In recent years, Amazon publishing scams have been rampant. There are so many companies out there who are preying on people who want to self-publish their book – and making it seem like they are legitimately affiliated with Amazon.
Companies may use the Amazon name or logo to try and trick writers into thinking they are with Amazon. Many writers are even being contacted via phone or email by scammers. So it begs the question, how can you avoid publishing scams?
In this post, we will delve into the recent Amazon publishing scams so you can have a better idea of what to avoid when publishing your book.
Avoiding fake Amazon companies
There are so many scammers out there who are using the Amazon name or trademarks to lure in unsuspecting writers.
Many writers Google “self publishing,” “Amazon self-publishing,” or “KDP publishing” and are met by sponsored ads that are, you guessed it, publishing scams.
If you type in “Amazon kindle publishing” you will see plenty of such scammers in the results.
All of the sponsored ads at the top of the search are publishing scams. Please avoid these companies at all costs! These companies are vanity publishers who will steal your money and won’t deliver a good product for you.
Many of these companies include “Amazon” or “KDP” in their company names, even though they aren’t affiliated with Amazon in any way. Some of them even have disclaimers that they are not affiliated with Amazon, but those disclaimers are often buried in hard to find places on their websites.
As you can see in the logo above, these companies can be tricky. This uses the same yellow color and swoosh as Amazon, and even uses the Amazon name. Unfortunately, this company has nothing to do with Amazon, and if you work with them you won’t receive good content.
These publishing scams offer lots of services, from ghostwriting to editing, formatting marketing, and book cover design. Unfortunately, they also have claims of expertise that cannot be verified and often are based overseas in India or the Philippines and offer really poorly written content.
These publishing scams will pay people to leave them 5-star ratings on TrustPilot or even create fake reviews from traditionally published authors – pretending they used their services.
Many of the publishing scams also do business under multiple names. For example, Amazon Digital Publications has an identical website to Pioneer Book Writers because they are owned by the same people.
Amazon Publishing Partners and Amazon Publishing Forum also have identical websites. So do Amazon Global Publishing and Amazon Publication House.
The publishing scams often seem innocent enough at first, but once you get hooked, the companies will try to upsell you or rope you into fraudulent schemes. For example, you might be told that bookstores are going to order thousands of copies of your book and that you need to pay for it to be printed…then the company will run with your money.
Many authors pay for services with publishing scams and never hear from the scammer again. Some receive “edited” manuscripts that include a lot of new mistakes.
Most publishing scams advertise money-back guarantees but they rarely honor them. Authors who continue to push for resolution may find themselves ghosted.
The KDP Kickstarter Publishing Scam
Over the past few months, many writers have received emails from “[email protected]” with the subject line “Amazon-Kindle KICKSTARTER Program!”
One fake email from KDP claims that your book has qualified for Kindle Direct Assistance Service. It asks you to get your manuscript literary endorsed and get certified by a literary agent.
This is a fairly standard re-publication scheme, where your book is re-published for “free” but you need to pay for “certification.”
Another email claims: “We are reaching out to you today to offer you an exciting opportunity to become a part of Amazon’s Best Seller Program completely free of charge.”
Amazon does not offer a “Best Seller Program,” so this is a publishing scam.
Here is one author who fell for the scam.
If you are ever contacted by Amazon, it won’t be from the email address listed above, and it certainly won’t be soliciting anything.
With proper knowledge of the industry, and some careful research, you can avoid most publishing scams outright.
Tips for spotting Amazon publishing scams
Here are a few tips to help you avoid Amazon publishing scams:
- If a company has Amazon in its name, it is probably a scam. Amazon KDP is not reaching out to authors with services.
- KDP is free. Amazon doesn’t sell marking services and doesn’t work with affiliates. If you have to pay, you aren’t dealing with Amazon.
- Any publishing-related solicitation is highly likely to be a scam. Reputable companies rarely reach out to authors they don’t already work with.
- Try to avoid sponsored links. While not all sponsored links are publishing scams, many of them are.
- Do research into the company and see if you can find real reviews from the USA that include people’s last names and aren’t full of errors.
Is selfpublishing.com a scam?
After all this, you may be wondering, is selfpublishing.com a scam?
Absolutely not!
We have never claimed to work with Amazon, nor will we, but we are pros at getting books published on Amazon KDP.
We work with thoroughly vetted editing, design, and marketing professionals who live right here in the USA. Our team and our partner agencies have helped thousands of authors to publish their books, and we are happy to help you as well.
We offer a lot of the same services as publishing scams, so it wouldn’t be all that strange to wonder “is selfpublishing.com a scam?” But we actually follow through with our services, and even give you courses so you can learn to do everything on your own if you so choose!
Get your book published today!
Self-publishing can be confusing, but it doesn’t have to be hard. We’re experts at it, and we can walk you through every step of the process as needed. You will never have to pay to print or certify your book. You will only pay for the services you need – and actually publishing your book is free!
If you would like to publish your book on Amazon, reach out to our team today to start the process.