I received the following email this week:

Angela,

Do you know anything about the Indie Writers Support group? I signed up for a book promotion with them for a client, and I don’t think they did anything and I have written to them without a response. I also sent some money for a mailing list of 26,000 media contacts and never got it. And I’m a member of IBPA, and they were offering IBPA membership materials for $75, but when I contacted IBPA, they indicated they hadn’t given their permission and when they wrote to them, they got no response. I think if other writers have had similar experiences, writers might be warned about them.

My response:

It’s always a good idea to Google these types of firms with the word “complaints” in your search. Indie Writers Support is part of Paradon Books (paradonbooks.com) (that website is giving us a security certificate error), ReadersBooks.info (GoDaddy shows the site as expired), and AuthorsTips.com (which is also a non-active page). It is apparently owned by Korede Abayomi.

I found the following complaints posted to a variety of websites about Indie Writers Support/Paradon Books:

Self-Publishing Watchlist

Beware of Listopia, Indie Writers Support

An author claims that Indie Writers Support (allegedly) published a chapter from an author’s book without permission, endorsing a product the author did NOT endorse

A “F” rating at the Better Business Bureau

Read about the BBB’s investigation of Paradon Books’ advertising materials RIGHT HERE.

No Paragon

Unfortunately, there are other complaints online as well. I doubt you will be able to get your money back. In the future, please research these types of firms thoroughly before sending them any money.

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Ask Angela About Self-Publishing

Angela Hoy is not only publisher of WritersWeekly.com, she's also co-owner of self-publishing services firm BookLocker.com and works directly with each author.

That's right, you work directly with the owner of BookLocker. No revolving customer service reps, no layers of bureaucracy to navigate, and absolutely no outsourcing to low-paying overseas call centers. We don't use call centers or telemarketing at all. You will never be shuffled from one "customer service rep" to another because we don't have any of those.
You will communicate directly with Angela about any needs you have at all, as well as Richard (book marketing advice), Brian (ebooks and technical issues), Ali (print formatting), Gwen (color-interior books) and Todd or Nancy (our awesome cover designers).

Since we are selective about which books we publish, we are able to work with every author one-on-one. In the past 18 years, BookLocker has published more than 9,000 titles.

Angela's been in the print-on-demand and self-publishing business for nearly two decades. She's seen it all, and is a great source of information. To ask her anything click here.