Recently Answered Questions:



Q –

Dear Ms. Angela,

Thank you for taking the time to speak with my grandson regarding my nonpayment of my books (by Infinity Publishing). Growing up in Mississippi, I called Infinity Publishing a lot of times trying to get my money owed to me, but they never sent it. Each time I called they’d say someone will call you and we’ll send your money owed to you, but they never did. Can you please send me the Infinity Publishing and Fast Pencil address? Thank you in advance for doing so. My books are on the web, and I don’t receive any money from any of these online publishers. How can I get my books deleted from the websites?

-B


A –

We started warning authors about Infinity Publishing (later merged with Fast Pencil) as far back as 2017. We published another warning in 2020. After years of authors complaining about non-payment of royalties and more, Infinity Publishing/Fast Pencil finally decided to stop publishing books in late 2023. I’m sure all of the complaints posted about them online over the years contributed to their demise. HOWEVER, they are still doing business (a different type) under the name Opyrus.

Paying authors’ royalties isn’t that hard. When the customer, distributor, or retailer pays you, you put that money into a specific bank account to hold those funds. You then collect monthly reports from each payer, credit your authors’ accounts, and send them their payments. At BookLocker, we pay by the fifth business day of the month. It’s such an easy process that we often pay our authors early. For example, this month, we paid our authors’ royalties on the second business day of the month. Again, it is not a difficult process!

If, however, a publisher is spending their authors’ royalties on their own expenses, well, that would explain why they aren’t paying their authors, wouldn’t it?!

I recommend reporting them to their state’s attorney general. The online form is HERE. At least one author who contacted us was able to get his production files after threatening to do that. However, Infinity Publishing / Fast Pencil has been charging some authors for those, which is horrible because the authors already paid them to produce those files. You would think that, after what they’ve done to their authors, they’d simply send those files to each author for free. But, after all of the complaints I’ve read about them over the years, I’m not surprised by their most recent conduct.

The company could have also simply transferred their authors and files to another publisher to avoid all the problems they’re having now. In fact, they can still do that but I don’t think they will because, in my opinion, they took the easy way out, and figured out how to get even more money from their authors in the process.

Here is their address:

Fastpencil, Inc.
517 Boston Post Rd
Sudbury, MA 01776-7600

Since they no longer have the right to sell your books, I also recommend submitting a copyright infringement complaint to Amazon. Important advice on how to do that is HERE.

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An author forwarded an email he received from Brilliant Books Literary / BrilliantBooksLiterary.com. Like many of these types of solicitations, the email makes it look like they actually read the authors book (offering praise). I seriously doubt that is the case. BrilliantBooksLiterary.com wanted to showcase the author’s book at a large book festival. The author wanted to know if it was a good deal.

1. The email did not quote a price but it offered 40% off. Uh huh.

2. Their website is a pain. The box to subscribe kept popping up over and over again and I had a hard time viewing anything after clicking on the links at the top of the page.

3. I gave up trying to get any info. from the website itself, and moved on over to Google instead.

4. BrilliantBooksLiterary.com has an F Rating on bbb.org. Don’t miss the one-star reviews and the complaints. I can’t imagine anyone reading those hiring Brilliant Books Literary to do anything.

5. Check out this image posted by Writer Beware.

I always tell authors to avoid book fairs. Rather than repeat myself, read these:





HAVE A QUESTION ABOUT SELF-PUBLISHING A BOOK?

Angela is not only the publisher of WritersWeekly.com. She is President & CEO of BookLocker.com,
a self-publishing services company that has been in business since 1998. Ask her anything.

ASK ANGELA!



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90+ DAYS OF PROMOTING YOUR BOOK ONLINE: Your Book's Daily Marketing Plan by Angela Hoy and Richard Hoy

Promoting your book online should be considered at least a part-time job. Highly successful authors spend more time promoting a book than they do writing it - a lot more.

We know what you're thinking. You're an author, not a marketer. Not to worry! We have more than a decade of successful online book selling experience under our belts and we're going to teach you how to promote your book effectively online...and almost all of our techniques are FREE!

Online book promotion is not only simple but, if you have a step-by-step, day-to-day marketing plan (this book!), it can also be a very artistic endeavor, which makes it fun for creative folks like you!

Yes, online book promoting can be EASY and FUN! Let us show you how, from Day 1 through Day 90...and beyond!

Q –

Angela,

My wife is working on a Christmas novel and we would like to know when you think we should publish it. We assume that early in October would be best.

Thanks,

David


Some people start their Christmas shopping in September so I recommend sending the final manuscript to BookLocker no later than the first week of August. That will give us time to get the formatting/design finished, and get the book on the market in time for the Christmas shopping season. We usually get a book to market within a month. 🙂

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HAVE A QUESTION ABOUT SELF-PUBLISHING A BOOK?

