I was so excited when I saw today that Austin Macauley offered me a co-publishing contract. But when we (my husband and I) looked in to it…we discovered that they are a Vanity Press–ripping their authors off by asking for large amounts of money up-front and taking their copyright. Can’t believe I almost fell for it again (similar thing happened when I submitted Medar to publishers–that time I got offered a contract with XLibris).
So tonight I uploaded my e-book and print-on-demand files to Amazon. Need 72hrs for them to get approved and then they will be available for pre-order.
I feel like I just had a near escape.
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Published by Sharon Manssen
A fantasy fan since being read 'The Hobbit' by her father at the fireside at the age of six, S R Manssen has been an avid bookworm her entire life. She is the multi-award nominated author of The Realmshift Trilogy – a YA fantasy fiction trilogy comprising four books (I know!). Sharon had a multi-cultural upbringing, attending high school in Belgium (in Flemish) and working 9 years in Bangkok, Thailand. It was there she realised she had a story inside her which she then proceeded to write over the next ten years, squeezing writing in between raising a family and working full time as a professional engineer. Her books have variously been finalists in the Tom Fitzgibbon Award, the SJV Awards and the Caleb Awards. She served as the President of Tauranga Writers for nearly 5 years and has been the President of SpecFicNZ since 2022. She is a StartWrite Manuscript assessor and Youth Mentor with NZSA.
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so, did you find a good traditional publisher?/
No, I ended up self-publishing and am pretty happy with how it’s going.
I just received an email from them as well. I am glad I typed in Macauley Publishers and saw your feedback. I had another one from a “hybrid” company which are also scams. Thank you for putting that out there, I would have fallen for it as well.
YES, you are probably right. I too have been scammed by Austin Macauley.
How were you scammed by them?
I too have been scammed by Austin Macauley
The didn’t accept my book Knotty Thoughts on Knotty Subjects, so maybe I was spared some embarrassment. I was thinking of sending another of my books to them. Since they didn’t accept my last book they also didn’t try asking for money towards publication. Surely a scam publisher wouldn’t care what it published, within reason. Maybe there is no such thing as an honest publishing world today. What is a serious author to do. agents are too groomed for my liking.
I received favourable, keen letters from A.McA. , who said 1 of 2 contract types involved no payment by the author. However, from what I’ve Googled, I am sceptical; even more so about Pegasus, whose client writers tell of abandonment, incompetence, 0 attempts to market the book.
Yes nearly fell for this one too. They asked a ridiculous amount to sign a dubious contract. Please anyone else. All writers are vulnerable so be very aware
I submitted to Austin Macauley 2 manuscripts in May 2021 After 2,5 years they responded that one manuscript accepted for publishing if I pay them $3 000. I wanted to meet them in person, but Mr. List (editor?) was always sick to meet. I stopped communicating with them. A-N Kovalenko, the author
I was scammed by Austin Macauley for $3000
I’m so glad I read this review 🙁 I submitted a manuscript and they replied enthusiastically with a contract, pushing for a signature. I saw the $3000 amount which they claim in their letter, is a small contribution! Desperate authors, especially upstart ones would fall for their scam because their letters and everything seem so legit! How disappointing! Back to the drawing board for me! Wishing you all the best Anna-nina.