{"id":24627,"date":"2021-09-28T03:00:42","date_gmt":"2021-09-28T10:00:42","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/writersfunzone.com\/blog\/?p=24627"},"modified":"2021-09-21T08:13:36","modified_gmt":"2021-09-21T15:13:36","slug":"3-ways-to-identify-a-publishing-scam-by-thao-nguyen","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/writersfunzone.com\/blog\/2021\/09\/28\/3-ways-to-identify-a-publishing-scam-by-thao-nguyen\/","title":{"rendered":"3 Ways to Identify a Publishing Scam by Thao Nguyen"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"3<\/a>Let\u2019s welcome back monthly columnist Thao Nguyen<\/a> as she shares with us \u201c3 Ways to Identify a Publishing Scam.\u201d Enjoy!<\/p>\n

***<\/span><\/p>\n

Getting published as a new writer is already a feat in and of itself.<\/strong><\/p>\n

However, it becomes extra challenging when predatory companies scheme to make a profit out of authors\u2019 dreams.<\/span><\/p>\n

Vanity presses and dodgy book marketing services will commonly claim to help authors\u2014but most of them will simply charge thousands of dollars in exchange for haphazardly rendered services.<\/span><\/p>\n

They often target new,<\/strong> inexperienced writers who are eager to reach their publishing goals. And in all honesty, scammers can be quite convincing.<\/span><\/p>\n

Who doesn\u2019t want to wake up with a publishing offer in your inbox?<\/span><\/p>\n

While we always encourage writers to thoroughly research any company they\u2019re working with, there are three crucial features that can help you identify a <\/span>publishing scam<\/span><\/a> on sight.<\/span><\/p>\n

1. It\u2019s a Publishing Scam if the Publisher Suddenly Approaches You<\/b><\/h2>\n

First things first, if <\/span>the company approaches you<\/span><\/i>\u00a0via email, social media, or by phone, a red flag should already be waving in your head.<\/span><\/p>\n

In traditional publishing,<\/strong> if you want to work with a publisher, you have to submit something to them, and almost always with the help of a <\/span>literary agent<\/span><\/a>.<\/span><\/p>\n

Traditional publishers will always receive more manuscripts than they can take on\u2014their submission systems are built to make sure that their slush-piles are filled with manuscripts that roughly match what they\u2019re looking for.<\/span><\/p>\n

As an author<\/strong>, this can be a frustratingly long chain to work your way through, but it <\/span>is <\/span><\/i>the established route.<\/span><\/p>\n

A smaller publisher might be open to \u201cunagented submissions\u201d; however, you\u2019d still have to be the one to reach out and send your work to the publishing house.<\/span><\/p>\n

It\u2019s <\/span>never <\/span><\/i>the other way around.<\/span><\/p>\n

As such<\/strong>, getting contacted by a publisher is very much out of the ordinary. Such a publisher almost certainly hasn\u2019t read it and probably doesn\u2019t really care about your book at all!<\/span><\/p>\n

They\u2019ll ask you to pay a production fee to get your book edited, printed, or published on some <\/span>ebook publishing platforms<\/span><\/a> (which you can easily do by yourself), but it probably won\u2019t even meet the quality standards of the market.<\/span><\/p>\n

Sometimes, they\u2019ll offer to get you a <\/strong>copyright<\/span><\/a> or ISBN; though again, these are not as complicated to get as you\u2019d think.<\/span><\/p>\n

The company will also assure you that they\u2019re giving your work the marketing it needs.<\/span><\/p>\n

What they\u2019ll <\/span>actually<\/span><\/i> do will likely have little effect on sales (for example, they might write you a press release that no one will read), and all your work will be for nothing.<\/span><\/p>\n

So don\u2019t fall for their trap!<\/strong><\/p>\n

No publisher will contact you by themselves, and if one does, you should put them in your spam box <\/span>without hesitation<\/span><\/i>.<\/span><\/p>\n

2. It\u2019s a Publishing Scam if They Ask You to Pay Absurd Rates<\/b><\/h2>\n

What \u201cabsurd rates\u201d means can differ depending on whether you want to publish the traditional way or the indie way.<\/span><\/p>\n

