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Recently Answered Questions:



I got a call from CBS Radio! Or, did I???

Q.

Hi Angela!

I just got a call from “CBS Radio” for an interview on one of their shows.

While on the phone with this representative, I googled the particular program he was pitching, and learned that it costs over $1000.00 to be on the show. When I brought this up to the rep, he said it was actually an investment and millions would be reached regarding my book.

I told him thanks, but no thanks, and that I couldn’t afford it. He kept pushing, so I suggested that he contact BookLocker’s Angela Hoy to discuss this opportunity for authors.

This information made him nervous, but he kept pushing. I told him that I was not interested, and hung up the phone.

Are you familiar with this scam?

Thanks for all you do to expose these people.

I.G.

A –

Of course, he never contacted me. Ha ha. 😉

Yes, it’s definitely a scam. It’s entirely likely that he wasn’t from CBS Radio at all. Some scammers pull this trick on authors, and collect the money and the author later finds out that person wasn’t with the organization at all. Even if it is a real show, it’s HIGHLY doubtful you’d earn your $1K back in book sales.

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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!



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Scammer Word Stratum / wordstratum.co / wordstratum.co.uk Tries to Hookwink Angela, and Gets Smacked HARD For Doing So!

I guess this scammer missed attorney James M. Walsh’s article, Do NOT Complain to People Who Have Honestly Exposed Your Illegal Activities Online.

The scammer’s websites:

  • wordstratum.co
  • wordstratum.co.uk – This one still has fake book covers under the word “portfolio” as well as fake testimonials, etc. And, Google shows the address as being either a patch of woods with no home, or an apartment. We found fake “photos” of their “UK office” online as well! Don’t miss the big UPDATE under the post below!

The easiest way for us to do this is to simply share the email exchange. ENJOY! 🙂

——– Forwarded Message ——–
Subject: Re: WRITERSWEEKLY QUESTION – Sam K Wajih
Date: Tue, 6 May 2025 13:11:33 -0400
From: Angela @ WritersWeekly
To: notabot@wordstratum.co <notabot@wordstratum.co>

Hi Scam (I mean Sam),

I’m copying attorney James M. Walsh on this email.

This is what appears on our list of scammers:
Word Stratum / WordStratum / wordstratum.co
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.

My responses are by the **’s below.
_____________________________________________

–——- Forwarded Message ——–
Subject: WRITERSWEEKLY QUESTION – Sam K Wajih
Date: Tue, 6 May 2025 12:00:10 -0400
From: WritersWeekly.com
Reply-To: notabot@wordstratum.co <notabot@wordstratum.co>

Dear Angela,
 
I hope this message finds you well.
 
My name is Sam, and I am the founder of Word Stratum. I recently came across your article concerning my business, and while I appreciate your interest in holding companies accountable, I believe there are several misunderstandings that I’d like to address directly and transparently.
 
Firstly, I want to assure you that I’m building this business with genuine intent and a long-term vision. I have never scammed anyone, nor do I support the kind of unethical behavior that unfortunately plagues this industry. In fact, I’ve been a victim of such scams myself, and I’m working hard to offer authors an honest and supportive alternative.
 
Allow me to respond to the points raised in your article:

1. Use of Traditional Publisher Logos:
I do not use logos of traditional publishers on my website because it would be misleading and inappropriate unless there is a direct affiliation. I believe in maintaining clear and honest representation.

**Nice try. I have proof you were doing that to defraud authors into thinking you were doing business with those companies. See the screenshots.

Before you got caught, you had logos for Simon & Schuster, Macmillan Publishers, CreateSpace (again, see the screenshot), and the New York Times. You haven’t done business with any of those. Again, FRAUD!

2. Book Covers Without Author Names:
The covers displayed are concept samples used to showcase our creative process. They don’t carry author names intentionally, as they are accompanied by detailed descriptions of the design rationale.

**The covers make it appear you designed those covers, and published those books. There is nothing on your website saying those are samples. In fact, your website specifically said to check out your books FOR SALE with those covers next to the statement. (See the right side of the screenshot above.)

3. Facebook Pages Location:
Our Facebook pages indicate a Pakistan location because our marketing team operates from there. This decision is driven by practicality and
cost-effectiveness. I personally live in Germany, and hiring marketing talent locally or in the U.S. is not financially viable at this stage.

