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Posted by Victoria Strauss for Writer Beware UPDATE: This lawsuit, along with another brought later, was  dismissed in August 2015 . As I'm sure most readers of this blog know, self-publishing services provider Author Solutions Inc., along with its parent, Penguin Group, is currently the subject of a class action lawsuit , filed in May 2013 by the law firm Giskan Solotaroff Anderson & Stewart LLP. Allegations include breach of contract, unjust enrichment, and violation of state statutes in California, New York, and Colorado. In June 2013, ASI and Penguin filed for dismissal , labeling authors' complaints "a series of gripes" that would be better served by filing individual suits, and urging the court to toss all but the breach of contract claims against ASI, and to remove Penguin from the lawsuit entirely. Legal maneuvering over the dismissal filings ensued over the following months (plaintiffs' Second Amended Complaint can be seen here ), even as discover...

Posted by Victoria Strauss for Writer Beware Starting in the summer of last year, self-published authors whose books made it onto Amazon's Movers and Shakers list began to receive solicitations from a publicist named Kerry Jacobson ( here's an example ). Jacobson, who claimed more than eight years of experience boosting authors onto bestseller lists, promised a marketing push that would vault the authors' books onto the New York Times and USA Today lists, or propel them into Amazon's top ten. He also promised guidance and mentoring to help them make the most of the opportunity. Jacobson's fees were enormous--a retainer of $2,500, $4,500, even $6,500--with, in some cases, a $10,000 "bonus" due after authors made the lists. Authors who tried to research him to verify his background and claims of success found little beyond a few social media profiles --and, somewhat worryingly, a number of defunct businesses.* But he was dynamic and persuasive--especiall...

Posted by Victoria Strauss for Writer Beware Another small press disaster came to an ugly conclusion last week. In mid-2012, I began getting complaints about Silver Publishing, which started up in 2009 as a self-publishing facilitator, but in 2010 transformed itself into a "traditional royalty-paying press" (I put that in quotes because, these days, it means so little). Reported problems included poor editing, delayed and missing royalty statements/payments, royalty reductions due to claimed "overpayments," arbitrary changes in royalty payment schedules, and lack of communication--or, alternatively, rude responses to authors' questions and concerns. (See the Silver Publishing thread at Absolute Write for examples.) All signs of a publisher in, if not terminal disarray, at least trouble. Silver's owner, South African-born Lodewyk M. Deysel, made an appearance at Absolute Write in August 2012 to aggressively deny negative reports. By November of that same y...

Posted by Victoria Strauss for Writer Beware Got the yen to write a book, but lack that essential creative spark? Looking to ride the coattails of the Kindle self-publishing craze, but don't want to bother with all that pesky scribbling? Want an author to create a story for you, but don't know where to find one? Fret no more. The Internet's got you covered. Here , for instance, would-be but inspiration-challenged authors can "Cash In on the Kindle Fiction Publishing Craze" by purchasing a "MASSIVE SET OF PRE-WRITTEN FICTION PLOTS." That's right! A diligent ghostwriter and her crack writing team are offering "THIRTY-SIX plots in one huge package!" For only $27! Romance, erotica, science fiction, fantasy...it's all here, ready to use. Just add a touch of butt-in-chair, bolstered by this helpful advice: So, how do you actually USE these plots? First of all, do NOT publish them as-is! Even though some of the plots are almost short stories...