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Avoiding Common Scams

Within the POD industry, there are some real dangers to first-time self-publishers who can't spot the sharks. These are the individuals and companies who seek to take advantage of an aspiring author's high hopes and naivete. The smoothest ones know how to feed your enthusiasm while keeping you ignorant of their true agenda, which is to make money from you one way or another. Listed below you'll find a list of the most common scams, plus recommended resources for further information.

Scams & False Promises

Scam Alert graphic
  • Promises of Distribution: If a POD promises distribution, ask them what the stock status and retail discount will be in the listing. If they can’t tell you, then chances are your book will be listed as “out of stock,” and the retail discount will be less than the standard 40-50%. (Mine was listed at only 10% off, which is prohibitive for retailers.) The only way to effectively get your book into distribution is to do it yourself. See Chapter 16.
  • “Bookstore Quality”: Many POD companies skimp on ink and use cheap creme-colored paper. That might be fine if you have no images in your book, but if you do, they won’t look great. Make the POD company reprint it until it looks good to you, and request white paper, if possible.
  • Packaged services: Make sure you get what you’ve paid for with packaged services. Self-published author Steven Morrison explains that he ended up designing his own cover, even though his POD package included cover design services! See the full interview on page 71.
  • Editor referrals: If anyone tells you your book needs to be edited and then tries to sell you a specific Editor’s services (who happens to be very expensive) then it’s probably a scam. Get another opinion.
  • Problem PODs: There are plenty of complaints online about POD Account Reps who don’t return phone calls, royalties that should have been paid but weren’t, and services promised but not delivered. Every company has lame employees, but too many complaints over time is bad news.
  • Fake reviewers: There are would-be reviewers who will ask you for copies of your book, promising reviews, just so they can resell the books for a profit. Ask for sample reviews before sending a book; use your intuition when deciding to do so; and then print “REVIEW COPY - NOT FOR RESALE” on the front cover or across the page edges. Scam thwarted!

Recommended Resources


Standard operating procedure...

The POD industry wants you to believe that self-publishing a book is easy and that anyone can make it a success. In practice, their job is to stroke your ego, tell you your ideas and delivery are already perfect, and then take your money, whether by selling you an expensive publishing package or charging you exorbitant manufacturing fees. They even call their salespeople “Account Reps,” who try to make you feel lucky that their company is agreeing to “publish” your book, even though they take every one that comes along. They’ll make you false promises and then won’t answer your calls once they have your money (if they even have a phone).
     This is how the POD game is often played, but the truth is that a “vanity press” is all in how you use it, and with a little savvy, you’ll be able to ferret out the false promises before you make a commitment.

- Self-Publishing Revolution