Vantage Press, Inc. Vantage produced substandard book, no title on the spine, never showed a prototype, and bookstores will not carry such books. Ripoff New York New York

I signed a contract on April 9, 2006 for a book to be published by Vantage Press, Inc. According to the contract, I was to make 3 substantial payments, and I abided by the contract.

The terms of the contract stated that the book would be produced in book format. I received the ‘so-called’ book on April 19, 2007, and I was appalled. It looked like a theater Playbill. It was not in book format. There was no title of the book on the spine, and the artwork that I created was splashed on the page outside of the margins. The pages of the book were on lightweight paper stock, making the document like a pamphlet – not a book. I never got a chance to see a sample of the book’s format prior to the book going to press. I believe that this should have been a part of the quality control process, but there seems to be no quality control in the Vantage Press process.

I spoke with Martin Littlefield, the Vice President, and Edward Sczesnak, Editorial Director to no avail. They are both negative and hard-nosed. I complained formally to the NY Better Business Bureau and the Attorney General’s Office. Once I found out that mediation would be very costly, I allowed the books to be printed.

I sent a letter to the vice-president to state that I wanted my books reprinted with a title on the spine and on heavier paper stock. He told me that I had to pay more for this. Indeed, I never got a quality product in the first place. I would actually like legislation imposed, particularly to monitor subsidy publishers to ensure that they provide the minimum standards for book production. A book without a title on a spine will not be placed in bookstores. So why would a person want a book produced that a bookstore will not carry.

Vantage Press, Inc. has very poor customer relations, and they only care about the almighty dollar. I want assistance in suing the company to produce my book on par with reputable publishers.

Sadna
Columbia, Maryland
U.S.A.