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Problem with an editor -- advice?
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Thomas
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Jul 10, 2013 07:42AM
I wonder if anyone out there has had any contact with Jennifer (Jenny) Nolan in Manchester, UK. She advertises her editing services on Goodreads (and many other places). After providing a sample edit from my book, we came to an agreement for a full edit. She took my money and now refuses to communicate. I wonder if something has happened to her or if I have been scammed.
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Never heard the name before but then I don't know everyone who lives in Manchester...How long has this non communication been going on? What evidence of the agreements you made with her do you have (email trail, for example)? Did she provide an estimate for the completion time for the job? What about contact details other than an email address (which can be easily dumped, unlike a phone number or home address)?
Chances are she has just been busy, though professional conduct for a freelancer in that situation should be to contact those she has contracts with to advise them of any change in completion time. It is just common courtesy more than anything to keep in contact with all clients.
If you think she has scammed you, and have attempted bonafide communications through as many means as you have available, your next step may well have to be to the small claims court. Here is where the evidence of your agreement becomes important. Through them you can sue for the return of your money. If she then refuses to engage in that process, I believe there are harsher processes that can be used... However, if she is genuinely concerned over her reputation as an editor, I suspect she will either be in touch soon or will respond to the legal process either by repaying the money or actually doing the work...
I've never heard of her, but why don't you try having some friends approach her as if they want to hire her and see whether they get a reply? At least you might find out whether she's still in business. After that, though, I'm not sure what you can do. Sorry I can't be of more help. I wish you luck.
She's on Facebook, why don't you ask her the question on her public wall?
Facebook. Thanks James--although I am not very adept at using it, I will try. CMJ, that idea has occurred to me, and I intend to use that tactic. I've got someone here who is willing. DA, the non-communication has been well over a month. I've saved the few emails I received, the last being a month ago. I found three phone numbers for her and tried all three. Two are unassigned numbers and the third makes no sense as a Manchester number. Small claims? I'm in the US and imagine that I'd have to file locally, i.e., in Manchester. I don't imagine I'll see my money or my edit, but she needs to be called out. I want the world to know that she must be avoided.
I don't think it matters where you are based... You should be able to raise a complaint for non delivery of services and get a claim in. Though no idea how much it will cost you in lawyers and court fees... It is certainly worth getting advice on this from someone who knows these processes and seeing if it is worthwhile raising a claim.As for the phone number, if the number does not have an 0161 code (+44161 for international) then no, it is not a Manchester number but it could also be any one of the suburbs of the city which can have different codes. For example, Bury is 01798, Bolton is 01204, Blackburn is 01254 and so on. All of these are close enough to Manchester that someone might say they lived in Manchester to save confusing a foreigner (I say I live in Manchester most of the time, even though my local council is actually Bury...). The fact that Bury and Bolton are considered part of the county of Greater Manchester does not help here (Blackburn is in Lancashire, I think, so not part of 'Manchester').
I'd also consider posting to Preditors and Editors and Writers Beware about this story, and you may find other people who have had the same problem with her.
Here's another idea, but keep possible repercussions in mind, Thomas: You said she advertises in many places. If it turns out that she's scammed you, can you post what she's done in those same places, with documentation available on request--and perhaps after advising her that you plan to do that if she doesn't respond? Again, be wary of bringing down repercussions on your head.
C.M.J. wrote: "I've never heard of her, but why don't you try having some friends approach her as if they want to hire her and see whether they get a reply? At least you might find out whether she's still in busi..."Good idea!
James wrote: "She's on Facebook, why don't you ask her the question on her public wall?"Love that idea!
If you used a credit card, contact the fraud department of said card - perhaps they will get your money back for you.
Thanks all. Used Paypal, but I recently learned that their money-back guarantee expires after 45 days. I fully intend to go to the various sites where she advertises and post warnings/information. I had forgotten about Predators and Eitors--I'll go there for sure!
I wish you luck, Thomas. I have been taken in by many scams since I've been publishing my books. I feel for you!
http://www.facebook.com/pages/Jennife...She has the wall function turned off so just click comment on one of her posts and ask.
I hope you didn't pay too much. She's all over social media so it won't be hard to spread the word if she has ripped you off.
Two hours ago she posted the following:
"Once I have sent an edit to a client FOUR times and double-checked email addresses it really isn't my fault - I am now awaiting a postal address to send the hard copy which is going to cost me more time and money. Some people are unbelievable! I think I'm going to have to be more careful which clients I take on."
So perhaps you're getting somewhere with her.
It would appear that she has blocked me from her FB page. When I click on her page, it just bounces me back to my own FB page. But she's on Etsy, LinkedIn, etc. and I plan to post notices everywhere. I think it's now pretty clear that she's a scammer.
Want me to post something there for you??
Sure. But may I see what you have in mind first?
Something along the lines of -
'Just a heads to people considering the service - I know of another author who has been scammed by this person and has not received their money back OR their edit'
I would let you know if I ended up getting blocked from the page etc.
'Just a heads to people considering the service - I know of another author who has been scammed by this person and has not received their money back OR their edit'
I would let you know if I ended up getting blocked from the page etc.
I don't see anything coming up on Facebook under pages for a Jennifer Nolan. It would seem the page has been taken down, which is why the link bounced you back to your own page.
