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LitFire Publishing

aliceshortcake

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LitSpark...LitFire. We're dealing with a genius here. Just in case Ms Ramos is tempted to take it down:

LitSpark e-Newsletter
No description
by met ramos on 17 July 2014 10

Transcript of LitSpark e-Newsletter
LitSpark e-Newsletter
Pilot Issue (the first everrr!!!)
BANNER STORY:
Finally The Fruition of A Quintessence

SECONDARY STORY:
Schemes of a Bestseller The Top 6 Secret

SUB-STORIES:
Self-Publishing VS Vanity-Publishing
So You Want to be an Author
Decide Where Your Masterpiece Ends Up
https://prezi.com/v_rgvsbvj-cm/litspark-e-newsletter/

Could this be her on Twitter?

Met RamosProtected Tweets
@direkmet

Ego Breaker. Multi-media Geek. Shrewd Marketer. Skeptic.

Philippines
https://twitter.com/direkmet

And on Pinterest:

Met Ramos on Pinterest
uk.pinterest.com/metramos/
Met Ramos | I'm paid to write. And I will break your heart.

The actual page has been taken down.
 
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Filigree

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Wading in: for all the angry folks who seem to hate AW (and I have definite suspicions about their actual reasons), this is why AW 'works'. I've pulled back on this kind of forensic investigation for my own reasons. But I'm happy to see it here. A shell company clone of AS, operating apparently out of the Philippines, with AS-style tactics?

By now, anyone who falls for a company like this simply hasn't done their homework.
 

aliceshortcake

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It amuses me that LitFire has the same address (ie 'virtual office') as Beverage Brands LLC. Authors unlucky or careless enough to fall into LitFire's clutches can always drown their sorrows in BB's Bad Monkey beer.
 

aliceshortcake

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Well, now we know who provides LitFire's mailbox!

LitFire's claim to have published "hundreds" of books and have "over 50 publishing partners" is obviously based on the books, many of them little more than pamphlets, churned out by Caroline D Greene's camera-shy and otherwise untraceable clients. There are, if not hundreds, about 110 of them under various Atlanta-based pseudo-imprints.

My favourite LitFire author has to be Christopher Biggs, supposedly a writer and illustrator from Oxfordshire (published by 'Booksmarts' of Atlanta, ersatz publishing capital of the world). Here are a few excerpts from his Facebook:

Hello Dear Readers! Parents stand as the first teacher every child could have.Recognition, memory and vocabulary skills is essential to our child's development..My book Safari Stanley's Jungle Animals is a step towards learning the outside world.

Meanwhile, now, lets go to "Safari Stanley's Ocean Animals ". Come on and grab a copy of my book and lets explore the beauty and unique creature our ocean world have.

For sure your child is excited and want to meet Stanley and his new friends again and again.. This book of mine here is about our Reptile friends and their world.

Hello! How's learning going on? I got here my another book entitled Safari Stanley's Bugs and Insects.

Who's behind the clouds? Yeah, the birds and let our child meet them and join their cloud adventure.
https://www.facebook.com/pages/Christopher-Biggs/346886018754017?sk=timeline

As if that wasn't bad enough, I did a Google images search for the stock image posing as his author photo..and found it on a Korean site dealing with treatment for erectile dysfunction:

http://blog.daum.net/tjdrlghkreo/413

The LitFire saga has to be one of the strangest things we've seen on AW for some time.
 
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TheArchives

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Maggie Maxwell

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My favourite LitFire author has to be Christopher Biggs, supposedly a writer and illustrator from Oxfordshire (published by 'Booksmarts' of Atlanta, ersatz publishing capital of the world). Here are a few excerpts from his Facebook:
Meanwhile, now, lets go to "Safari Stanley's Ocean Animals ". Come on and grab a copy of my book and lets explore the beauty and unique creature our ocean world have.

I want to know about the unique creature in our ocean world! Is it the Kraken? I bet it's the Kraken.

As if that wasn't bad enough, I did a Google images search for the stock image posing as his author photo..and found it on a Korean site dealing with treatment for erectile dysfunction:

http://blog.daum.net/tjdrlghkreo/413

The LitFire saga has to be one of the strangest things we've seen on AW for some time.

It's not as wild as the Green Shore roller coaster, but it's certainly up there! :popcorn:
 

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aliceshortcake

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Cue the spooky theramin music!

