VirtualBookworm.com Publishing / VBW Publishing

[solutionrs]

I recently submitted my manuscript of my book "Five days to a security breakdown" to Virtualk Bookworm and I have now received this response.

Mr. Smith:
Thank you for your submission. After a complete review, we are pleased to inform you that your manuscript has been accepted for publication.


The next step is for you to download and complete our submission package/publishing kit at www.virtualbookworm.com/i...ckage.pdf. You will also want to read the "Virtualbookworm Submissions Made Easy" and the Layout Sample booklets so you can reformat your manuscript using the guidelines. These materials can be obtained at www.virtualbookworm.com/i...kets.html.

 

[solutionrs]

Does anyone have any experience with Virtual Bookworm?

I recently submitted my manuscript of my book "Five days to a security breakdown" to Virtualk Bookworm and I have now received this response.

Mr. Smith:
Thank you for your submission. After a complete review, we are pleased to inform you that your manuscript has been accepted for publication.


The next step is for you to download and complete our submission package/publishing kit at www.virtualbookworm.com/i...ckage.pdf. You will also want to read the "Virtualbookworm Submissions Made Easy" and the Layout Sample booklets so you can reformat your manuscript using the guidelines. These materials can be obtained at www.virtualbookworm.com/i...kets.html.

 

[KivrinAngel]

Re: Does anyone have any experience with Virtual Bookworm?

I don't know anything specific about this company. In fact, I've never heard of it, which doesn't bode well for them being able to get "walk in" traffic for you book. However, after searching their site, I do see they are a POD publisher, which is never a very good idea in my opinion. In fact, this was on their main publishing page:

NOTE: On January 1, 2004, we had to increase our prices slightly. However, we no longer charge any annual maintenance fees for the first two years! For authors who have their own cover and/or layout, the prices will stay virtually the same as before if you qualify for the new "Do-It-Yourself" rebate.

That wouldn't make me feel real warm and fuzzy if they're raising their prices. My suggestions is that you read the posts on this board about POD publishers. The Publish America link has LOTS of information about them even though most is specifically about that company.

I'm also curious, have you tried the New York publishers? Remember, the publisher is supposed to pay you, not the other way around. Virtual Bookworm's site has some propoganda about how difficult it is to get published at a New York house and how little money you get from them. Don't buy it. 5-10% royalties on 100,000 books sold is a heck of a lot more than 50% royalties on 5 books sold.

Robin

 

[Stephenie Hovland]

Re: Does anyone have any comments or experience with :moneyV

I don't have experience with them. But they do charge a set-up fee.
www.bookwormpublishing.co...=3&lang=en

So, you have to look at the other posts in this board. They all warn about print on demand subsidy publishers. You can go that route, but please research everything before you sign a contract.

Stephenie

 

[vstrauss]

Re: Does anyone have any comments or experience with :moneyV

Writer Beware has received a number of complaints about Virtual Bookworm. Most involve unpaid royalties, or royalty statements that don't reflect the actual number of books sold. Some authors are looking into legal action.

- Victoria

 

[bentbrains]

Re: Does anyone have any comments or experience with :moneyV

Think about it. You are paying for your book to be printed. You are buying it. That isn't legit no matter how you slice it. You need to get paid for your work and not pay for it to be published. Unless you are fully aware that you are paying someone hard cash to publish your book, then keep looking!:shrug

 

[bentbrains]

question this one

yes, I think kivrinAngel said it all with "the publisher is suppose to pay you. Not the other way around."

 

[EGGammon]

VirtualBookWorm

Has anyone published with them? You have to pay, because it is a POD, but they screen what MS they get in (so they aren't a vanity publisher) and if you pay a little more, they will allow returns, which gives you a WAY better chance of getting your book into stores (though it's never a guarantee). And for a small fee, they will keep a certain amount of books in storage, so that if someone orders them, they don't have to way that LONG wait for them to print up the book. I was considering them for my books and wanted to get some heads up whether they are good or not. Anyone ever gone through them? Any opinions are appreciated!

