Flowering Japanese Tree Lilac [Syringia reticulata]. (Credit: Keith Carreiro, April 2016.)

For some reason this week, several friends of mine who are beginning writers have shared with me their experiences in being approached by vanity presses. To a person, they all told me how it “creeped them out”, especially the manner in which each one was contacted.

I’ve included a sample email that Thomas [not his real name] received below:

Dear Thomas R.

My name is Pattie I. Montessori, a Publishing Services Consultant at Alfaval Publishing. I am excited to hear that your book _______________________ in 2015 is completed. 

One of our researchers has discovered your manuscript registration with the Library of Congress and has forwarded your name to me as a possible candidate for publication with our company. Alfaval Publishing is the nation’s oldest author services company. 

The first step in getting your book published with Alfaval is to send us a completed copy of your typed manuscript so that we can review your work and determine if it is something that we would be interested in publishing for you. You will be sent a statement of confidentiality once we have received your manuscript, and you will hear back from one of our Publishing Services Consultants a few days after your submission. 

The quickest and easiest manner for you to submit your completed work for our review is to upload it to our secure website by Clicking Here [the hypertext is disabled].

Or, you may save the file to a disk and send it to me via traditional mail. Alfaval also accepts submissions in a paper format sent via traditional mail. If you choose to send your manuscript on a disk or in a paper format via the traditional mail, please send it to: 

Alfaval Publishing 
Attn: Pattie I. Montessori
666 Beta Dr. Suite 999
Pittsburgh, PA 15238

If your manuscript is poetry you should submit at least 12 poems – though you can submit more if you wish. If you have a children’s book the text portion may only be a few pages. We do have artists on staff to create illustrations for your work. 

To schedule an appointment to speak with me about your book, please visit here [the hypertext is disabled].

We look forward to receiving your manuscript for review and to discussing your publishing options. 

Sincerely, 

Pattie I. Montessori

1 888 get sold

patty.imsori@becareful.com

{Note: Names, addresses and personal information in the above–listed letter have been substituted with fictional names and/or titles.}

This email message is repugnant in many ways, although to someone who is new to writing and publishing, it may be somewhat flattering to receive it.

1.  The sender is using specific personal references to what was created by the writer.

2.  The sender has

      a.  spent time, energy, effort and resources to find out what the writer has specifically accomplished;

      b.  taken direct action in contacting the writer about it; and,

      c.  made the writer out to be someone of importance as a “researcher” has “discovered” the manuscript . . .

3.  The sender is basically making an arrant attempt of exclusivity and uniqueness with the writer.

4.  Especially sour tasting: a researcher at the Library of Congress forwards Thomas’ name to Pattie.

I could go on, but I’m nauseated enough in attempting to analyze the obvious spamming that is occurring here in this message. I take it as a given that you know what is happening in this targeted fishing attempt.

Unfortunately, given the volume of such messages that is sent out to beginning writers alone, a certain percentage will respond to the “Patties” of this world. Perhaps they do so out of curiosity, out of the need for help, loneliness, and/or are overwhelmed with what they need to do to get “published”.

Please note that I make no claims at being an expert in this situation. However, I am curious about how writers navigate through the coastal waters of publishing. I have been under sail for the last two years in an attempt to get my own work published as well. I can definitely relate to the plight of the writer in such circumstances.

I have made some progress in understanding the direction to take under similar conditions, and I therefore offer the following considerations for those who are under the same pressures.

(Credit: Keith Carreiro, April 2016.)

Before you take the next step in getting your work published, research very carefully what are the different options and venues you have that are available to you for publishing your written work.

See what is “out there”:

1. traditional publishing routes;

2. vanity presses;

3. self–publishing; and

4. a fusion of the above services.

Written sales like the one Thomas received above are only the tip of the mercenary outliers that are trolling the publishing battlefield. There are direct phone calls, recorded phone calls, and all kinds of shiny snail mail publishing offers that writers can, and do, receive.

