NEW FIRMS ADDED TO THE LIST IN THE PAST WEEK ARE CODED IN BLUE.
As I shared last month, I, along with James M. Walsh, Esq., and some independent researchers are compiling a list of companies that ALL AUTHORS should avoid. If I waited until the project was complete, it might be a year or more before it gets posted. We have almost 400 of these firms on our spreadsheet now.
If you are looking for a specific publisher, use your browser’s search function to try to find it below. Otherwise, the listings are alphabetical.
Unfortunately, many of these firms aren’t just offering publishing services. Below you will also find some of them offering:
- ghostwriting services
- writing services
- book marketing services
- web design services
- and more!
The companies will be listed alphabetically and we’ll tell you why each company is either a scam, is trying to trick authors (are they really in the U.S. or aren’t they???), or is just a really bad deal for authors. We will be adding to this list several times each week.
WritersWeekly has very good standing with Google. So, when people search for any of the companies on this list, WritersWeekly will pop up near the top.
Weigh in on the comments box below if you’ve had experiences with any of these companies, or if you see the patterns that we do!
Needless to say, we strongly recommend not doing ANY business with ANY company that:
- Uses the name Amazon, KDP, or derivatives thereof (trademark infringement).
- Has a website that is less than 10 years old. Notice most of the sites below were just created this year! And, some of these firms just keep creating new websites (that look similar to each other). Only work with an established publisher that is REALLY located IN the United States! We are finding multiple so-called publishers that are using virtual addresses. They are actually located overseas. Your chances of recovering anything if things go wrong are nil if they aren’t in the U.S.
- Has multiple websites under different names.
- Has something in their name to try to trick you into thinking they are in the U.S., like the words U.S., America, or American, or the name of any U.S. state.
- Their website, ads, posts, and even “chats” on their website may (or may not) have syntax errors. Some of them even have errors in their own company names, which is kinda funny!
- Raises any red flags listed below.
RED FLAGS TO HUNT FOR (that you can do yourself in under two minutes!):
- Look at their IP info. All of these firms have “U.S. addresses”…but many are fake or virtual addresses to trick authors into thinking they are located in the U.S. Even if it appears a firm like GoDaddy registered the site, that does NOT means the publisher is in the U.S.!!! You’ll be surprised how many of these websites were registered in Iceland!
- On Facebook, click on the firm’s profile, then click About, and then Page Transparency. You will be surprised to find how many firms are actually in PAKISTAN! However, just because Facebook doesn’t have a foreign country listed does NOT mean the company is in the U.S.
- Google their phone number and see how many other company names pop up. Do the same with their address. If multiple different “publishers” (or other services for authors) pop up, that is a HUGE red flag!
- If they have different phone numbers and addresses on Facebook vs. those listed on their website, that’s another huge red flag.
- Any firm calling themselves the “best publisher,” “#1 in the country/world,” or anything else ridiculous like that is LYING.
- Five-star reviews posted in batches on the same dates (2 on one day, 5 on another, 3 on another). Those are almost always fake positive reviews posted by the company.
- Author testimonials with fake pictures (or no pictures) that never mention the authors’ books.
Publishers That ALL Authors Should AVOID AT ALL COSTS!
Ace Book Writing / acebookwriting.com (created October, 2021)
Website brings up a browser warning about security. In Google, has the same phone number as Ace Publishing Services (below).
Ace Publishing Services / acepublishingservices.com (created May, 2024)
Same phone number as Authors Heaven / authorsheaven.com and Ace Book Writing / acebookwriting.com. F rating on the Better Business Bureau! They’ve issued an Alert about this company, along with this: On August 13, 2024 mail sent to the business address was returned as “insufficient address.” The covers on their website don’t have author names on them (and we can’t find those books on Amazon) and the quotes from their “authors” don’t have the authors’ book titles listed. Furthermore, we found those “author pictures” elsewhere online. They claim they are “the leading name in book publishing services,” which is HUGE LIE.
AKD Publications / akdpublications.com (created June, 2024)
Same phone number as Amazon Self Book Publisher / amazonselfbookpublisher.com, Self Publishing Assistance / selfpublishingassistance.com, Amz KDP Publishers / amzkdppublishers.com, Amazone Book Publications / amazonebookpublications.com, and MacMillan Ebook Publisher / macmillanebookpublisher.com (all are on this list). They have covers on their website for books published by other companies, before this firm’s website was launched (copyright infringement). They have fake client testimonials with pictures taken from the Internet.
