Topic: Publishing Predators

Authors Beware: Money Back Guarantees and Limited Change Your Mind Clauses

Authors Beware:  Money Back Guarantees  and  Limited Change Your Mind Clauses

It ticks me off when I hear about authors getting scammed. It ticks me off when I get lied to. And it really ticks me off when authors I work with get scammed.

Publishing Predators come in all kinds of sizes and shapes. In all kinds of titles and services. Some come across as sleazy from the get-go … your warning lights are flashing and you know to be cautious or turn and run.
Have you ever …

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Author Alert: Beware of Publishing Pitch Fests

Author Alert: Beware of Publishing Pitch Fests

Be careful of what is known as a “pitch fest.” Pitched to newbie authors as education, they are really designed to lure them in (and their credit cards) to buy, buy, buy and buy some more. What are they buying? Products, services, trainings—you name it.  Pitch fests are big business for the promoters. Authors want a quick fix to whatever ails them … or they are on the hunt to the “wonder cure” for quick …

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Tangled Web They Weave Time with Publishing Scammers

Tangled Web They Weave Time with Publishing Scammers

Oh … the surprises that get buried within the Holiday merriment. Here’s what happened in Predatorland on December 31, 2015:
“Penguin Random House has sold its Author Solutions division to an affiliate of the Najafi Companies, a private investment firm that at one point owned Bookspan and made an offer to buy several hundred Borders outlets after the chain filed for Chapter 11”was spotted in a Publishers Weekly blurb.

Their three year affair (Penguin Random Book’s 2012 …

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Author Uncertainty

Author Uncertainty

Another phone call. Another author who is frustrated confused and stressed out. Another author who step into publishing without wearing the “author beware” hat.

“I’ve been taken.” “My book looks awful.” “The publisher hasn’t delivered on anything it promised.” “There are too many hidden charges.” “I’m not getting paid.” “I thought this was a reputable publisher.” “I’ve been screwed …”
Look in the mirror. Did you really check out the company? …

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Book Publishing Today … Avoid Preying Publishing Predators

Book Publishing Today … Avoid Preying Publishing Predators

Reading … cooking and eating … movies … some of my favorite things. A day/evening of cooking with a good movie–either at home or on TV sometimes becomes the catalyst for writing ideas. I was ready to love, love, love the book that had them all, and I didn’t.

First of all, I have to tell you . . . I did not like Elizabeth Gilbert’s book, Eat, Pray, Love. Oh, there’s no question that …

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Meet Publishing’s T-Rex …Publishing Predators Put You and Your Book at Risk

Meet Publishing’s T-Rex …Publishing Predators Put You and Your Book at Risk

What a tangled web they weave … the Publishing Predators are breeding, casting out their nets for naive authors-to-be, those who are looking for a book publishing bargain and don’t realize that they will end up in a boiler plate up sales operation; promising bestseller status and so much more.
It’s author beware, author beware, author beware.
Over the past three years, I’ve worked with several private clients and fielded numerous phone calls/emails from authors who …

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