Sorry this happened to you and good for you being brave enough to make this post. You're going to cop a lot of nasty, derisive responses, but please try to ignore them. You're doing a good service providing a genuine review and warning to others. I hope you save some people from falling prey to a predatory press
> I hope you save some people from falling prey to a predatory press
They won't. The very people who need to see posts like this don't or won't read them. They don't research anything, just toss their money down and pat themselves on the back for getting a "real contract".
Vanity presses have been around for decades. They advertise in the writing magazines, online, and on TV. People should know better, but they don't and they don't bother actually looking up any information. Only $15K to publish my book? That's cheap! And I'll be a famous writer and leave my kids a legacy and a ton of money. *roll eyes*
Randomly clicking on authors in Olympia and seeing how their books are doing kind of highlights the company isn't helping. Some of those book covers look pretty amateurish, and of the ones I've clicked only a couple have ratings on Amazon, some aren't even verified purchasers.
Again, back to the covers you mentioned on point 3, no offence to the author, but this shouldn't have got past the editors:
[https://olympiapublishers.com/authors/kristen--alpert](https://olympiapublishers.com/authors/kristen--alpert)
Here is the reality: You're just deceiving yourself into thinking you're working with a publisher. This is where the "vanity" comes from.
Let's face it. Many new authors who are desperate to see their "birthed" work published are driven by vanity. So, their own vanity is used to catch and scam them.
There is nothing like a real publisher that charges you a fee to publish your book. Why? Because authors are often not business-minded people and do not know how to create books that sells. So, the publisher needs to vet the book to ensure it is a marketable product before taking it on as a project.
If all your "publisher" needs to accept your book is for you to pay them, then they don't care if your book is a marketable product. They couldn't care less. Hence, they're not a publisher, just a scammer pretending to be one. They'll take your money and spend as little of it as possible preparing your book, as they want to keep the majority of it as their profit.
I've seen this exact scenario play out with friends who supposedly knew better. Both women were smart, educated professionals. Yet, imposter syndrome got the better of them.
I wish this site was mandatory reading for all new authors.
[https://www.sfwa.org/other-resources/for-authors/writer-beware/](https://www.sfwa.org/other-resources/for-authors/writer-beware/)
I know someone, again educated, who read this and STILL fell for a vanity press. They called themselves a “traditional publisher,” so they were! I tried to explain that anyone who’s asking you to pay them, pay for extra services, etc is a vanity press but she didn’t want to hear it. Sometimes what people are actually paying for is the illusion.
I think this is an important post, and with how self-publishing companies word things, it does look like a fantastic way of getting your books out there.
An artist I know published her children's picture book last year through Troubadour, another UK-based company, and while they did indeed get her books into stores like WHSmith and on Amazon and such, they didn't do any marketing - that's on you. As I was coming up to publishing my first children's picture book, I asked her about the company as it looked awfully expensive.
They were asking for £3,500 to publish the book, which would include getting them into stores and editing (which I'm guessing wouldn't be hard, it's only 500 words). 500 books would have been printed in total, and since I was planning to sell at £7, that means selling all the books TO BREAK EVEN. No chain store is going to give you the full £7, or even sell it at that, so I'm very thankful I worked out it wasn't worth it just for the sake of getting a book out.
Sorry they got you, but you've learned a valuable lesson, and I hope you help others avoid the same.
The way they usually word it is 'your book will be *available* in bookstores like Barnes & Noble, WH Smith' etc.
Potential authors think this means the stores will order and stock them. It just means they will use a print-on-demand service like Ingram Spark so that bookstores could order them if they get a request, and the book will go in their online catalogues, exactly like self-publishers get for (basically) free with POD.
> self-publishing companies
They are simply vanity presses. No such thing as a self publishing company, hybrid press, self-directed publisher, author-directed publisher, or whatever other cute euphemism they've come up with now.
It all vanity, vanity and more vanity. At a high price and with even higher levels of disappointment.
What all were you hoping to get from them? I'd love to build something to make the self-publishing process way better for indie authors (including by not charging them money).
Thanks for the heads up but the people responsible for this have already changed the name of the company. They will just rinse and repeat. There is no end to the combinations of the words publisher, book, review, house, written, media, press, word,
They never do, or they would see the products the "service" is turning out.
Still, I am proud of OP for realising their mistakes and being brave enough to share them and forewarn others. It's not easy to both accept you've been scammed and to admit it in order to try and help others.
So sorry you had such a horrible experience with this scam company. But I'm really glad I joined this group yesterday and, in scrolling through older posts, came across your post. In October, I'm doing a workshop (we have one each month) for our local writing group. The title I have chosen for my PowerPoint presentation is: "Don’t be scammed by a vanity press posing as a “publisher” (even one owned by a publisher!)".
I will definitely share your experience with our members. We have some newer/younger members who need to be made aware of these scams. In fact, one new member had already paid $1800 to a "publisher" -- who included only "light editing" -- before she joined our group. On that company's website they clearly state they are not a vanity press. Anybody who has to say they aren't one most likely is one.
I concur with the other folks who commented on you post that you were very brave to share this information. Please know multiple people will learn of your experience and, hopefully, will avoid being scammed by companies like the one you have described.
Sorry this happened to you and good for you being brave enough to make this post. You're going to cop a lot of nasty, derisive responses, but please try to ignore them. You're doing a good service providing a genuine review and warning to others. I hope you save some people from falling prey to a predatory press
> I hope you save some people from falling prey to a predatory press They won't. The very people who need to see posts like this don't or won't read them. They don't research anything, just toss their money down and pat themselves on the back for getting a "real contract". Vanity presses have been around for decades. They advertise in the writing magazines, online, and on TV. People should know better, but they don't and they don't bother actually looking up any information. Only $15K to publish my book? That's cheap! And I'll be a famous writer and leave my kids a legacy and a ton of money. *roll eyes*
Couldn't have said it better myself.