Alpha Book Writers / alphabookwriters.com (created 2022)
Claims to have a U.S. address but all domain registration info. is in ICELAND. Allegedly threatened to call the cops on James M. Walsh, Esq. Address is a “mail center.” Some book covers on their website are from books that were published two years before the Alpha Book Writers website was created. Same “U.S. address” as KDP Publishing Officials, Exclusive Book Writers, and Amazon Publishing Prime (all are also on this list.)
Amazon Ebook Publications / amazonebookpublications.com (created June, 2023)
Website is dead. Thanks to the WayBack Machine, we can see the original website, which states, “Join our community of 1,000,000+ authors.” Ha ha ha!!! Their website had a secondary phone number, which also appears on a web page where people can review call girls. This one in particular is named Jasmine.
Amazon Ebook Publications (different URL!) / amazonebookpublications.co (created June, 2023)
Website is dead. Per Google, same phone number as AKD Publications / akdpublications.com, Amazon Self Book Publisher / amazonselfbookpublisher.com, Amz KDP Publishers / amzkdppublishers.com, Amazone Book Publications / amazonebookpublications.com, Macmillan Ebook Publisher macmillanebookspublisher.com, and Self Publishing Assistance / selfpublishingassistance.com. Their old website had a different phone number – (855) 587-7622) – that is the same list for Amazon Book Writers / amazonbookwriters.com, Amazon Ebook Writers / amazonebookwriters.com, Amazon Publishing Group / amazonpublishinggroup.com, KDP Publishing Service / kdppublishingservice.com, and Amazon Book Publications / amazonbookpublications.co.
Amazon Book Writers / amazonbookwriters.com (created January, 2024)
This is NOT Amazon. Trademark infringement. They have covers on their website for books they didn’t publish (copyright infringement). They have several logos for companies they haven’t worked with. Per Google, they have same phone number as Amazon Ebook Publications, amazonebookpublications.co, Amazon Ebook Writers / amazonebookwriters.com, Amazon Publishing Group / amazonpublishinggroup.com, KDP Publishing Service / kdppublishingservice.com, and Amazon Book Publications / amazonbookpublications.co.
Amazon Ebook Writers / amazonebookwriters.com (created April, 2024)
This is NOT Amazon. Trademark infringement. Website is currently for sale. Per Google, they have same phone number as Amazon Ebook Publications, amazonebookpublications.co, Amazon Book Writers / amazonbookwriters.com, Amazon Publishing Group / amazonpublishinggroup.com, KDP Publishing Service / kdppublishingservice.com, and Amazon Book Publications / amazonbookpublications.co.
Amazon Expert Publishing / amazonexpertpublishing.com (created July, 2024)
This is NOT Amazon! Book covers are on the website that were published before their website was created. Google does not show them as being located at their “U.S. address.” There is a Staples store, however, which offers virtual addresses. Per the Staples website, “Make our address your address.”
Amazon Publish Services / amazonpublishservices.com (created February, 2022)
This is NOT Amazon! They have a Nicholas Sparks book cover on their site. They did NOT work on his book! Other covers are from books published by other firms (stolen covers!) long before this website existed. Notice the syntax error in the company name. On Google and bbb.org, they have the same phone number as Uptime Web Solution, LLC / uptimewebsolution.com (they have syntax errors on their site, too).
Amazon Publishing Group / amazonpublishinggroup.com (created October, 2023)
This is NOT Amazon. Trademark infringement. Website is currently down. Per Google, they have same phone number as Amazon Ebook Publications, amazonebookpublications.co, Amazon Book Writers / amazonbookwriters.com, Amazon Ebook Writers / amazonebookwriters.com, KDP Publishing Service / kdppublishingservice.com, and Amazon Book Publications / amazonbookpublications.co.
Amazon Publishingofficial (sic) / amazonpublishingofficial.com (created January 5, 2025)
This is NOT Amazon! Trademark infringement. Website claims to have published more than 900 books but they just launched their website 9 days before they were added to this list. They claim to have published “310 national bestsellers,” which is total B.S.! Numerous trademarks are on their website for companies they have not done business with. Covers on their site are from books they did NOT publish (copyright infringement). Same website layout as many of the scammers listed here.
Amazon Publishing Prime / amazonpublishingprime.com (created October, 2024)
This is NOT Amazon. Address looks to be a pizza place on Google. Same address as Alpha Book Writers, KDP Publishing Officials, and Exclusive Book Writers (those domains were registered in ICELAND!). Some covers on their website are for books published before the Amazon Publishing Prime website was created.