Angela is not only the publisher of WritersWeekly.com. She is President & CEO of BookLocker.com,
a self-publishing services company that has been in business since 1998. Ask her anything.

ASK ANGELA!



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Q –

Hi Angela,

I have a Facebook account that I use to solicit business for my services. I’d like to turn my informational posts (they’re like articles) into a book but I’m not sure how to do that. Any advice?

-K.K.


A –

Lots of people are deciding to do this, especially if they’ve been giving away free advice to their potential customers on their social media accounts and/or blog posts.

Here’s what to do:

1. Copy and paste all of the posts you want in your book into one MSWord file (or another word processing or text program).

2. Organize them in the order you want them to appear in the book. For example, you can organize them by subject (or similar subjects), and put different sections in your book. Each “post” can then be a chapter in your book.

2. Submit the file for consideration at BookLocker.com. I’d love to see it! 🙂

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HAVE A QUESTION ABOUT SELF-PUBLISHING A BOOK?

Angela is not only the publisher of WritersWeekly.com. She is President & CEO of BookLocker.com,
a self-publishing services company that has been in business since 1998. Ask her anything.

ASK ANGELA!



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Q –

Angela, I wanted you to let me know what you think about the email below that I recently received.

-L.

Dear (name removed),

My name is (name removed). Congratulations on getting a recommendation on your book from our Book Scouts.

Book Title: (removed)

We have made a preliminary endorsement of your book to our partners in different industries. Bookstores, Traditional Publishers, and Movie Producers, and a handful of them showed high interest in your book. Our main objective is to bridge the gap and build a possible partnership with decision-makers in these industries.

Also, we want to share some exciting news with you. One of our talented authors has recently received a promising offer from a film production company for the adaptation of their book and one author to be acquired by local bookstores in the USA based on the (name removed)…..


A –

Blah blah blah. It goes on to list a film deal, a bookstore placement, etc., etc. – All difficult to verify but it’s the same garbage I’ve seen from so many companies before.

The person sending the email included this:

Much Respect,

Best regards,

Clearly it’s a copy and paste spam.

Other red flags:

The email had a U.S. address but Writer Beware states they are in the Philippines.

They are emailing and calling authors all over. There are many reports of them doing this online. If they MUST resort to spam and telemarketing, they are NOT a real literary agency.

There are no prices on their website. That’s always a HUGE red flag.

Their website claims they want to get you a traditional contract…yet they sell book publishing services.

There are many more red flags as well and we have exposed this firm’s actions in WritersWeekly previously.

And, simply Googling the name of the firm brings up numerous complaints.

REMEMBER, IF ANY “LITERARY AGENT” CONTACTS YOU VIA EMAIL OR BY PHONE, IT’S A SCAM! Real literary agents are too busy going through their slush piles than to go hunting for victims online.

The reason I’m not revealing the name of this particular company is because authors need to be aware of EVERY company that contacts them in this manner.


DON’T FORGET! This Saturday is the Winter, 2024 24-Hour Short Story Contest! Read past topics and sign up RIGHT HERE!


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HAVE A QUESTION ABOUT SELF-PUBLISHING A BOOK?

Angela is not only the publisher of WritersWeekly.com. She is President & CEO of BookLocker.com,
a self-publishing services company that has been in business since 1998. Ask her anything.

ASK ANGELA!



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Q –

Hi, Angela,

I hope your Holiday was splendid and blessed. Thanks for any help you gave in getting my third mystery out there.

Question: today I received an email addressed to my pseudonym from (someone who owns a book review website). She claims she reviews new books, has been doing this for years, and has increased the sales of new authors. She has a fairly impressive website with lots of books and synopses…including (best selling books).

She has invited me to reply and ask any question about her business. Her English was good. Do you know about her? Is she legit? Or should I reply and ask some questions?


A –

I checked out her website. She definitely charges for reviews. She’s not offering free services.

I doubt she has much reach. If she’s reviewed best sellers, she probably did it for free (didn’t even tell the author or publisher) to make her site look more legitimate.

The fact that she spammed you trying to get business says a lot, too. NEVER do business with spammers. They are desperate and that’s a huge red sign.

To get legitimate reviews to use in your marketing materials, read this:

How To EASILY Get Awesome and Honest Book Reviews That REALLY Carry Weight With Readers!

Do YOU think this was a book review scam? Please share your thoughts in the comments box below! 🙂

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HAVE A QUESTION ABOUT SELF-PUBLISHING A BOOK?

Angela is not only the publisher of WritersWeekly.com. She is President & CEO of BookLocker.com,
a self-publishing services company that has been in business since 1998. Ask her anything.

ASK ANGELA!



