Seven Locks Press

[Story Teller]

Does anyone have info on or have you had dealings with Seven Locks Press of Santa Ana, Calif.

[victoriastrauss]

I don't know if Seven Locks is an across-the-board vanity publisher, but for at least some books there's a substantial charge (one writer quoted $15,000). I've also heard from writers who have had extreme difficulty getting the publisher to pay royalties due.

- Victoria

[AnneMarble]

Originally Posted by victoriastrauss

I don't know if Seven Locks is an across-the-board vanity publisher, but for at least some books there's a substantial charge (one writer quoted $15,000).

Originally Posted by victoriastrauss

I've also heard from writers who have had extreme difficulty getting the publisher to pay royalties due.

They want $15,000, and they can't even pay the royalties on time?!

[Duncan J Macdonald]

Originally Posted by Story Teller

Does anyone have info on or have you had dealings with Seven Locks Press of Santa Ana, Calif.

Interestingly enough, if you go to their website www.sevenlockspress.com you get the following:

IF YOU NEED INFORMATION CONCERNING
SEVEN LOCKS PRESS AND ITS OWNERSHIP,
PLEASE TELEPHONE 406-442-6520.

THANK YOU.

They were at one point a subsidiary of Chapman University Press. Who owns them now is questionable.

If, however, you go to www.sevenlockspublishing.com, you find submission guidelines as follows:

Submission Information

We review manusripts for literary merit appeal.

Please Submit the following:

• Resume
• Table of contents
• Three sample chapters
• Proposed target audience and marketing ideas

Your copy shoud be typed or printed on single side of the page.

We do not return manuscripts unless you provide a self addressed pre-paid label postage and envelope. We do not retain manuscripts.

Mail to :

Seven Locks Press

Submissions
3100 West Warner Avenue, Suite 8
Santa Ana, California 92704

Phone: 800-354-5348 / 714-545-2526
Fax: 714-545-1572

E-mail: sevenlocks@aol.com

We will contact you within four weeks of our receipt of your manuscript.

Also keep in mind that they list three different categories of books on the main site:
1) Published Titles
2) Distributed Titles
3) Backlist

Make of that what you will.

[Story Teller]

Thought so!

Thanks to all for the help.

Seven Locks Press is a good and legitimate business! It has been a true pleasure working with them.

[Mac H.]

IF YOU NEED INFORMATION CONCERNING
SEVEN LOCKS PRESS AND ITS OWNERSHIP,
PLEASE TELEPHONE 406-442-6520.

THANK YOU.

That is curious. The phone number of a Montana lawyer who seems to focus on FOI requests?

Anyone in the USA who can call and find out what is happening ?

Mac

[James D. Macdonald]

Originally Posted by ReadMyMind

Seven Locks Press is a good and legitimate business! It has been a true pleasure working with them.

That's interesting. Who are you, and what's the nature of your dealings with Seven Locks?

[victoriastrauss]

Seven Locks has been the focus of recent legal action by authors. I wonder if the notice on the website is the result.

- Victoria

[CaoPaux]

In other news: "Publisher welcomes libel suit"

http://www.ocregister.com/column/fri...7773-book-says

...At the center of the lawsuit is an Oklahoma prosecutor by the name of William N. Peterson. He got murder convictions on two men who did 12 years in prison before they were cleared by DNA evidence. He also got questionable convictions on two other men in a separate murder case. They are still in prison.

The cases spawned three books: "The Dreams of Ada" by journalist Robert Mayer; "The Innocent Man," the first non-fiction book by author Grisham; and "Journey Toward Justice," by Dennis Fritz, who was one of the wrongly convicted men. To varying degrees, the books are critical of Peterson, who has been the elected district attorney for 27 years.

Seven Locks is Fritz's publisher. The first editions of the Grisham and Fritz books and an updated version of Mayer's were all published within weeks of each other last fall. Book tours and publicity ensued. Even Fritz, the least-known writer with the smallest house, got on "Dateline," "Hannity and Colmes" and other national shows. In Oklahoma, Peterson seethed.

Last Friday, Peterson and a detective who worked on the Fritz case sued the publishers, the authors and attorney Scheck, who represented Fritz, wrote the foreward for Fritz's book and wrote about the case in his own book, "Actual Innocence." Grisham had also provided a cover blurb for Fritz.

The lawsuit, filed in federal court, alleges civil conspiracy, libel, placing a person in a false light and intentional infliction of emotional distress. Peterson says the defendants "coordinated their efforts to launch a massive joint defamatory attack" on him and the detective.

"There's no merit," to the suit, Riordan says. The reason his book published two days before Grisham's was competitive.

By rights, Riordan says, Fritz's book should have gone to a major publishing house, but with Grisham's in the works at Random, no one else wanted to touch it. So, Riordan says, he bought it on the condition that it would be finished in time to compete with Grisham's, not complement it....

If nothing else, some insight into how publishers steer "hot topic" books.

[reading_is_fun]

Originally Posted by Story Teller

Does anyone have info on or have you had dealings with Seven Locks Press of Santa Ana, Calif.

If you are interested in finding out about Seven Locks Press business practices all you have to do is search the Superior Court of California County of Orange civil cases and small claims cases to see that the the owner, James Riordan, has been sued multiple times.

http://www.occourts.org/caseinfoapps.asp

https://ocapps.occourts.org/CivilPub/Login.do

https://ocapps.occourts.org/SmallClaims/SearchCase.do


You can draw your own conclusions.

[below]

Wow, I'm confused... Clearly I need to visit/lurk AW more often than I have been!

