisher. Also, agents are infested with vanity agents, as I heard from an agency consultant. There is no rule that they all be in the AAR association or be supervised.
It is high time a recognized literary association began policing all these fields or at least supporting your mission. THANK YOU AGAIN FOR YOUR WONDERFUL WORK. With best wishes NAVEEVN SRIDHAR
I have received this email from Pearson Media Group: http://albertogonzalo.blogspot.com/2020/06/pearson-media-group-scam.html#more
Re: the comments above that I haven't responded to yet: I've researched Bright Lights Distribution and The Mulberry Books, and added them both to the list. The Mulberry Books is especially shady; some of its website isn't even populated with real text, and it's listed as "non-compliant" with the Colorado Secretary of State for failure to file required reports.
Anonymous 5/26,
Writers Republic has most of the markers of a publishing and marketing scam–solicitation, high prices, English-language errors, zero verifiable information on the company and its staff, and an emphasis on junk marketing. I'm not sure if it's a Philippines-based scam, though, which is why I haven't added it to the list. It is a scam, though.
Would you be willing to send me whatever Writers Republic sent you, for my files? All information shared with Writer Beware is held in confidence. Email me at beware @ sfwa.org. Thanks!
Hello Victoria I'm was just offered a deal with Writers Republic and a payment plan for 1, 999.00
Please help if this is a legitimate company . http://Www.writersrepublic.com
Don't get scammed by Author University, they will offer you cheap marketing services, if u can't afford it then they will make payment arrangements. Believe me it's too good to be true. They offered me $799 wo
with inclusions of creating a book trailer for my book, email marketing campaign and including my book on Miami Book Fair. None of it was ever fulfilled. I paid $799 in full. Save your money. I got nothing from them.
I'd like to report Bright Lights Distribution LLC who scammed me for over $20,000 for my children's book!!! They promised the world to me and even told me that my book will be adapted into film if I do business with them! They offered to create a screenplay for my book with other obsolete marketing services but I haven't gotten anything from them in return! They took all of my money and I feel so crushed right now!! I never thought that they would do this to an 83 year old!! I'm having suicidal thoughts now. They've used me!!!
Thank you very much Victoria.
I was approached by one you haven't listed here, The Mulberry Books, and wanted to find out if you know of their legitimacy-or lack thereof lol
Yes, THEY contacted me randomly
Yes, the representative was Filipino (I could even hear background noises like the person was outside)
and, of course, they offered to republish my book at a lower cost, were very pushy for me to fork out money and all that jazz.
Thank you!
Hi Victoria. Caught up in the scam circus for $9,000.00 dating back to August last year 2019.
Have all necessary evidence of non committal to contract. Heap off. No bank action No police action. Money I have earn't from this rogue company from America in 10 months – PAGE TURNER MEDIA and PRESS -$7.85.
All of these Filipino staff, are operating under assumed names. Abraham Caine. Cynthia Powell.
Ava Harris. What a laugh! All film stars – NO they are all off Filipino extract. Is this legal? What are the authorities of all nation's doing to prevent this outright theft. I have tried for legal advice but they all want monies i do not own. I am a new writer at 88yrs living off the Australian Pension. Am i too old to write no way i am good 88yrs. But i wont get caught again. ALL WRITERS ARE A SITTING TARGET
Thanks for all your GREAT WORK Miss VICTORIA
Peter Poidevin animalsoztralia.com Peter Poidevin U TUBE.
Hi Victoria. I really appreciate this website, I’ve just had an approach by WorkBook. Sounded great but once again cold email. I said if you are wanting thousands of money forget it. Then a phone call sounded really good, republish, redo the illustrations all for free but you can do 3 instalments for about Us$250 x 3. I said no can’t afford that as it would be over A$1500. Not interested. While he kept talking I looked up your blog. Yep thanks so much. Felicity
Hi, Ellen,
Yes, please forward me the email. beware@sfwa.org Pearson Media Group is included in my scam list–I've gotten a number of reports. Thanks!
