Unfortunately, there is an increasing number of scammers out there targeting authors with false claims and promises, and some even pretending to be someone they are not. So, how can you tell the difference between a scam and a legitimate opportunity for your book?
In this session, ALC President Keith Ogorek gives you sure-fire ways to immediately recognize a scammer by the claims and promises they make, the job titles they use, and whom they say they represent. In addition, he explains how the publishing industry and Hollywood companies actually work so you can tell if the person contacting you is offering a legitimate opportunity or just trying to scam you.
Here is the handout referenced in the session:ALC-Publishing Scams Handout 2024_07.pdfAbout the Presenter:
As the President of the Author Learning Center and an industry thought leader, Keith has helped drive a number of significant innovations in the self-publishing industry and is featured in the book, 'Innovation--How Innovators Think, Act and Change Our World'. He has helped launch and operate supported self-publishing imprints for traditional publishers and Fuzeframe, which identifies and options self-published books for development in Hollywood. Keith has authored five books and has written a number of helpful white papers including ‘The POEM Method of Book Marketing’, the '4 Paths to Publishing' and 'Three Phases of an Effective Book Marketing Campaign'. You will also find him speaking at leading industry events such as Singapore Writer’s Festival, The Havana Book Fair, GenreLA, and California Creative Writers Conference, just to name a few. In addition, he is a regular webinar presenter for The Author Learning Center.
Hi Keith, I'm a writer who's soon to publish her first book, but am now having concerns about the publishing company I've signed up with. Is there an email address that I can reach you in consulting about this matter?
I will see if I can forward this to someone at WestBow to get back to you.
Found it!
Thank you for your webinar. I learned so much. I was also a member of Flourish Chirstian Writers for a couple of years. They did a presentation similiar to yours. They mentioned yourself, Author Learning Center, Westbow Press and a few others you mention as legitimate as examples as being publishing scammers. I am no longer a member of Flourish Chrisitan Writers. I have tried without success getting them off of my email and social media lists.
I registered/payed a fee to Westbow Press and with that I pay an additional monthly fee to the Author Learning Center. I was assigned a literary agent from West Bow Press who has requested that I send my entire manuscript through their email. I sought out Westbow Press and created an account. However, I do not seem to be able find any clear specific directions how to submit my book to Westbow Press. Can you give some examples for authors how to follow guideline submissions to Westbow Press?