When Looking For a Publisher . . . Beware

As a new writer it's human nature to want your book disseminated on as many platforms and eBook retail sites as possible.  After all, if someone sees your book on one site, then again on another and another, it gives the impression that it's all over the place and therefore a good read.  But beware!  Not all  supposed publishers have your best interests in mind.

Take for example one particular publisher who just happened to ask to be linked to my LinkedIn account.  I read his bio and it turned out he is "supposedly" a publisher in England, and for no charge you can upload your manuscript, your articles, your blogs, and he will convert them into all possible formats, just like Smashwords does.  I repeat, there is no charge.  Sounds good so far. 

Then in order to publish your book you have to give him certain information to register.  The usual drivel; user name, password, email . . . . . ah, yes.  The obligatory "Terms and Conditions" check box must be checked before you can enter the site to continue on.  He has also mentioned in his presentation that they make direct deposits to your bank account.  Well, ladies and gents, don't go there, don't check the "I agree to the terms and conditions" box without reading the terms and conditions.  There are none.  I clicked on the terms and conditions line and it went nowhere.  I looked at the bottom of the page and there was another link to the Terms and Conditions.  But, my learned flangernoggins, those terms and conditions went to the dreaded 404 page which stated, "The requested URL /termsAndConditions.php was not found on this server."

Being the ever so concerned possible customer of this company I thought I'd let them know the "Terms and Conditions" link was broken so I clicked on the "Contact" button.  You guessed it.  The same 404 page appeared.  And as a bonus the Help, Site Map, Testimonials, and FAQ page also have a 404 link. 

Looking at the page showing the books they sell in English pounds, it becomes apparent that something more is amiss.  All the books and magazines offered have a price of zero.  Hmm!  So I'm supposed to give this guy my bank account number so he can directly deposit all proceeds to my account but . . . there are no proceeds!  Even "50 Shades of Gray" is free.

By now I'm sure red flags are rocketing up all around you and you are getting the picture here.  He is harvesting your bank account information.   Do your due diligence before even thinking about uploading your book to a company you have never heard of.  Check all links to make sure they work.  And above all else, read word for word the terms and conditions before you hit that button.

Without a doubt, authorship is a sword of multiple uses.  It can be sharp and crisp with wit and come hither skills, sucking a reader into a nonstop marathon of reading, or it can be dull and perform no task other than to irritate the reader by presenting nothing more than a hodgepodge of words unskilllfully strung together.  And the dull edge of the sword is every author's greatest fear.

We often lay awake at night visualizing scenes in our head, grasping at bits of dialog we create to go along with the movie scenes spinning in our mind, and then hope we can remember them until morning.  Those are sleepless nights.  It became apparent midway through my book, "A Deadly Suggestion" that a notebook beside the bed was an absolute necessity, just to put down key words so all the pondering and planning of scenes would all come back to me with my second sip of coffee in the morning. 

I think the most thrilling point in a book is that one moment, that one ah-hah when your fingers are flying and you truly know exactly how your book will end.  Your blood pressure surely raises, your heart rate pounds and you become one with your book, your characters, the ending.  That in a nutshell is when you truly know your book is going to be a winner.