Bad Actors in Publishing

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August 6 question - What is the most unethical practice in the publishing industry?

I'm going to say honestly that I don't know. However, there are a lot of bad actors in the publishing industry. Many of these bad actors can be found on the Writer Beware blog.

https://writerbeware.blog/

Buy Link:

https://amzn.to/45kzyHX

Here is the blurb for the book by Michael N. Marcus.

Outskirts Press calls itself "the fastest-growing full-service publishing provider." It published seven books in 2002, its first year, and over 5,000 books in 2009. Some of those books, and the press releases that promote them, are filled with silly errors that should have been avoided. When authors are disappointed and enraged., service reps hide behind the fine print of a contract that does not warrant that books will be error-free. Outskirts is also inept (and dishonest) when it promotes itself. Its website, emails, press releases, blogs and promotional literature have factual errors, mistakes in grammar, spelling and arithmetic- and deliberate distortion. Outskirts uses such grandiose phrases as "a veritable army of publishing professionals" to attract customers - but those professionals tell lies to make independent self-publishing seem much harder than it really is. Although Outskirts uses such buzzwords as "self-publishing" and "print-on-demand," it's really a vanity publisher. Vanity publishers make most of their money by selling services and overpriced trinkets to naïve authors - not by selling books to readers. The books are often ugly, unedited and overpriced. They sell poorly, and are seldom reviewed. This book was written to make potential customers of Outskirts Press and other vanity publishers aware of the trouble that likely awaits them, and to let vanity publishers know that their lies and failures will be noticed and publicized. It's also a very funny book.

My Experience

I fell victim to Outskirts Press when I published my first book back in 2007. I lost thousands of dollars and stopped writing for five years. I kick myself every day for being so stupid. However, I think more than anything else, I was desperate. I knew my story would never have mainstream appeal. The options available to self-published authors today simply were not available in 2007. 

Predatory publishers like Outskirts Press still exist, preying on people desperate to tell their stories. These people are often broken souls, having had very little support or encouragement during their lives. Taking advantage of such people certainly falls into the category of evil. 

Ornery Owl Has Spoken

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