Airleaf,
LLC / Bookman Marketing
Founded by a former AuthorHouse employee, Bookman
Marketing started out as a provider of junk-mail-style marketing
services for authors. Later, it added POD-based publishing services (a
polite term for vanity publishing or a long-winded one for
self-publishing, depending on your bias). Upon the departure of its
founder, it changed its name to Airleaf, LLC. By both names, it was
notable for its extremely energetic spamming of potential clients, and
for the equally spammish nature of most of its marketing services.
Airleaf/Bookman was also notable, it turns out, for not providing the
services authors paid for.
On Thursday, May 8, 2008, in Morgan County court in Indiana, Indiana
Attorney General Steve Carter filed suit against Airleaf, LLC and its
CEO, Carl Lau, for taking money without providing services in return.
120 authors are named in the suit (there are actually more than 400
victims, but the Indiana AG's office has a only two-year window for
filing suit, so many of the victims couldn't be included). Carl Lau is
accused of violating Indiana's Deceptive Consumer Sales Act, of using
company assets to cover expenses not related to the business, and of
continuing to solicit authors, promise services, and accept payment for
months after Airleaf became insolvent. The suit seeks restitution for
Airleaf authors, civil penalties of up to $5,500 per violation, and
reimbursement for the cost of the investigation.
There's a
more detailed discussion of the suit, and of Airleaf and its
shenanigans, at Writer Beware's blog.
Amazon
and BookSurge
Amazon.com, the online bookselling giant, announced
on March 31, 2008, that it would be requiring all print-on-demand books
it sells to be printed by BookSurge, the print-on-demand service it
owns. Publishers that don't want to use BookSurge may still sell their
books through Amazon's Advantage program, but Amazon will no longer
carry POD books it doesn't print itself.
This story was originally broken by Angela
Hoy of WritersWeekly and BookLocker, a POD self-publishing service. On
May 19, BookLocker filed
a class action lawsuit "in response to Amazon’s recent attempts to
force all publishers using Print on Demand (POD) technology to pay
Amazon to print their books."
Writer Beware has blogged
about the situation. The Authors Guild has weighed
in, as has the
ASJA.
American
Book
Publishing / C. Lee Nunn / Nathan Fitzgearl
Writer Beware has received, and
continues to receive, numerous complaints about American Book
Publishing. ABP, which presents itself as a "traditional"
publisher, requires its authors to pay a sizable "setup" fee, and
pressures them to buy large quantities of their own books (500-1,000
copies is the number most often suggested).
Complaints include non-standard contract terms (including royalties
paid on net
profit), non-production of promised e-book
editions, non-fulfillment of marketing and publicity promises,
repeatedly delayed
publication schedules, finished books full of errors, difficulty with
orders and order fulfillment, non-payment of
royalties, and
harassment of those who question or complain. American Book Publishing
has been
the focus of at least one police investigation.
ABP's founder, C. Lee Nunn, may be using the alias Nathan Fitzgearl.
Authors with complaints about American Book Publishing are urged to
contact Writer Beware: beware@sfwa.org.
Creative
Arts Book
Company
Since Writer Beware's
establishment in 1998,
we've received a steady stream
of complaints about Creative Arts Book Company, a once well-regarded
small press publisher that in the mid- or late 1990's took a sharp left
turn into "co-operative" (read
"vanity") publishing. Even after vanity publishing became its sole
endeavor, CAB continued to present itself
as a reputable small press. Writers typically did not discover until
after they received an offer of publication that they were expected to
pay.
The publishing fee, supposedly 50% of CAB's production expense, was
actually far more than the real cost of producing and printing the
book--even if
CAB had printed the agreed-upon number of copies, which by all
indications it did not always do.
In 2003, CAB began contacting contracted authors who'd
already paid the full publishing fee but whose books hadn't yet been
published, claiming impending bankruptcy and cash shortfalls.
The author's book was ready to go to the printer, the letter said; what
did the author want to do about this? Those who received this letter
interpreted it
(correctly, in our opinion) as a not-so-subtle hint to hand over more
money.
In a Dec. 30, 2003 article in the San Francisco Chronicle,
CAB's owner, Don Ellis, again indicated
the company's intent to file for bankruptcy. But according to knowledgeable
sources, there's no evidence that
it has yet done so. Claims of impending bankruptcy (like claims of
death--see the Melanie Mills warning below) have been used before by
disreputable
publishers and literary agents as a way of dodging creditors and/or
dissatisfied
customers.
Angry CAB authors were looking to bring some sort of mass civil
or criminal action, but this effort seems to be on hiatus. Individual
authors have sought (and won) judgments
in Small Claims Court. We'll post more information as we receive it.
We'd like to hear from dissatisfied CAB authors: beware@sfwa.org.
Cybersquatting
Whether you're a well known
author or just
starting out, a personal website is an increasingly vital promotional
tool. An appropriate domain name, whether it's your own name or the
name of your book, can greatly enhance an effective
website.
