I may sound harsh in this article but I receive SO MANY emails from authors who have left their common sense at the door, and are about to step knee-deep in a big pile of you-know-what.
We were contacted by yet another author who wanted to ask about a specific “publisher” (and, I do use that term very loosely). I have received past complaints about this firm spamming authors. She said they called her out of the blue (telemarketing), and offered to REPUBLISH her book for the low, low price of (gulp!) $7000!!!
To add fish flavored ice cream to that tempting piece of licorice pie, they said they would “match” that $7000 of their own money for “promotional services.” They then tried to sell her a flight to Europe so she could sign book at a book fair. And they offered to match those funds, too!
Let’s break this ridiculous scenario down – shall we?
1. We have seen this type of offer before. It’s like offering somebody half price when, in reality, they’re paying the full price or even more. They just don’t know it.
2. The company is NOT going to take your $7000, spend it all on services, and then fork out an additional $7000 on anything. They’ll take your $7000 and that’s going to pay for everything…or worse (see #6 below).
3. I pointed out that…if they’re so good at promoting books, why are they resorting to telemarketing and spamming authors when promoting their own company?
4. Any author who pay $7000 to get their book published needs to have their head examined. Don’t fall for the false praise and warm-and-fuzzy sales pitch they are throwing your way. You’re just another “mark” to that salesperson on the other end of the phone. They’ll say anything to convince you to dig into your wallet. The sooner they can trick you into plunking down your money, the sooner they can move on to the next sucker. They don’t give a rat’s behind about you, your book, or your future book sales.
5. As for the matched travel expenses…well, it’s the exact same scam. She would pay them several thousand for a round trip ticket to Europe. However, if you google a plane ticket from here to that specific city, which I won’t name here, it’s only $1800. They were going to charge more than that AND offer to “match” her money. Of course, they were never going to match anything and they were going to pocket the difference.
6. At the absolute worst, this entire outfit may a complete sham. She could send them thousands, and never hear from them again, about her book, the trip, or anything else.
So, please, my friends…do NOT fall for this type of scam. If it sounds too good to be true, email me about it. I’ll break it down for you…and save you thousands of dollars to boot!
Please share your thoughts in the comments box below! 🙂
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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).
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HowMaster is a wise choice for the writer who wants to weave words around the reader’s heart.
Author Linda M. Gigliotti draws from years of practice as a private
writing tutor in the guidebook that teaches writers how to format visceral
writing that pulls readers into their book. She explains with instruction
and samples of published works how to craft writing that come to life in the reader's mind.
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When in doubt, don’t! Thanks for keeping it real. So glad you survived the storm. My hat’s off to Brian for his selfless aid work. Stay safe!
One of my grandfather’s favorite quotes was “There’s a sucker born every minute”.
One of my favorite phrases is, “You gotta do the math!!” I often laughingly say it to people I pass in the supermarket as they are squinting at the price/ingredients label on some product.
I’ve never understood why it is becoming more & more common for food stores to promote 2 for 1 offers, and half price sales, yet they never say what is the actual item price. Except that must mean that more and more people are gullible enough to fall for the idea that anything called a ‘Sale’ price is actually a sale price……when it never is.
A fool & his money are soon parted. That’s another favorite phrase of mine.
Wow. Here in Australia it is law that supermarkets have to provide a comparative price for every shelf item (i.e., you will find “$x per 100g” in small print under every price tag). It makes it so much easier to shop sensibly.
It used to be so (clear, honest pricing) when I lived in Chicago. But I can tell you that in Minnesota and here in Washington, it ain’t so.