CaryPress: Authors Beware

There are unscrupulous folks out there who prey on the desire of authors to be published. Unfortunately, I fell prey to just such a company and hope that by sharing my experience I can save others from making a mistake like I did.

In 2014, I entered an online contest to have my book published by CaryPress. I didn’t win, but received an email inviting me to submit a full manuscript. I did so, and received an offer to publish my book, Denim & Diamonds. It felt like a dream come true.

And, it was, for a while. The process was so exciting. My contact sent me pictures of models and asked me to choose the one to be featured on the cover of my book. Then they set up a website where people could preorder my book. I was given the opportunity to order paperback copies of my book at a discounted price. Receiving that box of books was one of the most exciting events of my life.

I coordinated with CaryPress so that the book could be priced at a discount during times that I paid for promotions. I hired a publicist to run a virtual book tour featuring Denim & Diamonds, which included stops like this one on Under the Covers. To my knowledge, CaryPress never paid for any promotions. The contract with CaryPress stated that I would receive statements and royalty payments twice a year. Frankly, I was disappointed with sales – and didn’t understand how the book’s ranking on Amazon was decent, but that wasn’t translating to sales. I still don’t understand that. The last royalty payment I received was in early 2015. At the next statement date, I was told my sales didn’t meet their $50 threshold for payment. At the next statement date, I was told my sales didn’t meet their $100 threshold. There was no such threshold contemplated in the contract. I continued to occasionally request statements, but haven’t received a statement in years (and have never received any information about KU payments).

During that time, I kept writing and decided to publish my next book on my own. That book, Fatal Impulse, did quite well. My next book was released, Diamond in the Rough, and then my next, Fatal Obsession. Just recently, Finding Clarity was released (originally as part of a box set, Tales from Big Country). This is key – even if you get into a situation with a publisher that isn’t working out, keep writing! If you are to succeed as an author, you need to be continuing to write, no matter what drama you’re caught up in.

When you start talking to a publisher, I recommend that you do your due diligence. Check Absolute Write’s Watercooler and any other “writer beware” sites, such as the original “Writer Beware.” Look for reviews. Talk to other authors who have signed with that publisher. If you do post a review/warning, be professional. Stick to the facts, and do not allow emotions to color your review. I posted a review on the Watercooler, which I thought about long and hard before submitting. I simply stated that they were slow to pay royalties. This is a fairly common problem with small presses. At that time, I was willing to give them the benefit of the doubt.

I no longer give them the benefit of the doubt.

This past week, I was alerted to the fact that CaryPress had listed Denim & Diamonds on the home page of their website as having been ghostwritten by them. When you clicked on the book cover, it directed the viewer to CaryPress’s fiction page which again listed Denim & Diamonds as having been ghostwritten by them. I emailed CaryPress to request an updated statement, and to request they remove any reference to my book being ghostwritten by them. My email was polite and reasonable. I first contacted a couple other authors whose books were listed as having been ghost written because I wondered if my book had been listed accidentally. The two individuals I contacted stated that they had written their own books – they were not ghostwritten by CaryPress. Once I learned that fact, I filed a complaint with the BBB and sent out a few feelers to IP attorneys because ghostwriting is a huge problem in the publishing world right (take a peek at CopyPasteCris and you’ll see why) and I did not want to be a victim in this scenario. (When I checked yesterday, they had removed my book from their website, which was a huge relief.)

Yesterday, I woke up to a vitriolic, threatening email from someone purporting to represent CaryPress. It was appalling and unprofessional. Unlike anything I had ever received before.

I also received a response to my BBB complaint that doubled down on CaryPress’s defamation of me, claiming that I am blackmailing and harassing their employees. CaryPress claims that I demanded they promote my book. That is an outright lie, and I have provided the emails proving that to the BBB. I have not blackmailed anyone (I suspect this stems from the fact that CaryPress asked me to remove my Watercooler review, to not disparage them, and I proposed we settle for a sum of $500 instead of trying to go back and recreate reports on KENP reads since 2014 – I incorporated what they asked for in a mutual release, which is a common way to terminate a contract). I have not harassed anyone. In fact, I’ve gone out of my way to communicate with them in a reasonable, professional manner. At this point, I’m hopeful that they will agree to terminate the contract so I can get the rights back to my novel and move forward without the weight of CaryPress hanging around my neck.

I also want to encourage you to not fall into the trap of a “pay to publish” situation. Thankfully, I signed with CaryPress under a traditional contract. I did not pay them to publish my book, so I am only out the money that I spent to promote Denim & Diamonds. There is no need for you to pay to self-publish your book. I taught myself book formatting (I highly recommend Smashwords’ Style Guide, which is available free), and KDP makes it incredibly easy to self publish your book. However, I caution that you not rush the process. Before any of my books are published, they go through a rigorous process with my critique group (which consists of a publicist, a librarian, a teacher and a scientist), plus I hire a professional editor. You want your book to be the best it can be.

I wish you the best in your publishing journey! Please, if you’ve had any experiences in your publishing journey that you’d like to share with others, add your comment below. Together, we can support each other and build each other up.