Amazon Publishing Pros / amzpublishingpros.com (created in January, 2023)
This is NOT Amazon! F rating on bbb.org and scathing complaints on other websites. Same phone number as Amazon Publishing Source (also on this list).
Amazon Publishing Source / amazonpublishingsource.com (created November, 2024)
This is NOT Amazon! Covers are on the website for books published years before their website was created. Same phone number as Amazon Publishing Pros, which has an F rating on BBB.org.
Amazon Self Book Publisher / amazonexpertpublishing.com (created July, 2024)
Notice the syntax error in the name. Same phone number as AKD Publications / akdpublications.com (see above), Self Publishing Assistance / selfpublishingassistance.com, and Amz KDP Publishers / amzkdppublishers.com, and MacMillan Ebook Publisher / macmillanebookpublisher.com. Trademark infringement. They even use Amazon’s logo. Fake testimonials. Fake author photos taken from the Internet (one of which we saw on another company on this list). Book covers on their site were stolen from other publishers (copyright infringement). Fake major media quotes.
American Book Hub / americanbookhub.com (created May, 2024)
“U.S. address” is a house. Website was registered in ICELAND. They have book covers on their site that were published before their website was created, and that were published by other companies. Website has punctuation errors. Same phone number as Premium Class Help / premiumclasshelp.com (a tutoring company!).
American Book Publisher / americanbookpublisher.com (created September, 2022)
Has a logo designed after the American flag but the website was registered in ICELAND! Facebook states they are in PAKISTAN. A company offers “virtual offices” at their alleged New York, NY address. There’s a mailbox service at their alleged Queens, NY address. A review on TrustPilot says, “I have been waiting 2 1/2 months for my 800.00 refund.” Same phone number (in Google) and logo as Books Publishing House / bookspublishinghouse.com (created April, 2024 and also registered in ICELAND). See also: Kindle Pros / The Kindle Pros / TheKindlePros.com below. That firm has a book cover on its site under this company’s name on Amazon.
American Book Pros / americanbookpros.com (created October, 2024)
Website is registered in ICELAND. A rep talking to me through Facebook private messenger gave me links to three of their “best selling books.” They are not listed as the publisher for any of those books. There are five book covers on their homepage, none of which can be found on Amazon. Three of them have the exact same author name. Address on their website is for a house, per Google Maps. They have the same phone number and street name as 360 Branding Hub / 360brandinghub.com, Apptonic / apptonic.io, and Amz Store Pros.
American Creative Studios / americancreativestudios.com (created March, 2023)
See Blitz Websites below. Same phone number!
American Design Solution / americandesignsolution.com (created November, 2024)
See Book Craft Publishing / BookCraftPublishing.com below. Same phone number and “U.S. address!” Facebook says this company is also in Pakistan.
American Logo Designers / americanlogodesigners.com(created September, 2019)
See Blitz Websites below. Same phone number! This website was registered in LONDON. Scathing reviews on TrustPilot!
AMZ Book Publishing / amzbookpublishing.com (created November, 2022)
This is NOT Amazon. Claims to have a U.S. address but the domain was registered in ICELAND. Has a cover on its website that was published by Harper Collins (before this company’s website existed). There are other stolen covers on their website as well. Same phone number as BookAdvertisers, Best Sellers, Inc., and Lincoln Writes (also included on this list). BBB.org has warnings posted about this firm including misuse of the BBB logo, non-performance of services, and more. Uses a “virtual address.”
AMZ KDP Book Publishers / amzkdpbookpublishers.com (created January, 2024)
This is NOT Amazon. Address posted is a house in the U.S. but the domain was registered in PAKISTAN. A woman on LinkedIn claims to work there and she is in PAKISTAN. The cover on their homepage is for a book that was published before their website was created. Two customer reviews on their site mention other companies (not this one). They have a TrustPilot logo on their site listing 5 star…yet, as of this date, they have no reviews on that site at all.
Amz KDP Publishers / amzkdppublishers.com (created June, 2024)
This is NOT Amazon. Trademark infringement. Same phone number as AKD Publications / akdpublications.com, Amazon Self Book Publisher / amazonselfbookpublisher.com, Amazone Book Publications / amazonebookpublications.com, Macmillan Ebook Publisher macmillanebookspublisher.com, and Self Publishing Assistance www.selfpublishingassistance.com. Has the same fake testimonials and author photos that they have on one of their other websites. Also has the same book covers as one of their other sites, which were stolen from other publishers.