Traditionally,<\/strong> publishers and agents don\u2019t ask for any upfront payments. In fact, a publisher pays <\/span>you<\/span><\/i> an advance when they acquire your manuscript.<\/span><\/p>\n

This is because publishers don\u2019t make money from authors, they make money from the royalties.<\/span><\/p>\n

In exchange for the advance,<\/strong> a traditional house will only give you 5\u201315% of the cover price when the book sells. The agent also takes a cut of the sales revenue, so your earnings are even slimmer than that.<\/span><\/p>\n

However, a legit publisher bankrolls the editing, design, and marketing to make sure that your book sells well, so you don\u2019t have to pay any production cost whatsoever.<\/span><\/p>\n

The Exception<\/b><\/h3>\n

A legitimate exception is if you work with a hybrid publisher.<\/span><\/p>\n

Hybrid presses will offer to pay some of the cost while you\u2019ll pay the remainder. As a result, they\u2019ll also let you have a higher royalty rate than traditional publishers.<\/span><\/p>\n

If you\u2019re planning to work with a hybrid publisher<\/strong>, do some research to make sure they\u2019re not over-estimating the production cost. Check out the <\/span>IBPA\u2019s guide<\/span><\/a> for a detailed hybrid publisher assessment criteria.<\/span><\/p>\n

If you want to keep even more of the sales revenue, self-publishing platforms often let you take 50\u201370%, and without a publisher overlooking everything, you also have <\/span>more creative control over your work<\/span><\/a>.<\/span><\/p>\n

On the other hand,<\/strong> you\u2019ll have to personally hire an editor, a designer, and possibly a marketer to make sure your book has a fighting chance in the market.<\/span><\/p>\n

The good news is, you\u2019re less likely to come across editors or designers who are scammers, since you can see portfolios and testimonials of their work quite easily.<\/span><\/p>\n

However, you might see predators act as marketers<\/strong>\u2014after all, scammers love making big promises like, \u201cI can make you a bestseller!\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

Don\u2019t go for marketers with big but vague promises; find someone who offers concrete goals like building an author website or getting your book into a BookBub newsletter.<\/span><\/p>\n

Most importantly,<\/strong> make sure they\u2019re not charging you way above the <\/span>average cost of self-publishing a book<\/span><\/a>.<\/span><\/p>\n

3. It\u2019s a Publishing Scam if Their Name Is on this List<\/b><\/h2>\n

The list I\u2019m talking about is <\/span>the one compiled by Victoria Strauss<\/span><\/a> for Writer Beware: a collection of 125 publishing scam companies based in the Philippines that mostly target self-published writers.<\/span><\/p>\n

These companies might offer agency services to help you reach traditional publishers<\/strong>, or they might say they\u2019ll republish or market your self-published title for a fee.<\/span><\/p>\n

We already know that cold calls and high fees are indications of predatory businesses. If you\u2019re suspicious of a company, you can go to Victoria\u2019s list and see if it\u2019s there\u2014and if it is, give it a hard pass!<\/span><\/p>\n

Since the list isn\u2019t exhaustive<\/strong>, a company might still be a scammer even when you can\u2019t find its name in Victoria\u2019s post. As with the rest of the tips I\u2019ve shared in this post, this is just a pointer to help you out a bit.<\/span><\/p>\n

It\u2019s always best to do some more research before you give a verdict.<\/span><\/p>\n

I hope that this post has given you some more information on how to identify and avoid vanity presses and unreliable companies.<\/span><\/p>\n

Feel free to spread the word and share your own experiences with fellow authors!<\/strong><\/p>\n

***<\/span><\/p>\n

Want to read more articles like this one Writer\u2019s Fun Zone? <\/span>Subscribe here.<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n

***<\/p>\n

ABOUT THE AUTHOR<\/h2>\n

\"Thao<\/a>Thao Nguyen writes about history, diasporic experiences, and writing. You can find her work in <\/span>Literally Stories<\/a><\/span><\/i>, <\/span>Anak Sastra<\/a><\/span><\/i>, or on Twitter <\/span>@thao__to<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n

***<\/span><\/p>\n

Editor\u2019s Note: Resources for developing your story and your characters so that you have diversity in your writing:<\/span><\/p>\n