More fractured English from the Facebooks of LitFire "authors":

Lars Anderson
Hello Runners! Please check this book of mine. Before or after running we usually grab a drink but got some worries about the effect of it to our exercise regimen. Stop all those worries and grab my book now. It designed juicer recipe, diet and nutrition plan to support your optimal health and fitter you.
https://www.facebook.com/pages/Lars-Andersen/562158430462101

Donatella Giordano
Hello!I got here a book that will show you with everything you need to bake tasty, varied, and guilt-free treats that will impress even the most die-hard gluten/wheat addicts. My book also tells the secret of how to make your own coconut flour for cheaper than you can buy it in most stores! So what you waiting for? Grab a copy now of my book and let me know your feedback about it. Thank you
https://www.facebook.com/pages/Donatella-Giordano/479008725491786

Vanessa Johnson
Hello! Please check out my book about the 7 day declutter bootcamp. This consist of minimal strategies to organize, simply and declutter your home and life. Please provide me your feedback. Thank you
https://www.facebook.com/vannessajohnson99

There's a weird disconnect between the poor English used (obviously by the same person) on the Facebook pages and that of the author profiles, which were obviously written by either a native English speaker or someone with a better grasp of the language. My favourite is that of Dominic Wolff:

Dominic Wolff is an author, business owner and traveller (or as he likes to call it, a globe trotter). A native from Idaho, Dominic became interested in the mechanics of business from a very young age. From those early days of selling candy bars to running a multi-state company today, Dominic has always been on the lookout for systems that would improve his productivity and allow him more free time to enjoy his hobbies. He frequently writes articles about personal productivity for business publications.

He believes that having a structure in place for work and life can mean the difference between being in control and merely coping.

An avid collector of fine red wines, he also owns a small wine boutique stocking only the finest of Washington, Oregon and Idaho wines. During his travels to far and wonderful places he also searches for the absolute best Zinfandel that can rival those of California. He lives in Wyoming with his wife Sarah, two German Shepherds and a tiny vineyard of his own.
https://www.smashwords.com/profile/view/Dominicwolff

Needless to say, Dominic has no real-world existence and his photo is a stock image.
 
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Helix

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I spend..ooh...several minutes this afternoon doing reverse image searches to see if any of Ms Greene's clients had used their own photos. I didn't check them all, but of those I did look at, every one was a stock image.

I know. I know. It surprised me too*.

Then I played around with the names to see whether there was a pattern to their selection. I got bored after about three minutes, but I'll have another think in an idle moment.

* It didn't.
 

aliceshortcake

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Then I played around with the names to see whether there was a pattern to their selection.

LitFire's "Lars Anderson", he of the umpteen smoothies-and-juices-for-sportspeople books, is described as - amongst other things - a sports writer. There's a very famous sports writer and professor of journalism with the same name. Could LitFire be deliberately trying to cause confusion? It's also occurred to me that the name "Andrea Huffington" is very similar to Arianna Huffington.

On a less paranoid note, I've finally realized what LitFire means here:

When you purchase LitFire's Book Review Service, we will submit your manuscript to the biggest, most respected book reviewers in the business.
https://litfirepublishing.com/services/marketing/

The review-hungry author can choose from three packages:

Kirkus Review - $1,399-$1,899
There's a big, big difference between a real Kirkus review and a paid-for one.

BlueInk - $1,299-$1,699
Alternatively, cut out the middleman and go through BlueInk directly for only $395-$495. This is an obscene mark-up.

Your First Review - $599:

Your First Review is a service offered by Publisher Services, a provider of multiple services geared towards independent self-publishers and book retailers. The dedicated staff of Your First Review is made of experienced, knowledgeable professionals who love to read and review books.
https://litfirepublishing.com/services/marketing/book-review/your-first-review/

http://yourfirstreview.com/about-us/

Oh, FFS. LitFire's top of the range "Fire" package costs $15,999.

*head explodes*

Our pal Jill "Met Ramos" Bennett is back with another article, How Book Titles are a Game Changer:

They say, “Never judge a book by its cover,” but have you ever judged a book by its title? One of the many reasons people grab a book from the proverbial shelf is that the title grabs them by the throat.
https://litfirepublishing.com/how-book-titles-are-a-game-changer/

Someone's awfully fond of the word "grab", aren't they? It's used over and over again on the fake Facebooks.

From what I've gathered so far the only real human beings published by LitFire are Kelsie R Gates and Keith Steinbaum - and both their books were originally published by Abbott Press!
 

Gravity

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That book's got "lifeless eyes, black eyes, like a doll's eyes. When [it] comes at ya, doesn't seem to be livin'. Until [it] bites ya and those black eyes roll over white. And then, ah then you hear that terrible, high pitched screamin' ..." :evil