AMZ Publishing Firm / AmzPublishingFirm.com (created in April, 2024)
This is NOT Amazon. Same phone number as Kindle Publishing Agency and Ecom Solution Hub (and the website is identical to Ecom Solution Hub’s).
AMZ Publishing Profs / amzpublishingprofs.com (Website not in whois.)
This is NOT Amazon! Scathing reviews on TrustPilot.com! In Google, same phone number as National Book Writers (also on this list).
Assiduous Works / assiduousworks.com – (created May, 2024)
See Publishing Mojo / publishingmojo.com below. Self-explanatory. Same phone number as that firm, and many others listed here. This firm also goes by the name of Digit Media Designs / digitmediadesigns.com. They also share a phone number with Assiduous Apparels / assiduousapparelworks.com.
Author Book Creators / AuthorBookCreators.com (created July, 2024)
They have the same phone number on google as Book Publishing HQ / BookPublishingHQ.com, and others here, which we have already profiled in WritersWeekly.
Author Books Publisher / authorbookspublisher.com (created May, 2024)
Same address as McMillan Book Publishers, US Book Professionals, Venture Book Publishers, and Twayne Publishers (all also on this list).
Author Publications / authorpublications.com (created August, 2024)
Facebook removed this scammer on 1/14/2025. They called themselves “best book publisher.” That’s always a red flag! They stole covers from other publishers and put them on their website. Address appears to be a condominium complex. Their website has logos from awards they haven’t won.
Author’s Heaven / authorsheaven.com (created May, 2024)
Facebook states some page managers are in PAKISTAN. There are covers on their website for books published years before this firm’s website was created. The even have a Dean Koontz cover on their site. They did NOT work on that book! FRAUD! Same phone number as Ace Publishing Services and Ace Book Writing (both also on this list).
Best Sellers, Inc. / bestsellersinc.com (created June, 2024)
Same phone number and virtual address as Exclusive Book Writers, Book Advertisers and AMZ Book Publishing (also on this list). Same phone number as Swift Ghostwriters (also on this list). The bbb.org has several warnings about AMZ Book Publishing on their website. Claims to have a U.S. address but, like many companies here, the domain was registered in ICELAND. BBB.org has warnings posted about AMZ Book Publishing, including misuse of the BBB logo, non-performance of services, and more.
Blitz Web Solution / blitzwebsolution.com (created February, 2021)
See Blitz Websites below. Self-explanatory.
Blitz Websites / blitzwebsites.com (created October, 2023)
There are blistering comments about this company on TrustPilot. On google, they have the same phone number as Blitz Web Solution /blitzwebsolution.com, American Logo Designers / americanlogodesigners.com, American Creative Studios / americancreativestudios.com, Premium Logo Experts / premiumlogoexperts.com, Web Design Lane / webdesignlane.com. On TrustPilot, one woman posted that Blitz Web Solution scammed her husband so badly that it almost broke apart their family. Needless to say, don’t do business with ANY OF THESE!
Book Advertisers USA / bookadvertisers.com (created February, 2024)
Same company as BookAdvertisers below.
Book Craft Publishing / bookcraftpublishing.com (created January, 2024)
The covers we looked up from their website are listed under other publishers’ names on Amazon. Many of the books on their site can’t be found on Amazon at all. Searching for their publisher name on Amazon brings up zero results. Web registrar is in Lithuania. Their “U.S. address” is an apartment yet Facebook says they are in PAKISTAN. When you see 5-star reviews about a company posted in batches on the same dates, don’t believe them. Per Google, they have the exact same address and phone number as American Design Solution / AmericanDesignSolution.com, The Codex Studios / The Codex Studios.com, and The Codex Apps / TheCodexApps.com.
BookAdvertisers / bookadvertisers.com (created May, 2023)
Claims to have a U.S. address but, like many others on this list, the domain was registered in ICELAND. We looked for several of their books on Amazon and couldn’t find them listed. One cover on their site has the author’s name listed as “author name.” Same phone number as Lincoln Writes and AMZ Book Publishing (as well as others on this list). The bbb.org has several warnings about AMZ Book Publishing on their website. Uses a “virtual address.”