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Q –

Angela,

I am sorry that I keep hitting you with this garbage, but you are the only resource I have that I trust. Authors Tranquility Press wants me to pay $7,500.00 to Harper’s Magazine for an ad for my book. According to Aime St. Johnson, the Editor-in-Chief of Harper’s is Jenna Sommers. According to Harper’s website, the Editor-in-Chief is Tracy Grant.

Any comments?

-A.L.


The author shared a copy of an email from a woman allegedly named Aime St. Johnson who was using a europe.com email address. She cc’d Rachel Hayes (rachel.hayes@authorstranquilitypress.com) on the email. We found Rachel on LinkedIn. She is in the Philippines. Author’s Tranquility Press claims they are in Atlanta, Georgia.

I removed Rachel’s photo from this screenshot for copyright reasons:

The pdf file forwarded to the author by Aime St Johnson was addressed to:

Aime St Johnson
Position: Literary Agent
Representing: Authors Tranquility Press

Notice the missing apostrophe in the company’s name. I seriously doubt that Aime St Johnson (if that’s even a real person) is a legitimate literary agent. The pdf file had Harper Collins logo on it.

The sender of the email tried to get the author to purchase a $7,500 (!!!) ad in Harper’s Magazine. She wrote, “This is an opportunity to have your book featured in the prestigious Harper’s Magazine prior to its acquisition by Harper’s Group.

She further claimed that Harper’s Group was unable to provide funding upfront because they’re about to get acquired. She then said they would reimburse the author once the contract is finalized.

That is TOTAL B.S.!

The pdf implies that the ad for Harper’s Magazine needs to be purchased before an official contract to publish the book will be offered. They will then (4-6 months later) offer the author an advance of $45,000. Except…we all know that was never going to happen. They were just trying to bait the author into paying $7,500. And, I seriously doubt an ad would have ever appeared even after he paid the “literary agent” $7,500.

The pdf file is electronically signed by Jenna Sommers, Editor in Chief. However, nobody with that name appears on the masthead of Harper’s Magazine. That name also does not appear anywhere on the Harper Collins “team” page.

And, Harper’s Magazine isn’t even owned by Harper Collins!

In 1962, Harper & Brothers merged with Row, Peterson & Company, becoming Harper & Row (now HarperCollins). In 1965, the magazine was separately incorporated, and became a division of the Minneapolis Star and Tribune Company, owned by the Cowles Media Company.

-Source: Wikipedia

Here’s my response to the author:

Look at this:
https://www.harpercollins.com/pages/fraudalert

“We have received reports that individuals impersonating HarperCollins staff or claiming to be literary agents are targeting authors with false book acquisition offers. These individuals request that the author pay them or provide sensitive financial information in exchange for literary services or to facilitate a publishing agreement. Their emails sometimes include letters purporting to bear HarperCollins’ logos, imprint names, and staff signatures.”

MacMillan Publishers specifically lists Author’s Tranquility Press on their fraud alert page!

Please be aware that Macmillan does not work with or have any relationship with the following:

  • Author’s Tranquility Press
  • Brilliant Books Literary
  • Literary Press Agency
  • PageTurner Press & Media
  • Spark Literary
  • Stellar Publishing
  • Tyler Literary
  • Tyler Literature
  • Word Talk Press
  • Writers Press LLC
  • Writers Press Publishing House

This list is not exhaustive.

And, read complaints about Author’s Tranquility Press on BBB.org:

And, read reviews of Author’s Tranquility Press on BBB.org.

There are other complaints posted about them online as well.

On their own website, this box pops up:

Public Advisory

Please be advised that Author’s Tranquility Press is NOT affiliated, associated, authorized, endorsed by, or in any way officially connected with any other marketing, advertising, and publishing firms or any of its subsidiaries. Please note: Our official email addresses all ends with @authorstranquilitypress.com, and our main line is (866) 411-8655.

So, are they trying to say that other scammers are impersonating them? I don’t think so. Why? Because the email sent to the author above was copied to an authorstranquilitypress.com email address. Furthermore, if you click on the complaints above, they deal with many issues at the company, not just those discussed in this article.

While we know it’s tempting to believe emails and actual pdf files with logos, typed dollar signs, and lots of zeroes, in today’s online scammer climate, in all likelihood, all of those offers are fake.

If you have been the victim of this type of crime, or if you are contacted by this company, or another one pretending to be a legitimate publisher, immediately report them to their state’s attorney general. Most of those sites have online complaint forms. Unfortunately, many of these firms are located overseas. The only recourse against them is to spread the word far and wide online so other authors won’t fall victim to these crimes.

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HAVE A QUESTION ABOUT SELF-PUBLISHING A BOOK?

