Dear Readers,
(Last Updated Sept 23, 2009 @ 3:04 pm EST)
Hello everyone… I’m back and this time with a very sad scam I myself got caught up in called the “We Will Publish Your Book Scam“
What is the “We Will Publish Your Book Scam?” – This scam is all about mis-information and hope to get your effort of writing to the mass or public at large. The problem there are so many barriers for someone not in the business that prevent a person new to the scene to actually get a book published. This scam is all about a about being a quick and easy way normally by sending your transcript (book,script,poem) to said site or address that is listed.
The main problem is that most if not all sites will end up charging you a large sum of money to actually print your (book,script,poem) and that is not even talking publishing said item sent in. Then there is shipping and legal fees as well as…and hear this…they will in turn charge you for said book you published when in the real world your would get several free books of your own free. Again that has to be stated in your contract and by no means is always the case. I personally paid over $100 USD for one copy of my book….yes you heard me right over $100 USD for 1 book …it was a hard cover very well made book. But still$100 dollars US is crqazy and don’t forget I live in Canada so that is really expensive.
Now, this scam is way more common then people think. Why do I say that ? Well simple there are way more then a few writers out there that would do almost anything to get there work out there. Thus causing a huge amount of victims to available to these people to take advantage off. There are way over 100 websites that claim to cut through the read tape and get you to the front of the line. Then there are the actually places publishers you can walk into that claim to be independent. That will also publish your books for a huge fee in a lot of cases.
Now how do people like me get caught with their pants down in a scam that seems so dumb and well like cause most people to well shake there head and say well it sounds to good to be true then it probably is. Well for me it all started with a poetry contests that I apparently WON. Then they ask if you want to publish your poem in a book which is free. But if you want a physical copy of the book to show off you need to pay a rather large fee to get said book which for me was $125 USD I paid. Was it a nice book hell yes and it was hardcover to boot.
But what they don’t tell you is your poem or story will be some where in the book mine was page 465 I think ??? They also don’t tell you that you are not the only person that won said contest. Ohh, I would imagine from the sheer number of poems in my copy of the book which I paid $125 USD for. There would be several thousand winners that got the same letter saying CONGRAT you won and that is from all over the world. Very sad and even sadder is it was many years later that I finally found out this bit of information by heading to a library and then to an online store to buy another copy for a family member.
Ways to prevent getting caught up in this scam:
– Never send away anything you wrote with out talking to a lawyer
– Get an agent
– Send yourself a copy of what ever you want to send to yourself via registered mail to prove it was your idea and what date you came up with it. (This will be valid in any court case provided it is still sealed and dated.)
– Always follow up on said company on the Internet and even call them.
– Never sign any contract with out looking at the fine print
– If you have a gut feeling you are being taking for a ride…stop right there….
– Ask friends or family if they have heard of the company or contest…
– Do a Google search..you’ll be surprised what you can come up with.
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If you guys have any question regarding this or any similar scam. Please to hesitate to comment or e-mail us @ computer.savvy@hotmail.com
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Later Dayz,
Remy “Se7en”
The Computer Savvy Weblog 