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Company names and websites mentioned in this alert:

• Spines / Spines US / spines.com
• Normans Publishing / normanspublishing.com
• BooxAI / booxai.com (redirects to spines.com now)
• Velon Book Publishing / velonbookpublishing.com

What started out being a deep dive into Normans Publishing turned into something FAR bigger and FAR more disturbing!

Normans Publishing is a textbook example of the deluge of publishing predators that have infected the Internet (Facebook, Instagram, X, LinkedIn, etc.), and that have horribly tarnished the Print On Demand (POD), self-publishing industry.  Since Normans Publishing self-proclaims to feature clients on global media platforms, I “bit,” and decided to weigh in on this textbook fraud.

I found nothing that supports Normans Publishing’s claim to have writers featured on the foregoing platforms, as broadcast on its very questionable website. The website is, quite honestly, cringeworthy –  very painfully so. Normans fraudulent address, 152 Warriors Way, San Francisco, CA 94158, doesn’t exist. My California property records search turned up the following:

PROPERTY RECORD SEARCH    

OWNERS SALES HISTORY DEED INFO TAXES LIENS MORTGAGES CONSTRUCTION HISTORY MORE …

No results found. Please revise your search.

I found that Warriors Way is home to Chase Arena and The Golden State Warriors, but not Normans Publishing. By the way, shouldn’t Normans be “possessive?”  That  is, “Norman’s Publishing?” or even “Normans’ Publishing?” That’s a classic error made by foreign scammers. And, they ARE foreign! Facebook states they’re in PAKISTAN.

I grabbed the link to Mia Capley’s photo from their site. Except…something didn’t seem right. Is this really her name?

Or, is her name actually Valerie Woodward?

Or, is it Marie Angelica, Deusamara Flores, or something else?

In their “testimonials,” they have links to three other authors’ websites…but none of them are working. Two are parked at GoDaddy and one just gives an error.

Oh, and that ubiquitous chat bot in the bottom right of the “publisher’s” website? That’s an instant red flag that you’re being prepped for slaughter.

The website’s streaming ribbon with an ostensible endorsement from the likes of the BBC, The Wall Street Journal, Esquire, The New York Times, NBC, Amazon, etc. – garbage.  That’s yet another glaring red flag that you have encountered a publishing scam, and are set to be slaughtered.  Trademark infringement!

Just look at these impressive logos!

Oh, and do you see that book cover for The Sea of Lost Souls by Donald Ennis? I can’t find that book anywhere on Amazon. Even Google brings up nothing. It’s not a real book!

These Type of Stats Are an Alarm Bell:

You’ll see these “counters” on most of the scam publisher websites but they all have different numbers, of course.

Normans doesn’t go so far as others in their attempt to ensnare you with fabricated stats. You’ll often see global awards (e.g., a Pulitzer) and misrepresentations regarding bestseller achievements (i.e., 150+ New York Times Bestsellers, or USA Today Readers’ Choice). Many Predators will even claim affiliation with venerated publishing houses such as Hachette Book Group USA, Random House, or Penguin. Normans? Just baseless and unsubstantiated stats designed to ensnare you, and slaughter your pocketbook.

The Proverbial Rabbit Hole!

While I had multiple windows open on my browser, getting screenshots from WhoIs, Facebook, the “publisher’s” website, the WayBack Machine, Google, where I was researching their address and phone number, and, of course, Amazon, look what I found to add to WritersWeekly’s publishing scam list:

Normans Publishing / normanspublishing.com

They actually have logos from two competitors (legitimate companies in the U.S.) on their website. That is very odd. They claim to be in San Francisco but the address doesn’t actually exist. According to Facebook, they’re in PAKISTAN. There are book covers on their site published by other companies before this website even existed. Two of them show as being published by BooxAI / booxai.com. That site redirects to Spines / Spine US / spines.com. That was an old website that was dead and for sale for years. It looks like the new company purchased it in 2024.

Spines.com also has covers published under the name BooxAI. There are NUMEROUS SCATHING 1-star reviews about Spines.com on TrustPilot. Their “U.S. address” appears to be a virtual office. According to Facebook, they changed their name from BooxAI to Spines US in 2024. Facebook also says they have page managers in Israel, Ukraine, Mauritius, Serbia, and others.

There are also countless complaints and 1-star reviews about Spines.com on the Better Business Bureau website.

And, the rabbit hole just keeps getting deeper! Spines.com has the same address and phone number as Velon Book Publishing / velonbookpublishing.com. That website is less than three months old. And, that one also has covers on its site for books published under the name BooxAI. Since there are SO many complaints about Spines.com online, it makes sense that they would start yet another website, under a completely different name.

I bet you’re thinking what we are! They’re all the same company!

Normans Publisher’s website contains the following baseless bunk:

Our Work

“We boast a clientele exceeding 500 delighted customers, encompassing Fortune 100 corporations. The overwhelming majority of our revenue stems from returning patrons, numerous of whom we’ve collaborated with for over a decade.” (Except, according to the Wayback Machine, they haven’t been in business for nearly that long!)

“Our History”

“Norman’s Publishing was founded in 1983 by Norman Anderson, an avid reader and passionate advocate for aspiring authors.”

But, wait! Remember that their website is only not even two years old!

This glaring Pakistani scam superbly represents everything that is wrong with print on demand publishing predators.

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JAMES M. WALSH, ESQ. is a former Navy JAGC officer and a recipient of the American Bar Association’s coveted LAMP Award for excellence in military legal assistance practice. A rolling stone, J.M. has globetrotted most of his adult life. After the military, J.M. pursued commercial real estate development, leasing, and asset management. He resides in Catania, Sicily. He spent almost twenty years in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania’s Luzerne, Erie & Lackawanna Counties. His handiwork as an editor and author is interspersed throughout this novel. Leo A. Murray fondly refers to J.M. as his collaborative, literary ‘Coach’ or ‘Lieutenant.’ Agnes claims that he has gypsy in his heart and rabbit in his feet.

James’ thriller, Maximum Impact, written with co-author Leo Murray, was published by Abuzz Press.

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