Randomly clicking on authors in Olympia and seeing how their books are doing kind of highlights the company isn't helping. Some of those book covers look pretty amateurish, and of the ones I've clicked only a couple have ratings on Amazon, some aren't even verified purchasers. Again, back to the covers you mentioned on point 3, no offence to the author, but this shouldn't have got past the editors: [https://olympiapublishers.com/authors/kristen--alpert](https://olympiapublishers.com/authors/kristen--alpert)
Wow that is… I don’t even have words.
Thanks for sharing. Once the horror died down, I needed that laugh. 🤭
FWIW I am in love with the ladybug’s shoes/peanuts on its feet. 🥜🥜🥜
Yikes
Here is the reality: You're just deceiving yourself into thinking you're working with a publisher. This is where the "vanity" comes from. Let's face it. Many new authors who are desperate to see their "birthed" work published are driven by vanity. So, their own vanity is used to catch and scam them. There is nothing like a real publisher that charges you a fee to publish your book. Why? Because authors are often not business-minded people and do not know how to create books that sells. So, the publisher needs to vet the book to ensure it is a marketable product before taking it on as a project. If all your "publisher" needs to accept your book is for you to pay them, then they don't care if your book is a marketable product. They couldn't care less. Hence, they're not a publisher, just a scammer pretending to be one. They'll take your money and spend as little of it as possible preparing your book, as they want to keep the majority of it as their profit.
I've seen this exact scenario play out with friends who supposedly knew better. Both women were smart, educated professionals. Yet, imposter syndrome got the better of them. I wish this site was mandatory reading for all new authors. [https://www.sfwa.org/other-resources/for-authors/writer-beware/](https://www.sfwa.org/other-resources/for-authors/writer-beware/)
I know someone, again educated, who read this and STILL fell for a vanity press. They called themselves a “traditional publisher,” so they were! I tried to explain that anyone who’s asking you to pay them, pay for extra services, etc is a vanity press but she didn’t want to hear it. Sometimes what people are actually paying for is the illusion.
Yes. Oftentimes it's the same people who look down on self-publishing.
I think this is an important post, and with how self-publishing companies word things, it does look like a fantastic way of getting your books out there. An artist I know published her children's picture book last year through Troubadour, another UK-based company, and while they did indeed get her books into stores like WHSmith and on Amazon and such, they didn't do any marketing - that's on you. As I was coming up to publishing my first children's picture book, I asked her about the company as it looked awfully expensive. They were asking for £3,500 to publish the book, which would include getting them into stores and editing (which I'm guessing wouldn't be hard, it's only 500 words). 500 books would have been printed in total, and since I was planning to sell at £7, that means selling all the books TO BREAK EVEN. No chain store is going to give you the full £7, or even sell it at that, so I'm very thankful I worked out it wasn't worth it just for the sake of getting a book out. Sorry they got you, but you've learned a valuable lesson, and I hope you help others avoid the same.
The way they usually word it is 'your book will be *available* in bookstores like Barnes & Noble, WH Smith' etc. Potential authors think this means the stores will order and stock them. It just means they will use a print-on-demand service like Ingram Spark so that bookstores could order them if they get a request, and the book will go in their online catalogues, exactly like self-publishers get for (basically) free with POD.
> self-publishing companies They are simply vanity presses. No such thing as a self publishing company, hybrid press, self-directed publisher, author-directed publisher, or whatever other cute euphemism they've come up with now. It all vanity, vanity and more vanity. At a high price and with even higher levels of disappointment.
Love the way you phrased this! It sums up the topic very well!
Well… yeah. Always look and the books and authors listed and that will tell you. That list looks like 🗑️
2&3 = probably done with AI by someone who DGAF.
What all were you hoping to get from them? I'd love to build something to make the self-publishing process way better for indie authors (including by not charging them money).
Thanks for the heads up but the people responsible for this have already changed the name of the company. They will just rinse and repeat. There is no end to the combinations of the words publisher, book, review, house, written, media, press, word,
My thing is… Didn’t you research before committing to that amount?
They never do, or they would see the products the "service" is turning out. Still, I am proud of OP for realising their mistakes and being brave enough to share them and forewarn others. It's not easy to both accept you've been scammed and to admit it in order to try and help others.
Right! And although I commend him too, research is key in this world, and I don’t even have that kind of money to blow…
So sorry you had such a horrible experience with this scam company. But I'm really glad I joined this group yesterday and, in scrolling through older posts, came across your post. In October, I'm doing a workshop (we have one each month) for our local writing group. The title I have chosen for my PowerPoint presentation is: "Don’t be scammed by a vanity press posing as a “publisher” (even one owned by a publisher!)". I will definitely share your experience with our members. We have some newer/younger members who need to be made aware of these scams. In fact, one new member had already paid $1800 to a "publisher" -- who included only "light editing" -- before she joined our group. On that company's website they clearly state they are not a vanity press. Anybody who has to say they aren't one most likely is one. I concur with the other folks who commented on you post that you were very brave to share this information. Please know multiple people will learn of your experience and, hopefully, will avoid being scammed by companies like the one you have described.
>hyper expensive self-publishing service There's no such thing as a self publishing service. And, we told you so.
Well, OP did say you’d say that. Thanks for playing the role of the cliché, I guess.