**Your previous address on your site said St. Petersburg, Florida (see the screenshot). Now you say you’re in Elmont, NY. You’re in neither of those places. Pretending to be located in the U.S. when you are not is fraud. You’re trying to trick U.S. authors into thinking you are located here.

4. False Claims & Attacks by Competitors:
My business has been targeted by competitors in unethical ways—site hacks, false claims, and even attempts to poach clients. For clarity, I have never claimed to have published 13,000 books, and there is no CreateSpace logo on my website. We simply list platforms we assist our clients with, like Amazon, Apple Books, and others.

**You’re a LIAR! Look at the first screenshot above and the one below!


5. Business Addresses and Legitimacy:
The addresses listed on my website are valid. I operate remotely, with legal LLC and INC registrations in the U.S., a remote team in Pakistan, and a business partner in the U.S. This global setup is not uncommon in today’s digital business landscape, especially in industries affected by
low-cost, scam-driven competition.

See my response under #3 above. Again, what you’re doing is FRAUD. You’re trying to trick authors into thinking YOU are located in the U.S. Otherwise, why simply tell them you are NOT?


6. Company Age and Page Creation Dates:
Our social media pages were created in October because that is when the company was launched. I’ve never claimed otherwise.

**Again, see the screenshots. You claimed to have published 183 books (a total lie) and that you had 165 clients (also a lie).

See the other screenshot above as well. On another page, you boasted 13K+ books published, 5K+ happy clients, etc. What a crock of BULL!


If I were running a scam, I wouldn’t be reaching out to you like this. I take pride in my work and want to build a sustainable, trustworthy
business. I also understand that skepticism is warranted in this space, but I hope you can see the difference between someone trying to con others and someone trying to grow an honest venture despite the odds.

**You have committed fraud and deception. You likely thought reaching out to me this way might give you the opportunity to hoodwink me. You’re hilarious! You got caught RED HANDED! Not only were you caught and exposed but, since you wasted my time (and yours!) today, I’m going to give you even more coverage on WritersWeekly.com and on our social media pages!

I respect your voice as a writer and your role in advocating for integrity in publishing. If you have suggestions for how we can further improve our transparency or practices, I am open to hearing them. That said, I kindly ask that you reconsider the article currently published on your site. It contains inaccuracies that are harmful to the reputation I’ve worked hard to build, and I believe addressing those concerns, as I’ve done here, warrants a fair review.

Thank you for taking the time to read this. I’d be happy to speak further if you have any questions or need clarification on anything mentioned.
 
Warm regards,
Sam K Wajih
Founder, Word Stratum
 
– Sam K Wajih ( notabot@wordstratum.co )

**Oh, we gave you a fair review alright!!

You ARE a scammer!

Angela Hoy, Publisher
WritersWeekly.com

UPDATE! The scammer immediately responded with cockamamie excuses we’ve heard before, like that those were all “mistakes” on an earlier version of their website. Here’s the hilarious part. He said he created the business in October and that the things we caught him doing above were “placeholder content.” He said they then fixed the problems. We didn’t get our screenshots until the last week of December! So, from October to at least December (when we added his crappy website to our scam list!), he was scamming people with the items described above. KNOW WHAT’S EVEN BETTER! He has a site in the UK that has many of the same fraudulent things on it and he apparently forgot to “fix” that before contacting us! What a MORON!! (Yes, we have screenshots of that one, too!!!)

Here is my response:

Hi Sam,

In your first email, you wrote:

1. Use of Traditional Publisher Logos:
I do not use logos of traditional publishers on my website because it would be misleading and inappropriate unless there is a direct affiliation. I believe in maintaining clear and honest representation.

Now, you’re saying you DID do that and that is was a “mistake.” And, now you’re trying to mislead ME. I didn’t just fall off the turnip truck. That is a classic response we hear from scammers after they GOT CAUGHT.

Everything about your website was an attempt to trick people into thinking you had affiliations with traditional publishers, that you’d published those books, that those were real author testimonials, that you were located in the U.S., etc., etc. You’re backtracking now because you were exposed. There were no “mistakes.” It was intent to deceive, which is illegal.

