Stable 100% royalties. Need we say more?
We treat your e-book publishing sincerely. Never will we
rely on “meat grinding” application software. You will have to upload your
manuscripts. But our eBook connections will carefully format your work. We
don’t automate.
e-Publishing is
comfortable. Our two-way publishing process is very simple. Just submit your
manuscript and we deliver. No need to learn technical manuals.
We guarantee elegant designs. We house internationally
capable artists, illustrators, and designers. Your e-books will surely
standout.
Sound appealing? Not so fast. This new attempt to cash in on
the electronic self-publishing gold rush is owned by Best journals.
You may identify the name of this infamous Internet spammer.
If you don't, it's a so-called marketing service that has become infamous for
its prolific spam emails and cold-call phone pitches offering writers cheap
(for Bestjounals--for authors, the costs range from around $300 to over $10,000)
spam-style PR such as mass email campaigns, press releases, online directory
listings, and the like.
Testament to Best Journals relentless spamming and
cold-calling can be found across the Internet in the form of complaints, scorn,
and angry blog posts. (Many of the commenter’s note the poor grammar of the
company's emails and the heavy accent and busted English of its phone
solicitors--which would appear to be no mistake, since the company, which
claims to be based in Iowa or Wisconsin, is owned by an Asian business called
Yen Chen Support. So extensive did the harmful discussion become, in fact, that
Best Journals felt obliged to spread some counter-propaganda, publish a press
release refuting the condemnation, a blog doing the same, a "phishing
email alert" attributing complaints to a phishing plan (and suggesting
that "wronged" writers contact Best Journals), and an "email
scam advice" allege, with no doubt unintended satire, that it is the
wounded of negative statements by "a professional scammer."
Still interested in e-Publishing?
.
What about those attractive-sounding 100% royalties? This is
a worthless claim, by the way--royalties are by definition the author's share
of a book's income, so all royalties are 100%. The real question is, what can
e-Publishing authors expect to earn? It's a major challenge to find out--the
information appears only in e-Publishing 's Terms and Policies, which are
accessible only on the Signup page--but hey, that's why I'm here, to dig this
stuff up for you.
The Terms and Policies also include this important provision:
Publishers should agree to receive promotions and updates
through e-mail, newsletters, and calls from BestJournals.com.
So if you decide to use e-Publishing, be prepared to be
solicited to buy lots of other stuff.
The easy ease of use of free electronic self-publishing
options means that no one has to pay to publish an eBooks. However, fee-based
self-pub services have their place. For people who are time-crunched or
non-web-savvy or just uninterested in DIY, they can provide a good solution, as
long as they are reasonably priced.
Price isn't the only determinant, however, and cheap isn't
always good. Choosing a reputable provider is even more important--even if,
sometimes, it charges a bit more. It's vital to carefully research any company
you're thinking of using (you can always contact Writer Beware to find out if
there have been complaints). It's also a good idea--especially if you're not
sure of the company's reputation and expertise--to give new self-pub services a
year or so to settle in before jumping on board.