Hello Victoria,
Yesterday I received a fairly legitimate-looking email from a "Regina Wilson" at Pearson Media Group saying my book had been strictly evaluated and qualified for their literary sponsorship program for International Film & Movie Recommendation. The suspicious word was "co-finance." I finally replied, offering to call her at a certain time. She replied in poor English – that is always the big tip-off for me. I can forward you the email, if you like.
Ellen Korman Mains
Thank you for your comment. One solicitor said she was calling from New York. I mentioned the virus there and she acted like it wasn't a big deal. That made me think she was either insensitive or not calling from New York. I don't know for sure if all the companies listed are scams but better safe than sorry.
Best of luck to your mom.
Rosanna Brand
Thank you. My mother received an unsolicited call from Author's Note 360 just last week (3/2020). I even reached out to an author who has used them and received a glowing review. I then came across your blog and called my parents immediately. You have saved us a lot of money and heartache. Thank you so much…
I self published three novels and have had my share of cold calls, sometimes 3 a day. I get proposals via email weekly. I don't answer the phone any longer as I don't want to hurt their feelings. About ten of them appear on your list.
They sound very nice on the phone and complimentary but beware. None of them pronounce my name correctly or the title of my novels. Red flag. They actually say they've read my novel but don't know it's a trilogy. They also think San Diego is near San Francisco. Red Flag. They say they're in Texas or San Francisco yet do not know of The Crookedest Street in the World, Lombard Street. Seriously?
So far I haven't fallen for one of them, and they've been calling since 2015. When they ask to redesign my cover and reprint that offends me. When they want me to be on every social media, that offends me. Not a big social media fan. When they ask if I want a radio interview, that's strange. When they ask if I want my novel to be made into a movie, that insults me. A big request lately is being in a book fair in New York. With crowds during this virus, I doubt if anyone would attend or if it would be held.
If they aren't with a legit publishing company, I'm not interested. No more marketing scams, schemes, and promises, please. I don't want to hear their spiels any longer! Make them stop!
Rosanna Brand
Thanks for your work on this, Victoria. My publishing partner, Charlie Keil, was recently contacted by Book-Art Press over the phone. He passed the information on to me, so I went online and found their website, which seemed a bit bland. And then I found your writing on them. I also found a 2018 video on Facebook which purports to be their first anniversary party. Here's the direct link for any readers who are curious:
https://www.facebook.com/watch/?v=315976222511477
Camptys,
Golden Ink Media Services is on my list. The "no money upfront" claim is just a hook to get you in the door. You'd be asked for money soon enough.
If they approached you via email, would you forward the email to me? beware@sfwa.org. Thanks.
I was contacted by Golden Ink Media Services who said they were agents offering to promote my (Authorhouse) self-published book to mainstream publishers. They requested no money for the service, insisting they would take a cut from profits… EH?
Reading the article and all the comments make me comfortable with my selfpub status. It's still a hobby though even if I've lucky with bestsellers in my genre. It's been but two years for me and have a long way to go, but I don't think I go to the extent of shelling out good money to publish. The money is better spent on ads.
Anonymous 2/14,
Pearson Media Group is certainly a scam. I've gotten a number of reports similar to yours. Reputable companies don't charge for such deals. Where books sell or option film rights, it's nearly always via reputable agents, who also don't charge upfront fees.
Would you please forward me the offer you got from Pearson for my files? beware@sfwa.org . Thanks so much.
Hi Victoria, thank you so much for providing all this information about the potential scams, it's quite helpful. I have been offered a movie/screenwriting deal for my first book by Pearson Media Groups, where they have assessed my book's marketability. The offer is quite extensive, however, as I viewed the cost-sharing proposal, my instinct was to question its legitimacy. They claim to operate from Anaheim California. It's always exciting to be offered the book to movie possibility, the prospect that it may be a scam is disappointing.
Do you know anything more about Beacon Books Agency? I was contacted by them recently. I am working with ReadersMagnet who provide marketing services that included setting up a website and representations at the various national and international book fairs. I see that they are on the list. The sales results have been poor.
What are your suggestions regarding legitimate book publishers to approach?
Peter Justus
Thank you, Marshall. You have just confirmed what I found out through another source. Book Venture should be avoided like the plague, and their scamming business should receive a publicity fit for rogues.
Thank you.
