If you've read my blog or know me personally you know I love to write and I've been published twice by a reputable traditional publishing company. I am writing this to warm people out there like me, who love to write and may be seeking a publisher for your work. There are still publishers out there who are traditional in their practices and reputable, but there are some out there who are not. I have been seeking a new publisher for one of my new books and in the last few months I have had two really frustrating experiences. Twice in the last two months I have had two different publishers tell me they wanted to see my work... and after reviewing it they told me how they liked it and wanted to publish it. Honestly I'm suspicious that they probably didn't even read it. Once I received a contractual agreement from them there was the little area in the fine print that told me they wanted me to pay them 9,000USD in the case of one and 900.00USD in the case of another one. This practice is usually considered a SCAM in the publishing world as most of these companies not only charge the author but in most cases they don't follow through with the promises they make. I am going to name the two publishers I have had experiences with as they have both been named in "Writer Beware" websites that try to warn new authors about these sorts of companies. In both cases these publishing companies have had lawsuits against them for wrong doing and making false claims and not living up to their contractual promises. There are many to beware of but here are the two I personally would suggest you stay clear of.
1. Dorrance Publishing
2. Strategic Publishing (and all of it's affiliate companies)
In the case of Strategic Publishing their was a lawsuit against them and all their subsidiary companies have been included in the 'Writer Beware' warnings. For those of us out there who love to write and are honestly seeking a reputable and legitimate publisher wasting time with people like these is very frustrating and that's why I personally want to try to save some of you out there some wasted time and energy. In the case of Strategic publishing, I even wrote them and asked them if they were a "Pay to Publish" company and they told me no. Only to send me a contract later after saying they liked my work, asking me to pay them 900.00USD. Anyway I don't want to sound like sour grapes, but this was my personal experience, so please Writers Beware and be prepared if you do a web search for publishers, you will get numerous sites from the types of publishers I speak of. Most of them as asking for your work because every author out there no matter how good or bad your work is, is a potential client for them.
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