Writer Beware

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Author Complaints Mount at Curiosity Quills Press

APR 25, 2018February 1, 202421 COMMENTS

I first started hearing about Curiosity Quills Press in 2016, because of its unusual early termination fees. Not that early termination fees themselves are unusual (unfortunately): I see them fairly often in contracts I'm asked to evaluate (and they are always a red flag; here's why).

What makes CQ's fees unusual is that they're part of an annual event. This is outlined on CQ's website, and also in its contract:

On the surface this may seem like a publisher being flexible and author-friendly--a get-out-of-jail-if-not-exactly-free procedure that authors can follow in a guaranteed and orderly manner. In fact, such provisions often work to the detriment of both authors and publishers--publishers because escape clauses may incentivize early departure, including by authors they'd rather keep; and authors because the costs can be enormous (not to mention unverifiable, if the publisher charges a flat fee or provides no supporting invoices). Plus, publishers can and do abuse termination fees--for instance, by terminating the contracts of writers who've pissed them off and demanding the fee even though termination wasn't the writer's decision.

VANITY PUBLISHING AND PAY TO PLAY

Publishers Weekly Includes Two Vanity Publishers in its List of Fast-Growing Independent Presses

APR 13, 2018May 10, 202224 COMMENTS

Once again, Publishers Weekly's annual overview of fast-growing independent publishers features not only innovative indies, but publishers whose business model is largely built on author fees: Morgan James Publishing and Austin Macauley. Seriously, PW? Why do you keep doing this?

Billing itself as "The Entrepreneurial Publisher", Morgan James Publishing requires its authors "to commit to purchasing, during the life of the agreement, up to 2,500 copies [of their book] at print cost plus $2." (Reports Writer Beware has received indicate that writers are asked for a "deposit" of up to $5,000 on contract signing; we've also had reports that additional fees may be due for editing and PR.)

To make this sizeable outlay of cash seem more palatable, MJP falsely claims on its "compare" page that "Many major houses require authors to purchase 5,000 copies, or more, of the book upon its release", and that even with self-publishing, "[the a]uthor is expected to purchase however many copies required to sell to the general public." (It also--again falsely--suggests that "old school traditional publishers" take possession of authors' copyrights.)

SCAMS AND SCAMMERS

Two Solicitation Bewares: Aimee Ann / Red Headed Book Lover Blog; Book Writing Inc.

Header image: "No Soliciting Please" sign hanging on a red-brick wall (Credit: rSnapshotPhotos / Shutterstock.com)

MAR 21, 2018October 24, 202518 COMMENTS

I've gotten a number of reports of solicitation by the individuals/outfits below. Both are services you might want to avoid.

AIMEE ANN / RED HEADED BOOK LOVER BLOG

Back in December, I posted a warning about this blogger on Writer Beware's Facebook page. But she appears to be soliciting again, so I'm doing a wider warning here.

PUBLISHER COMPLAINTS

Scam Down Under: Love Of Books Brisbane / Julie “Jules” McGregor

Header image: Word cloud with SCAM in large red letters (Credit: kentoh / Shutterstock.com)

MAR 9, 2018June 18, 20240 COMMENT

It's a familiar story.

Entrepreneur sets up publishing company. Publishing company charges fees, but it's not a vanity publisher--certainly not! Authors are just investing in their own success.

But...oh dear. Authors receive proofs riddled with errors and finished books so badly produced they are unsalable. Some receive no books at all. Refunds, if promised, never show up; court judgments, if levied, are never paid. The entrepreneur gets aggressive with authors who complain, or simply doesn't respond to emails and phone calls. Finally the business collapses and disappears, or the owner sells it or transfers it to a third party who refuses responsibility for previous mistakes. Authors are left high and dry.

How the Internet Archive Infringed My Copyrights and Then Blew Me Off

FEB 22, 2018January 31, 202523 COMMENTS

Last month, I wrote about the Internet Archive's Open Library project, which has been scanning donated print books, creating PDFs and EPUBs from the scans, and placing the scans and the digitized versions online for public borrowing--all without seeking permission from authors.

Although the IA describes these books as being "mostly from the 20th century" and "largely not available either physically or digitally", numerous books in the Open Library collection are recently published, in-copyright, and commercially available. SFWA is among several writers' groups that considers the Open Library project to be not library lending, but direct infringement of authors' copyrights.

On hearing about Open Library, I of course checked it out to see if any of my books were included. I found four, each in multiple formats: a scan of the print book, a PDF (the photographic scan rendered page by page), an EPUB (an OCR conversion full of errors--weird characters, garbled words, headers included in the text, and the like), and a DAISY (an encrypted format for the visually impaired that requires a special key to de-crypt). All of these books are currently "in print" and available for sale.

Here's how my books appeared on Open Library, with the blue "Borrow" buttons indicating their availability for borrowing.

VANITY PUBLISHING AND PAY TO PLAY

The New Face of Vanity Anthologies: Z Publishing House and Appelley Publishing

FEB 9, 2018April 28, 20229 COMMENTS

Like everything else, the schemes and scams that prey on writers have changed over time. Literary agent scams, for example--including fee-charging and kickback referral schemes--used to be the number one danger for authors, but these have become much less common in recent years, thanks to the growth of small presses and self-publishing options.

Another scheme that's largely fallen out of favor is the vanity anthology. It worked like this: writers were recruited via a free contest to submit a poem, essay, or story, with winners promised prizes and finalists and semi-finalists eligible for publication in an anthology of supposedly carefully chosen entries. Publication was presented as a prestigious literary credit, a worthy addition to a writing resume.

It was all B.S., of course. There was no careful choosing; everyone who entered received a publication offer, with no fee or purchase requirement but heavy pressure to buy the anthology and persuade friends and family to do so. A closed loop, in other words: contributors doubling as customers, and the anthologies never seeing the inside of a bookstore or library or even a listing with an online retailer.