O. K. Oyenekan
Book Venture is listed with a Michigan office and many employees. But I found a locked door at a two-person office. They are scam out of the Philippines. Run from these people !!!
I stopped into the New Leaf office in Columbus, Ohio, and found a virtual office. If you have an appointment with them, they will hang a sign with their name until your appointment is over. When I told them I stopped by their office, they cut off communication with me.
Maybe you could publish a list of companies that are legit. I'm sure it would be a much shorter list for writers to review.
Thanks,
Marshall Ginevan
I think I got scammed a few times. I am in Australia and am going to find a reputable Queensland based publisher.
At least I could visit them.
Been done by Xlibris, Capstone Media and Parchment media.
Did The Al Cole radio interview as well.
Now Capstone and Parchment are not answering my emails.
Great work!
I have just stumbled on this Writer Beware. I got re-published by a company that calls itself Book Venture. Yes, they re-published my book, Karamba, which was earlier published by an Authors Solution outfit, Trafford Publishing, with all kinds of juicy promises. After paying them $5,000 dollars for publishing, they sweet-talked me into going into marketing, for which I also paid $5000. After this, they just vanished into thin air! All calls, emails inquiries were never answered. I later learned that although they use a US address, they do not operate from the US, but from the Phillipines! It is a big shame because outfits like this give others a very bad name.
The name of their so-called marketing director who lured me into this scam bait is Hector Rivera. I will not be surprised if the name itself is a scam. Please put the outfit and he name on the black-list. They are disgusting!
Thank you for all this valuable information about scams. I wish i had read all this 12 months ago before i signed up with a certain publisher.. They may have got my first book, but they won't get the next 3 in the series! The catalogue of lies, errors, & constant selling of 'services' actually made me ill..I'm just hoping sales are good & i can get back some of the extortionate costs!!
I too have published with AuthorHouse, & my books were also printed in Milton Keynes. AuthorHouse ring me from Indiana, & also the U.K (where i live). I have also recently been canvassed by other 'names' which may all be part of Author Solutions. I ignored them!!
Karen Ess,
Online Book Club isn't one of the scams discussed in this post. They seem primarily to be a paid review service, but they provide other promotional services as well. Whether any of it is worth the money is an open question, especially since there's no way to determine or verify their membership claims.
Anonymous 1/11, if they sent you anything via email, would you please share it with me, for my files? beware@sfwa.org All information shared with Writer Beware is held in confidence. Thank you!
Please do not delete anything. Start a historical list of old ones for reference.
What about Online Bookclub? I have been offered a 50% discount on their $97 package for mention in their magazine, and they promise that I can get my money back if I don't sell 200 books – I have to follow their publishing plan.
I was just about to pay the invoice from pubkits.com (after several long conversations) and decided to do a bit of research before moving forward. Thank you for your posts. It is so disappointing to know this is so widespread. Thank you. you saved me $2500
Anonymous 1/06,
Please read the first of my posts about these scams (there's a link in this post), where I discuss how they sprang directly from Author Solutions and its outsourcing to Philippines-based call centers.
I'm surprised that the whole "Author Solutions" crowd is not on your long list. That would include Xlibris, Author House, iUniverse, Trafford Press, and a few others. They all have the same mailing address in Bloomington, Indiana, but their work (78% of the employees, according to WIKI) are in Cebu City, Philippines. The last time I checked, they were wholly owned by an Iranian/American from Arizona, named Jahm Najafi, a wealthy venture equity banker (formerly with Salmon Brothers.) My personal experience with XLibris was terrible! All marketing and no "get the book out the door" expertise.
I'll second this.
I'e been on the phone with this outfit too. And I found this blog researching them. They contacted me first.
Would you share the offer with me? beware@sfwa.org . Thanks.
I’ve been contacted by Peter Anderson of Beacon Books Agency and their offer is too good to be true.
Unknown 12/16,
Author Solutions (AuthorHouse is one of its imprints) is headquartered in the USA, but it outsources a lot of its work to the Philippines. Book Art Press, on the other hand, is based in the Philippines–it has no actual US presence. Its address is fake and its phone numbers are spoofed.
