02 November 2009

Publishing scam

Right after I sent an e-query to an agent, an ad for the Whitmore Publishing Company appeared in my Gmail courtesy of Google adsense's witchcraft. Whitmore, it turns out, was soliciting submissions (in all genres, no less). I took a quick look at SFWA's Writer Beware Blog, and lo, my suspicions were correct: Whitmore shows up. A little poking around and it turns out Whitmore is an imprint of Dorrance, a big vanity house.

Just something to keep in mind if anyone who's reading this is a writer: publishers and agents are absolutely swamped, all of the time, and between the Writer's Market and Google, they'll never run out of potential clients. Anyone who's actively soliciting manuscripts is running a business model where they get paid the more books they publish, rather than the more books they sell. This runs the gamut from print-on-demand publishers (who don't generally try to hide what they are) to vanity presses (which from what I've seen, are usually pretty shady operators--they provide services paid for, but they're real cagey about the fact that no bookstore will ever carry a book from a vanity press) to outright scams.

11 comments:

M. C. Pearson said...

Thanks! I was looking into them for a friend. You nailed it!

Simply Inspired Words Publishing said...

thanks I was just getting ready to look into them...

Unknown said...

I wish I'd seen your comment earlier. I sent my manuscript to Whitmore Publishing two days ago.

Do you have a list of the baddies?

Deloris Nicholson said...

I would like to thank you for saving me from myself! I was literally a few minutes away from submission to Whitmore when I decided I should check them out first. I found your page in the nick of time.

Anonymous said...

Thank you. I read it in time. Do you have list reliable publishers who can be trusted.

Anonymous said...

whats up everyone


just registered and put on my todo list


hopefully this is just what im looking for, looks like i have a lot to read Im trying to find a way to build an e-mail list.

Kate Seymour said...

thank you so much i was just about to send my manuscript to them!! thanks!

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Anonymous said...

thanks didnt send them my manuscript but was checking into them.

Shayree said...

Hey thanks Matt. I was going to post my manuscript to Whitmore. You saved me.

Elizabeth Olushola Adeolu said...

Thanks! I was abt 2 send my ms and thot I shld research...