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Expert
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Location: Somewhere Over the Rainbow... | I have been hearing about publishng companies who are scams. I would like to put a reminder out there to check publishing companies before signing into a contract at Preditors and Editors. A few publishing companies that seem to be coming up over and over are Publish America and Authorhouse/Iuniverse, neither of which Preditors and Editors reoommends. Also, be sure to check out agents here. If they charge anythning up front, run the other way. Please feel free to add the names of any publishing companies or agents that you feel others should watch out for. |
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Expert
Posts: 3342
Location: San Diego, California | For many more resources and a method for protecting yourself, read my FREE article "Avoid Scams ", available from the Writing Help page my website. Dozens of scummy scamsters exist in the writing world.
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Expert
Posts: 2086
| In addition to Preditors and Editors, Writers Beware is an excellent source of information.
http://www.sfwa.org/Beware/ |
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Expert
Posts: 3861
Location: Somewhere Over the Rainbow... | Thank you, Georganna and JR. |
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Member
Posts: 13
| Wow. Just found this thread. I was asking on another thread about Writer's Literary Agency.... that turns out is a SCAM. I have not sent them anything, but their response email just seemed fishy to me. So, I wanted to do more research before actually sending anything and I found out they are FAKE.
http://66.218.69.11/search/cache?ei=UTF-8&p=Writers%27+Literary...
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Expert
Posts: 3861
Location: Somewhere Over the Rainbow... | Crayon:
Research is important. They are indeed one to avoid. |
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Veteran
Posts: 173
| Susan, you are right, having submitted to a disreputable literary agency listed in the 2009 Writer's Market
and elsewhere. It was so enthusiastic about my work. However, after only two contacts, this boiler plate
outfit wanted money for a critique as well as a signed contract. Crayon posted a warning on the agency
on October 2.
For starters, my advise is to look up an agent or publisher by name with "- complaints" after the name.
Edited by George 2008-12-15 11:17 PM
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Member
Posts: 7
| someone...pretty please! point me in the right direction of a wonderful agent and let me know. I need an agent and I have tons of stories and poems, but no where to take them. I like in Nebraska. HELLLLLP! |
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Expert
Posts: 2114
Location: Tinian...a tiny isle in the middle of the farthest | no one can [or will] give you a specific agent... if you had a book, you could email me, and i'd be glad to send you a slew of listings, from which you can choose the ones that seem your book's best bet...
but if all you have are short stories and poems, agents don't represent short works, unless the author is already a book client... all you can do is submit that stuff to magazines and hope some will be accepted...
writer's digest puts out an annual edition of 'writers market' and 'poet's market' that list magazine venues, as well as having an online version you can subscribe to... and here's another good place [a free one] to find magazines/journals that fit your work: www.duotrope.com
love and hugs, maia |
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Regular
Posts: 63
| Good thing I read this post. So iUniverse isn't recommended? What self publishing companies do you recommend? |
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Expert
Posts: 2114
Location: Tinian...a tiny isle in the middle of the farthest | i'm not up on the self-publishing companies, so i'll let others give you info on which are ok and which not... |
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Expert
Posts: 2086
| You might start a thread asking about self-publishing companies. There are members who know about self-publishing, but I'm not among them. |
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Member
Posts: 21
| Interesting information, I'll need to keep this in mind. |
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Member
Posts: 6
| i had read something about not a lot of publishers wanting to take on first time authors w/o agents but then i found a few that do but one in particular i was a little shaky about but still requested their info. anyhoo, short story shorter, i see that they are on the Preditors and Editors not recommended list. so i'm sending my "thanks for the heads up" with that site. |
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Member
Posts: 9
| Outskirts Press is very professional to work with, especially insofar as their ongoing marketing support and the quality of their products. |
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Member
Posts: 6
| Hi!
