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A publisher or agency using Google ads to solicit your novel probably isn't anyone you want to write for.
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#1 |
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Your Genial Uncle
Absolute Sage
Join Date: Feb 2005
Location: New Hampshire
Posts: 21,867
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Author Identity Publishing (Authoridentity.com)
I got some spam from these guys today:
Yeah, right, for the holidays. Way late to be getting into the game if you mean the holidays coming up in about a month and a half. Holidays 2007, maybe.AuthorIdentity.com Newsletter Nothing I want more than success in my writing career, though. So I went over and took a look. What was the first thing I saw? Yep, vanity press!That being said we do require certain marketing efforts from our authors. Remember it’s your book, and you must want to help in its sales. If you are not willing or unable to do so WE ARE NOT THE PUBLISHER FOR YOU! What else? Yeah, right, agents are trying to sell them short stories. Pull the other one -- it's got bells! (Agents, real ones, generally don't handle short fiction.)Question: Do I need an agent? Even better -- look what they have under "News": Hey, I can tell you how to sell lots of your books and become a best-selling author, and I'll tell you for free: Sell your book to Scribner's. Really. That's the strategy.Become a Best-Selling Author But do you know what I don't find on Author Identity's website? The title of a single book they've published. The name of their editor. Anything that would make these folks look like a legitimate press.
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A collection of fantasy stories by Debra Doyle and James D. Macdonald Multiple electronic formats |
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#2 |
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Your Genial Uncle
Absolute Sage
Join Date: Feb 2005
Location: New Hampshire
Posts: 21,867
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Oh -- and if you do follow their link to find out how to get best-seller status guaranteed, you get to a place in that I'm-a-scammer triple-column format (I think they bought the template from one of those Make Millions on the Internet spams -- you can tell a scam site from across the room just by the layout and colors) telling you how to become rich and famous through radio interviews.
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A collection of fantasy stories by Debra Doyle and James D. Macdonald Multiple electronic formats |
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#3 |
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Super Browser
Join Date: Feb 2005
Location: In a van down by the river
Posts: 10,363
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From the PAMB website:
Question: Do I need an agent? Answer: Not if you decide to submit your work here. We select our authors without being preached to by agents, no matter how hard they sometimes try. There is not much an agent can do for most new authors, other than try to locate a publisher. If you have already signed up with an agent, tell them to contact us with your work, and we will gladly study their proposal. But it will be no different than when you contact us yourself. From the AuthorIdentity website: Question: Do I need an agent? Answer: Not if you decide to submit your work here. We select our authors without being represented by agents, no matter how hard they sometimes try. There is not much an agent can do for most new authors, other than try to locate a publisher. If you have already signed up with an agent, tell them to contact us with your work, and we will gladly study their proposal. But it will be no different than when you contact us yourself. Well, taken exactly, word for word from Publish America. Why do you suppose that is? Is there a remote connection here? This is more than suspicious. Tri
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BLOG http://guerrillawarfareforwriters.blogspot.com/ WAR GATE http://www.amazon.com/The-War-Gate-e...9233675&sr=1-1 WOLFEN STRAIN http://www.amazon.com/The-Wolfen-Str...vglnk-c1189-20 Planet Janitor. |
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#4 |
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Mostly Harmless
SuperModerator
Join Date: Feb 2005
Location: Coastal Desert
Posts: 10,614
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AuthorIndentity.com is registered to a Jeffrey Haight of “Corporate Roots Inc.”
No info on him/that in a quick Google, however I did find one fellow promoting AuthorIdentity as an author… http://www.storiesmania.net/communit...ad.php?p=41447 http://kevinfabiano.com/index.php/ne...uthors%20Only/ *koff*
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ICAO ![]() --------- Achievers strive for excellence. Perfectionists drive themselves to extinction. -- A Grapple A Day I've never known any trouble that an hour's reading didn't assuage. -- Charles DeSecondat 2012: |
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#5 | |
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Writer Beware Goddess
Absolute Sage
Join Date: Feb 2005
Location: Far from the madding crowd
Posts: 6,315
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Quote:
(He's selling a "How to Get Published Guaranteed" workshop/course for $595. Would it be too cruel to blog about this?) - Victoria Edited to add: I think I will blog about it. There are so many faux "experts" out there offering horrible advice, and people are taking them seriously. It's a real menace.