Angela is not only the publisher of WritersWeekly.com. She is President & CEO of BookLocker.com,
a self-publishing services company that has been in business since 1998. Ask her anything.

ASK ANGELA!



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ATTN: Owners of defunct Infinity Publishing and FastPencil, and the currently operational Opyrus.com. SHAME ON YOU for leaving your authors in a lurch like this! You could have VERY EASILY transferred those authors and files to another publisher. You could have even tried to sell or give away that part of your business to another, more responsible firm. Instead, you just gave your authors one month to get their files and you deserted them. You still have Internet access and you still own another website. How hard is it to simply reply to emails from authors who need their files? It’s NOT! We strongly recommend ALL authors and writers avoid your other business, Opyrus.com.


At WritersWeekly, we first start alerting authors to complaints about Infinity Publishing / Fast Pencil back in 2017. I wish more authors had read those complaints before crawling into bed with that company. 

We received two new emails from Infinity Publishing / FastPencil victims this week:

EMAIL #1

I just today learned that Infinity Publishing/Fastpencil is no longer in business. I have spent the last couple of days leaving messages on various answering machines with no calls returned. I did not receive any communication in October 2023 or earlier from those people regarding going out of business. I am currently revising (updating my book) and need the files and cover in order to do the update. Do you know of any way I can contact someone to get my files?

EMAIL #2

No response from fast pencil via their disappearing and reappearing website. I also tried their facebook page and no response there either. I only have a hard copy of book what can be done?

OUR RESPONSE TO BOTH AUTHORS:

I recommend sending them a certified letter and threatening to contact their state’s attorney general if they don’t give you your files.

They ARE still in business. They just aren’t publishing books anymore. This is their website: https://opyrus.com

Whether you get your files or not, we’ll be happy to help you republish your book at BookLocker. And, we will give you our disgruntled author discounted price. You can contact me directly RIGHT HERE.

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HAVE A QUESTION ABOUT SELF-PUBLISHING A BOOK?

Angela is not only the publisher of WritersWeekly.com. She is President & CEO of BookLocker.com,
a self-publishing services company that has been in business since 1998. Ask her anything.

ASK ANGELA!



Read More "Ask The Expert" Articles

Fall 2023 24 Hour Short Story Contest


Q –

Angela,

I’m sorry that I missed your sale last week. If I sign up at BookLocker today, can you still get my book on the market by Christmas?

Linda R.


A –

Many authors who want their book published by Christmas start contacting us in August. We usually get a book to market within a month. Those books are published in September and buyers have plenty of time to order and receive those copies for Christmas presents.

We have a two-week expedited publishing option that costs more. That means two weeks after you send your final file to us. Let’s say you respond very quickly to all of our communications. It’s possible that we’d have your print galley (the first printed, bound copy of your book) in your hands before Christmas. However, since it’s the printer’s busiest time of the year, they have a backlog so any additional copies you order probably would not arrive on time. You can order more than one print galley (those are printed quickly, and shipped 2nd day air) but they are very expensive ($50 each).

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HAVE A QUESTION ABOUT SELF-PUBLISHING A BOOK?

Angela is not only the publisher of WritersWeekly.com. She is President & CEO of BookLocker.com,
a self-publishing services company that has been in business since 1998. Ask her anything.

ASK ANGELA!







Authors often ask me for advice on how to enhance their online marketing during the holiday shopping season. I strongly recommend keeping up with your book promotion year-around! However, there are ways to implant the “this would make a great Christmas gift” idea in people’s minds when they see your book cover!

To see what we’re doing for BookLocker authors’ front covers, CLICK HERE.

Note: You do NOT need to be a BookLocker author in order to have us add a bow to your book cover. 😉

RELATED





HAVE A QUESTION ABOUT SELF-PUBLISHING A BOOK?

Angela is not only the publisher of WritersWeekly.com. She is President & CEO of BookLocker.com,
a self-publishing services company that has been in business since 1998. Ask her anything.

ASK ANGELA!



Read More "Ask The Expert" Articles



90+ DAYS OF PROMOTING YOUR BOOK ONLINE: Your Book's Daily Marketing Plan by Angela Hoy and Richard Hoy

Promoting your book online should be considered at least a part-time job. Highly successful authors spend more time promoting a book than they do writing it - a lot more.

We know what you're thinking. You're an author, not a marketer. Not to worry! We have more than a decade of successful online book selling experience under our belts and we're going to teach you how to promote your book effectively online...and almost all of our techniques are FREE!

Online book promotion is not only simple but, if you have a step-by-step, day-to-day marketing plan (this book!), it can also be a very artistic endeavor, which makes it fun for creative folks like you!

Yes, online book promoting can be EASY and FUN! Let us show you how, from Day 1 through Day 90...and beyond!

Fall 2023 24 Hour Short Story Contest


 

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