By requiring quotas, a certain number of sales (usually to the author) is guaranteed - for the benefit of the company and not the author.
Florida Attorney General Files Suit Against Robert Fletcher/Writers' Literary Agency
- Thread starter victoriastrauss
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Good thing you caught that and changed it. It's fees, not fess. LOL
you don't have to be asking me, i am here to put in my 2 and a half cents like the rest of you.
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Yes, this is something that is outlined in the contract. If the author beleives their material will sell, then they should have no problem agreeing to this on their contract... right?
Either way, my point is that most of these "authors" wanted something for nothing. The published only publishes and does not market, although I do hear now that they have a great marketing campaign going on, which is something they started when a few authors said they want AEG to do the marketing. That is why they charge now for marketing services, because it is not something that the publisher usually does, but something that the author has to take care of.
But no, it is not the PUBLISHER who guarantees the sales, it is the authors. If they dont make the sales that they guarantee, then that is something THEY have to deal with... get me?
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Hi there, chump!
Just to get started, those "175 authors" aren't suing Bouncing Bobby. It's the State of Florida that's suing him.
More on the rest of your twaddle later. Goodness gracious, I haven't had a chance to do a good line-by-line in ages!
Oh, and if you see Bobby, ask him when he's going to be ready to do that interview. I have tons of questions for him!
Perhaps the vanity press gave the State of Florida the benefit of the doubt and decided to publish the State of Florida's "horrendous" book as a favor...
I didn't say that these 175 authors were suing him. It is Attorny General of Florida that is suing him, but the reason is only because once they receive so many complaints, they HAVE to do something. But seriously, we can debate all day long, but in the end, it will not be the Attorny General who wins, It will be Robert who wins. As i have said, the company has done nothing wrong and everything that these 175 authors have complained about it clearly outlined in the contract. I guess i would know more because I have worked with the company and i am really curious to know how many of you people have actually been PUBLISHED by AEG/ Strategic and had a bad experience. Otherwise, like I said, you all have preconcieved notions because of sites like this, and are clearly unable to make your own decisions... :/
You don't need to have been bitten by a dog to know that that isn't a pleasant experience.
Nope. As I said, I didn't have any preconceived notions until I looked at the website, at which point I saw that Strategic is a dishonest vanity press.
And then I blogged about it.
I have read your blog and it is completely clear that you did not have any contact with anyone from AEG/ Strategic and do not know what you are talking about. Sorry. :/
Publishers do market their authors. It's how they make their money to publish more authors. They either have inhouse sales teams or use the sales team of a distributor.
Authors assist in promotion. They do not market.
Any publisher who relies on their authors to do marketing is a 'publisher' incapable of selling books to the buying public.
Epic fail, my friend. Try again.
By the way, you might want to take a look at this and at this.
Authors assist in promotion. They do not market.
Any publisher who relies on their authors to do marketing is a 'publisher' incapable of selling books to the buying public.
Epic fail, my friend. Try again.
By the way, you might want to take a look at this and at this.
It's also completely clear that you can't refute anything I've said. Not sorry at all.
Actually yes I can and I will. I am off to a poker game right now though, and unlike you people, I dont sit in front of my computer all day waiting for a response to my post on a blog. have a good night, I look forward to discussing/ arguing about this tomorrow or the next day. In the meantime, leave your feedback and i will address it in the next day or so.
Good day.
I'll believe that when I see it. Until then, it's as hollow a boast as any claim of Strategic's.
I love that you're critiquing grammar. Have you read your own posts in this thread or even that sentence? I only ask because one would think that if you were going to take a shot at someone's use of grammar, you would make damned sure that your posts weren't riddled with grammatical errors.
Oh, and when making a point of persuasion, the frequent use of "LOL" isn't the best device. Just sayin'!
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Just a note about those 175 complaints...they don't represent all the complaints out there, just the authors who directly contacted the Florida AG since the investigation was opened last year.
