Harbor Lights Press

victoriastrauss · Sep 15, 2006

A Writer Beware reader just alerted me to Harbor Lights Press, which charges $99 for a "pre-publication evaluation." A scam? Another clueless amateur? Only the Shadow knows.

- Victoria

CaoPaux · Sep 15, 2006

Pre-Publication Evaluation Application

Pre-publication evaluation is necessary, if you are looking to get your books or writings published by Harbor Lights Press. This is the first step to get your writings published. There is a small fee of $99 for this service. We accept limited number of requests. Please make sure to follow the instructions carefully.

Note: The following will be asked form you in the next step.

1. Synopsis of the Book

2. Two (2) chapters from your book that you think are the best written.

3. Please write the paypal transaction number in the subject section of the email.

Step-1/2: Please input the Book Title and Other information below and hit the Buy Now button to process payment through our secure payment processor (Paypal.com). After successful payment, you will be given further instruction on payment success page.

soloset · Sep 15, 2006

I count three typos in that quote alone. Eek, indeed.

My first thought is that this is half a step away (not up) from those emails asking you to confirm your bank account number or paypal account details on a fishy website.

And the dancing baloney on the site gives me a headache.

xhouseboy · Sep 15, 2006

We publish compelling literary fiction and nonfiction by authors with a distinctive voice. We accept manuscripts that fall in one of the following categories.

Fiction Genres

Science Fiction / Fantasy

Psychic / Supernatural

Speculative Fiction

Historical Fiction

Detective / Mystery / Crime

Inspirational

Thriller / Espionage

Horror

Romance

Westerns

Action / Adventure

Young Adult / Juvenile

Children's

Women's / Men's Stories

Non-Fiction Genres

Theses / Dissertations

Personal Essays

Biographies / Genealogies

Self-Help / How-to

Parenting

Current Affairs

Diet and Nutrition

Ethnic

Religion

Money / Finance

History / Politics

Humor / Satire

Lifestyle / Cooking / Travel

Music / Art

Creative non fiction

Have they left anything out? At $99 a pop, they seem to have all the bases covered.

batgirl · Sep 15, 2006

The hey? Why the very specific "fall in one of these categories" which sounds as if they don't do cross-genre, and then Science-Fiction / Fantasy counts as one, but Speculative Fiction is separate?
If they can't be bothered to distinguish between sf and f, why distinguish spec fic? The grouping and splitting of the action genres are equally confusing.
This reads more like a take-out menu than a publisher.
-Barbara (obviously needing to go for lunch now)

CaoPaux · Sep 15, 2006

Huh. Book-editing.com lists this publisher as having filched copy from their site.

More trivia: Google matches the phone number to a name strikingly similar to the central character of most of the books pubbed by HL: http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/s...e,+availability,-daterank/102-9300766-2221760 Author: "E. Ted Gladue". Sales rankings: miserable to none. Given what we see in the previews, I wouldn't rely on this company's "Editorial and Pre Publishing Evaluation Services".

CaoPaux · Oct 1, 2007

I can't find any books published after 2005. If this company is still active, it's surviving off "Evaluation" fees.

ETA: Site's gone, but Mr. Gladue resumed publishing in '11 under both Harbor Lights Press and imprint Irish Lighthouse Press.

Harbor Lights Press

victoriastrauss

Writer Beware Goddess

CaoPaux

Mostly Harmless

soloset

'bye

xhouseboy

In the Yellow Woods

batgirl

Writting broad

CaoPaux

Mostly Harmless

CaoPaux

Mostly Harmless