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Report: #718916

Complaint Review: Author, Victoria Strauss - Internet Internet

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  • Reported By: Hahesder — Internet Internet United States of America
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  • Author, Victoria Strauss Internet United States of America

Author, Victoria Strauss Failure to Produce Documentation of Police Investigation Regarding American Book Publishing, Internet

*General Comment: Response to "The Write Agenda"

*Consumer Comment: Even Publish America....

*General Comment: 'Disgruntled author' could hold clue

*Consumer Comment: Authors don't count

*Author of original report: Res ipsa loquitur & Standards of Proof

*Consumer Comment: Let's start with these

*Author of original report: Unvetted Blog Postings are not Proof of Anything

*Consumer Comment: FOIA STILL VALID

*Consumer Comment: FOIA STILL VALID

*Author of original report: Propaganda Strategies Fail to Lead to Transparency

*Consumer Comment: The Freedom of Information Act

*Author of original report: More Smoke from Janrae Frank

*Consumer Comment: It is clear that you do not have a clue

*Author of original report: Janrae Frank Comments Generate More Smoke than Substance to Shield Victoria Strauss and Writer Beware

*Consumer Comment: Writer Beware has assisted me several times

*Author of original report: Clarification of Victoria Strauss' Statement

*Author of original report: Another Thing Too!

*REBUTTAL Individual responds: Not the whole story

*REBUTTAL Individual responds: Another thing

*Author of original report: The "Agenda" of Victoria Strauss

*REBUTTAL Individual responds: The Agenda of "The Write Agenda"

*Author of original report: Sophronia Flex Commentary Demonstrates the Need for Caution with Writer Beware

*Consumer Comment: Victoria Strauss is the most reliable and respected consumer advocate in the writing biz

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A couple of blog postings, regarding American Book Publishing, recently raised our curiosity and inquisitiveness. Victoria Strauss has posted on numerous internet sites thatAmerican Book Publishing has been the subject of an investigation. In addition, under its Alerts for Writers section, the Science Fiction & Fantasy Writers Association (SFWA) also states American Book Publishing has been the focus of at least one police investigation.

Consistent with the applicable Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) we have conducted some extensive (exhaustive) research with the agencies listed below. As a result, we have neither located evidence nor reports of any investigation involving American Book Publishing in these jurisdictions. The only investigation that we did locate involved a theft at the residence of Ms. Nunn who had a break-in to her home and also sustained damage thereto.

Victoria Strauss and SFWA where is the investigation? Where is your documentation and evidence? Based on these results, we believe that these are very serious allegations to be making if no such investigation has been undertaken. In the interest of good business ethics, these postings by Victoria Strauss and the SFWA should be deleted, retracted and apologies should come forth immediately if they are unable to produce any primary source material as evidence of an investigation. Considering the lack of evidence, it would also be interesting to know exactly what the true motivation was and why Victoria Strauss and SFWA posted this information.

A company spokesperson for American Book Publishing stated: As a result of these postings made by Writers Beware, SFWA and Author Victoria Strauss, American Book Publishing began a quality control documentation process with all their authors over the past 8 years. We have obtained permission from our authors to publish on the company website the comments and references that we have received from them with their full name and book titles. American Book Publishing has over a 95% author satisfaction rating and you may see over 350 of these author references at http://americanbookpublishingauthors.com."

American Book Publishing does have an A+ rating with the Utah Better Business Bureau. This report may be viewed at:

http://www.bbb.org/utah/business-reviews/book-and-magazine-publishing-companies/american-book-publishing-in-salt-lake-city-ut-8000038

Its interesting to note that Writer Beware officer, A.C. Crispin emphatically frowns on authors using the Better Business Bureaus to investigate publishers. She also cautions authors to rely on the Writer Beware and the Preditors & Editors sites as a better sources of information. However, in this instance, one has to really question the validity of using them as a valid source of investigative information when they fail to provide primary source material to back up their postings.

Victoria Strauss recently has also made statements that implied that the Florida Attorney Generals case against Strategic Book Group is the result of the defendants delay tactics. Numerous requests have been made to Victoria Strauss to produceprimary source material as proof. Nothing has been produced by Victoria Strauss to verify these statements and she has remained silent. We have received information indicating that the delay in prosecution may be the result of a lack of evidence.

