BookWhirl.com scam
Scammers contacted me today to promote my book. Well, they may not 'be' scammers. I found their website www.bookwhirl.com and then a ton of websites calling them a scam, but not a single person actually used their service. Many of those complaining had agents and professional marketing services.
On the other hand, I found no positive testimonials about bookwhirl except through their own website.
What do they offer?
For money they'll promote your book. Does it work? Probably not. The company claims to be based in Wisconsin, but they made the mistake of accessing my website while chatting to me and I tracked them down to Quizon City some-such in the Philippine Islands. Their phone-girl also wouldn't reveal where she was born other than saying 'out of the country'. (I had asked her about her lack of Wisconsin accent.)
I told the nice lady I would not pay 799 for a mass email to 500,000 sign-up volunteers lest it made me at the very least 800 dollars. She seemed perplexed by this notion.
I told her I work for the Traveling Tyrant who would murder me if I didn't make at least a dollar.
Further confusion on her part.
I then told her to email me a testimonial not from her company's website. She said she'd get right on it. Even now I imagine they are busily cobbling together a temporary website for my benefit.
Take a page from Tom Mabe and fuck with them... If you think they'll call back. That man is funny.
Tom Mabe! I love the one where he asked the carpet cleaning people if they can "come over right away and clean up a lot of blood" out of a couch!
Tom Mabe! I love the one where he asked the carpet cleaning people if they can "come over right away and clean up a lot of blood" out of a couch!
-gearhead
I LOVE that one. He his hilarious.
Yep, this definitely sounds like a scam. If they were asking for $7.99, maybe, but $799 dollars?!?! Sorry, no dice.
marsden, you're obviously well aware of what's up here, and I'd say that even if it's not an outright scam, how usefuly could it possibly be? Paying someone hundreds of dollars to send emails out to parties that are likely not at all interested, and will thus become annoyed with you, is hardly sound marketing practice. I'd wager that no one else has used their services as it was just too apparent that it was a waste of money. You could probably pay someone else less money to do a real marketing campaign for you, or even spend the 800 bucks driving around and doing book signings at stores or conventions yourself.
Thanks for the comments.
Smith Publicity is a real marketing company. You go to them, not the other way around. Their 1 month book-campaign is around 3 grand.
To get legit email-lists I saw one source claim it costs 1000's of dollars, not 800.
So, indeed Bookwhirl has 'scam' written all over it, but I like to have sources who were actually scammed by the service before I pass final judgement. Too many of the complaints I saw online were from authors who couldn't help but tout they had paid lots of money to real marketers. Reminds me of a man with a Ferari talking about how glad he is he didn't buy a Ford Focus and is curious why you aren't buying Ferari!
Ah, I get you. Yes, not so much "feedback" as maybe "static."
I can't help but smile when someone asks for help with something and another person essentially says, "Well, I have not experience with that, but let me tell you my advice/opinion." It means a lot more coming from someone who has been there and done that.
Right! People mean well but I'm an evidence-based sort.
BookWhirl has not contacted me back. I was hoping they'd invent an author and website for me!
I was hoping they'd invent an author and website for me!
-rmarsden
Hah!
I'd actually pay someone to pester lots of people for me. Marketing has been the biggest challenge of writing for me because it's outside my field and a lot of the 'do it yourself' advice is about as efficient as door to door knocking, just in forum-format.
I try to ask successful small-time authors what they do, but so far it's been mostly years of knocking on doors, having a large online presence, cheap price, and what not.
Book marketing companies do exist, but 3 grand for a month of promo sounds a bit risky!
About a month ago, maybe a little more, I had an author quite literally come knocking at my door to sell his book. It was his first one. He obviously had published with a place that sounded like some version of a vanity press, and then the place went under. I assume he was left with a big backstock of books he'd purchased from them. He was really enthusiastic, though, and I bought his book, partly out of curiosity and partly wanting to help him out.
So, yeah, there are new authors out there knocking on doors. I did look into his publisher later. The guy has been prosecuted multiple times for various frauds of all types. Makes for an interesting story in and of itself!
