In honor of our March Madness Predatory Publisher Month at Indies Unlimited, we’re doing a highly unscientific poll of our readers here at IU. Please give us your answers below. Even if you have not been scammed, please take one second to answer the first and second questions. For those who have been scammed, the whole thing shouldn’t take you more than five minutes. All of the responses are anonymous.
The survey will be open through the end of this month. We’ll report the results on April 2nd.
Please share with your author friends! The more responses we get, the more accurate our survey results will be. Thank you!
Have you ever placed a book with a predatory publisher?
- No (73%, 84 Votes)
- Yes (21%, 24 Votes)
- I'm not sure (6%, 7 Votes)
Total Voters: 115
Loading ...Have you been scammed by a service provider OTHER than a publisher? (i.e., editor, agent, publicist, formatter, etc.) If you answered no to Questions 1 & 2, then you're done. Thank you!
- No (79%, 87 Votes)
- Yes (17%, 19 Votes)
- I'm not sure (4%, 4 Votes)
Total Voters: 110
Loading ...If you answered “yes” or “I’m not sure” to Question #1, how many books did you place with this publisher?
- 1 (76%, 26 Votes)
- 2 (12%, 4 Votes)
- More than 2 (12%, 4 Votes)
Total Voters: 34
Loading ...How much do you estimate it cost you to publish your book(s)? (If you published two or more with the same outfit, please give us a per-book average. Please see the asterisk below*)
- Less than $500 (47%, 22 Votes)
- Between $1000 and $4,999 (23%, 11 Votes)
- Between $500 and $999 (21%, 10 Votes)
- Between $5,000 and $7,499 (6%, 3 Votes)
- Between $7,500 and $9,999 (2%, 1 Votes)
- Over 10,000 (0%, 0 Votes)
Total Voters: 47
Loading ...Have you reported being scammed? For example, filing a report with your state attorney general, contacting Writer Beware, or a consumer organization, etc.
- No, I just want to forget about it and move on (62%, 24 Votes)
- Yes (28%, 11 Votes)
- No, I’m too embarrassed to admit that it happened (5%, 2 Votes)
- No, I’m afraid the publisher will sue me (5%, 2 Votes)
Total Voters: 39
Loading ...Does this publisher still have control of your book(s)?
- No (62%, 23 Votes)
- No, but they still owe me money (19%, 7 Votes)
- Yes (16%, 6 Votes)
- Yes, and they still owe me money (3%, 1 Votes)
Total Voters: 37
Loading ...Did you have to get a lawyer involved to get out of your contract?
- No (87%, 33 Votes)
- Yes (13%, 5 Votes)
Total Voters: 38
Loading ...*For example, if you paid $1,000 for the first book and $5,000 for the second book, your per-book average would be $3,000. So you would pick “between $1,000 and $5,000.”
The conversation in the minion canteen sometimes takes interesting twists. The other day the authors in the group started discussing the process they use to produce a book. They also discussed which things they pay for, what they do themselves, and those they trade or barter to accomplish. (When we complain about how empty our stomachs are after eating, we’re told how ungrateful we are to have the opportunity to slave for one of the best websites around, so we’ve learned to talk about other things, like writing.) Having nothing to contribute to this discussion and knowing how these things always turn out (the Evil Mastermind or his Enforcer asking “who wants to do a post on this?”) I started taking notes.
Most of us spend a good chunk of our time interacting with the world through social media. Various platforms abound and new ones seem to bubble up to the surface almost daily. Many people use multiple platforms, but we suspect we each have one that is our favorite. Hopefully, we spend the most time on the social network that gives us the biggest return for our investment of time and energy. We’d like to know which platform that is for you.