Diamond Media Press is the same kind of scam.
All of these companies have arrangements to print books in facilities that are reasonably close to whoever is ordering them. So if you're in the USA and you order a book from BAP, it'll probably show that it's printed in the US. Ditto for the UK.
I have published with Authorhouse, Authorsolutions and Book Art Press and I know they say they are from the Philippines but both publishers had my books printed in Milton Keynes and now I'm being harassed by Diamond media press. What's going on ? christinajfox1969@gmail.com
I self-published in 2013 with the help of a layout person who uploads directly to Lightening Source under an imprint he created — no connection to Author Solutions or Tate. I started getting calls from Maple Leaf, GoTo, LitFire, Page Turner, and Writer Central last year. What's irritating is that they're now calling my landline (I still have one at home…I know, I know), AND my unlisted cellphone, AND my work phone. I've sometimes had them leave messages at all three locations in the same day.
GoTo just called me about five minutes ago. I know they're a scam, but I'm scared for all of those hopeful writers out there who don't realize that.
Anonymous 12/03,
I always do my research before posting something. (As you should know–otherwise why would you be here, trying to do down a competitor?)
Stampa Global's website was only registered last August. I can't find any indication that any company called Stampa or Stampa Global existed before that time. So your claim to have worked with Stampa "before they even ventured into self-publishing" isn't really credible.
As to why I've linked it to Capstone Media Services: on various retailers' websites, Capstone Media books have magically transformed into Stampa Global books. Here's another example. There are many more. The internet does often make it hard to hide your tracks.
I do appreciate the mention of Crest Media–I hadn't encountered that one before. I'm not credulous enough to take your attempt at re-direction at face value, but I will check into it.
Can you do a little bit more research before you post something like this? I have worked with Stampa in the past before they even ventured into self-publishing. What I do know though is that the same people who started CAPSTONE MEDIA SERVICES are the same people behind CREST MEDIA DISTRIBUTION SERVICES. Check Crest Media and tell me if I'm wrong. 🙂
Their website is https://crestmediadistribution.com/.
Just an update: I've added Pubkits.com to the list. It ticks all the boxes: solicitation, unverifiable claims of expertise, bad English, junk marketing. Other clues include a design service named after a common Filipino street food (revealed when you go to pay for one of the sample covers on the site via PayPal).
Hi, Nicole,
I'll definitely look into Pubkits.com. In the meantime, would you please forward me the long email you received? My address is beware@sfwa.org. All information shared with Writer Beware is held in confidence.
These Al Cole interview offers show how interconnected these scams are. They've been hawking vanity radio spots all along, from Ric Bratton and Kate Delaney (both of whom were also featured in offers from the various Author Solutions imprints)–but Al Cole is a new addition, and the different scams are adding him to their menu of junk marketing services at a rapid rate.
Thankyou so much for your info. I was emailed by Word Art Press (which you already have) and also a scammer "Camry Valentine" from Pubkits.com. It had "CBS Radio Talk Show" in the subject heading. The email was very long, selling me a slot with Al Cole on his talk show which would air to 20 stations plus. It was orignally valued at $8000 but they were giving it to me for $2000. 😂 It was a very long email, with a track message at the bottom of it so the sender could see when and how many times I opened it. I want to warn all authors about it but are not sure how to. Could you add these guys to your list? I would really appreciate it. Thanks Nicole
Cheryl,
Reputable radio interview hosts don't charge for interviews. This is what's known as vanity radio–pay to play, just like with book publishing. Basically what you'll get is an advertising clip that you can place on your website, but other than that, what kind of exposure you may get is unknown, since Mr. Cole's various website provide no audience statistics (and I suspect the numbers aren't large; despite the impressive-sounding credits on his resume, Mr. Cole doesn't have much of an online profile–just 115 subscribers on YouTube, for instance).
Also, since Mr. Cole's services would be sold to you through an intermediary, you can be certain there's a markup (probably a substantial one).
