Self-Publishing Traps Are Sucking Authors Dry

Hi, everyone. I recently made a Facebook post about self-publishing companies that are scamming independent authors out of their hard-earned money. These companies offer self-publishing packages. These packages are dressed up to look glamorous to new authors. However, these “special features” are not worth the money that you are spending. I am going to pick apart some of the features show you to show you the actual cost. I’m also going to show you the complaints that people are making about these companies. A little research goes a long way. The stuff I have found online is horrifying.

Who They Are

First things first. Who am I talking about? Recently, a friend came to me to tell me that she had been scammed out of $3,000 by a company called Xlibris. My heart nearly stopped at that number. The company made all kinds of promises they didn’t keep and tried to publish her unformatted manuscript. I reformatted it for her and helped her get it published properly through Amazon and began immediately looking into the company. This is what I found. The company operates under 17 different names. It’s easier to scam people if some names are taking longer to get tarnished, right? Here are the names:

Abbott Press

Author Learning Center

AuthorHouse LLC

Balboa Press

Booktango

Content Distributors LLC

Inspiring Voices

iUniverse, LLC

LifeRich Publishing

Palibrio

Partridge Africa

Partridge India

Partridge Singapore

Responder Media

Trafford Publishing, LLC

Westbow Press

Xlibris, LLC

What They Do… or Don’t Do

I wouldn’t be surprised if there are more out there. If you know of one, leave a comment, and I’ll add it to the list. I decided to start with A and check out the website of Abbott Press. This is what you get for $3,000.

They offer an ISBN assignment. Sounds magical right? You can get an ISBN for free. If you want to name your own fancy publishing name, you can buy one from Createspace for $10.

They offer volume discounts for authors, B&W interior, color cover, Amazon “look inside”, U.S Copyright protections, worldwide distribution including Barnes & Noble, and some other stuff that sounds amazing if you’re new and don’t know what you’re doing. All of that stuff is FREE and automatic when you publish through Amazon’s Createspace.

So what do they do that you would actually have to pay for? A book cover and formatting. A book cover and formatting is not worth $3,000. They buy a stock photo for a couple bucks and put your book title on it. That’s something anyone with Photoshop can do. If you don’t know how, you can ask someone. If you want a more creative cover, you can buy one from dozens of people for anywhere from $50 to $200. Formatting is also something that you can get from $50 to $200. On top of it all, from what I saw from my friend’s book, they don’t format it. All they did was give her the book cover and a headache.

So let’s say you’re paying top dollar for these 2 services. You’ve spent $400. So where is the other $2,600 going? In their pockets. As an indie author, how long do you think it could take to make $2,000 off of your book? It depends. You could do it in a year, or you could break even in a few years. Either option is terrible.

I looked over some e-mails that an author received from this company. The company is claiming to be an arm of Panguin/Random house. That’s obviously not true. A legitimate publisher would never condone something like this. In fact, a friend of mine who is signed with Random House has taken the e-mails to them, so hopefully they will be able to help shut them down.

Real Stories From Authors

So what are other authors saying about their experiences?

I remember reading one account of an author saying that after selling hundreds of books, he received a check 6 months later for $2. Here are some other accounts that I have screen shotted from various websites.

These are about Xlibris:

Yes, you read that right. 5 THOUSAND bucks for a failed marketing package.

Here is a screen shot of iUniverse on a scam site, which of course, is another arm on the same body.

$160 THOUSAND. They have scammed $160k from authors, all of which has gone unresolved.

This last one is a post from an author who used Balboa Press. They offer a package to illustrate children’s books, but they apparently draw whatever the f*ck they want to.

Never ever ever EVER hand over thousands of dollars and your manuscript. One Google search showed me hundreds of scam complaints regarding these companies. I know how it feels to be anxious to publish a book. I was there recently. You can do it yourself. You don’t need any company to self-publish a book. There are so many resources out there offering free and low-cost help getting the book ready. When it comes time to publish, there are thousands of indie authors who will help if you’re confused about part of the process. Too many authors have fallen victim to these companies and it needs to end now. Pass this around, tell your friends, and keep indie authors away from these vultures.

The Whistleblower

I was just about to hit publish when I found something else. An ex-employee of these people decided to speak out against them. This might be my favorite piece of information.