Cybersquatting--a practice where unrelated parties buy up choice domain
names, often with the intent of reselling
them to the name owners at exorbitant prices--is a growing problem for
writers. Recently, for instance, the Authors'
Guild brought action on behalf of a number of its members against Old
Barn Studios, Ltd., which had registered
a large number of authors' domain names. The ruling by ICANN (the
Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers)
found that Old Barn Studios had infringed upon the authors' trademarks,
and registered the domain names in bad
faith. You can read about it here.
Cybersquatters don't just target famous writers. Many newer or
lesser-known writers have found their names taken
also (see novelist Nancy Mehl's article, Cybersquatting,
The New Plague). If you're published, you may be fair game--and
for a lone writer without the deep pockets to fund legal action,
it can be a real challenge to deal with this situation.
The best defense, of course, is simply to register your domain name
yourself, which can be done for a reasonable
fee. Most domain registrars offer domain forwarding, so if you already
have a website your domain name will forward there, no
matter what server it's on. ICANN provides this list of
accredited registrars. Here's a useful chart
of their market share.
Desert
Rose
Literary Agency / Leann Murphy
A former employee of convicted
fraudsters George
and Janet Titsworth, Leann Murphy of San Angelo, TX, established Desert
Rose Literary Agency
in late 2004, just after the demise of Helping Hand Literary
Service/Janet Kay and Associates (see below). Writer Beware has
documented that Desert Rose charges upfront fees--currently $300 for a
year of
representation--and to date and to our knowledge, has made no sales to
commercial publishers.
The Tom Green County Sheriff's Department has opened an investigation
into Desert Rose, and is seeking information from anyone who has had
dealings with the agency. Contact:
Sgt. John Walker
Tom Green County Sheriff's Department
222 West Harris
San Angelo, TX 76901
johnny.walker@co.tom-green.tx.us
Be prepared to provide an account of your experience plus documentation.
The
Empty Canoe, LLC / Mike and Kristina Canu
On November 19, 2007, the Washington State
Attorney General's Office announced a settlement with Michael and
Kristina Canu (a.k.a. Kristina Valocchi), owners of The Empty Canoe,
LLC, a publishing company/ghostwriting service "hybrid" (i.e., a vanity
publisher).
According to the press release, the Canus "contracted with consumers to
help them write and edit books, market their work and handle all facets
of the publishing process including printing, copyright and title
registration and royalties...In many cases, the Canus never performed
the work [writers paid for], provided only some of the promised
services, completed projects late or failed to pay authors royalties
for their book sales."
Due to the Canus' lack of funds, $94,000 in civil penalties has been
suspended, and they are liable only for $10,000 to cover Washington
State's costs in prosecuting the case. They are, however, enjoined from
a number of acts, including operating, owning, or otherwise
participating in a publishing, ghostwriting, or book marketing business
without first providing restitution to the 21 victims identified in the
settlement.
For a more detailed discussion of The Empty Canoe (about which Writer
Beware received a number of complaints), see Writer
Beware's blog.
Interminable
Agency Clause
SFWA has posted an alert
regarding the so-called "interminable agency clauses" that are
beginning
to appear in some publishers' contracts and in the author-agent
agreements of certain agencies. Such clauses give the agency the right
to represent a book not just for the duration of the book contract, but
for the duration of copyright. The Authors Guild provides a
similar warning.
For a detailed discussion of the interminable agency clause and its
dangers, including sample contract language, see the Writer
Beware blog.
Oak
Tree Press / Johnson-Warren Agency / Billie Johnson
Writer Beware has received
complaints about Oak Tree Press of Springfield
IL, run by Billie Johnson, who also ran the fee-charging Johnson-Warren
Literary Agency. Complaints include non-payment of royalties and
charging authors hundreds of dollars for "additional" print runs that
are never
produced. Formerly located in California, the company has recently
moved to Illinois. In 2003, one author won a summary civil judgment
against the
company for copyright violation. (Note: Ms. Johnson's company is not to
be
confused with Oak Tree Press of Cork, Ireland.)
Authors with complaints about Oak Tree Press are urged to contact
Writer Beware: beware@sfwa.org.
Poetry.com
/ International
Library of Poetry
Poetry.com (a.k.a. the
International Library of Poetry, the National Library
of Poetry, and many others), is a vanity anthology scheme that draws in
poets through free contests, and then solicits them to purchase the
anthology in which they will be published, plus a variety of other
merchandise
and services. The contests, in which all entrants are declared
"semi-finalists", are
bogus; and while the company portrays itself as a viable and even
prestigious poetry market, the complete lack of editorial gatekeeping
and the
resulting poor quality of most of the poems means that publication in
one of its
anthologies is not a professional credit.
The Office of the Maryland
Attorney General wants to hear from writers who have complaints about
Poetry.com.
