We’ll be discussing this on our next Podcast episode, as well as other scams that have emerged that are currently targeting authors and writers.

This one is especially egregious so we’re getting the word out about it here today.

An author contacted me, saying his “publisher” had forwarded him a contract from a major bookstore chain (that you HAVE heard of). I’m not naming it here because you all need to be on the lookout for this type of scam, regardless which bookstore chain the scammers mention. He sent me a copy of the contract as well. Looked pretty legit. But, then I read the fine print (like I always do!).

The “contract” said the author would pay $26,000 (!!!) to have 3500 copies of his book printed, shipped to, and stocked in 150 (major bookstore chain) bookstore locations.

The bookstore has “printing cost” in THEIR (fake!) contract. Why would a bookstore be quoting a printing price when the publisher itself was also named in the contract? The publisher prints the books!

Even if the contract was legit (it’s NOT!), the numbers didn’t add up and there was some trickery going on.

First, it said the bookstore would only keep $3.00 for each copy sold.

Except, a few lines later, this was slipped in: “Bookstore service charges: $2.99 per copy.”

Wait a minute. That’s $5.99, not $3.00!

“Royalties to be paid directly to the author…” Bookstores don’t pay authors’ royalties. Bookstores pay publishers and then publishers pay their authors’ royalties.

“The Publisher shall not be entitled to any royalties under this Agreement.”

First of all, publishers don’t earn “royalties.” Second of all, the publisher has already scammed the author out of $26K, and they weren’t going to print or ship any books out anyway, this is just a fraudulent “feel good” line of text in the contract.

“Royalty payments will be calculated based on confirmed sales and disbursed within 120 days following the end of each calendar quarter.”

Again, the bookstore does NOT pay royalties to the author! And, this is standard publisher language. Bookstores do NOT use this language.

Even if the fake publisher was going to send out copies:

“The book shall be placed across up to 150 (name removed) locations.”

Hold on. “Up to” could mean just ONE STORE! Also, did you catch the syntax error?!?!

AND, THE BIG ONE!

“Unsold copies may be subject to return to the Publisher or Author under terms to be negotiated separately if necessary.”

Any author with half a brain in his or her skull would NEVER spend $26K (!!!) and then only think about negotiating returns later!!

I told the author, if (big if!) any copies are printed and shipped, I guarantee you that almost all, if not all, of those copies will be returned to you and YOU will be required to pay the return postage if you want those books back. Can you imagine how much it would cost the author to ship 3500 books back to his location, only to put them in his garage?

But, that was never going to happen anyway because the “publisher” (one we are well aware is a scammer) was never going to print any copies at all. They were going to pocket that $26,000 and disappear.

And, finally, Attorney James M. Walsh researched the emails and the “contract” as well. The bookstore location in question (the address that was on the contract) was permanently closed by that bookstore chain long ago.

If your so-called publisher is trying to pitch you a similar scam, now you know what to watch out for! In the real world, bookstores pay the publisher for copies. The author does NOT pay to have copied printed and then shipped to bookstore changes. This entire scam has everybody turned upside-down and backwards. Unfortunately, some unwary authors WILL fall for this type of scam so please share the link to this article with your writer and author groups!

RELATED

• All Episodes of The WritersWeekly Podcast! (Episodes 1 and 2 are about the scammers who have taken over the industry.)
• A List of Publishers and Services That ALL Authors Should AVOID AT ALL COSTS!
• 11 Ways to Know If a “Publisher” or Other Service Provider is an Overseas Scammer (You’ll probably only need to check #1 to prove it!) – by Angela Hoy, Publisher
• Scammers Are Offering to “Help” Scam Victims Get Refunds…For a Fee, of Course
• FACEBOOK’S FRAUD FIASCO: How Facebook is Profiting From Scam Publishers Targeting YOU on Its Platform – by James M. Walsh, Esq.
• FRAUD ALERT: Why 5-Star Reviews on Trustpilot Can NOT Be Trusted – by James M. Walsh, Esq.
• EXTREME AUTHOR ALERT – PART V: Do NOT Hire ANY Publisher That is Running Paid Ads on Facebook Right Now!\

HAVE A QUESTION ABOUT SELF-PUBLISHING A BOOK?

Angela is not only the publisher of WritersWeekly.com. She is President & CEO of BookLocker.com,
a self-publishing services company that has been in business since 1998. Ask her anything.

ASK ANGELA!