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WARNING about The Maple Staple Bookstore / Brilliant Books Literary / Bookside Press SCAM

December 5, 2024

WARNING about The Maple Staple Bookstore / Brilliant Books Literary / Bookside Press SCAM
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THE FOLLOWING COMPANIES ARE MENTIONED IN THIS POST:

  • Creative Media Marketing
  • Bookside Press
  • Inks and Bindings
  • The Maple Staple Bookstore / The Maple Staple Bookstore Canada
  • Brilliant Books Literary
  • Great Writers Media
  • Golden Ink Media Services
  • Green Sage Agency
  • McNaughton Books
  • Pen Culture Solutions
  • P One Media Marketing Consultancy

Q –

Angela,

I received the following email. Have you had any experience with these folks?

Hello Rickey! I am Angel Sinclair, a Senior Endorsement Officer at The Maple Staple Bookstore Canada. Your book has truly caught our attention, and we are thrilled about the opportunity to feature it in our physical bookstore and independent bookshops nationwide for the upcoming holiday and book-buying season. We also aim to represent your book to Traditional Publishers, seeking potential monetary offers. I would love to discuss these opportunities further. Looking forward to hearing from you!

A –

I did some poking around. Maple Staple is mentioned in THIS ARTICLE on WritersWeekly.

On THIS PAGE, Gary Richardson writes:

“How is it that a bookstore in Toronto, Canada has only 29 reviews and all of those reviews belong to people who all live in the Philippines?”

Gary Richardson mentioned them again here: A New Scam or New Business Model?

“At the end of the day, what the representatives from Maple Staple and Brilliant Books Literary were offering flew in the face of what many of us know to be the standard model for lit agents and publishing deals.”

A HA! Another name!! Brilliant Books Literary! So, I went down that rabbit hole. The Maple Staple Bookstore has the same address as Bookside Press. ANOTHER NAME! Their description online admits they’re in cahoots. I just kept Googling and digging. WOW!!!

Then, I found the mother lode!!! Take one look at those horrible reviews and you’ll know that every author should RUN!! One of those is from someone who claims to have worked for them:

“I had the unfortunate experience of working as an agent for Creative Media Marketing, specifically under their imprints, Bookside Press and Inks & Bindings. My time there opened my eyes to some troubling practices. From the start, it became clear that the management was not supportive or kind to their agents. We were instructed to misrepresent ourselves as Canadians or Americans to give the imprints a more appealing facade. This deceit felt incredibly unethical and made me uncomfortable.

“More concerning, however, is the way this company treats authors. It became apparent that they are more interested in extracting money from writers than genuinely supporting them. Many authors are lured in with promises of help and exposure, only to find themselves paying hefty fees with little to no return on their investment.

“I strongly advise authors to think twice before engaging with Creative Media Marketing. Their practices seem to prioritize profit over integrity, leaving many authors feeling ripped off and disillusioned. Save your time and money; there are better publishing options out there.

Their real address is Northwood Square, F. Cabahug St, Cebu City, 6000 Cebu, Philippines.”

So, Creative Media Marketing is ANOTHER part of the company. I googled that and found Creative Media Marketing (aka Bookside Press / Inks and Bindings / The Maple Staple) AND Brilliant Books Literary (aka Great Writers Media / Golden Ink Media Services / Green Sage Agency / McNaughton Books / Pen Culture Solutions / P One Media Marketing Consultancy/ ) are all listed here: Publishing/Marketing/Fake Literary Agency/Impersonation Scams List

Whoever sent the email is a scammer. Their aim is to get you to pay them to republish your book. It’s a very common bottom-feeder scam in the industry. Traditional publishers and literary agents don’t reach out to authors. Their slush piles are far too large.

Also, as I’ve said many times, never, EVER do business with anyone who uses spam or telemarketing to contact you.

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