Thank you for your great service and wish I had known about it earlier on, when I had and have invested some monies into two of the above companies. I now put it down to experience, and wish I did not come from the believe in trust and honesty. I can see I have been hoodwinked, in one case two of the books have been published but the prices they charge are so prohibitive that no one will purchase them. The other, you guessed it a book fair. You have the names up above, so I will not add to the list but a third one approached me the other day, and now yesterday, another one, with offers. Having just started to investigate these offers, and yes they all had accents, and I know the ring in the background noise of it being overseas, so fortunately, I could see that , common sense is most useful in life and rather than just take people at their word, to investigate more fully their backgrounds. I just wanted to add what I have experienced, but it has taken many years out of my life, and the sad part is the legitimate publisher that I was to have first dealt with suffered a heart attack, and thus the firm dissolved, so I know the value of my books. This was my downfall. Nevermind, I will keep trying and I thank you for the work you do, and for waking me up to 'real life,' and the schemes that are out there to make a quick dollar. I blame the companies I dealth, one very large, and myself for being gullible.
I was contacted by Parchment Global with an invitation to be interviewed by Al Cole. The cost for "air time" was going to be around $2000, depending on the time slot. I noticed a posting on this thread from Anonymous, who said they just did an interview with Al Cole. Will Anonymous please provide more information–Who are you, how much you paid, did Parchment Global then solicit you to use their self-publishing services? The person who contact me was from Parchment, not from Al Cole's show. All seemed very suspicious. I declined the offer.
Fair enough. As for the marketing strategies, we are conducting ongoing research and implementing the best digital age ways of book promotion. With all due respect, not every author will arrive at the same success you have by utilizing the same methods you implemented. In any case, we work closely with authors, and work to competitively stay on top of the marketing industry by observing trends and apply several strategies.
We are a startup and are still rounding out our permanent staff, but I'll gladly put my info out there to take responsibility for the work my company does. Also, not everything is completely transparent in business but it's not necessarily out of a practice to deceive potential and current clients; often times it's a matter of keeping the competition at bay. Ever since we have had the work to show for it, we've gladly provided samples of our work in our service proposals, offer disclaimers where necessary, and I intend to keep that practice up, even if it takes a little more work and investment to accomplish because I believe in honest business.
I've ordered our web team to create a portfolio of our work to put up on our website. We will continue to add to it as the list of our accomplished work grows. Readers can check it out soon at: brimingstonewriters.com
Thank you for the response by the way! I do wish you and the staff of Writers Beware the best in all your endeavors.
Sincerely,
Lemuel V. Sapian
Brimingstone Writer Services
Thanks for your comment, Lemuel.
Regardless of your intentions, the services you're offering–notably, press releases, book fair display, and book trailers–are largely worthless for book promotion, and a waste of money no matter how much authors are asked to pay. The book-to-screen package is, frankly, exploitative–selling screenplays to production houses is far harder than selling books to traditional publishers, and mostly done through agents, not "pitches."
If you'd like to appear more reputable and transparent, I suggest you provide prices on your website, rather than requiring writers to contact you to find out. I'd suggest you provide a full list of staff, with bios–not just for the company in general, but also those who provide the services you offer, so that writers can assess their (and your) bona fides. Finally, I suggest you provide examples (sample websites, book trailers) and success stories (book to screen, marketing successes), to illustrate the effectiveness of your products. Without those, potential clients have no way to judge the quality of your offerings, or to know whether they are producing results.
Hi Victoria,
I appreciate your candor and the service you do for your fellow authors. At first the temptation is to cringe at the negativity, but it's understandable, especially in this day and age of dishonest schemes and scams. I too, have been victim of several in my time. It would be disingenuous to suggest a business owner isn't out to make money, but in our capitalist society I'm cognizant that poor service means dwindling business.
So, I'm happy to provide the services we advertise, to the satisfaction of each of our clients. That has been my personal pledge from the beginning. As to my conscience in "persuading unwary writers to buy overpriced, bogus 'services'", what I will say is this; before entering this industry I invested time, money and effort learning online marketing. That's how I know it's not easy or cheap (if you want quality).
The price of our services covers a little profit and the overhead just like any product or service advertised and offered out there. There may be those who may balk at the price. That is fine; they are welcome to put their own time, labor and money to accomplish what they want. But if anyone does purchase our services, I will personally pledge to see to their satisfaction.
