Authors, Beware of Scam Publishers!
After you finish writing your masterpiece, you have options. One of those options is typing “publishers” into Google and seeing what comes up. It’s every author’s dream to become traditionally published, but it’s extremely difficult to do.
Some companies know this and use that desperation against authors. They know they’re almost willing to do anything to get their book accepted and out there to the world. How do you spot a scam publisher? Is there a way to tell the difference between scams and legitimate publishers? Let’s take a look at several ways writers get scammed.
New writers caught in these scams may never know they’re being mistreated. They’ve been told traditional publishers take advantage of you.
— Gwen C. Katz (@gwenckatz) September 22, 2017
Table of Contents
1) Getting Accepted by Scam Publishers Right Away
Let’s be honest for a second. It’s incredibly difficult to get your book published by a traditional publishing house. Even the most celebrated authors in the world were rejected numerous times. Also, the way the vast majority of them operate, they don’t accept unsolicited manuscripts. They require writers to go through a literary agent.
You may believe in your heart that you wrote the most magnificent manuscript on earth. You may well have. However, know there’s a process to these things. Scam publishers are looking to elicit great feelings of joy and take advantage of it. You finally made it to the ‘big times,’ and you’re willing to sign that contract, regardless of what it says.
2) They’ll Try to Sell You Your Own Books
One of the main strategies scam publishers use to make money is by using the author. They know they probably won’t have much success in selling your book. The reason isn’t that your book isn’t good enough. It’s because they set the price exceedingly high. A copy of your book may make it to Amazon for sale, but they set the price, and it can be as high as $40.
Who is going to purchase a book from an unknown author for $40? That’s right, no one. You might get a few sales from family and friends, but otherwise, it won’t sell. They do this so they can convince the author to buy as many copies of their books as they can at a ‘discount.’
Scam publishers will give you a list of reasons why this is necessary. In reality, they do it to line their pockets. They’ll offer you packages, suggesting you buy in bulk. The more you buy, the cheaper it is. When you suggest that they lower the price on Amazon, the scam publisher will tell you they know more about the industry than you do.
3) Fees Everywhere
Here’s a great piece of advice for every aspiring author: you don’t have to pay money to get published. Now, this is entirely different if you purposely pay for editing services with a legitimate company. However, when it comes to a publisher, you don’t have to pay. Fees shouldn’t be on the table, but the scam publisher will milk authors of every dime they have.
The company might ask for a small ‘reading fee’ or a ‘printing fee.’ If you’re self-publishing, then yes, it will cost money to get these things done. However, legitimate publishers do not charge for their services. They get their money from book sales, which is why they have high standards. Don’t get lured into thinking you should have to pay anything to get published.
5 Self-Publishing Scams Authors Needs to Watch For
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