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none PUBLISHER COMPLAINTS

Vanity Press Storm Warning: Waldorf Publishing

2 COMMENTS

A couple of years ago I featured Waldorf Publishing in a post about a manuscript contest it was running, which was replete with red flags--not least of which is that Waldorf is a vanity publisher. At the time, it was charging a menu of fees, from which authors could pick and choose:

In 2019, Waldorf switched to a book purchase requirement: authors were required to buy 50 or 100 books, "to ensure us that Authors are participating in marketing and actively promoting their book". Possibly it won't surprise you to learn that there is nothing on Waldorf's website or in its publicity materials to suggest that fees are involved.

Other business ventures undertaken by Ms. Terry include Dream Coast Films, a production company she established in 2013 that doesn't appear to have ever gotten off the ground, and Master Media Class, a short-lived media training course she co-founded in 2020 with two Waldorf authors. 

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none VANITY PUBLISHING AND PAY TO PLAY

Pay-to-Play as Pedagogy? The Creator Institute and New Degree Press

11 COMMENTS

A few months ago, I began getting questions about a self-described hybrid (read: fee-charging) publisher called New Degree Press (NDP). Reported fees were in the $5,000 to $8,000 range, which paid for a suite of publishing services including editing, formatting, and publication via KDP and IngramSpark.

So far, so unremarkable. But there's something that sets NDP apart from more familiar pay-to-play publishing ventures: although it presents the appearance of an independent publisher on its rather sparse website (including soliciting submissions), NDP is in fact the publishing arm of The Creator Institute, an entrepreneurship course created by Georgetown University professor Eric Koester.

Likened to a master's degree or MBA, the Creator Institute (CI)--dubbed the bSchool Program (for Book School)--enables students to "learn-by-doing--enabling you to discover your passion, develop your expertise and establish your credibility through the creation and launch of your very own book." Method and goals are summarized thus:

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none BEST OF WRITER BEWARE: YEAR IN REVIEW

Writer Beware: 2020 in Review (Not That Anyone Really Wants to Review 2020)

17 COMMENTS

It's time again for Writer Beware's annual look back at the schemes, scams, and assorted crazy sh*t we encountered in 2020 (and I'm not even talking about the pandemic).

Scammers lie, cheat, and misrepresent. They may claim credentials they don't have, or professional relationships they don't possess. But this is a new trend: multiple scammers impersonating real, reputable literary agents and publishers in order to defraud writers.

The Impersonation Game A scammer posing as Jennifer Jackson of the Donald Maass Literary Agency attempts to cheat an unsuspecting writer out of $1,400 (which of course the real Jennifer Jackson would never do).

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none PUBLISHERS AND PUBLISHING

Spooky Phishing Scam Targets Traditionally-Published Writers

9 COMMENTS

The New York Times has published the story of a strange international phishing scam: unknown actors targeting traditionally-published writers, posing as their agents or editors to obtain copies of their unpublished manuscripts.

Earlier this month, the book industry website Publishers Marketplace announced that Little, Brown would be publishing “Re-Entry,” a novel by James Hannaham about a transgender woman paroled from a men’s prison. The book would be edited by Ben George.

Two days later, Mr. Hannaham got an email from Mr. George, asking him to send the latest draft of his manuscript. The email came to an address on Mr. Hannaham’s website that he rarely uses, so he opened up his usual account, attached the document, typed in Mr. George’s email address and a little note, and hit send.

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none LITERARY AGENT SCAMS

Attack of the Fake Literary Agencies: West Literary Agency, Stellar Literary Press and Media

34 COMMENTS

Much of what I'm going to talk about in this post, I think most of my readers already know. But I'm getting so many questions about these two scam "agencies"--both of which seem to be super-active right now with solicitations--and providing so many warnings about them, that I think a broader warning is in order.

First, though--because it's relevant to what follows--some tips on evaluating a literary agency's website.

1. There should be a website. A pretty basic starting point.

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