Writer Beware has been collecting information on the company since 2001, when it was called Sydra-Techniques and was just a fee-charging literary agency. We have hundreds of complaints in our files.
- Victoria
Writer Beware has been collecting information on the company since 2001, when it was called Sydra-Techniques and was just a fee-charging literary agency. We have hundreds of complaints in our files.
- Victoria
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Probably none.
Several of the people you've been rude to are professionally published writers and editors, and the rest are too well-informed to send their work to a known vanity press with a bad reputation.
I'm waiting for the troll remover to go to work, but perhaps this so aptly-named entity is just too entertaining for some.
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Well, one must admit, the name is perfect.
"...a tale told by an idiot, full of sound and fury, signifying nothing." ~Shakespeare
"...a tale told by an idiot, full of sound and fury, signifying nothing." ~Shakespeare
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Yeah, yeah, yeah. It's easy to get glowing testimonials from honeymooners. You think that's something? You should see the testimonials PublishAmerica has posted on their website!
It's possible to locate some of those folks whose books have been out for a while, and let me tell you, the sales numbers aren't pretty. I wonder what the ones whose books have been out for a year say about Strategic/Eloquent Books now?
You know something? With that lawsuit in Florida some of them may get a chance to testify! Wouldn't that be special?
She was calling you a troll. It isn't that hard to figure out.
So? What's an acceptable level of fraud, according to you? Wouldn't even one author being defrauded be one too many? By the way, no need for quote marks around "lawsuit." It isn't a "lawsuit," it's a lawsuit.
So why did AEG undertake to publish awful books filled with grammatical errors? Weren't they worried that they'd get a reputation for publishing awful books? And where were AEG's editors? Shouldn't they have fixed the grammatical errors?
Before you dig yourself in too far, remember that marketing books is what publishers do. It's part of the job description. If AEG wasn't marketing the works, why did the authors need them at all?
Do you suppose you could provide a list of all the AEG authors who've written awful books? What percent of the thousand-plus authors do you claim are functionally illiterate?
I really love the open contempt that you have for your own authors.
This is an open, bald-faced lie.
What do you think that publishing is all about, sport? It isn't just printing.
This is nonsense. It's the publisher's job to market if they want to stay in business.
Tell me, chum, is English your native language?
This is a blatant lie. Either that or evidence of complete ignorance of publishing. Which is it, chump? Are you a liar or a fool?
What's your real name, what was your position in the company, what were your dates of employment, and where do you live?
That "they did not read their contracts" excuse won't wash. Where in the contract does it say, "I agree that you will defraud me"?
Let me quote from the lawsuit:
The contracts between the aspiring author and publisher
(FLETCHER’S company) bound the author to pay the publisher
(STRATEGIC) if less than 300 books were sold, directly
contradicting the Strategic Books website, strategicbooks.com. A
true and accurate copy of the Strategic Books website is
attached hereto as Exhibit B. Since none of the books printed
were actually advertised, other than what the author could do
alone, the reality was that the whole publishing business was
designed to earn money for FLETCHER’s businesses from the
aspiring authors’ payments, with little, or no money ever
anticipated to be earned by the author from the publishing of
the author’s work.
That's just one paragraph. I invite your attention to the entire text. I particularly invite your attention to the fact that it isn't just the publishing branch of Fletcher's multi-armed scam that's being addressed. It's also his fake literary agency.(FLETCHER’S company) bound the author to pay the publisher
(STRATEGIC) if less than 300 books were sold, directly
contradicting the Strategic Books website, strategicbooks.com. A
true and accurate copy of the Strategic Books website is
attached hereto as Exhibit B. Since none of the books printed
were actually advertised, other than what the author could do
alone, the reality was that the whole publishing business was
designed to earn money for FLETCHER’s businesses from the
aspiring authors’ payments, with little, or no money ever
anticipated to be earned by the author from the publishing of
the author’s work.