(By the way, I considered going through an agent or a traditional publisher, but my first book, the first of a series I have been writing for 7 years, ends on a cliffhanger, which I've been told will make my book really hard to publish, because publishers tend not to invest in a series unless they know for sure it will be a success. So, that's why I was looking around on the internet for this type of publisher)

E.G. Gammon

 

[vstrauss]

Re: VirtualBookWorm

Writer Beware has gotten a number of complaints about Virtual Bookworm, most of them involving nonpayment of royalties. Last I heard, one of VB's writers was attempting to put together a class action lawsuit.

>>You have to pay, because it is a POD, but they screen what MS they get in (so they aren't a vanity publisher)<<

If you have to pay, it's either a vanity publisher or a self-publishing operation (though many people don't make a distinction), and you'll have to deal with the pay-to-publish stigma. Also, even where companies like this are selective, it's minimal selectivity, designed only to screen out things like hate literature or porn, or stuff that's obviously too long or too short.

>>if you pay a little more, they will allow returns, which gives you a WAY better chance of getting your book into stores<<

Many of the POD-based self-publishing services, such as Inifinity, are offering this perk. Often the conditions for return are such that booksellers won't find it attractive.

Besides, if no one knows your book exists (and companies like this leave all marketing to you), they won't know to order it, returns policy or not.

Bottom line: even if VB were good at paying its royalties, you aren't getting anything different there than you would at iUniverse or Trafford or any of the self-pub services. As has been discussed here before, POD self-pub can be a good option in certain specific circumstances--for instance, a nonfiction author who has a niche audience he knows how to reach, or someone who speaks or lectures and can sell books at those occasions--but for most novelists, it doesn't result in either sales or professional credit.

Maybe your book won't attract a commercial publisher's interest. But what do you have to lose by trying? You can always go back to the POD idea later on.

- Victoria

 

[skylarburris]

Re: VirtualBookWorm

I have published a novel with Virtualbookworm. I chose to use a vanity POD because I knew I had a small, pre-existent market that I did not think was large enough to attract a traditional publisher. But I had a well written book, and I wanted to make it available in print for my audience.

I chose Virtualbookworm because:

(1) They do engage in at least some screening. VirtualBookworm screens out occult books, porn books, and hate books. I also know (from some other VB writers) that if your book is particularly poorly written, they will not accept it until it has been edited. However, this does not mean they don't publish some badly written and poorly edited books; they do. It only means they won't publish absolutely everything they receive, and, unlike some PODs, they do have some kind of a minimum quality standard, even if that standard is low.

(2) They pay higher royalties than most PODs (50% of net receipts). For me, this has amounted to about 18% of the cover price for sales from Amazon and B&N.com

(3) They have a non-exclusive two year contract that ties you to using Virtualbookworm as your POD, but you can go with a traditional publisher and you can end the contract with written notification. These are much better terms than most POD contracts.

My experience?

(1) I chose the most basic package. I am of the opinion that getting any kind of extra services from a POD is largely a waste of money. You need to take charge of your own promotion, and you will probably get better (and less expensive) editing by researching and choosing your own freelance editor. I didn't pay to keep extra books in stock--something you mentioned--because that ONLY keeps extra books on hand with the publisher; it does not affect Amazon or B&N's stock, which is where you will sell most of your books. Amazon usually reads that my book takes 7 to 14 days.

(2) Royalty payments are often delayed. So far I have always received them eventually, but they nearly always arrive 15 or more days after the check was supposed to have been cut. Royalty payments are supposed to be made monthly. Many PODs only pay quarterly, so the main reason the delay bothers me so much is that it injures my confidence in the publisher. Lately, payment speed has improved, but it is still usually late.

(3) I had to keep on top of things during the publishing process and be a squeaky wheel to ensure my cover photo and details were on Amazon.

(4) Since my book appeared about seven months ago, I've sold about as many copies as I expected, and I've made a few hundred dollars over and above my publishing expenses.
Overall, I am satisfied with sales and royalties. But I was realistic about them from the beginning.

 

[Ralyks]

My Experience

To provide an update on my previous post:

My experience?