While I understand the hesitancy and suspicion given all the scams out there, I'd like to prove there are honest and decent business owners that will lose sleep to make sure they give what they say they will in exchange for the trust their consumers place on them.
Again, thank you for the work you do. It keeps us business owners honest and aware that while making money is nice, good service is better.
Kind regards,
Lemuel V. Sapian
Chief Executive Officer
Brimingstone Writer Services
support@brimingstonewriters.com
Add "Pearson Media Groups" and "Pearson Media Agency" to this prestigious list!
Anonymous 10/21,
I've gotten a number of questions about Folio Avenue, which has many of the markers of a Philippines-based publishing and marketing scam (including solicitation and junk services)–but I haven't added it to my list because it is actually US-based and its owner is identifiable and traceable, neither of which is typical of the Philippines scams.
What you're being offered is still a ripoff, though. You may well be able to get some shelf placement for your book yourself, for free, by approaching store managers individually as a local author.
Unknown 10/25,
Like Folio Avenue, Brimingstone Writer Services (not Brimingstone Press) has lots of scam markers: solicitation, no info on the company or staff, typos on the website, and all the usual suspects in terms of worthless ripoff marketing (press releases, book fairs, even a "book to screen" package). No prices on the website, which is almost always a marker for big bucks.
However, it too is US-based. I was able pretty quickly to trace it to this guy, Lemuel Sapian, who is based in Texas and owns or administers several businesses under the "Brimingstone" label, including an IT company and a landscaping service. He's an "aspiring minister", so apparently persuading unwary writers to buy overpriced, bogus "services" doesn't disturb his Christian conscience.
So Brimingstone isn't a Philippines scam, but based on what's on offer (and the quality of the two Brimingstone-built author websites I found), it's still a ripoff. Writer Beware says AVOID.
I am being contacted by Brimingstone Press. I am skeptical. Do you know if they are legit?
Is Folio Avenue Publishing and Marketing on the scam list? Do you have any info on this company? They are out of San Francisco, California. They contacted me today by cold call and gave me a pitch on physical book store placement of my self published children's book. They want $600.00 per store to place one book in each store for a 3 month campaign. Any info would be most helpful. Thanks.
Anonymous 10/21,
How much were you asked to pay for your interview with Mr. Cole?
I don't think parchment global publishing is a scam, i just did an interview with Al Cole sponsored by parchment
Laura,
Did you use one of the Author Solutions imprints? That's how the scams get hold of a lot of people: they have access to AS customer information.
I've heard from three people now (including you) about McNaughton Books. I found its website, and it's classic clone: solicitations, bad English, fake "about" info (they claim to have been in business since 2010 but their domain was only registered last April), re-publishing offers, Author Solutions-style publishing packages, junk marketing.
So: McNaughton Books is another scam. I've added it to the ever-growing list.
McNaughton Books just called a friend of mine with this scam. They might have been the same one who called me. I think they get your phone number from your copyright application, because I am not listed under the name I publish under.
WOW after all these years Poetry.com is still able to defraud people. ZIt put my poetry on calendars, cups, etc., and was selling them without my consent. I tried getting info to sue them, but they kept changing their names. Why do federal and state agencies allow them to get away with this?
Got a letter today from EC. Good grief. I wish I could remember the name of the one who actually had the nerve to call me on the phone,.
I just received an email from Ralph Louis of Parchment Global Publishing encouraging me to interview with Al Cole on the CBS Radio program, People of Distinction. Thanks to your Web site, I now know that this is a scam. For others out there, beware of Ralph Louis from Parchment Global Publishing, phone number 1-610-686-3222
I think you can add Folio Avenue Publishing to the list as well. Also sounded Filipino, cold call, marketing scam.
You said it! I was almost fooled by that, and thank goodness I took a closer look at the link address!
They're also getting better at faking their names. "New Leaf Media" is clearly a ripoff of "New Leaf Literary & Media," which is a completely legitimate agency. The closer they can make their names to legitimate publishing houses and agencies, the more confusion they'll engender.