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Writer Beware: www.writerbeware.com Writer Beware Blog: www.accrispin.blogspot.com Follow me on Twitter |
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#6 |
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Your Genial Uncle
Absolute Sage
Join Date: Feb 2005
Location: New Hampshire
Posts: 21,867
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So I looked at Kevin's information. He says: "I have five books in print along with a short story. One of my books The Palace of Wisdom: A Rock and Roll Fable became a National Best Seller."
I looked up The Palace of Wisdom and it's published by ... PublishAmerica! (I wonder how I missed it becoming a National Best Seller.) Another place on one of those sites I see: The link takes you to a place where National Best Selling Author Kevin A. Fabiano is willing to sell you a set of six CDs. I wonder if Kevin took this course, because he sure-enough published with a vanity....How to Get Published Guaranteed Without an Agent or Vanity Press
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A collection of fantasy stories by Debra Doyle and James D. Macdonald Multiple electronic formats |
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#7 |
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我的身分還是秘密.
Join Date: May 2006
Location: 神出鬼没像那暗夜的噩夢.
Posts: 8,292
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Jeez, James, how do you get on these mailing lists?
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#8 |
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Seen 'em come, seen 'em go
Join Date: Feb 2005
Location: Land o' Goshen, and packed with nougaty goodness
Posts: 3,387
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Yowch. Kevin, best put on some head protection, laddie. Your life is about to turn interesting. :::grabbing some popcorn::: Anybody want some? It's fresh.
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John Robinson commercially published: Until the Last Dog Dies, When Skylarks Fall, To Skin a Cat, Last Call, and The Radiance agent Chip MacGregor presently querying: Pitfall http://www.johnrobinsonbooks.com http://www.johnrobinsonbooks.com/blog.htm check out my blog; c'mon, you know you want to.
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#9 | |
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Your Genial Uncle
Absolute Sage
Join Date: Feb 2005
Location: New Hampshire
Posts: 21,867
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Quote:
It was spam. Spammers get addresses from all over. (BTW, I too have "uncovered a proved system that will GUARANTEE your success in finding a traditional publisher for your book." I'll sell you the secret for just $549.95. Oh, heck, I'll tell you for free: Send your book to PublishAmerica. They'll take it, and they're "traditional." (They say so themselves.)) What I really want to know about is the apparent Super Secret Mailing List for Newbie Authors where they learn about some start-up publisher, where the publisher's only publishing experience is having a book out through Lulu.com, and which is planning to specialize in short stories and poetry. Where do the newbies find these places?
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A collection of fantasy stories by Debra Doyle and James D. Macdonald Multiple electronic formats |
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#10 | |
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Writer Beware Goddess
Absolute Sage
Join Date: Feb 2005
Location: Far from the madding crowd
Posts: 6,315
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Quote:
- Victoria
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Writer Beware: www.writerbeware.com Writer Beware Blog: www.accrispin.blogspot.com Follow me on Twitter |
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#11 |
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practical experience, FTW
Join Date: Jun 2005
Location: Jacksonville, Florida
Posts: 1,744
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I think they respond to the spam. I don't think the authors find them; it's the other way around.
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#12 | |
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Mostly Harmless
SuperModerator
Join Date: Feb 2005
Location: Coastal Desert
Posts: 10,614
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Quote:
ETA: And, increasingly, evangelizing by a certain 20,000 Happy Authors for the mothership (or for their own New & Improved scheme that's oh-so-much-better than PA).
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ICAO ![]() --------- Achievers strive for excellence. Perfectionists drive themselves to extinction. -- A Grapple A Day I've never known any trouble that an hour's reading didn't assuage. -- Charles DeSecondat 2012: Last edited by CaoPaux; 11-08-2006 at 09:53 PM. |
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#13 |
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Moderation in All Things
AW Moderator
Join Date: Feb 2005
Location: West Michigan
Posts: 12,591
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WritersMarket.com has a lot of them. All you have to do is search for agents that accept first-time writers or publishers who accept unagented manuscripts and viola (yes, I know, it's a stringed instrument). That's how I found ST Literary (now The Literary Agency Group).
WM can be a great starting point, but you have to do a lot of research too.
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--Roger J. Carlson |
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#14 |
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I *am* Catwoman...and Gini Koch
WPR Dominatrix
Join Date: Oct 2006
Location: A Little South of Sanity
Posts: 7,532
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Roger's right. I don't have a website, nor do I write poetry, but you'd be amazed at how many offers I get for poetry contests. My ISP sells names like they were going out of style. I received the short story offer, too, the other day. It went into the delete file immediately, but I'm sure that won't happen all across the board.