I have already reported you to the Florida Department of State Division of Corporations.

Angela Hoy, Publisher

WritersWeekly.com

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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!



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HA HA HA! When Scammers Pitch Article Ideas to WritersWeekly…

This isn’t really a Q&A format but I think you’ll forgive me for that this week.

I sure get a chuckle out of people who think, after more than 25 years in the business, that I just fell off the turnip truck. Here’s an example of a scammer who wanted to submit an article to us that pitched his own scam book-to-movie services:

Hello,

So many writers dream of becoming authors but some also dream about their story becoming a movie. They want their story to be in the bright lights of Hollywood! Remember (famous author name removed)? His novel was turned into a film.

Authors don’t really know how to make that happen. My article will teach authors how to make that happen. I’ve done it for authors before and I can teach them what I know.

He goes on to say he’ll teach authors how to “pay” for pitching services. Ha ha ha. Also, he’ll teach authors how to hire a good screenwriter. He also claims he can set “any book” up for movie-making success. Total B.S.

My response:

Pitching services are a scam and studios hire screenwriters. Authors should NEVER pay for screenwriting services. Don’t contact me again.

This incident reminded me when we exposed Publishing Mojo’s illegal activities and they then emailed me twice. They wanted me to buy an article from them that was purportedly going to teach authors how to get published. Seriously. How STUPID do these people think I am?

RELATED



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!



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“Have you any negative information on a company called Austin Macauley Publishers?”

DON’T FORGET! This Saturday, 4/5/25, is the Spring, 2025 24-Hour Short Story Contest!!!

Q –

Hi Angela,

Have you any negative information on a company called Austin Macauley Publishers?

Trevor S.

A –

Yes, definitely avoid Austin Macauley Publishers LLC!

Read the complaints and reviews on bbb.org.

And, look at the one-star reviews on PissedConsumer and Trustpilot.

If any other readers want me to research a specific company, please CONTACT ME.

And, don’t forget these articles! They are must reads!!

11 Ways to Know If a “Publisher” is an Overseas Scammer (You’ll probably only need to check #1 to prove it!)

A List of Publishers and Services That ALL Authors Should AVOID AT ALL COSTS!

RELATED



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!



Read More "Ask The Expert" Articles

Pubishing Scam Victim Helps Us Uncover Seven More “Publishers” Who All Share the Same Phone Number!

Q –

My “agent” from this company was a woman named Rita, alleged to be working at USABookPublication.com. I fired them for incompetence. I would not recommend a dog use them. They promised me a refund three weeks ago but I still haven’t received it. They are a ripoff and a scam company.

A –

I wrote back to the author, and let her know that company was already on our list of scammers. When I put on my detective hat, I found a company with almost the exact same name (it has one extra letter). Once I Googled that company’s phone number, I sent her this –

All of the companies below have identical phone numbers:

Boston Book Publishers / bostonbookpublishers.com
USA Books Publication / usabookspublication.com (notice the subtle name difference from the one in the author’s email above)
Digital Book Publishers / digitalbookpublishers.com
Kindle Direct Book Publishing / kindledirectbookpublishing.com
KDP Publishing House / kdppublishinghouse.com
KDP Books Publication / kdpbookspublication.com
Book Publishing Services / llc bookpublishingservicesllc.com

If you are wondering about a specific publisher or service, CONTACT ME right away with the company’s name and website. I will research them quickly for you. No charge! If they are a scammer, you’ll have done me a favor because I can add them to our spreadsheet and website.

The author asked me who I would recommend. I gave her the link below, which shows U.S.-based publishers: 2025 Self-Publishing Price Comparison

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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!



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“Hybrid Publisher” is the Most Abused Term (by scammers) in the Publishing Industry Right Now

Q –

I have several books on the market. I keep getting emailed by companies calling themselves “hybrid publishers.” What does that mean?

J.C.

A –

A true Hybrid Publisher does NOT charge authors any up front fees, and their contracts are for a shorter period of time compared to traditional publishers. However, their royalties may be a bit lower. For authors on a budget, a real hybrid publisher can be a true blessing! But, they are very choosy about what they publish.

