Resources and tips for the self-published author.

It happens all too frequently that I come across an author who has been  scammed by a vanity press or by a vendor that provides some type of author services.
One author spent $10,000 on a print run for a poorly edited and designed book without a distribution deal.  Another author I know spent nearly $40,000 on poor editing services until she found the right one.

Don’t make these mistakes and educate yourself. Google is a powerful tool.

Here are some ways to avoid getting scammed as an author.

1) Google is your best friend. Make sure to always to Google the name of the company with the search term Bad Reviews. For example, a possible search term would be “Miral Sattar Bad Reviews.”
2) Look up the company on Better Business Beaurea.
3) See how others have rated and reviewed the vendor or company in question. (My company BiblioCrunch allows you to do that)
4) Read author watch blogs like Writer Beware  and Preditors and Editors.  Both maintain a list of sites that scam authors.
5) Always check and ask for references.

By using our tips above you’ll save money and pick the right vendor to help you and save you a lot of headache down the line.

About Miral Sattar

Lover of books. CEO & founder of Bibliocrunch. Love storytelling in all its forms. Formerly TIME. I'm a new media entrepreneur who has worked in the media industry for 11 years. My mission is simple – to innovate the publishing industry with technology. My company has been featured in BBC World News, Money Magazine, Bloomberg, Consumer Reports, Forbes, WSJ, MediaBistro, PBS, Columbia Journalism Review, The Next Web, Publishers Weekly, and a bunch of other places. Bibliocrunch was also selected as The Next Big Thing in media by the Paley Center. I also used to run a popular South Asian culture blog called Divanee. Before I ran my own company and became a mom, I used to be on the board for several literacy organizations, and wrote a LOT more. Hopefully, when things are calmer I can go back to that! :)