There are lots of scam publishing companies out there charging thousands of dollars for overpriced publishing packages, tricking authors into signing up for expensive and ineffective public relations services, and pressuring them to buy enough copies of their book to fill up a garage.
Despite all that investment in their “author career,” the book never sells more than a few copies to family and friends. Please don’t fall for these predatory publishing schemes.
Author and friend Isabella Maldonado recently sent me a link to a press release about a book publishing scam. She knows that, as a former economic crime and fraud investigator turned author, I’m always interested in learning about schemes that target writers.
In this successful federal investigation, the FBI and the U.S. Postal Inspection Service worked together to gather the evidence to charge three people for defrauding elderly authors across the United States by convincing the victims that publishers and filmmakers wanted to turn their books into blockbusters — but only if they paid some fees first. (Read more here: Three Indicted and Internet Domain Seized in $44 Million Nationwide Book Publishing Scam Targeting Elderly Authors)
It’s understandable why older aspiring authors are victims of these publishing scams. After busy lives building their careers and families, they now have time to write their memoirs or that novel they’ve been dreaming about for years.
However, once their work-in-progress is finished, these not-yet-published authors aren’t sure about the next step. Somehow, scammers can smell the desperation of an author who’s been trying without success to find someone to publish their book.
Although a few publishers accept unagented works, the biggest hurdle to traditional publishing is finding a literary agent to represent your work. It’s a crap shoot. Run away from those charging fees. That’s a clear sign they’re not legit. There are reputable full service company where you pay them to help you publish your book, but please be careful. Ensure costs are itemized and books are available on demand. Or you can act as your own general contractor and hire professionals to assist you with developmental and copy editing, book cover design, and interior formatting and self publish your book.
To protect yourself from publishing scams, fake literary agencies, and bad practices, I suggest subscribing to sites like Writer Beware®.
Good luck and be careful out there!
Book lovers should listen to FBI Retired Case File Review episode 312: John Ouellet – Bibliomania Book Bandit, Stephen Blumberg
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