But, the term is now being used by scammers to try to defraud authors. The scam goes like this:

1. They find a new book on Amazon, Google the author’s name and book title, and find the author online. They will then either email or call the author (or both). Contrary to true hybrid publishers, these scam companies will publish anything and everything.

2. They also will run ads on social media using the term “hybrid publisher” to try to fool unwary authors.

3. The scammer will then claim that they’ll pay half of the author’s fees to get their new book published.

4. In reality, the scammer isn’t going to contribute one penny toward the publication costs for the book. Instead, they charge the author an outrageous price and they never contribute a dime to the publication costs of that book.

5. In some cases, the author pays (often thousands of dollars) and the book never gets published at all. Those are overseas scammers that know the author, if located in the U.S., has a zero percent chance of getting their money back.

One true hybrid publisher is Abuzz Press, which charges authors nothing up front. The contract is exclusive for three years and the royalties are higher than those paid by traditional publishers.

RULE OF THUMB: If any so-called publisher spams or calls you, CLICK DELETE or HANG UP! No real publisher uses spam or telemarketing to try to get new authors to sign up.

RELATED



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!



Read More "Ask The Expert" Articles

“Where can I find a trustworthy book marketing company? I keep finding sharks.”

Q –

I’m looking for a successful, trustworthy book marketing company. Can you advise please? I keep finding sharks.

– Susanne R.

A –

You have to be so very careful now because so many overseas scammers are not only offering (fake) publishing services to steal authors’ money, but also fake marketing services. And, don’t forget that the U.S. addresses they put on their websites and Facebook are almost always FAKE. Most are in Pakistan and the Philippines.

Our BookLocker authors are very happy with these folks: Book Publicists We Recommend

You should also NOT hire any of the overseas scammers to edit your book! It will end up with far MORE errors because the people editing your book will NOT be native English speaker. Of course, that’s if your book ever gets edited at all… Many of these scammers try to get more and more money out of authors while constantly dangling that non-existent book in front of their noses.

The editors we recommend are vetted, offer outstanding services, and are all native English speakers, of course: Freelance Editors We Recommend

For the time being, do NOT hire any so-called publisher, or someone offering “publishing/marketing services” that is running ads on Facebook. Facebook is NOT removing those ads! Why? Because Facebook profits from scammers’ ads!

RELATED



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!



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COMPLAINTS about Olympia Publishers / olympiapublishers.com

Q –

I had my book ‘hybrid’ published by Olympia Publishers for £3,500. They did a very amateur job of turning my manuscript into a book, but they did eventually print it and make it available on-line. But they have done nothing to promote it, get it reviewed or in any meaningful way tell the world that it exists. All sales so far have been from my own efforts. They had to be threatened with legal action to get the first lot of royalties, and they forgot to send me the second royalty statement, which when I chased it was full of omissions, which they have admitted, but yet to correct and pay. This company seem so amateur that I am beginning to think they might be a scam. Have other authors had similar experiences with Olympia?

A –

It looks like you’re not alone.

Here are a few choice tidbits from the 21(!!!) one-star reviews about them on Trustpilot:

“I paid over $4200 to them, the sample covers they provided me were absolute rubbish.” – Hamed

“I have had a very devastating experience with this publisher and advise to anyone considering signing with them to reconsider. I have not yet received any royalties and sent countless emails.” – Booklady

“They dragged their heels at every corner, when we expressed concern about how long this book was taking they said they were still in the time frame as written in the contract, then they went over the time frame and only really started moving when we threatened involving a solicitor.” – Sandy Johnstone

“They broke the contract by exceeding the given time to complete the manuscript to publication, communication was near non-existent and they actually edited in mistakes!” – Sara

“If I could give them no stars I would…” – Miss T White

“..there were tons of spelling, grammar, & punctuation mistakes…” – Debra

“If you have a dream of becoming an author, DO NOT submit your work to these guys. You’ll get lured in by empty promises, flashy-looking websites, and doctored reviews, only to have your dreams shattered.” – Adam Robertson

You can read more of the 21 one-star reviews about them on Trustpilot.

Incidentally, do NOT trust 5-star reviews on Trustpilot. Read this:

FRAUD ALERT: Why 5-Star Reviews on Trustpilot Can NOT Be Trusted – by James M. Walsh, Esq.

