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.”

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