I got scammed, so you don’t have to.

Writers, beware of predatory publishing practices.

This is my story. It’s my emotional truth. I’m not here to argue the merits of different publishing models: traditional, hybrid, vanity, or self publishing. They each have their place, and could be a good fit if aligned with one’s goals and one’s budget. 

This is about my feelings and intuition. This is what happened to me.

Someone I trusted in the publishing industry suggested I look into Greenleaf Book Group to see if they might be a good fit for my memoir. I knew they were a hybrid publisher, the oldest one in that category, but after an extensive search, I could find very little about them. 

I know there are a lot of writers who believe the only legitimate route to becoming a published author is through an agent and a contract with a traditional publisher, preferably one of the big 5. Again, I’m not here to argue that point.

My goals are different from those writers, they are not right or wrong. I wanted to get my book out into the world. I wanted to show my son that I can do hard things, and have a lasting legacy to my husband, who died from cancer in August 2021.

You can read more about hybrid publishing in two excellent articles by Brooke Warner and Jane Friedman. 

Even though I couldn’t find much about GBG, I thought it couldn’t hurt to use their online submission form to get some feedback. 

I submitted 27 (of 40) chapters of my memoir, which came out to just under 35,000 words on June 19, 2024. I received an automated email confirming my submission and that I should expect them to follow up in 2 to 4 weeks.

First Warning Sign:

I received an email from a publishing consultant at GBG two days later on June 21, 2024:

Following our initial review, I am eager to discuss your book project.  I would like to schedule a call to learn more about your vision and your goals for publication.

The email included a scheduling link, so I set up a meeting for the following Tuesday, June 25, 2024.

The publishing consultant enthused about how much everyone loved what I had written so far, and that it was different from anything out on the market. They said my manuscript was accepted and they would send me over a couple of publishing packages, one for paperback books printed on demand, and another for hardcovers to be sold in bookstores.

Second Warning Sign:

I received the two packages plus one more with additional marketing add-ons including prices. I’ve seen a couple of hybrid packages from publishers I know, (but are not a good fit for my work), and GBG’s prices were significantly higher with no apparent added services.

In fact, editorial services were not even included in either the paperback or hardcover package proposals. I sent an email to the publishing consultant asking for clarification and received this answer:

Once we are ready to submit your manuscript for diagnosis they will let us know what the editorial costs are.  Those would be added to the base proposal. You may just need a light copyedit and proofreading or you may need more editorial due to structural issues or organizational issues - they will provide all that feedback along with specific examples of what they find.  

During our meeting I was told that my manuscript needed to be 75 percent completed before it could be submitted for diagnosis. I had already set out to finish 3 more chapters because the consultant said we would have to wait another 10 days for the results of the diagnosis.

I knew that my manuscript was in first draft condition, so additional editorial cost would be very high. Still, I wanted the feedback from the diagnosis. The consultant had added in their email:

Authors really find that [editorial diagnosis] very helpful, even if they don't partner with Greenleaf, they take that information with them.

Third Warning Sign:

The email with the proposals also contained another scheduling link so the consultant could go over the publishing packages with me in more detail. I went ahead and set up another meeting on July 2, 2024.

On Friday, June 28, 2024 at 9:13 AM, I emailed the consultant 3 more completed chapters, and an outline for the final 10 chapters so my manuscript could be “diagnosed”. 

Crickets for over 5 hours. Normally this wouldn’t be concerning, but given the consultant had returned my emails almost immediately, I had a bad feeling. Why wouldn’t the consultant want to submit my manuscript immediately so we could move forward after the diagnosis?

That’s when I knew in my body that this was a scam. 

I truly feel that GBG had no intention of giving me honest feedback about my book. They probably hadn’t even read what I sent them. I believe they are a vanity press that will publish almost anything regardless of structure and cohesiveness. It was bad enough they were charging significantly more for each of their packages, but now I knew in my bones I would be getting much less in return.

Yes, I want my book out in the world, but not without professional editing. GBG wasn’t even telling me what that would cost, on top of the thousands of dollars I would already be paying for marketing and design services.

I was devastated. I felt like a fraud and a liar. I debated deleting my whole Substack account. I was ashamed and embarrassed that my desire to see my book in print had clouded my judgment so completely.

I emailed the consultant that I was canceling our appointment because there was no way I could afford either of their publishing packages, let alone the additional editing costs “if more than a light copyedit and proofreading were necessary”, which I knew was the case whether they recommended it or not.

Predictably, the consultant emailed me back right away after a whole day of radio silence. They completely understood, but still wanted to help me because my manuscript was so good. 

Help came in the form of an email introduction (without my consent) to another hybrid publisher who charged significantly less. This happened to be the brother of a friend’s company, or some nonsense like that. I looked them up and they are scammers too.

I haven’t been contacted by this other hybrid publisher, but I will ignore them if anyone reaches out. 

To say I am heartbroken is an understatement, especially because of the overwhelming response of the Substack community to my brief Note:

I was going to let this all just fade away, but I  couldn’t. I don’t want this to happen to anyone else, especially a writer from this beautiful and generous Substack community.

To be clear, I don’t have a problem with paying editors, designers, and marketing experts, and I will probably end up doing that before I self publish my memoir.

However, I don’t think it’s ethical for any publishing company to accept a manuscript for publication without a thorough review of it beforehand. When employing a hybrid publisher, writers need to know the exact costs involved when their work is accepted. Anything less, in my opinion, are predatory practices. Run, don’t walk, away.