I received an email last week from an author who was contacted by Stratton Press. The saleswoman called him on the phone, and later exchanged text messages with him. The author wrote:
It soon became clear she wanted to sell me services but it wasn’t clear what. I was skeptical. She said she would email me a proposal. I hung up knowing I hadn’t given her my email but figured if she had been able to track down my phone number maybe she could do the same for my email. A few hours later she left another voicemail asking for my email. By then, I’d had a chance to google Stratton Press.
I texted saying I wasn’t interested. She sent a series of replies. “I am really sad reading your message right now.” “I just really need your email so I can send it to you right now and (name removed) I am really excited. Why don’t you go over the email first?” “(Name removed) try to think about it first this is a big opportunity and I bet you in this cos I believe in you (name removed) I believe in your book” “I’m actually excited to work with you and it hurts me so much. Your decision made me sad right now”
She hasn’t read my book, so how can she believe in it? If you agree that it’s a scam, maybe you could warn authors.
I think you’ll agree that it’s extremely unprofessional for a sales person to say you made them “sad” for not buying their service. How pathetic!!
On 11/22/21, we received another complaint about Stratton press from an author who said they not only called him, but spammed him as well.
A POD Poacher is what we call a publisher that contacts previously published authors.
Check out the info. about Stratton Press at the sites below:
BBB.org
Author Christopher D. Schmitz (and, read the comments underneath his article)
There are others as well.
Remember to ALWAYS thoroughly research a company you’re considering doing business with. And, we always recommend you AVOID companies that use telemarketing and/or spam to try to get your business.
And, for Heaven’s sake, if any sales person says you are making the “sad” for not signing up, run as far and as fast as you can away from that ridiculous company!
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Got questions about Print On Demand and Self-publishing? Ask Angela Hoy.
About The Author
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.
WritersWeekly.com - the free marketing ezine for writers, which features new paying markets and freelance job listings every Wednesday.
BookLocker.com - According to attorney Mark Levine, author of The Fine Print, BookLocker is: "As close to perfection as you're going to find in the world of ebook and POD publishing. The ebook royalties are the highest I've ever seen, and the print royalties are better than average. BookLocker understands what new authors experience, and have put together a package that is the best in the business. You can't go wrong here. Plus, they're selective and won't publish any manuscript just because it's accompanied by a check. Also, the web site is well trafficked. If you can find a POD or epublisher with as much integrity and dedication to selling authors' books, but with lower POD publishing fees, please let me know."
Abuzz Press offers FAST and FREE book publication, but only accepts a small percentage of submissions, and only works with U.S. authors.
PubPreppers.com - "We Prep, You Publish!" Print and ebook design for authors who truly want to self-publish. Offers formatting and design services only, and then provides simple instructions for authors on where to sign up to have the print and ebook editions printed/listed/sold. Cut out the middle man. Keep 100% of what bookstores pay for your book!
Angela's POD Secrets Revealed Series can be found HERE.
Have a POD Book with another publisher? See if BookLocker can give you a better deal. (BookLocker offers "disgruntled author discounts" to those who want to move from other POD services.)
See BookLocker's publishing packages HERE.
ANGELA ON TWITTER https://twitter.com/AngelaHoy
BOOKLOCKER ON FACEBOOK - Provides links to free excerpts!
https://www.facebook.com/booklockerbooks
ANGELA ON FACEBOOK
https://www.facebook.com/angela.hoy.750
ANGELA ON LINKEDIN
https://www.linkedin.com/in/angelahoy/
Angela is the creator of the Original 24-Hour Short Story Contest!
https://24hourshortstorycontest.com/
Read More Of Angela's Articles HERE
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At this moment, thousands of would-be authors are slaving away on their keyboards, dreaming of literary success. But their efforts won’t count for much. Of all those manuscripts, trade book editors will sign up only a slim fraction.
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