[Seminar] Life After Publishing

I received an email via my website today from JP Jones, who I don't recall having met before.

I am one of the hosts of the upcoming Life After Publishing event for authors on October 20, 2012. I am writing to connect with you and see if there is any opportunity for us to cross promote the event and your website.

We can provide site links, a guest post on marketing techniques for authors, an interview, a video, ads, literally anything you would like. In exchange, we'll post you as one of the partners for the event on the site and do a short write up about your site under our news section.

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They can provide literally anything I'd like? I want a pony!

The conference has only three speakers, one of whom is a member at AW: Leon Mentzer. Mr Mentzer has posted solely in the Tate Publishing thread in support of Tate's practices: for those of you who aren't aware, Tate is a notorious vanity publisher.

The other speakers are JP Jones, who sent me the email, and who seems to have founded Paige1Publishing (which I've never heard of).

From its front page:

Paige1Publishing meets all of your publishing needs from professional editing, typeset and bookcovers to unique marketing campaigns and online author Web sites.

"If you can imagine it, we can help you do it!"

A sister company of Paige1Media: Print Graphics Solutions, Paige1Publishing focuses heavily on helping new and young author's get their books in print and sold without breaking their bank. Providing reasonable options anyone can afford, we strive to keep YOU in control of YOUR books. There is no royalty fee and you retain sole ownership of your work.

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So it's a fee-charging publishing "service" run by someone who doesn't know how to use apostrophes. I'm not too impressed by their copy writing skills either: it's currently promoting a book on its front page with this:

Depicting this masterful text is a cover design only imaginable by the realistic mind of Paige1Media. Adding the typeset and publishing finesse, Paige1Publishing gives rich texture to an already captivating story.

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I like me a nice bit of typeset and publishing finesse in my books.

Paige1Publishing also has a blog with no posts on it, and a Twitter feed which hasn't been active since last January, which makes the references to her promotional and technological expertise on JP's conference bio page somewhat ironic.

The third and final speaker is Nicholas Clayton, who seems to be a website administrator.

I could find no evidence that any of these three people have any experience or knowledge of trade publishing or self publishing, and I won't be recommending this conference to anyone.

Not even for that pony.

I'm still waiting, Haggis. I still want a pony.