(1) Amazon usually reads that my book takes 7 to 14 days.

Due to Ingram's new virtual stocking system, this now usually reads 24 hours to 3 days.

(2) Royalty payments are often delayed.

I have received all of my payments to date. I have requested that future payments be made by PayPal to prevent delays (or at least to prevent excuses for delays).

(3) Since my book appeared about seven months ago, I've sold about as many copies as I expected, and I've made a few hundred dollars over and above my publishing expenses.

I've now sold more copies than I expected, and I've made over a thousand dollars above my publishing expenses. I have done nothing to promote my book other than to write free articles that mention it and rely on word-of-mouth.

I still think it was the right decision for me. I knew I had a market for this book, but I knew that market was small and not likely to interest a "real" publisher. I've reached the market I wanted to reach. Most of my readers have enjoyed the book. I've made a profit. I'm content. Now, I am working on a second novel aimed at the same audience. I may self-publish this time (rather than POD publish), but I will first seek out an agent or "traditional" publisher. The market I am writing for should be growing in the near future, which ought to make my work more marketable and therefore more interesting to a "real" publisher.


We'll see how I feel two or three months from now.

 

[bellaluna]

lawsuit on virtualbookworm

I have read some posts that indicate that someone may be looking to create a lawsuit against Virtualbokworm. Please reply to me if this is the case, since I would like to be involved. My title has sold over a thousand books, but I have a long list of instances where Virtualbookworm has simply not come through.

If anyone has specific information on legal actions, please let me know.

For anyone considering them, note: I have had a number of friends buy my book through them, but then never saw the royalty for the sale. I had to beg to get my Library of Congress number taken care of, which was supposedly included in the package. My dealings with them are always very frustrating. When I call, I always get one person: Bobby. Often there is a kid crying in the background. I think this is a one man operation, run at home by someone who is not competent enough to be doing so. I think if you plan on making very few sales, then it may be a good company to go with, but otherwise, DO NOT USE THEM.

 

[scullars]

I just gave notice a few days ago to cancel my contract with Virtualbookworm on a POD I did two years ago. Even though my Amazon numbers reflect constant sales, the report Bobby just gave me only indicates 4 sales this year. From what you say, I am somewhat suspicious. But then, maybe the Amazon numbers are skewered. I just don't feel like dealing with this group anymore. Shipping was always late, and I missed out on my book being a book-of-the-month for a bookclub b/c the members couldn't get the book in time. PODing just isn't worth it unless you have money to purchase the books up front, then resell them. Thankfully, my 2nd novel has been picked up by a publisher; now I'll have a different set of marketing worries.

 

[mrs75]

Re: Virtual Bookworm

I too published with Virtual Bookworm, as a matter of fact I have published 2 books with the company. One in 2002 and the other in 2003. Over the years I have always spoke with Bobby, the only problems I seem to have with them is I never did receive a copy of my copyright information which was in the contract that they take care of. When I emailed about this Bobby told me it may have been due to the mailing system being slow over the 9/11 deal, and still to this day I have not received those documents. I have considered contacting the copyright office to check if it was ever registered because if it wasn't then that seems to be a breach of the contract which I have a signed copy of.

Over the time I have had my books with this company I have received about 3 royalty checks. I like the other author posted, have had friends and family who bought my book and told me about it, one even had me sign the book for her. Hearing about this and me not getting a royalty report or check got me to wondering so I recently contacted Bobby about this and he has told me that a few books were returned, I responded by telling him I'm not sure where those returns came from, but the friends that bought my book haven't returned them, as a matter of fact (I told him), they just got the book and haven't begin reading it yet. His second response to this was I should be getting a royalty report in my email in May. I haven't had one in a long time so this makes me wonder too since I know from his first email I did have sales but received no report on them. Now that it is May I'm waiting for the report to see if my friends' sales show. I don't know when he sends them out, but I guess I'll wait until the end of the month, and if I don't receive one I'll contact him again.

