| The wrong book publisher can turn your dream of | | | | author says anything negative about the book |
| becoming an author into a nightmare. | | | | publisher, there is a monetary fine. There are also |
| One out of every eight people call themselves a | | | | book publishers who hold the rights for a lengthy |
| writer, which means there are roughly 24 million | | | | time period, regardless of whether the book is still |
| people in the United States who carry that | | | | in print or selling. |
| banner. Unfortunately there are charlatans and | | | | The book publisher doesn't disclose they are a |
| scam artists just waiting to ambush the | | | | Publish on Demand (POD), or vanity/subsidy |
| unsuspecting author. How can a novice writer | | | | publisher, or actually denies they are a POD book |
| protect themselves against unscrupulous book | | | | publisher. There is nothing wrong with an author |
| publishers? | | | | using a subsidy/vanity book publishing company as |
| Anyone can call themselves a book publisher. | | | | long as the author is well aware of the |
| Always remember money flows towards the | | | | disadvantages. |
| author from the book publisher, not the other | | | | Publish on Demand books are not, as a rule, |
| way around. | | | | stocked by bookstores. Some POD book |
| What to look out for: | | | | publishers will insist that their books are available in |
| The book publisher charges the author a fee up | | | | book stores, as a way to get around this issue. |
| front, to have their book accepted, considered or | | | | Available is not the same thing as stocked. |
| read. These fees are sometimes called a reading | | | | Available only means the book can be ordered |
| fee, intake fee or administrative fee. | | | | through the bookstore. Since the majority of |
| The book publisher directs authors toward specific | | | | books sold, are stocked and sold by bookstores, |
| editing services or gives authors' names to these | | | | this situation puts a damper on sales. |
| services, with the caveat that if the author hires | | | | What else can a writer do to check if a book |
| the editing service, their book will be published. | | | | publisher is legitimate? |
| Every book needs editing. It is part of the | | | | Go to the local bookstore and see if any of the |
| publisher's job to provide that editing at no cost. | | | | book publisher's titles are stocked. Ask the |
| The book publisher offers a contract where the | | | | manager if necessary. |
| author has to pay for part of the publishing costs. | | | | Search the Internet using the book publisher's |
| The acquisition editor will sometimes say that the | | | | name plus the word 'scam' or 'complaint.' |
| publisher's list is full for that season, but the | | | | A book publisher's website is targeted to its |
| author's book has so much going for it, they | | | | customers. If the website promotes the books |
| would still like to publish it. However the publisher's | | | | they've published that's a good sign. If the website |
| resources are fully committed and the author will | | | | is focused on recruiting writers, that's a bad sign. |
| have to share in the costs. | | | | Go to forums or bulletin boards that are for |
| Some book publishers offer contracts that are | | | | writers and see what the authors who have |
| unfair, such as they obtain rights that should | | | | published with the book publisher you're |
| remain with the author of the work. Some book | | | | considering have to say about their experience. |
| publishers' contracts contain a clause that if the | | | | |