Books Publishing House / bookspublishinghouse.com – See American Book Publisher / americanbookpublisher.com
Book Publishers LLC / bookpublishersllc.com (created March, 2024)
Same phone number as (the fraudulent) Penguin Classic Publishers / penguinclassicpublishers.com (also on this list). Stolen covers (covers on their website were published by other companies long before their website was created). They have a Stephen King book listed on their Facebook page. The NERVE of these scammers!!! They have logos on their website for companies they have not done business with. Site design is similar to many other companies listed here. Address is a house in a neighborhood. According to a review on TrustPilot: “They scammed me out of my money. Now they can’t be reached. I tried calling and emailing. Don’t trust this company.”
Bookside Press / (Website brings up a warning on my browser that says blacklist.) (created October, 2021)
Same Brilliant Books Literary below.
BookTasters / booktasters.net (created October, 2015)
This outfit spammed us. NEVER do business with spammers! I found this threat on Twitter. And, this article an author wrote about them. Never pay for book reviews! If you have to pay to join a site, and get reviews, you ARE PAYING FOR REVIEWS!
Brilliant Books Literary/ brilliantbooksliterary.com (created January, 2022)
Same address as The Maple Staple Bookstore and Bookside Press. You can read about the scam they’re running in this article on WritersWeekly.
Creative Media Marketing / creativemediamktg.com (created August, 2020)
They’re included on Writer Beware’s Scammer List. It states they are connect to Bookside Press, Inks and Bindings / Inks & Bindings, and The Maple Staple (all featured on this list). Several poor reviews from the employees on GlassDoor. Scathing reviews on Indeed.com!
Ecom Solution Hub / ecomsolutionhub.com (created 11/27/24)
Offers marketing services to Amazon sellers. Refers authors to AMZ Publishing Firm (also on this list). Their websites are basically identical and they have the same phone number.
Exclusive Book Writers / about.me/exclusivebookwriters
Same “U.S. address” (a mail center) as Alpha Book Writers, Best Sellers, Inc., KDP Publishing Officials, and Amazon Publishing Prime (all also on this list) but Facebook says Exclusive Book Writers is in Canada. The websites of two others listed in the previous sentence were registered IN ICELAND!
Genre Library Solutions / genrelibrarysolutions.com (created December, 2023)
“U.S. addresses” on their site are “virtual offices.” They appear to be in the Philippines. See: WARNING about Genre Library Solutions / genrelibrarysolutions.com
Ghost Book Writers / ghostbookwriters.org (created December, 2020)
Uses a virtual U.S. address. Website was registered in ICELAND. They have one of Jodi Picault’s book covers on their site. They did NOT ghostwrite her book! Like many of the “ghostwriting” sites on this list, they also offer publishing services. On Google, they have same phone number as Ghost Writing Professionals / ghostwritingprofessionals.com, and The Wrighting Brothers / thewrightingbrothers.com.
Harper Book Writers / harperbookwriters.com (created September, 2023)
This is NOT Harper Collins, the traditional publisher! This firm stole covers from other publishers, and posted them as their own on their website (copyright infringement). Domain registrant is in ICELAND. There are syntax errors on their website. One of the covers on their website is from Best Seller Publishing, LLC. Testimonials that don’t have the author’s book listed in/under them are NOT to be trusted.
Harper Kollins / harperkollins.com (created August, 2024)
This is NOT Harper Collins, the traditional publisher! Facebook removed this scammer’s page on 1/14/2025. This firm stole covers from other publishers and posted them as their own on their website (copyright infringement). They use a virtual address. Domain registrant is in ICELAND.
Hope*Books / HopeBooks.com (created December, 2002)
See Hope*Media Network below. This division of the company also publishes books.
Hope*Writers / HopeWriters.com (created January, 2009)
See Hope*Media Network below.
Hope*Media Network / hopemedianetwork.com (created August, 2022)
Their address appears to be a UPS store. They spammed WritersWeekly, offering a program to get your book published that costs more than $7,000!!! DON’T DO BUSINESS WITH SPAMMERS!!! Their royalties, 50% of net, STINK! After paying them more than $7,000, why should you only get HALF of what they get from retailers? When trying to access their website, our browser popped up with this warning: “Firefox detected a potential security threat and did not continue to hopemedianetwork.com.If you visit this site, attackers could try to steal information like your passwords, emails, or
credit card details.” This is an odd statement on their website: “What we don’t want to happen is for you to cancel due to overwhelm or something that our skilled team can help you with!” Yet, their websites state they offer NO REFUNDS. Also owns hope*writers / hopewriters.com, and hope*books / hopebooks.com. Check out what people on bbb.org are saying HERE and HERE.