A veritable host of publishers  are “out there” seeking whom they may in order to apply a concerted sales blitz on the unwary. In addition, these publishers have honed their sales craft to a sharp and effective point of contention. Their respective and slickly attuned advertising and marketing wizards, lie in wait, ready to pounce on the innocent, the not-so-innocent and even the veteran writer. We still get several calls a week, as well as emails and snail mails, from vanity presses when I first started seeking publishing information from them two years ago.

Suggestions for your consideration:

Talk to individuals you trust about writing. Go to a local university or college and talk with the faculty in the English and/or communications departments.

Join a group of local writers.

Attend local, regional statewide writing conferences, even if it’s only one or two a season.

I know that everyone, a writer especially, is experiencing a time famine. Most of the folks that I know who write want to do just that, write. Yet, that kind of world does not exist for most people, unless you are very established in your professional field. Even then, the amount of energy and work that needs to be done to market, distribute, sell and track the sales of your work remains daunting for those who have agents, editors and publishers already helping them.

One of the best strategies I followed was in joining an association of writers. It helped me intellectually and emotionally to understand that I was not alone and that there were other people facing the same challenges I was confronted with in every stage of writing on a professional basis.

I have been an associate member of The Alliance of Independent Authors [ALLi] since the first of this year. For me, membership has been very helpful for the reasons stated in this posting.  It has been a treasure trove of information that spans across the writing and self–publishing field.

Joining an association also helped me save time in having to do everything myself. The vetted networking of reliable services alone was worth the price of the annual membership fee.

I have made a list of such associations that you can refer to online below for your review and consideration:

 

Lists Provided of Writers’ Associations:

(1.)  http://writersrelief.com/writers-associations-organizations/

207 Hackensack Street
Wood-Ridge, NJ 07075
(866) 405-3003 (toll-free)
Fax: (201) 641-1253
E-mail: Info@WritersRelief.com

(2.)  http://bellaonline.com/articles/art2583.asp

BellaOnline’s Nonfiction Writing Editor

(3.)  http://freelancewrite.about.com/od/writingcommunities/a/List-Of-Writers-Associations.htm

        List of Writers Associations. Allena Tapia, freelance writing  Expert.

Writers! Find A Writing Association That Meets Your Needs Here. Updated May 08, 2015.

(4.)  http://www.ebookcrossroads.com/writers-associations.html

Directory of Writers Associations: Listing of Writers Associations, Organizations and Guilds

Individual Associations:

(1.)  http://allianceindependentauthors.org/

ALLi (The Alliance of Independent Authors), non-profit professional association for authors who self-publish.

(2.)  http://www.prowriters.org/    Professional Writers Association

(3.)  http://naiwe.com/about-naiwe/     National Association of Independent Writers and Editors

(4.)  http://www.asja.org/      American Society of Journalists and Authors

Getting publishing “honey” takes a lot of work. (Credit: Keith Carreiro, April 2016.)

The list above and the specific associations mentioned therein are only suggestions.

You need to keep your wits about you.

It is important that you establish a plan and a budget for the various steps tht you will be taking to get your creative material(s) before your eventual readers.

This is an amazing journey.

I wish you the best of success, luck and good fortune.

Take the time to ensure that what you have written is the best that it can be under the circumstances within which you live.

Above all, be patient and kind to yourself.

NOTE –  Regarding the email letter to Thomas:

Thomas did not get a copyright for his book, it was for his poem, instead. Research, good research, is very important, after all . . .

What challenges have you faced in writing? How did you resolve them, or how are you going about solving them now?

Notes:

Library of Congress’ Copyright Office: http://www.copyright.gov/

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Disclosure of Material Connection: I have not received any compensation for writing this post. Except for personally paying for my annual 2016 associate membership dues in ALLi, I have no material connection to the brands, products or services that I have mentioned here. I am disclosing this information in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255: “Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising.”

© 27 April 2016 by A. Keith Carreiro