Also, as an unpublished writer who only happened to stumble upon both P&E and this site by accident, no one out there TELLS you that Writers Digest and the like don't necessarily do the screening that is necessary to weed out scammers and illegitimate agents. As an author seeking publication, you head for the Writer's Digest and Jeff Herman references and you use them as your bible, and you think that if the listing or ad is in the WD or one of their newsletters, that it's automatically safe and approved. I know I've entered contests and sent queries to places I shouldn't have -- but I only know that now that I've found this site. So, there are always going to be innocents for these scam artists to con, because I'd venture to guess that the majority of authors out there seeking publication aren't aware of the watchdog sites and why they should use them religiously. I wasn't until just a couple of weeks ago (but I'm very glad to be here now).
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Jeanne Action, Adventure, Romance & Humor Coming Dec. 3, 2013, Alien Research -- Preorder NOW! ![]() --Click the covers to go to my website for details & more! Submit your poetry, humor & shorts to Raphael's Village! |
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#15 | |
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我的身分還是秘密.
Join Date: May 2006
Location: 神出鬼没像那暗夜的噩夢.
Posts: 8,292
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Quote:
If you want, I could look into it...
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#16 |
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Your Genial Uncle
Absolute Sage
Join Date: Feb 2005
Location: New Hampshire
Posts: 21,867
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"robots.txt" Also META NAME="ROBOTS" CONTENT="NOINDEX, NOFOLLOW" I know about 'em; only works on legitmate spiders like Google's.
Besides, I want Google (and Alta Vista, and all the rest) to index my site and follow my links. How else am I going to get visitors?
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A collection of fantasy stories by Debra Doyle and James D. Macdonald Multiple electronic formats |
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#17 | |
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我的身分還是秘密.
Join Date: May 2006
Location: 神出鬼没像那暗夜的噩夢.
Posts: 8,292
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Quote:
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#18 |
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I grow my own catnip
Join Date: Feb 2006
Location: Deep in the heart o' Texas
Posts: 2,263
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I'm sure you forwarded it to spam@uce.gov.
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#19 | |
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Your Genial Uncle
Absolute Sage
Join Date: Feb 2005
Location: New Hampshire
Posts: 21,867
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Quote:
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A collection of fantasy stories by Debra Doyle and James D. Macdonald Multiple electronic formats |
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#20 | |
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It's hard being green
Join Date: Feb 2005
Location: trapped between my ears
Posts: 12,338
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Quote:
Sheesh.
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"Hey, Steve, just because you broke into Xerox's store before I did and took the TV doesn't mean I can't go in later and steal the stereo." -- Bill Gates, Mac Week, March 14, 1989 Stories of Strength My listing in the Absolute Write Library. Support the Author Advocate Defense Fund ![]() |
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#21 | |
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Around and About
SuperModerator
Join Date: Feb 2005
Location: Where I hang my hat... when I can find my hat.
Posts: 14,661
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#22 |
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Ooo! Shiny new cover!
Absolute Sage
Join Date: Jun 2005
Location: Texas Hill Country
Posts: 7,413
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Interesting. I hadn't heard about this particular scam until the other day on another forum. Seems like they've been busy folks there to raise this much flack over such a short time.
I think I remember someone in small press saying once that if a book hits an in-house store bestseller list in two different areas of the country (other than the state where the publisher is), it qualifies as a "national bestseller." I'll have to find where I read that, because I thought it was interesting. These definitely sound like folks to avoid. I'll spread the word. Thanks, UJ.
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Smiles! Cathy Clamp USA Today bestselling author ON SHELVES NOW!! The Eldritch Conspiracy Dance With The Devil, 11/13 Our Website Follow me at: Twitter ![]() "As always, Adams strikes a nice balance between romance & action, continuing to flesh out Celia’s world in strange new ways."- Publishers Weekly "Think L.A. noir w/magic, supernatural beings, psychic powers, warrior priests & modern technology." - Kirkus Reviews "Fast and fun, with enough complexity in plot & characters to keep readers engaged." - ALA Booklist |
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#23 | |
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Writting broad
Join Date: May 2005
Location: Vancouver Island
Posts: 1,667
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Quote:
-Barbara |
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#25 | |
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Your Genial Uncle
Absolute Sage
Join Date: Feb 2005
Location: New Hampshire
Posts: 21,867
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Quote:
AuthorIdentity reveals its ignorance.
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A collection of fantasy stories by Debra Doyle and James D. Macdonald Multiple electronic formats |
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