Inks and Bindings / Inks & Bindings / inksandbindings.com (created January, 2022)
They’re included on Writer Beware’s Scammer List. It states they are connected to Bookside Press, Creative Media Marketing, and The Maple Staple (all featured on this list). They claim to have a U.S. address (it’s a house) but Facebook says their page manager is in the PHILIPPINES. As of today, their website is not loading.
KDP Amazon Publishe(see above).rs / kdpamazonpublishers.com (created July, 2023)
They claim to be located in Atlanta but Facebook says they have 6 page managers in PAKISTAN!
KDP Publishing Officials / kdppublishingofficials.com (created September, 2024)
This is NOT Amazon! Same “U.S. address” (a mail center!) as Alpha Book Writers, Exclusive Book Writers, and Amazon Publishing Prime (also on this list) but the domain registration info. is in ICELAND.
KDP Publishing Service / kdppublishingservice.com (created June, 2024)
This is NOT Amazon. Trademark infringement. Exact same fake testimonials and author photos stolen from the Internet as AMZ KDP Publishers / amzkdppublishers.com (see above, which mentions several other related websites as well!). Per Google, they have same phone number as Amazon Ebook Publications, amazonebookpublications.co, Amazon Ebook Writers / amazonebookwriters.com, Amazon Publishing Group / amazonpublishinggroup.com, KDP Publishing Service / kdppublishingservice.com, and Amazon Book Publications / amazonbookpublications.co.
Kindle Book Publisher Inc (a.k.a. Kindle Publishing) / facebook.com/profile.php?id=61557127226795
This is NOT Amazon! Same address as Kindle Publishing Agency (also on this list).
Kindle Pros / The Kindle Pros / thekindlepros.com (created January, 2024 )
This is NOT Amazon! Trademark infringement. They have covers on their website for books published YEARS before this website was launched, and those books were published by other companies (copyright infringement). They claim to have a U.S. address in California (on their Facebook page) but their site registrar, like many companies on this page, is in ICELAND. Their website has a Texas address. Oddly enough, their “U.S. address” is a government building in California. Their site has multiple trademarks on it for companies they have never done business with, including traditional publishers. Has a book cover on their site published by American Book Publisher / AmericanBookPublisher.com (also on this list).
Kindle Publishing Agency / Kindlepub.co (Not listed on WhoIs)
This is NOT Amazon! Same phone number as AMZ Publishing Firm (also on this list).
Lincoln Writes / lincolnwrites.com (created May, 2021)
Same phone number as Exclusive Book Writers and AMZ Book Publishing (also on this list). The bbb.org has several warnings about AMZ Book Publishing on their website. Book covers we researched on their website had other publishers’ names on them in Amazon. Uses a “virtual address.”
MacMillan Ebook Publisher / macmillanebookpublisher.com (created June, 2024)
This company is infringing on the trademark of the real Macmillan Publishers. Their website has been taken down. Same phone number as AKD Publications / akdpublications.com, Amazon Self Book Publisher / amazonselfbookpublisher.com, Self Publishing Assistance / selfpublishingassistance.com, Amz KDP Publishers / amzkdppublishers.com, and Amazone Book Publications / amazonebookpublications.com. Thanks to the wayback machine, we can see that they were claiming to have more than 2 million clients. Ha ha ha!
MacMillan Ebooks Publisher / macmillanebookspublisher.com (created October, 2024)
This company is infringing on the trademark of the real Macmillan Publishers. They have pictures of John Grisham and J.K. Rowling at the top of their website (Misappropriation, Invasion of Privacy by Appropriation, and Copyright Infringement). They have book covers on their website that they stole from other publishers (copyright infringement). Their site has logos for awards they’ve never won (from years before their site was created!). Testimonials have no names, cartoon faces, and no book titles. Using advanced search on Amazon, we can’t find any books published under this company’s name. Google has a different address than they have on their website (in a different city).
McMillan Book Publishers / mcmillanbookpublishers.com (created 11/2023)
This company is infringing on the trademark of the real Macmillan Publishers. Read this: EXTREME AUTHOR ALERT – PART IV
National Book Writers / nationalbookwriters.com (website is not working)
On Google, same phone number as AMZ Publishing Profs (see above). Address is a mailbox service.
Novel Nest Publishers / novelnestpublishers.com (created November, 2023)
As of this writing, their website is down. Last post on Facebook was in February, 2024. We are including them on this list in case they decide to reactivate their website. We could find no books on Amazon published under their name. According to the wayback machine, their site was up and active as recently as 11/13/24.