Also see:

Olympia Publishers and the Art of the Soft Scam

Has anyone had any experience with the ‘hybrid publishing’ contract or Olympia Publishers? – I looked up Olympia Publishers and they have a Watchdog Advisory rating, which means: “Services that fail to align with ALLi’s Code of Standards, are the subject of consistent complaints and, in some cases, have been subject to legal action.”

RELATED



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!



Read More "Ask The Expert" Articles





“Should I refuse to work with someone who’s already sent me more than 100 emails, and isn’t yet ready to commit?”

Q –

Should I refuse to work with someone who’s already sent me more than 100 emails, and isn’t yet ready to commit? He has yet to sign the contract for my services and he hasn’t paid me.

He sends me short questions, one at a time. I respond to each email quickly. Then, he sends me more and more emails. I respond, etc. The process keeps repeating. I’m starting to wonder if he’s a competitor trying to get his own business running, and is using my advice or processes, or if this person simply isn’t serious about hiring me. I also wonder if it’s a lonely person just wanting attention. I know that seems far-fetched but I just can’t understand what’s going on.

How can I politely tell him to get lost? I cringe every time I see a new email from him in my in-box.

C.A.

A –

This is something I’ve encountered numerous times over the years. If you consider how many hours you’ve already spent trying to land that contract, you may discover that you’re already in the red…even if he HAD paid you.

One recent example for me was an author who had technical issues with his file. I explained to him a simple fix for the problem (he had not yet hired us, of course, so I wasn’t going to do the work for him!). He kept sending me more and more questions. I finally, and very politely, told him that it was clear he wasn’t going to commit and that I could no longer give him advice unless he signed our contract, and paid our fee.

He wrote back, imploring me to change my mind. He said he would sign up right away so we could move forward. I told him that would be fine. That was two months ago. He submitted the contract, but never paid the fee. Yet, he kept sending questions.

I stopped answering his questions, and told him he needed to pay for our services before I could help him further. And, then he sent four more questions. I ignored his questions. Instead, I politely (again!) but firmly told him it was clear this wasn’t going to work out and that he needed to have his book published elsewhere.

I, personally, find it offensive when somebody expects free services. And, clients who act like this ARE receiving free services…because they never sign up and pay.

A friend of mine had a similar experience recently. After she told him she wouldn’t be able to work with him, he finally told her that he simply didn’t have the funds necessary to do the job. My friend then realized that the man was getting free advice on how to do the project himself, all the while pretending he was going to hire my friend.

It shouldn’t take more than ten or so emails to determine if a potential client is going to be one that you do not want to work with in the future. Also, if a client is acting badly before the contract is signed and the payment is made, imagine how much trouble they’re going to be when you are working on the project itself. They will expect even MORE attention from you and you’ll end up spending hours corresponding with him or her when those extra hours were not part of your original proposal.

RELATED



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!



Read More "Ask The Expert" Articles

 

What’s the best way to build momentum in publicity and sales for my book?

Q –

I published my book but my publisher offers very limited support in promoting your book. I have received reviews from Online Book Club and Readers’ Favorite, but I am at a loss as to how to promote the book other than seeking additional reviews. The book starts as a young adult science fiction story and after several twists and turns concludes with a parody of the January 6th insurrection. The political satire is meant to appeal to readers of all ages. I would appreciate any helpful advice regarding how I can make people aware of the book and build some momentum in sales and publicity.

Thanks for your time,

Noah

A –

Unfortunately, you’re likely to get very few to no sales if you paid for book reviews. Please see: Should I Pay The Online Book Club to Review My Book? NO!!!

I also don’t trust the “get your first review for free” sites. Who knows how many people are downloading your book, who they are, and what they’re doing with it?

I just had our server email free copies of two of my ebooks on book promotion to you. They are:

90+ Days of Promoting Your Book Online: Your Book’s Daily Marketing Plan – THIRD EDITION

and

55 Dos and Don’ts of Book Selling: If You Can Write, You CAN Sell Books!

Any other WritersWeekly.com subscribers who want free copies of both of those can CONTACT ME directly to request them. 🙂

RELATED



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!



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