After reading all these posts my mind wonders even more. All I ever heard about Virtual Bookworm when I researched them before publishing with them was good things, and so I didn't hesitate. I will be watching for further posts about Virtual Bookworm, and will be looking other places for more information. If I find out anything new I'll be sure to post here with the information.

Finally, I would also like to be contacted if anyone is speaking with a lawyer about taking legal action against this publisher. Contact me at [email protected]

It makes me sad, because it seems most all the POD publishers are taking authors. POD was suppose to provide services to new writers, and the thought of them all taking us instead of helping makes me sick. I guess I may have to consider going down the traditional publishing route again. Traditional publishing seems to be a long process, but it may be worth the time. I am also considering self-publishing but am looking into some things first.

I'll sign off now, I just wanted to give my two cents, and let everyone know about my experience with Virtual Bookworm as well; we have to stick together in order to warn others.

 

[MMo]

mrs75 -- You can check for your copyright registration yourself.
Go here:
http://www.copyright.gov/records/

There is some delay in getting the registration information into the database, but any book published in 2002 or 2003 should show up by now. This is not the same as the Library of Congress card catalogue, which does not include information on all books with registered copyrights.

Mo

 

[mrs75]

Re: To Mo

Mo,

Thank you for the link and information, I will head over to check it out. Appreciate your help.

God Bless,
Misti Sandefur
http://www.mistisandefur.com

 

[Ralyks]

I just gave notice a few days ago to cancel my contract with Virtualbookworm on a POD I did two years ago. Even though my Amazon numbers reflect constant sales, the report Bobby just gave me only indicates 4 sales this year. From what you say, I am somewhat suspicious. But then, maybe the Amazon numbers are skewered. I just don't feel like dealing with this group anymore. Shipping was always late, and I missed out on my book being a book-of-the-month for a bookclub b/c the members couldn't get the book in time. PODing just isn't worth it unless you have money to purchase the books up front, then resell them. Thankfully, my 2nd novel has been picked up by a publisher; now I'll have a different set of marketing worries.

What do you mean by your Amazon numbers? There's no way to get a number of sales on Amazon, only your sales rank. If your sales rank is any higher than 100,000, you're not selling much if anything.

I have had problems with delayed royalty payments, and I have had to pester the publisher repeatedly to receive timely payments. As of last month, I requested to be paid only by PayPal to prevent any "mail delays," and I was paid in a timely manner last month. So far, all of my payments (though delayed) have arrived, and they seem to match up with my sales as best as I can estimate them (based on Amazon sales rank and Ingram's stock numbers). I have been paid over $1,400 in royalties.

I will post again in this thread if the status of my situation changes, but thus far, the only problem I have experienced is poor communication and moderate delays in payments, which seems to have been resolved as of last month.

I think some authors may overestimate thier sales. The problem is that there is no central way to determine this. You can check Ingram stock numbers, but that is not the complete picture. However, if you know a book has been purchased directly from virtualbookworm, and that does not show up in the statement, that would naturally be cause for concern. I have not experienced that problem.

 

[Ralyks]

Over the time I have had my books with this company I have received about 3 royalty checks. I like the other author posted, have had friends and family who bought my book and told me about it, one even had me sign the book for her. Hearing about this and me not getting a royalty report or check got me to wondering so I recently contacted Bobby about this and he has told me that a few books were returned, I responded by telling him I'm not sure where those returns came from, but the friends that bought my book haven't returned them, as a matter of fact (I told him), they just got the book and haven't begin reading it yet. His second response to this was I should be getting a royalty report in my email in May. I haven't had one in a long time so this makes me wonder too since I know from his first email I did have sales but received no report on them. Now that it is May I'm waiting for the report to see if my friends' sales show. I don't know when he sends them out, but I guess I'll wait until the end of the month, and if I don't receive one I'll contact him again.

Royalties are paid monthly IF you exceed $25; otherwise they are held over until the amount exceeds $25. Sales reports are sent quarterly. Sales on Amazon take 60 (or 90? can't recall) days to show up in your royalties. All of this is stated in the contract and elsewhere on the website. So it is possible these sales just haven't shown up yet, or you didn't meet the $25 threshold. However, unless you purchased a returns program, I don't know what he means by claiming you had books returned. POD books cannot be returned usually. Once paid for they are paid for, and you should get your royalty. Did you purchase a returns program?

