PMI Publishing / Parentco Media Inc

[TheOneTrueBen]

I got an email from these folks yesterday. On the surface they promise a lot, and they say you keep your rights. However, I am a wee bit skeptical. Has anyone heard of these folks?

Here is their website: http://publish-ur-book.com/

Here is the body of the email they sent:

Dear Ben,
My name is Don Ferraro and I am the President of PMI Publishing. My company specializes in promoting authors’ books to readers, literary agents, and major publishing houses. We just signed an exclusive deal with the three monthly publications in Florida to provide book reviews. As part of our agreement we are required to review between 36 and 64 books over the course of the next 12 months, which will appear in print. There is no cost for the review.
Our goal is to provide a win-win scenario for both our client and for you, the author… so all reviews will be positive (we are not looking to slam any authors). Our client has a reader base of in excess of 120,000 readers per month, so it should be a great way to promote your book. In addition to the reviews, we will also coordinate reader contests where our client’s targeted readership, typically parents ages 24-55, can enter a contest and win your book.
If you would like to have your book reviewed, please reply to this email and I’ll we'll coordinate a time for you and I to to discuss this opportunity further. If you have any questions, feel free to call me in my office at 407-624-3905.
Sincerely,
Don Ferraro
Don Ferraro
President
Parentco Media, Inc.
P.O. Box 880894 Port St. Lucie, FL 34988
Phone 407-624-3905
www.selfpublish-ur-book.com

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[FluffBunny]

This was an unsolicited spam? If so, ick. The motto on their "Services" page states, "You Write The Manuscript… We Do The Rest! Your Single Source, Full Service Self-Publishing Partner." That sounds very vanity-ish to me and their webpage, which doesn't fit the width of my computer screen screams, "Amateur web-designer!", as well. Do not get me started on their domain name. Or on the annoying screen flash when my cursor goes over any of their links, one of which, "Our Other Companies" does not appear to work. It's also not nice to use meta-tags such as, "Xlibris", "Createspace", "Booksurge", "Amazon", or "Look Inside!" when they have nothing to do with your company. *shakes an admonishing finger*

Their supposed readership numbers aren't particularly impressive; a local free arts weekly here has a readership of 200,000. I wonder which 3 supermarket give-away papers their reviews are in?

ETA: typo repair.

 

[JournoWriter]

If it's not an outright scam, it's still worthless.

 

[FluffBunny]

After looking over their page a bit more, I see that price is not discussed.

In regards to their, "Comprehensive EIGHT Step Editing & Proofreading PROCESS" (bold and caps in the original), I looked over two of their sample works. The first was a 28 page charity auction program where the EIGHT step process rendered "hard-working" as "hard working" amongst other problems. The second was a 76 page "book" (booklet?) where the first two words of a paragraph were seemingly bolded at random--some paragraphs starting with bolded words, others not. Other random word strings in the text were also bolded; for example, "my early years" appears in bold in the middle of a sentence for no apparent reason. It's possible this is some odd artifact of going from print to digital, but they also advertise their e-book service.

Not impressed. I'd pass.

 

[Momento Mori]

He's selling reviews. Only a dumb ass buys reviews. Don't be a dumb ass. Don't dignify spam with a response.

MM

 

[triceretops]

I got the same email and wrote a letter back asking them to "splain" themselves and reveal any hidden prices. No return letter yet. I suppose there won't be.

tri

 

[TheOneTrueBen]

I'm thinking that it's not likely to be legit either. However, I do like to see if anyone has encountered the same thing. I'm also wondering if this is something TWA sent my email to.

 

[CaoPaux]

PMI is gone. Of Ferraro's various ventures, http://tcparenting.ning.com/ looks to be the last.