Josiah--sounds good to me! But as Shaun added, she apparently took down her FB page. However, I suspect she'll be back under a new ID. There's a Jenni Nolan in Manchesterm UK (https://www.facebook.com/#!/jenni.nol...) but this may not be the same person. The page looks new--no activity. I'll keep track of it.
While not much help for this particular preditor, in the future it might be wise to go through a site like elance, which has an escrow-like function to hold money until both parties are satisfied.
wow...I do art for authors and I would never ever do this. How low can you go?
A suggestion for in the future perhaps think about paying a down payment of maybe 20% as good faith with a promise of full payment when the services are wrapped up and received?
People I just don't get. Sorry this happened to you.
A suggestion for in the future perhaps think about paying a down payment of maybe 20% as good faith with a promise of full payment when the services are wrapped up and received?
People I just don't get. Sorry this happened to you.
Love your suggestion Mick...tempting! Wish I were a hacker and could have all her web presences point to porn sites. She'd be cooked for sure!
I just read all the comments in this thread...wow! The name does sound familiar on here but I can't say I know of her. I'm sorry that happened to you Thomas. Have you been able to get someone else to edit your work?
Also, I noticed she herself has two published works...so the fact she possibly scams people with editing when she herself is a writer is also a tad bit sad..
Justin, I'm trying to find a good candidate via elance.com. We'll see what kind of responses I get. This whole mess has been a very frustrating and depressing experience, but I'll get through it.
This is a good reminder that we have to be careful and do research before hiring someone. And it's usually a good idea to not pay the full amount before services are complete and you are satisfied you'll be treated right.It's a shame it went too long for Paypay to handle. Don't hesitate to calmly and rationally report this person to "beware" sites. Absolute Write has a forum for things like this, and there are others.
Thank you, Sheila. I managed to persuade Preditors and Editors to list her as "not recommended, and I am about to put up a warning about her on Absolute Write. I need to find out if there are any other "beware" sites and post appropriately about this issue.
Hello, I am joining in to bump the topic up.I wish I had come across this earlier when I was researching editors, as it would have saved me a lot of frustration.
Jennifer Nolan is a scammer. She may talk a good game, and provide 'proof' of her abilities, but she is a lier. After coming to an agreement, and doing my best to research her, I sent her money for edits.
I have received no edits, nor any money back. She refuses to respond to email, and has stripped many of her public profiles of both her personal information and her claims of editing/proofreading services. She has locked her accounts to the general public:
https://twitter.com/jenninolan
http://jennifer-nolan.blogspot.com
http://abstractblueberrysky.blogspot.com
I have reported her to the UK Action Fraud site, and the IC3, along with paypal and the CC company.
If anyone else has been scammed by her, please report her!
Mod
I ask members to report to me if they see the name "Jennifer Nolan" on any group posts.
I will not allow her to list her services here.
The most important thing to do is to let the Goodreads staff know about it too so they can take the right measures on the site as a whole.
-Vincent (Moderator)
Weird, I did an edit for her myself over a year ago. Pretty sure it's the same person.
I had the same issue with an alleged UK editor. After months of waiting and hearing about her medical conditions, I gave up and wrote off the loss. I have kept all the correspondence on Emma Audsley but figured karma will take care of the rest.
This is terrible. It always stuns me to hear about unscrupulous people who scam authors this way. I have never worked with a freelance editor who wanted all the money up front. Some want a deposit, which is fine, and sometimes I ask a client for half up front and the balance when I finish the edit. Unfortunately, there are authors who refuse to pay for an edit, so I am burned. I've been lucky that only happened once.
This is the problem with the internet. I've been hacked, ripped off terrorized impersonated threatened harassed-- I could go on because of a story I wrote and the stand I take against Hacktavists" I suppose some of it was my Karma for running rebel in 1968 just as impressionable and seeing things purely in black and white. It's sad so many in my generation still do and they're 60 and 70. Gandalf is Grey my friends. It's such an American problem. But back to this, Facebook and Twitter ignored me and the press looked away. If these entities are going to profit mightily from our attention there should be a forensic body to address such problems! This is only Web 3.0. I shudder to think how bad Web 21.0 will be!
I had to pull the plug with my editor after waiting over 4 months. The final straw was finding out she still hasn't cracked my MS open, after promising she had started a month ago and edits were supposed to be finished before October. I am now back to the end of the wait list with a new editor :(
My Publisher is also my editor. Deana Driver has been a journalist for over 30 years and quite by chance was asked to write a book about a co-operative business that has been very successful. This opened a new door for her, not only in writing, but in editing too. She's very good and very honest. I warn you, you may not like everything she says about your work, but in the final analysis; she's always right! Check her out at www.driverworks.ca I should also mention; she's very busy!
To keep this on track and on topic, I would like to acknowledge Stacey for her willingness to go hard after Jennifer Nolan with fraud reports (see her post above). I would also like to thank Vincent (moderator) for taking a stance (see also his post above). I am a step behind Stacey, but like her I am preparing my material in order to file reports with the UK fraud unit and with IC3.Raymond, you might consider starting a separate thread about Emma Audsley on this forum. Also, here are two fraud reporting links: http://www.actionfraud.police.uk/ and http://www.ic3.gov/default.aspx.
