Custom Book Publications / Custom Literary Agency

Looks like an old-fashioned vanity press. May be a descendant or a spinoff of Hong Kong's printing industry.

I'm mildly impressed by their copy and their site design, which are both very clean.

They used to be a straight-forward high quality printer. UCLA used them for glossy booklets sort of like the Pitkin books about British heritage sites.

Sounds like a good printer who signed up with a scummy marketing company who promised to grow their business. I'm sure the marketer's pitch included spam and SEO tricks as valid promotions. A shame, too, because I'm always looking for high-quality printers.

I got this spam email today. How in the heck did they get my name?

Recently, a friend mentioned he knew a writer who had received an offer for publication. I was curious about the publisher. Turns out it was Custom Book Publications. My friend mentioned the publisher was based in Hong Kong, possibly charged a few. So I dug a little.

There's not much information. But I found this little gem:

http://www.custombookpublications.com/ebook_faq.htm

Slimy vanity publisher that mostly turns out e-books for fees, offers referrals for cover design, editing services, offering up to 25% royalty for the writer / victim. Custom Book Design passes itself off as legitimate publishing.

I'm inexperienced in publishing (although I've been reading a LOT: Miss Snark, Learning to Write with UJ, exploring a lot of blogs and links) but am I right thinking this screams scam?

Not really a scam, unless you pay the money and don't get the service. But certainly a really bad idea.

- Victoria