 

[mrs75]

Update On My Posting

First off, to answer skylarburris's question, no, I did not purchase a return package with VBW.

Now for my update, after I posted my first message here the next day I received an email from Bobby. It seems he read my post here and wanted to know what the problem was. I told him about the copyright issue, my unpaid royalties, and also about not getting my May royalty report yet. By the way, I did contact the copyright office and it was never registered by VBW, and when I told Bobby about this he admited - finally, that it was never registered, and he stated that they no longer offer this option to authors. I told him he may not offer it no longer, but it is still in our contract that VBW is to do the registration for Help From Above. He then told me he would mail me the papers I needed to do the copyright myself, and that VBW would pay for it. Update 1, I'm still waiting on those papers, and I have contacted him twice about these now and got no response. I will keep trying to contact him, and will update again when I see the papers from him as promised.

UPDATE 2: A few days after Bobby contacted me regarding my post here he did manage to get me my login information to see my May royalty report, so I did finally get this report, and it did show me sales for both my books which pleased me . The sale one of my friends has given me I don't think will show up until Ingram gets their reports to VBW to pass on to us, because this sale was made through Amazon I believe, and it takes 90 days I believe for those to show.

It seems that VBW is working on a new royalty system so authors can check their royalties monthly, and from the email Bobby sent to me I gather that he is working to get this system completed. Bobby was kind enough to go ahead and email me login information even though he hadn't gotten to it yet. He went ahead and sent me my royalty information so that I could get my May royalty report that he promised me a month ago. I do thank him for that kindness.

UPDATE 3: I do have proof here of some unpaid royalties of $46.47 that I brought to his attention, and he stated he would work on that issue as soon as he got everyone's login information sent to them so they too can check their royalties. As of today I am still waiting to hear about this issue, and I will let you know the update on it.

In my last email to Bobby (a week ago), I asked him about the copyright papers again, and I also asked him why, if he read my posting here, and the other postings, why he did not reply to them on the board; I'm still waiting for the answer on that too. Seems if he reads this board you'd think he would reply and try to help all who seem to be having problems here .

Bobby seems to be trying to work with me on my problems, though communication is slow and sometimes does go unanswered. When communication goes unanswered I just keep emailing again a month or few weeks later and then I'll finally get a reply. I think VBW does need to work on improving their customer service .

I will continue to update everyone here on my unresolved issues regarding the copyright registration and the unpaid royalties.

One last thing today, if you are having trouble with VBW as your posts show, maybe you can contact Bobby and see if he is willing to help. You may not get a response, and you may. If nothing else phone him. He does seem willing to help, but there are things still left unresolved , and that may be due to trying to get the royalty system going. Maybe after he gets that going they will work on better customer support service (let's cross our fingers for that).

Best of Luck To Everyone & God Bless

 

[victoriastrauss]

It seems that VBW is working on a new royalty system so authors can check their royalties monthly, and from the email Bobby sent to me I gather that he is working to get this system completed.

This sounds awfully familiar. I heard from an author in 2003 who was given an identical explanation for why he wasn't getting royalty statements.

- Victoria

 

[Stephanie R]

You guys sound waaay more patient than I would be. I think if I encountered such a mess, I would start sending letters registered mail-return receipt requested-green card thing-signature required. Tell him what you want, and give him 7 days (or 14 days or whatever) to complete everything. Tell him you will turn him over to whomever it is in state government that monitors consumer problems. I am betting the IRS would be pretty interested in this guy's activities as well, so you might throw a complaint to the IRS in as a cherry on top.

I think you should be able to download the copyright forms from the copyright office. If not, the forms are probably somewhere on Google, too. Hey, maybe that would be a good thing to add as a resource on this website? The Copyright forms?