Consumer Protection Division
Office of the Maryland Attorney General
200 St. Paul Place, 16th Floor
Baltimore, MD 21202
Phone (410) 576-6304
Fax (410) 576-7040
Professional
Alerts
The National Writers' Union
maintains a regularly updated page
of alerts for professional writers.
The
Great
PublishAmerica
Hoax
A number of SFWA members
(including me) have perpetrated a diabolical
hoax upon PublishAmerica, a print-on-demand-based vanity publisher that
poses as a "traditional" publisher in order to ensnare thousands of
gullible first-time writers.
Most of the writers' advocates providing warnings about this company
are speculative fiction writers. After PublishAmerica posted a venomous
screed against science fiction and fantasy writers at its AuthorsMarket.net website
("...writers who erroneously believe that SciFi, because it is set in a
distant future, does not require believable storylines, or that
Fantasy, because it is set in conditions that have never existed, does
not need believable every-day characters"), a bunch of us wretched
hacks decided to see how high a bar the supposedly selective
PublishAmerica sets for its own books. Over the course of a weekend,
thirty professional science fiction and fantasy writers and editors sat
down and each banged out a chapter of a deliberately unpublishable opus
entitled Atlanta Nights. Guess what: PublishAmerica
accepted it.
The press release and other information (including links to a
downloadable version) are here.
A list of known contributors is here.
Sample a snippet of Atlanta Nights' immortal prose here.
Atlanta Nights is just one of several similar hoaxes:
- Painful
Poetry by Alphabet, a "potpourri of putrid poems"
- Crack of Death by
Sharla Tann, "deathful prose so bad, it's good!"
Writer Beware has received more than 100 complaints about
PublishAmerica over the past few years. PublishAmerica has also been
the subject of a successful arbitration
proceeding, in which a PublishAmerica author received a substantial
award. The difficulties experienced are typical of the complaints we've
seen.
The
Robins
Agency / Cris Robins
On May 15, 2006, a default
judgment against Cris
Robins
of The Robins Agency was entered in Washington Superior Court for King
County (case no. 06-2-16530-6SEA) for breach of contract, fraudulent
business practice, and
consumer protection violations in regard to the
promised provision of paid editing services and promised representation
of the plaintiff's manuscript to publishers. Ms. Robins has been
ordered to
pay $8,320 (treble damages) plus interest and attorney fees.
Writer Beware has been receiving complaints about The Robins Agency
since our inception. Complaints include promotion of the agency's own
paid editing services, incomplete/unprofessional editing, and the
charging
of huge upfront retainers (as much as $3,200 for a one-year contract).
To our knowledge, The Robins Agency has never sold a client's
manuscript to a commercial US publisher in the whole of its time in
business.
More detail at Writer
Beware's blog.
Writers'
Literary Agency (WLA -- formerly The Literary Agency Group) / Global
Book Agency / Strategic Book Publishing / Eloquent Books / AEG
Publishing Group
The Literary Agency Group, a business controlled
by Robert M. Fletcher of Boca Raton, Florida, changed its name in
February 2007 to Writers' Literary Agency (a.k.a. WLA, WL Writers'
Agency).
This umbrella group includes the following:
- WL Children's Agency
- WL Poet's Agency
- WL Screenplay Agency
- Writers' Literary & Publishing Services Company (the
editing arm of the above-mentioned agencies)
Other current businesses or websites that Writer
Beware believes are associated with Writers' Literary Agency, based on
referrals and website content:
- Writers' Book Publishing Agency
- Children's Book Publishing Agency
- Poetry Book Publishing Agency
- Screenplay Writers' Agency
- Global Book Agency
- AEG Publishing Group
- Eloquent Books (offers pay-to-publish contracts)
- Strategic Book Agency
- Strategic Book Publishing
- Strategic Book Marketing
- Authors' Edge
Other names the business has used include
Sydra-Techniques, ST Literary Agency, Stylus Agency, Children's Literary Agency, Christian
Literary
Agency, New York Literary Agency, Poet's
Literary Agency, The Screenplay Agency, and My Editor Is A Saint (an
editing company).
Since the business began operating in 2001 under
the name Sydra-Techniques, Writer Beware has received hundreds of
complaints and advisories of fee-charging, editing referrals, and other
questionable practices. We're not aware that the company has a
significant track record of commercial book or script sales under any
of its names.
The office of the Florida Attorney General has opened a public
consumer-related investigation into Writers' Literary Agency and
its associated businesses.
Writers who have had
trouble with Robert M. Fletcher or any of
the above-named businesses, and wish to file a complaint, may contact
the office of the Florida Attorney General, regardless of their place
or country
of residence, or the date of their involvement.
Contact information:
Randi Shapiro, Financial Investigator
Economic Crimes Division
Email: randi.shapiro@myfloridalegal.com
Phone: 866-966-7226 (toll free hotline) or 850-414-3990
Or visit the Consumer Protection
section of the Florida AG's website.
Except for
graphics, and where specifically indicated, all
Writer Beware contents copyright © 1998-2008 Victoria Strauss
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