Green Shore Publishing

Sixpence · Jul 23, 2014

Helix said:
I've just found some more...

Freya Charlotte and Mollie Alice on Twitter. Oddly, neither of them follows Green Shore Publishing, even though Green Shore's done so much for them.

ETA: Oh, wait. Quelle surprise. Tweets get regularly retweeted by the usual suspects: Maxwell, Lewis (also known as Emily), Camren, Mariella and Eliana. There are a few others too.

Taking a quick ~~goose~~ gander at their profiles, they're obvious spambots. They also have 1k+ followers each. Blimey. Easy to see how GSP gets 3k likes in a hot second on Facebook.

I mean, we can all report these fake accounts (on both platforms), but given the apparent extent of their resources (thousands of fake accounts) it would only amount to playing whack-a-mole. Which is both frustrating and saddening at once. Oh look, GSP opened up another emotional mix for me. Gah.

aliceshortcake · Jul 23, 2014

Sixpence said:
Taking a quick ~~goose~~ gander at their profiles, they're obvious spambots. They also have 1k+ followers each. Blimey. Easy to see how GSP gets 3k likes in a hot second on Facebook.

Oddly enough, the number of GSP's likes has now dropped from 3,205 to...3,189. I can't help wondering if this is because their handful of authentic "likers" have discovered the blog posts by Victoria and Mick, not to mention this thread!

Sixpence · Jul 23, 2014

aliceshortcake said:
Oddly enough, the number of GSP's likes has now dropped from 3,205 to...3,189. I can't help wondering if this is because their handful of authentic "likers" have discovered the blog posts by Victoria and Mick, not to mention this thread!

Possibly the numbers have dropped as the spambot accounts have been discovered and banned by Facebook? If so, that number is likely to drop more over the coming days/weeks. No page gets 3k non-spam likes with the amount of posts/interaction that one has on it. It was a cheap effort and doomed to fail unless/until they have another go at bolstering it, but I somehow doubt they'll bother.

ETA- To show how utterly tone deaf GSP's minions are, I present this tweet, replete with disturbing URL and a subtle undertone of publish-or-perish.

aliceshortcake · Jul 23, 2014

Sixpence said:
ETA- To show how utterly tone deaf GSP's minions are, I present this tweet, replete with disturbing URL and a subtle undertone of publish-or-perish.

Feast your eyes on this limpid English prose:

Making a good book cover can be a challenging job, especially if you are a beginner. Do not worry! If you need help to make a good book cover, visit the publishing can be your choice. A publishing is a company that provides customers with exceptional service. They have a strong background with years of experience and skills that assure the success of your project. In addition, they offer a variety of packages that will help you to make professional book cover design, and promote it. Looking publishing service is simple. On the internet, you will find hundreds of websites that offer publishing services. However, there is one that stands out, that is Green Shore Publishing.
http://www.pasuicideprevention.com/green-shore-publishing-importance-of-publishing/

It reads like a composite of Handry Swastika's work and that of someone whose command of English is slightly better. I can't believe any native English speaker could read that, notice the bizarre url and take GSP seriously.

Does anyone know if Adam Salviani still lives in New Jersey? Because I get the distinct impression that he's left the publicizing and actual running of GSP to people who don't speak English as a first language and probably work for low wages. I'd love to know if GSP has received any submissions yet and if so, where the Hoxton Mix people redirected them.

ETA: Yes, GSP have received some submissions! They've tweeted about it so it must be true! And I love how they've thanked the author of that ridiculous biohunt.net puff piece, which I suspect is a case of Adam being grateful to himself:

https://twitter.com/GreenShorePub

"Nice work to everyone"? Honestly, would you want these jokers to edit your book?

Finally, GSP's Facebook likes have now dropped to 3,137 and my question about ISBNs has been deleted. It's also amusing to note that the ten spambot comments added yesterday were posted between 15.08 and 15.43 - a grand total of 35 minutes!

Helix · Jul 23, 2014

And here are Jack, Clive and Richard in their natural surroundings. Clive's green screen cost a tenner more. That was money well spent!

ETA: That's not my blog, btw. I found it during my morning ramble through the internet.

Filigree · Jul 23, 2014

Brilliant detective work, all around.

Samsonet · Jul 23, 2014

Green Shore never had a chance! XD

aliceshortcake · Jul 24, 2014

Helix said:
And here are Jack, Clive and Richard in their natural surroundings. Clive's green screen cost a tenner more. That was money well spent!

ETA: That's not my blog, btw. I found it during my morning ramble through the internet.

Aw, you beat me to it! This information has now been passed on to the relevant authorities.

ajaye · Jul 24, 2014

Great work Angels

Helix · Jul 24, 2014

I had a look through some of the 'actors' offering video testimonials. (Nothing to do with GSP.) Some of them are happy to dress up in a lab coat, slip a stethoscope around the neck and claim to be a doctor. One of them appears to be a chiropractor.

aliceshortcake · Jul 24, 2014

Helix said:
I had a look through some of the 'actors' offering video testimonials. (Nothing to do with GSP.) Some of them are happy to dress up in a lab coat, slip a stethoscope around the neck and claim to be a doctor. One of them appears to be a chiropractor.

This is disturbing. The GSP fiasco demonstrates how utterly worthless video testimonials are; any company desperate enough to use them has to be either dodgy or gormless.

On a lighter note, I had no idea that for a lousy $5 people would be willing to kick-box in a bikini, dress up as "Granny Britannia" or pretend to be a Mexican luchador. I've obviously led a sheltered life.