With all the helpful people here, I am also betting you will find people who can help you fill out any parts of the forms that are confusing. I am really sorry to hear about what you are going through. If I can sick my dog -- or rather, my neighbor's dog who thinks he lives here -- on him, you just let me know. (Of course, it's a miniture poodle mut mix, so I'm not sure how much harm it would do, but he can sure bark loud.)

 

[ResearchGuy]

Don't threaten to write to or write to "consumer protection agencies." An author-publisher relationship is a business-to-business transaction that in many states falls completely outside the "consumer protection" laws, and always falls outside the limited budget and interest of government agencies who focus on "consumer protection."

An author is selling something to someone else for resale to a third person. A consumer is the end purchaser of a product or service. Clear enough?

Alas, a loophole large enough to shove a townhouse through. (Not arguing the point. It is precisely what I have heard from a key elected official, and in any event Jaws is a lawyer who knows the deal.) I wonder how many authors of the sort that do business with PA (or comparable company) really consider themselves as businesses. It appears that there is some confusion about the need for a business license, seller's permit, and so on.

It seems to this layman that there is an issue of perspective here (again: not arguing with Jaws on the law -- this is rumination). While legally it is a business-to-business transaction, from another (and legally irrelevant, unfortunately, apparently) point of view, the PA (or comparable) author is a consumer of book printing services as an amateur (for all practical purposes).

Sad, but it looks like in the real world, there is no way around it: consumer protection laws are not relevant here.

:-/

It still seems like there is a case to be made, somehow, somewhere, regarding deceptive practices and bad faith for those sorts of outfits.

--Ken

 

[ResearchGuy]

...I think you should be able to download the copyright forms from the copyright office....

See www.copyright.gov for the whole enchillada--forms, FAQs, law, everything. Also, Nolo Press, www.nolo.com, publishes a book on copyright complete with forms on CD.

--Ken

 

[Stephanie R]

*cough* *choke* Eeeew lawyers, yuck! ppp

(I'm kidding)

Hey Jaws, I was thinking more in terms of the state's Attorney General's office. They handle this kind of thing, yes? And, you can't tell me there isn't some kind of law out there which says a small business isn't a "consumer"? I hear the term "business consumer" every so often.

If not, that means we are supposed to just take it? Hey Jaws, why don't you represent these people in a law suit against the PODs??? Better yet, why aren't you lobbying for changes to the laws that will better protect us?

I am beginning to think that all PODs are scams. Anyone know anyone who used a POD company who has not been ripped off by them?

 

[scullars]

Sorry, for the late answer. Just saw your post. Basically for a couple of months, my Amazon numbers were dipping way below 100,000; I found out that someone had placed my book on an Amazon Recommended list and for the first time, I had the section Those Who Bought Celia Also Bought, so I knew that I had sales (this after nearly a year of non-movement). The numbers dipped to something like 16,500 or similar on at least a few occasions; the number would eventually grow over 100,000 again within the next day or so, then dip again to maybe 80,000 or something. Maybe it was a glitch with Amazon b/c I recently got a link to the royalties page that was set up and it indicates only 6 sales. Anyway, my contract should come to an end in another couple of weeks and I guess the book will be listed as Out-of-Print.

What do you mean by your Amazon numbers? There's no way to get a number of sales on Amazon, only your sales rank. If your sales rank is any higher than 100,000, you're not selling much if anything.

I have had problems with delayed royalty payments, and I have had to pester the publisher repeatedly to receive timely payments. As of last month, I requested to be paid only by PayPal to prevent any "mail delays," and I was paid in a timely manner last month. So far, all of my payments (though delayed) have arrived, and they seem to match up with my sales as best as I can estimate them (based on Amazon sales rank and Ingram's stock numbers). I have been paid over $1,400 in royalties.

I will post again in this thread if the status of my situation changes, but thus far, the only problem I have experienced is poor communication and moderate delays in payments, which seems to have been resolved as of last month.

I think some authors may overestimate thier sales. The problem is that there is no central way to determine this. You can check Ingram stock numbers, but that is not the complete picture. However, if you know a book has been purchased directly from virtualbookworm, and that does not show up in the statement, that would naturally be cause for concern. I have not experienced that problem.