Pantheon Book Publishers (Website is now dead.)
Trademark infringement and they have the same phone number as McMillan Book Publishers (more trademark infringement!), which is further up on this list.
Penguin Classic Publishers / penguinclassicpublishers.com (created February, 2024)
This is NOT Penguin Random House! This firm even stole the real company’s logo! They are NOT located in New York City, despite what they’ve posted online. According to Facebook, they are in PAKISTAN. Same phone number as Book Publishers LLC / bookpublishersllc.com.
Proisle Publishing Services LLC / proislepublishing.com (created July, 2020)
F rating on the Better Business Bureau website. Several complaints and bad reviews. We we alerted to this firm by one of our readers, who was ripped off by them. They’re on Writer Beware’s List of Scammers. who has connected them to Bilby Books, Christian Works Media Publishing, and Shrubs Publishing). Same phone number and address as Simply Best Reads.
Publishing Mojo / publishingmojo.com (created April, 2022)
This outfit has been extensively covered on WritersWeekly.com and you don’t want to miss it!!! One of their “companies” was sued by GoDaddy and 99Designs for trademark infringement. Fake covers and fake customers were posted on their website. They pretended to be Amazon. The list goes on and on! We have connected all of the companies below using phone numbers and addresses: Blitz Design / TheBlitzDesign.com (a.k.a. Blitz Mobile Apps / BlitzMobileApps.com), Silicon Valley Graphics & Signs / SVGprint.com (a.k.a. Silicon Valley Graphics), The Ghost Writing / theghostwriting.org, Creative Book Writers / CreativeBookWriters.com,Acredserve Innovations Pvt Ltd / acredserv.com, Assiduous Works / assiduousworks.com, Ace Content Writing / acecontentwriting.com, Digit Media Designs / digitmediadesigns.com, Assiduous Works / assiduousworks.com, Assiduous Apparels / assiduousapparelworks.com and Digit Media Designs / digitmediadesigns.com. After we exposed Publishing Mojo, they sent three query letters to WritersWeekly, wanting to write an article for us on how to get your book published. That was hilarious!!!
Premium Logo Experts / premiumlogoexperts.com (created January, 2022)
See Blitz Websites above. Self-explanatory. Same phone number!
Self Publishing Assistance / selfpublishingassistance.com (created June, 2024)
Same phone number as AKD Publications / akdpublications.com, Amazon Self Book Publisher / amazonselfbookpublisher.com, Amz KDP Publishers / amzkdppublishers.com, Amazone Book Publications / amazonebookpublications.com, and Macmillan Ebook Publisher macmillanebookspublisher.com. Covers on their site stolen from other publishers, Fake testimonials. Author photo taken from the Internet.
Simply Best Reads / simplybestreads.com (created July, 2020)
Same phone number and address as Proisle Publishing Services (also on this list), which has also been connected to Bilby Books, Christian Works Media Publishing, and Shrubs Publishing
Stellar Literary Press & Media / stellarliterary.com (created October, 2020)
We have already profiled this firm on WritersWeekly.com. UPDATE: They now have an F rating at the Better Business Bureau. Facebook states their page manager is located in the PHILIPPINES. Facebook also imposed “restrictions” on their page. Incidentally, they are promoting a book trailer for a book published by Brilliant Books Literary, which is also on this list.
Swift Ghostwriters / swiftghostwriters.com (created May, 2023)
Claims to have a U.S. address but, like many others on this list, the domain was registered in ICELAND. Same phone number as Lincoln Writes, Best Sellers, Inc., Book Advertisers USA, AMZ Book Publishing and others on this list! The bbb.org has several warnings about AMZ Book Publishing on their website. Uses a “virtual address.”
The Amazon Maestro / theamazonmaestro.com (created November, 2023)
This is NOT Amazon. According to their website, “We Are The Most Trustable Online Amazon Marketing Services & Agency.” TOTAL B.S.! And, never do business with anyone who has spelling errors in their ads!! According to TrustPilot, “I hired the amazon maestro for my amazon store. These guys scammed me. Do not believe these guys. They try to sell some counterfeit items so amazon deactivated my account. They did not even try to resolve the problem. They just ran away…” Another Amazon Maestro customer says they owe him a refund of $3600 (CAD). Address appears to be a condominium complex.