I wonder if "chaduk", "yoogle" and "sebski22" are aware of and enjoying their fifteen minutes of fame/notoriety?

Helix · Jul 24, 2014

aliceshortcake said:
This is disturbing. The GSP fiasco demonstrates how utterly worthless video testimonials are; any company desperate enough to use them has to be either dodgy or gormless.

On a lighter note, I had no idea that for a lousy $5 people would be willing to kick-box in a bikini, dress up as "Granny Britannia" or pretend to be a Mexican luchador. I've obviously led a sheltered life.

I think I've been sheltered too. I just had a look at the 'bizarre' section.

aliceshortcake · Jul 24, 2014

I didn't even notice the 'bizarre' section and frankly I'm too scared to investigate further.

Sixpence · Jul 24, 2014

Helix said:
And here are Jack, Clive and Richard in their natural surroundings. Clive's green screen cost a tenner more. That was money well spent!

ETA: That's not my blog, btw. I found it during my morning ramble through the internet.

Oh my, thank you, Jurgen Wolff, if you ever see this. That's wonderful detective work. And thank you, Helix, for coming across it and sharing it.

This whole thing has made me even more distrustful of "SEO gurus" and "Social media experts" than I was before (which was plenty). GSP's entire internet presence is built on the cheapest materials and flimsiest foundation possible, which (the more you learn) is par for the course.

It has been both edifying and (VERY) entertaining to watch that house of cards fall down.

aliceshortcake · Jul 24, 2014

Absolutely! I'd like to give Mr Wolff a hug or buy him a drink, whichever he's most comfortable with.

Filigree · Jul 24, 2014

I've been distrustful of SEO gurus for a while, after seeing a gorgeous, entirely misleading website made for an an utterly predatory art gallery. The site had keyword fever, testimonials, delusions of grandeur...all the hallmarks of mid-2000s business marketing. For a business that folded inside a year, whose principals already had a string of failed companies.

This case should probably go on the Stickies for future reference: it has everything distilled to the essence of scam publisher, and there's no way it's not scammy. I'll be watching closely to see how everything plays out.

Sixpence · Jul 24, 2014

Seconding the hug/drink offer.

Any sort of SEO shenanigans sets my teeth on edge. GSP is full of it. Blogged about it (and them) today too, for all the good it'll do. All that aliceshortcake, Mike99, Helix, Jurgen Wolff and everyone else has dug up could at least provide a way for people to check out the online credentials of companies like this in the future. Also, the more links to GSP that scream about it being a scam, the better.

aliceshortcake · Jul 24, 2014

I think it's safe to reveal that yesterday a representative of the Advertising Standards Authority sent me the following email:

Green Shore Publishing have refused to supply us with details of testimonials on their own site due to ‘privacy contracts’ with authors. They’ve offered to remove them and I’ve asked them to clarify why they are not complying with our request as they have a duty to do so irrespective of any arrangements made with authors.

In addition, they’ve claimed that the radio adverts are only for demonstration purposes. In my reply, I’ve asked them to clarify why their site states ‘Below are two examples of ads that have recently aired’.

I’ve yet to garner a response from them and I will writing to them again this afternoon.

I haven't heard back from them yet but so far there have been no changes on the GSP website. It's almost as if the company wants to get a damn good kicking.

It's also occurred to me that the three providers of "testimonials" might have been given the full name of someone who works for GSP (Salviani's minions are certainly stupid enough to let something slip), so I've sent each of them a very politely-worded message via fiverr to ask if they can help.

Helix · Jul 24, 2014

Does that mean GSP is telling the ASA that Jack et al. really are authors? Authors who just happen to sell testimonials on Fiverr? Blimey. What are the odds?

So, these ~~act~~authors have turned to GSP to sell their books, yet privacy contracts apparently prevent the company from revealing their names or the names of the books they're selling. Not exactly a sustainable business model.

ETA: I'm about to go to bed, so I'll leave this here. :popcorn:

aliceshortcake · Jul 24, 2014

Ah, but yesterday the ASA didn't know about the fiverr connection. They do now!

aliceshortcake · Jul 24, 2014

Sixpence said:
Seconding the hug/drink offer.

Any sort of SEO shenanigans sets my teeth on edge. GSP is full of it. Blogged about it (and them) today too, for all the good it'll do.

I'm sure it will be tremendously helpful, particularly to those of us who think the internet is one step removed from magic.

Filigree · Jul 24, 2014

I included a link to this thread in my blog's criteria for Filigree's Rule, because the Green Shore fiasco is a prime example of graft and stupidity.
I won't link directly, but as of this writing, the post is the second one down the list.

What depresses me is there will still be people willing to send GSP money to be 'published'.

Sixpence · Jul 24, 2014

Filigree said:
What depresses me is there will still be people willing to send GSP money to be 'published'.

That is a depressing thought, but the more noise there is on the internet, the more likely that a google search for them will do their image more harm than good, and make the handing over of money a far less likely outcome.

Of course, that does presume that someone would do a cursory google search of any company they're preparing to give hundreds of pounds/euro/dollars to...which, as you point out in your post, won't always be the case.

The people that don't search can't be helped, but those who do (like Amy E.) may at least be warned off.

aliceshortcake · Jul 24, 2014

I'm still reeling from the discovery that there exists a whole cottage industry supplying fake testimonials to company websites - when the discovery of a fake testimonial on a company website can lead to legal action being taken by the ASA.

Gravity · Jul 24, 2014

Maybe he thought he was fast enough on his feet not to get caught.

In the words of Rocket J. Squirrel, "That trick never works."

Green Shore Publishing

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