The Florida Attorney General believes otherwise.
What is/was your job description with AEG?
Does Fletcher know that you are posting here?
Are you prepared to testify at Fletcher's trial?
Would you please post the full text of a standard AEG publishing contract?
And, again, would you provide a complete list of the authors that you believe are illiterate? Please including some reason, however far-fetched, why any legitimate publisher would knowingly publish the work of anyone they considered to be illiterate.
"Proved" is completely acceptable.
Okay. I guess that means that your own posts are fair game.
"Basically, Fletcher and LAG were running a fraud by charging fees for all services while falsely giving hope to the authors that Fletcher and LAG would find a publisher for their book."
Thomas E. ConnollyJustice of the Superior Court
Date: July 31, 2009
The Florida Attorney General disagrees:
"Allegedly, Fletcher also told potential writers that fees were paid from book sales when in fact all costs of publishing were paid by the authors. According to the lawsuit, few books were ever sold as a result of the efforts of Fletcher’s companies."
This last little excuse of yours is so pathetic. How does being a "horrible" writer make it right to defraud that writer? Yes, writers should expect to get all marketing services for free. More than that, writers should expect to be well paid for their manuscripts, and get the marketing for free. Publishers pay writers, not the other way around.
No, I don't have to be published by AEG to know that they're a fraud. Not to be mean about it, but I've probably sold more books than all of AEG's authors put together.
Nice attempt at weaseling. This particular lawsuit was served against Fletcher on September 2nd. But it isn't the first time Fletcher's had a court of law discuss his ... proclivities. Let's see:
Commonwealth of Massachusetts Suffolk, SS.
Superior Court
Civil Action
No. 08-0272F
"LAG and Fletcher would require fee charges for literary agency services, fee based publishing and fee based critique and editing referrals. Over time, Fletcher used over ten names for publishing operations under the umbrella of the AEG Publishing Group. Basically, Fletcher and LAG were running a fraud by charging fees for all services while falsely giving hope to the authors that Fletcher and LAG would find a publisher for their book."
Did you like that? How about this one?The
Order alleged that Respondent Fletcher, as President of ByteAudio.com, Inc., violated the Washington
Securities Act by offering and selling unregistered securities, acting as an unregistered broker-dealer and/or
salesperson, and making material misrepresentations and/or omissions.
...
It is further ORDERED that, pursuant to RCW 21.20.395, Respondent is liable for, and shall pay, within
30 days of the entry of this Order, a fine in the amount of $50,000."
Order alleged that Respondent Fletcher, as President of ByteAudio.com, Inc., violated the Washington
Securities Act by offering and selling unregistered securities, acting as an unregistered broker-dealer and/or
salesperson, and making material misrepresentations and/or omissions.
...
It is further ORDERED that, pursuant to RCW 21.20.395, Respondent is liable for, and shall pay, within
30 days of the entry of this Order, a fine in the amount of $50,000."
When exactly did you "work with the company"? In what capacity? What do you mean by "benefit of the doubt"?
They're already authors. It would have been cheaper, more effective, and closer to true publication, for those authors to go to Kinko's and run off a few copies of their books.
Or, the authors weren't willing to write a check. That's closer to the truth, isn't it?
What do you mean "gave a chance"? You mean "cashed their check," don't you?
And the poor innocent naive newbies went for it. It is entirely your fault that you didn't sell any books. It is, in fact, fraud.
Through long experience with publishing. That's something that you, apparently, lack.
I've been reading Fletcher's nonsense for years. I've been responding to it for years. Fletcher (using one of his pseudonyms) even wrote directly to me. (Don't worry -- a copy of that correspondence is already in the hands of the Florida Attorney General.)
I didn't ask you. But if someone's dumb around here, it's you, pal. Fletcher's going down. Think long and hard before you nail your flag to his mast.
You are, simply, wrong. Please tell me you weren't one of Fletcher's stooges who were pretending to be editors.