The Codex Apps / thecodexapps.com (created May, 2024)
See Book Craft Publishing / BookCraftPublishing.com above. Same phone number and address!
The Codex Studios / thecodexstudios.com (created July, 2024)
See Book Craft Publishing / BookCraftPublishing.com above. Same phone number and address!
The Ghost Writing / theghostwriting.org (created October, 2022)
Domain registered in PAKISTAN. Book covers on their website were stolen from other publishers. Fake employees are on their homepage (photos taken from other sites). Same phone number as Book Publishing HQ / bookpublishingHQ.com (also on this list), US Trademark Registry / ustrademarkregistry.com, US Trademark Professional / ustrademarkprofessionalcom, and Global Trademarkeez / globaltrademarkeez.com.
The Maple Staple Bookstore / themaplestaple.com (created August, 2022)
Same Brilliant Books Literary above.
Twayne Publishers / twaynepublishers.com (created 9/2024)
On Google, they have the same address as Venture Book Publishers, which is also on this list.
US Book Professionals / usbookprofessionals.com (created 5/2024)
They have the same phone number as McMillan Publishers (also on this list).
Venture Book Publishers / venturebookpublishers.com (created 7/2024)
Same address as Twayne Publishers and the same phone number as McMillan Book Publishers (both also on this list).
Web Design Lane / webdesignlane.com. (created June, 2020)
There are several accusations of them being scammers on Trust Pilot. Same phone number as Blitz Websites (see above) and others on this list!
Word Stratum / WordStratum / wordstratum.co (URL is not in WhoIs)
Trademark infringement. They have logos for two traditional publishers on their website. The book covers on their website don’t have author names. Classic error by scammers. They are FAKE books! Facebook says they’re in PAKISTAN. They have “testimonials” but the authors’ last names are missing and one is literally named John Doe. There are no book titles under the “testimonials.” It says they’ve published 13K books yet searching for their name as a publisher on Amazon shows NO RESULTS. The address on their website is missing the city, state, and zip code…because it’s FAKE. Googling their phone number brings up nothing. They’ve only been on Facebook since Oct. 2024. They have the CreateSpace logo on their website yet Amazon hasn’t used that name in years.
Your Books Publisher / yourbookspublisher.com (created 7/2024)
Same phone number as McMillan Book Publishers, which is also on this list.
DON’T FORGET TO WEIGHT IN USING THE COMMENTS BOX BELOW! And, keep checking back! We’ll be adding more every week!
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Angela Hoy is the publisher of WritersWeekly.com, the author of 19 books, and the co-owner of BookLocker.com (one of the original POD publishers that still gets books to market in less than a month), PubPreppers.com (print and ebook design for authors who truly want to self-publish), and Abuzz Press (the publishing co-op that charges no setup fees).
Angela has lived and traveled across the U.S. with her kids in an RV, settled in a river-side home in Bradenton, FL, and lived on a 52 ft Irwin sailboat. Angela now resides on a mountaintop in Northwest Georgia, where she plans to spend the rest of her days bird watching, gardening, hiking, and taking in all of the amazing sunrises.
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Thank you, Angela. I appreciate your help. I was taken by a publisher that promised to republish my book and promote it. After spending thousands of dollars in 2022, I have not received $1. The name of the publisher is Proisle Publishing. Many unkept promises, surprising charges, language barrier, and unsatisfactory work. I feel foolish for being taken, but want to warn other writers.
Thank you, Sue! I researched them, grabbed screenshots, and added them!
https://writersweekly.com/angela-desk/a-list-of-publishers-that-all-authors-should-avoid-at-all-costs
Proisle Publishing Services LLC / proislepublishing.com (created July, 2020)
F rating on the Better Business Bureau website. Several complaints and bad reviews. We we alerted to this firm by one of our readers, who was ripped off by them. They’re on Writer Beware’s List of Scammers. who has connected them to Bilby Books, Christian Works Media Publishing, and Shrubs Publishing). The have the same phone number and address as Simply Best Reads.
Angela
Thank you, Angela, for all you do to help prevent authors from being ripped off. I know it’s a lot of work that you don’t have to do, and I, for one, appreciate it. Years ago, a British publisher’s agent ripped off my first book, which was not a pleasant experience.
Thanks for this helpful list. I will share it with my clients. I always refer them to Book Locker, and they always thank me for it.
Thank you soooo much, Bonnie! You should see the HUGE list of companies we are still investigating. We have to get screenshots of everything before we can post their name and details. It’s QUITE a project!! 🙂