If you want to verify the authenticity of your publisher, you may check the Better Business Bureau's website. It's every consumers watch dog over scams. Here's a link to their website: http://www.bbb.org/
Get more interesting tips and articles from <a href=" http://www.facebook.com/pages/Book-Marketing-Services-BookWhirlcom/... Bookwhirl.com</a> Facebook Fan Page, and learn more about the dynamics of marketing self-published books, Author Marketing Services, and <a href="http://www.bookwhirl.com">Book Marketing Services</a>. |
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Expert
Posts: 6932
| You can avoid pretty much every scam out there by saying NO to anyone who asks for money. Money should always flow to the writer. No exceptions. Anyone who says differently is after your money. |
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Member
Posts: 6
| How do you asses if a certain company or agent is a scam? I just think that there are companies who are doing good on their book publishing and marketing business. You just have to research thoroughly. If you want to verify one company, you can simply log in to www.bbb.org
Get more interesting tips and articles from " target="_blank" title="http://www.facebook.com/pages/Book-Marketing-Services-BookWhirlcom/114852370417">">http://www.facebook.com/pages/Book-Marketing-Services-BookWhirlcom/... Bookwhirl.com Facebook Fan Page, and learn more about the dynamics of marketing self-published books, Author Marketing Services, and Book Marketing Services. |
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Expert
Posts: 2114
Location: Tinian...a tiny isle in the middle of the farthest | the best place to start is at:
http://www.invirtuo.cc/prededitors/ |
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Member
Posts: 7
| iUniverse is a legit self-publishing company. Authorhouse has just acquired iUniverse and other self-publishing companies Trafford and Xlibris. Those who want to self-publish their book should look for a self-publishing company that has accreditation with the Better Business Bureau (BBB). That way, you are assured you are not getting into a scam or dont get ripped off. I should know, my sister has published with Xlibris and she was very pleased with the results.
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Expert
Posts: 2114
Location: Tinian...a tiny isle in the middle of the farthest | here are the p&e listings for those companies:
iUniverse: Vanity and self-publisher service. A division of Author Solutions.
Xlibris Corporation: "an on-demand publishing services company which makes it possible for everyone to publish and for every book to remain in print forever." A division of Author Solutions.
AuthorHouse (formerly 1st Books): Not recommended. A vanity publisher. A division of Author Solutions.
5/17/06 - If you don't know by now, AuthorHouse lost a libel suit in court. It seems that the courts and jury decided that a publisher couldn't disavow itself of what it published. In other words, AuthorHouse should have vetted what it accepted before publishing. Now they owe several hundred thousand dollars and may have to pay even more in punitive damages.
Author Solutions: A company that owns vanity imprints AuthorHouse, iUniverse, Trafford Publishing, and Xlibris. |
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Member
Posts: 5
| I worked with a publisher that was really good and I trust them. Agreka Books at www.utahbooks.com check thyem out. The owner is very helpful. |
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Member
Posts: 5
| I worked with a publisher that was really good and I trust them. Agreka Books at www.utahbooks.com check thyem out. The owner is very helpful. |
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Expert
Posts: 2114
Location: Tinian...a tiny isle in the middle of the farthest | always check any agent or publisher out at p&e first... then look over every bit of their sites and don't miss any small print... finally, google for feedback on them...
agreka seems to be an anti-polygamy mormon press, though they're based in arizona, not utah [AZ probably has the most mormon enclaves outside of UT]...
oddly enough, the site doesn't seem to include any info or guidelines on submitting mss... |
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Expert
Posts: 3342
Location: San Diego, California | Please don't think that being listed with a Better Business Bureau is a sign of accreditation. It most certainly is not. Just about any business can join and display the logo. It is a business owner's association. Just because there is not a complaint file on a business yet doesn't mean it is one you want to work with. The company may have just joined, just begun operations, or annoys customers below the level of filing complaints. (It's a hassle).
You might want to get a copy of Mark Levine's very good book, "The Fine Print of Self-Publishing". Be sure to get the most recent edition.
Self publishing is great for fun, for a hobby or to buy gifts to give--unless your book is nonfiction and part of an overall business strategy. I can recommend Amazon's CreateSpace.com and probably BookSurge.com, too (another arm of Amazon offering more services). |
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Reminder: Publishing and Agent Scams
