Flowering Japanese Tree Lilac [Syringia reticulata]. (Credit: Keith Carreiro, April 2016.)
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 15238If 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.}
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.
(Credit: Keith Carreiro, April 2016.)
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.
I have made a list of such associations that you can refer to online below for your review and consideration:
(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
(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.)
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.”
1 comment. Leave new
Very informative blog, as these Vainity presses keep calling here! I did not realize that they had a link or access to recent books etc…; that have been copyrighted through the Library of Congress? Rather scary. That goodness you have chosen the self-publishing route! Your book is excellent, I know it will sell!