You are in no position to make any sort of comments on anyone's grammar or spelling. Not with the miserable job you're doing here.
Wrong.
"The contracts between the aspiring author and publisher
(FLETCHER’S company) bound the author to pay the publisher
(STRATEGIC) if less than 300 books were sold, directly
contradicting the Strategic Books website, strategicbooks.com."
And the current lawsuit doesn't just cover Fletcher's current vanity presses. It goes back to Fletcher's fraudulent literary agencies.(FLETCHER’S company) bound the author to pay the publisher
(STRATEGIC) if less than 300 books were sold, directly
contradicting the Strategic Books website, strategicbooks.com."
No. As I've explained to Fletcher and his pseudonyms many times before, authors don't want "something for nothing." Authors provide publishable manuscripts. A manuscript isn't "nothing." It's up to the publisher to pay the author, and provide all publishing services to the author. Authors do not pay to be published.
You apparently have no idea what publishing is all about.
I hear that the "marketing campaign" is also a fraud. It is certainly ineffective.
"The sole focus of the DEFENDANTS’ business efforts has
been to obtain funds from inexperienced, aspiring authors,
taking advantage of their intense desire to have their
manuscripts accepted and published, as well as their naïve
approach to the publishing world, unaware that there are NO
costs, expenses, or fees, charged by legitimate literary
agencies and publishers. These inexperienced consumers, along
with the misleading internet advertising of no “upfront
expenses”, has provided DEFENDANTS with a substantial, and
continually increasing, source of income. Once the aspiring
author is “hooked” by the false assurances and encouragement of
the DEFENDANTS, followed by constant demands of just one more
expense to assure publication, these consumers have been easy
targets for the DEFENDANTS."
been to obtain funds from inexperienced, aspiring authors,
taking advantage of their intense desire to have their
manuscripts accepted and published, as well as their naïve
approach to the publishing world, unaware that there are NO
costs, expenses, or fees, charged by legitimate literary
agencies and publishers. These inexperienced consumers, along
with the misleading internet advertising of no “upfront
expenses”, has provided DEFENDANTS with a substantial, and
continually increasing, source of income. Once the aspiring
author is “hooked” by the false assurances and encouragement of
the DEFENDANTS, followed by constant demands of just one more
expense to assure publication, these consumers have been easy
targets for the DEFENDANTS."
On the contrary, marketing is something that all legitimate publishers do, at no expense to the author, in the course of their business.
But no, it is the publisher's job to sell the books.
That is part of the "unfair and deceptive trade practices" that Fletcher has been charged with. Get me?
While it is difficult to tell, given your problems with writing clear English, exactly what you intended to say, that is certainly what you said.
That's a weak excuse. The Attorney General would only sue if he thought that a crime had been committed, and that he could prove it in open court.
Want to put a small bet on that? Robert has had lousy luck in court so far, and given that Bobby's been committing fraud for years now the Attorney General isn't going to have too hard a time proving it.
It isn't just 175 authors, and it isn't just the vanity press. And since when was committing fraud doing "nothing wrong"?
I don't need to eat shit to know that I wouldn't like the taste.
Given that you "know more" let me ask you: Are you ready to call up the Florida Attorney General and offer to be a witness for the defense?
You're saying that I haven't made my own decision? Are you serious? Are you really saying that I can't recognize a fraudulent literary agency or a vanity press without first being defrauded by them?
On the contrary, I'd say that it's clear that she knows exactly what she's talking about.
Go for it! (Oh, this should be good!)
Another of the standard lines from fraudsters.
I'll believe that when I see it.
Good day to you, too!
What happened? Poker game get canceled?
Another pack of lies from another of Fletcher's anonymous defenders. It's getting old. But we won't have to put up with it forever: The Florida Attorney General is asking that Fletcher be banned from ever running another literary enterprise, or ever again doing business on the Internet.