Anonymous 9/19,
You're absolutely right–these scams are rooted in the business practices of companies like Author Solutions and Tate Publishing, which outsourced so much of their business overseas because it was cheaper, and trained hundreds of Filipino employees in the deceptive, hard-sell tactics that are these companies' hallmarks.
That's not the employees' fault, and it's no wonder that poorly-paid people, seeing how easily writers are deceived and how much money can be extracted from them, decided to grab a piece of the pie by setting up their own publishing and marketing services.
Problem is, they're not just running Author Solutions imitation businesses (which would be bad enough, considering how AS takes advantage of writers). They are ruthlessly scamming people, with lies, insane prices, and non-delivery of services.
So…yeah. These scams arise directly from the business practices of American companies (as I've made clear in my posts). But it's Filipinos doing the scamming, and the Filipino origin of these companies is one of their unique shared characteristics. So I'll continue to warn about them by pointing out, among other things, where they are located.
Can't just blame it to the Philippines
The employees are still cheaply paid regardless of the very expensive packages being offered.
And guess what, they are backed by foreigners.. Americans mostly, there's Canadian.
They are the ones who trained the pinoy and makes the pinoy lie about stuff.. You should know that also, Americans/Canadians are the ones hiring the people in the Philippines to do the scamming.. your own people
Thank you, Victoria. I had been, as a newbie author, engaged in preliminary discussions with Dream Books Distribution, when a couple of incongruities raised some questions in my mind.
You will have saved me some considerable trouble. I am very grateful
So, the resulting question is: do you have a resource of REPUTABLE publicity experts for a self published author, whose publisher is not particularly focused on the publicity part of the business?
Again, thanks.
Thanks so much, Victoria. I was about to fall for one of the Philippines companies you list – they said they wanted to republish my book that had already been published by another Philippines company! I was about to be caught twice!!
– Anonymous, 9/18/19.
I get the calls. I tell them to send it in writing and they hang up.
Thank you, Anonymous 9/03! Glad to have been of help.
Back when I was a newbie at this writing game, Writer Beware was my go-to to stay out of trouble. Thanks so much. BTW, my first and best lesson was: if they ask for money, fuhgeddaboudit!
Thank you for all your warnings. they are most helpful. And as Christine Tripp says, if the contact you, it'll be a scam.
Doesn't the Philippines have any libel laws? Hopefully people are smart enough to realize what they say about Writer Beware is pure bull.
I am posting your blog links on my website and I am sharing your blog on my Twitter, Facebook accounts and LinkedIn. I greatly appreciate the service and information you provide. My website is https://www.wordrefiner.com
The absolute easiest way to tell if a solicitation phone call or email is a scam…. is that they Contacted you in the first place! Publishers, Agents, just DON'T! The only time you'll be contacted is if you have submitted to them! So simple.
But I want to scream when I see the broken, beaten and bruised english used and scratch my head in wonder, that someone who prides themselves on writing doesn't see a problem when they get an email or call from a "Publisher" that can't construct a simple paragraph or even a sentence!
"our legal AUTHORITIES HAD taken necessary THINGS INTO ACTION to put these OPPOSING PEOPLE IN THEIR RIGHT PLACES" huh?
(where are the laugh emoji's when you need them?)
Like Kanoy, I too live in the Philippines. I would suggest a surefire way of telling if Filipinos are writing their scam emails is the wrong use of singular and plurals. Note the use of "feedbacks" instead of feedback. It's a dead giveaway every time.
Of course, I am not saying they are all scammers here but there is a scam cottage industry not just in the publishing world but also in the online dating world.
You do a great job, Victoria. So much so, I have started Tweeting your blog posts using your RSS Feed. I am @StephenBentley8 on Twitter.
And we'll see replies telling of how good some of these scammers really are in 3 2 1 … 😉
Keep up the good work. When they whine you know you're impacting their bottom line.
This isn't foolproof, but if you want to find out if a person is Filipino, have them say "I want to take a journey to your country". If they pronounce journey as joorney and country as count (like Dracula) – ree, ask if they're on Luzon or Cebu, because they've just confirmed their nationality.
I live in Southern Leyte and go to Cebu every month or so. Being a call center worker (especially receiving and not making calls) is actually a high paying and rather prestigious job here.