Hello. I am certain there are many authors on Stage32, and while the ratio of traditionally published to self-published is unknown, I do surmise my post may apply to both.
I self-published three novels starting in Spring of 2017. I was exposed to "predators" and learned a bitter lesson around October 2018, and since then I have been plagued by them. By the way, for those of you who do not know, your contact information is shared by the Library of Congress, when you register your work.
At first the calls were about taking on my work and publishing it - thing is, the caller/firm wanted to do the very same thing I had already done, and charge me over a thousand dollars for it - this was not a traditional publisher/agent/literary manager/press or anything...it was a firm/house claiming to work for authors (there is a clever word play throughout, with the identity of the firm mixed in.)
Predators evolved into so-called presses looking to show off your work at trade shows, only thing is you have to spend upwards of four-thousand dollars. That further evolved into screenwriting services, with every answer you can think about to make you feel inadequate, and in need of their service - kinda like someone who constantly says their neighbor/s are better at anything you can do, without providing a service.
What really annoys me is these predators now claim to represent well known directors and producers, and spin a tale so real, a non-Stage32 user may fall for it. A particular caller claimed to represent a producer who loves my work (poster with the neighbors, you will be happy to know no one loved my work)...it just so happened the producer in question made mushy lovey smoochy films; my books and pilot are dark sci-fi/fantasy. After some prodding, the so-called firm was proven to be a fraud.
My point to all this, creatives love to share their vision/work/concept/story. As long as there are innocents out there, there will be predators and those who would bleed you dry for a dollar. Thank you for letting me ramble on. Best to all.
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Yes Sir Jeff E. Gregory ... It is a shame how the dishonest preying on the unsuspecting is a welcomed venture nowadays. To everyone out there - no matter how credible a post, email, or offer sounds, read between the lines, and you will find the BS lurking in the shadows. Nothing is guaranteed.
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Thanks for the heads up Abdur Mohammed Everbody wants to be rich but not everybody is willing to work for it. They'd rather take advantage of other people's hard work. Always do your due diligence in everything. Onward and upward.
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Big hug. So sorry that happened to you. Chin up and keep creating and let the haters fall behind you!
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I self published last year and have had some success on Amazon but thankfully none of these predators have found me I’ll be ready when they do! Thank you
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I'm so sorry that happened to you. Next time, see me. In my experience, self-published books (pure self-publishing when you do not relinquish control to a print on demand company, control and own the content) can be profitable, professional, and do more than a trad, who may or may not give you 10 or 5 % royalties on your book and keep it's ownership of your content in perpetuity. I actually find that my traditional books are pirated online more than my self-published books. And I made a hellova lot more money self-publishing, as did all the authors I worked with. Control is EVERYTHING in book publishing.
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Thanks for sharing this with the community, Abdur.
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If it sounds too good to be true, it usually is... I had a couple of these scammers (lets call them what they are) contact me. Fortunately, I'm well versed in the types of ruses these scum utilise, so don't fall for their scams. I have noticed they're becoming very sophisticated of late. Be wary of anyone bearing "gifts".
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I'm very grateful for the information you have shared. Same thing has happened to me. Now I'm more careful. And you are telling the truth, there are fake companies out there pretending to represent big time Directors and Producers. Then they ask you to put in some money for the film production. And they even give you contracts. It's just better to make full investigations first and try using more legitimate platforms to promote your work.
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I"ve been a published author for over a decade, both traditionally and indie, and the main rule of publishing is that money flows TO the author, not from. Anything else and you run.
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Oh I do feel the pain of that. Have been approached by endless people who're like "Oh, we're a reputable great publishing agency, just pay us 4k and we'll get it out there", there were endless others. And for a young author that seeks a good representation and making income - that's like a salt in the wound. Not having funds to market it well or throw it out there well, yet having these people say the "pay us, we'll make it big", it's like shoving in your face ideas that "well, might be worth it", but it just does not work.
Maybe people with some funds can go about it and it actually works... But most of the times it just causes excessive anxiety and doubts.
Eh, hope we all have the recognition for our writing that we really deserve.
So I do feel you there, with this post.
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I was once spammed by a "widow from Africa" on Stage 32. Pulled a James Veitch on her/him and kept that scammer busy for a month and a day, and while it was LOADS of fun, it doesn't bode well for the website. In their defense, they did delete the scammer right after she/he contacted me. Remember to be discerning, people! We're in an industry where predators abound, and Harvey Weinstein wasn't the only rat. "Behold, I am sending out out as sheep among wolves, so be as shrewd as snakes and innocent as doves". -Mt. 10:16.
Hi Mr. & Mrs. Wally Wu, in the past I used draft2digital in conjunction with amazon. It has been a while now since I moved exclusively to amazon. I intend to remove all novels from circulation, thus the reason to narrow where I have the products.
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+Abdur Mohammed. I'm planning on self-publishing soon with my first epic fantasy novel, (very excited!), but this is my first excursion into self-publishing, so I appreciate the source! Any other tips for a first-timer?
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Abdur Mohammed I have my book on Amazon. Am embarrassed to say I never heard of draft2digital but it looks worth pursuing. May I ask why you abandoned that platform? William Zwart go to Kindle Direct Publishing for self-publishing. They guide you through the process, very straightforward.
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William Zwart - spend the money for a professional cover, and make sure you get a quality editor and proofreader to clean your manuscript up. You need a tight, compelling blurb too. In the very crowded book market, a book needs to stand out to get noticed. If it looks like someone's homemade project, it'll get passed over pretty quickly.
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+Kristen Painter. Thanks so much, Kristen! I'll certainly take your advice!
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@Abdur how do you remove books from circulation for instance on Amazon and is it an easy process.
Hi William, congratulations and best of luck to you. A valuable tip - never skip the professional editor - you can slide with a self-made cover (only for so long really)...but professional editing is a must. Cheers.
Hey Ian, I found that KDP used ingram to distribute content, so it seemed to make sense, to me anyway, to keep it all streamlined and use one service vs multiple.
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hey Jackie, I have not done the removal from amazon yet, but I assume it will involve contacting the service reps. As for the rest of platforms, it was simply using the remove feature; I did not close my account as I wanted to monitor it for a few months after.
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I got this weird, random text message the other day. I have no idea who sent it or how they got my number, but I'm a much-published writer. I write my own novels, and people pay me to publish them. I've never seen such a strange pitch to a professional writer.
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I received something like that as well. I passed!
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I was almost tempted to respond just I could see what the scam is, but I decided that life's too short.