We contacted them about a book they were carrying two years ago, and heard back from them promptly via email. At that time, I did check Preditors and Editors, and didn't see anything about them there. Now I don't even see the book listed on the website. Hmmm...

I did scan the legal cases, didn't have a chance to delve too deeply in there - but the website I always used was www.sevenlockspublishing.com.

[onions]

I've been using this outfit as a book distributor only. Now I realize I did not need it as I market mostly through book clubs and various organizations. Could have just used storage and sign up at Amazon. Printing is 75% gone but can't get the money or the remainder of the book from Seven Locks.

The owner, Jim Riordan, polite and always anxious that he gave you trouble and always promising action next day or week (I have stacks of emails with promises), but do not fall for this. There is always a reason why his promises could not be fulfilled, for ex. "my forklift broke" (this is not a joke!).

I reported him to BBB and everyone should who has issues. I'm also in the middle of Small Claims Court process. This is just to give him at least some grief, because I know that he will not pay and will only send the book if I pay to ship, which I will have to do if I want to re-start promoting it. I will go all the way, as I have great free legal advice from family.

[scarey7]

I saw the postings asking about Seven Locks Publishing in Santa Ana CA and its owner, Jim Riordan. I am currently suing him after he collected $1500 to develop a marketing plan for one of my books. After collecting the money, he disappeared. He won't answer phone calls or emails. He is disreputable, dishonest and he and his company should be avoided at all costs.

[onions]

Hi, Scarey7,

Glad you joined in warning others against having to do with Seven Locks Publishing and its owner Jim Riordan. His rating at the local BBB has dropped from AA+ to C- which is just a notch above "not recommended." If more people logde complaints, his rating will hopefully go down even more. The BBB address is www.labbb.org.

My court date with him is in a few days and I will report the results. The goal is to get a judgement recorded against him. Then I'll proceed to complain to the Attorney General. It will keep Mr. Jim busy. The more of this in public records the better.

[CaoPaux]

Just an FYI re: the Peterson case. http://www.ocregister.com/articles/c...eporting-first

...a federal judge has thrown out a libel suit filed by an Oklahoma D.A. against Santa Ana book publisher Jim Riordan. His Seven Locks Press published "Journey Toward Justice," which alleged gross misconduct by a shoot-from-the-hip prosecutor in Ada, Okla.

The man the prosecutor convicted did 11 years in prison for a murder he didn't commit. He was exonerated by DNA. Two other books were written about the same prosecutor – who sued the authors/publishers of all three. Among Riordan's co-defendants was novelist-turned-nonfiction writer John Grisham.

The Muskogee-based U.S. District Court judge dismissed the lawsuit, saying the statements were "constitutionally protected."

Here's more info on Peterson et al v. Grisham et al: http://dockets.justia.com/docket/cou...case_id-16884/

[onions]

The judgement against Seven Locks has been recorded by the Santa Ana Court. I had known for a fact that this company is in no condition to pay anyone, so my suit was for one reason only, to stop as many potential customers as possible. I also made certain that the local BBB has Seven Locks status as C- which is one notch above 'not recommeded.' At this point, they are in business to attempt to collect fees and royalties to survive, nothing more. Do not, under any pretext, begin a business relationship with Seven Locks that will include paying them and/or being paid. You won't see your money either way.

[CaoPaux]

http://www.sevenlockspress.com/ is now a developing ebook operation (the post dates should be 2009, not 1999 ... so much for tech savvy, eh?)

http://www.sevenlockspublishing.com/ is still SLP of Santa Ana.

[victoriastrauss]

I have a hunch that the two Seven Locks are not related.

- Victoria

[Steve Stringham]

When Seven Locks first published my book BEAUTY WITHIN THE BEAST, Jim Riorden was good to work with. He distributed the book, got me linked up with Animal Planet, sent books when I ordered them, and paid royalties. However, all too soon, I had to make repeated requests to get an accounting of sales even once per year. Now, he tells me that there are no more books, despite the fact that there should still be a few thousand in stock, judging from the the number he claimed to have printed minus the number he claims to have sold. If they were not printed in the first place, then the claim to have printed them is fraudulent. If they were printed, then either they were sold and my royalties have not been paid; or they have not sold and are being held back for some reason. Have they been seized by the Court? Each time I try to discuss this, Riorden claims to be too busy and tells me to call back. I am ready to turn this over to any attorney -- again, not expecting to collect, but hoping to make sure he cannot victimize anyone (else?)

Under these circumstances, I would not recommend Seven Locks to any writer.

[HapiSofi]

Two separate much-litigated publishing outfits called Seven Locks? Someone should call dibs on the plot.

[TEXAND]

April 4, 2011
I sent a submission to 3100 W. Warner Ave, Ste B, Santa Ana, CA, and it was returned with "Forwarding Time Expired". Had I found this site, I would never have bothered wasting the postage.
John Thorngren
www.HEALaDOC.com

[Christine N.]

Yes, it seems Seven Locks Press and Seven Locks Press (lol) are two different outfits. Seven Locks Press who uses the domain name sevenlockspublishing.com, is a different and legitimate outfit, although they use an aol email address...

John, the address is 3100 West Warner Ave, Suite 8, not B. Which is why it might not have reached its destination? Sometimes the Post Office is not as smart as you think they are, and if the address does not exist and there's no 'forwarding' for it, it got sent back to you.

Maybe you can try it again?

[veinglory]

Sevenlockspress.com doesn't look like anything more than a parked domain to me.

[Christine N.]

I think at some point there was a site there, back in 2005 when this thread was started? Not sure. The link I gave doesn't lead to a vanity press, though, I don't believe.