Agencies Contacted:

Salt Lake City Police DepartmentPublic Safety Building
315 East 200 South, SLC
(801) 799-3000Pioneer Precinct
1040 West 700 South
(801) 799-4600
http://www.slcpd.com/index.phpUtah Highway PatrolFirst Floor South

4501 South 2700 West
PO Box 141100
Salt Lake City, Utah 84114-1100
Administration: (801) 965-4518 (During Business Hours)

http://publicsafety.utah.gov/highwaypatrol/index.html

Department of Public Safety Investigations Bureau
5500 West Amelia Earhart Drive, Suite #100
Salt Lake City, Utah 84116 (801) 532-2168
http://publicsafety.utah.gov/investigations/index.html

Federal Bureau of Investigation Salt Lake City
257 East 200 South, Suite 1200 Salt Lake City, UT 84111-2048
Phone: (801) 579-1400
Fax: (801) 579-4500

Salt Lake County Sheriffs Department
3365 South 900 West
Salt Lake City, UT 84119
Non-Emergency: 801.743.7000
http://www.slsheriff.org

South Salt Lake City Hall
220 E. Morris Ave (2430 South)
Salt Lake City, UT 84115

City Attorney, 2nd Floor 801-483-6070 801-464-6791

City Prosecutor, 2nd Floor 801-483-6070 801-464-6791

Police Department
2835 S Main St, South Salt Lake, UT 84115-3200
NON Emergencies 801-840-4000
Administration 801-412-3606
Investigations 801-412-3604
Ordinance Enforcement 801-464-6712
Records 801-412-3600
http://www.ssl.state.ut.us/government/contactus.htmlhttp://www.ssl.state.ut.us/police/policedepthome.html

Utah State Capitol Office
Office of the Attorney General
Utah State Capitol Complex
350 North State Street Suite 230
SLC UT 84114-2320
FAX: (801) 538-1121
http://attorneygeneral.utah.gov/contact_us.html

Salt Lake City, Prosecutors Office
349 South 200 East, Suite 500Salt Lake City, Utah, 801.535.7767
http://www.slcgov.com/Prosecutor

Salt Lake County Prosecutors Office
Investigations Division
111 E Broadway Suite 400
Salt Lake City, Utah 84111
Tel: (801) 531-4189
Fax: (801) 531-4137
http://www.districtattorney.slco.org/admin/contact.html

References

ALERTS FOR WRITERS. SFWA. Web. 24 Mar. 2011. <http://www.sfwa.org/for-authors/writer-beware/alerts/#American>.

Interview with Victoria Strauss Fantasy and Science Fiction Writing Community Necrotania.com. Fantasy and Science Fiction Writing Community. 31 Mar. 2011. Web. 01 Apr. 2011. <http://www.necrotania.com/vb/showthread.php?t=2566>.

Learn Writing with Uncle Jim, Volume 2 Page 62 Absolute Write Water Cooler. Absolute Write. Web. 31 Mar. 2011. <http://absolutewrite.com/forums/showthread.php?p=5983334#post5983334>.

Poetry.com / International Library of Poetry / Watermark Press [Archive] Page 2 Absolute Write Water Cooler. Absolute Write. Web. 27 Mar. 2011. <http://absolutewrite.com/forums/archive/index.php/t-996-p-2.html>.

Victoria Strauss, Author of The Arm of the Stone (Feb 28-March 6) | Author Chat | LibraryThing.LibraryThing | Catalog Your Books Online. 3 Mar. 2011. Web. 15 Apr. 2011. <http://www.librarything.com/topic/111045>.

Victoria Strauss Someone Out There Doesnt Like Us (And We Dont Care). Writer Beware Blogs! Web. 24 Mar. 2011. <http://accrispin.blogspot.com/2006/05/victoria-strauss-someone-out-there.html>.

Wikipedia:Identifying Reliable Sources. Wikipedia, the Free Encyclopedia. Web. 24 Mar. 2011. <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia:Identifying_reliable_sources>.

This report was posted on Ripoff Report on 04/18/2011 08:30 AM and is a permanent record located here: https://www.ripoffreport.com/reports/author-victoria-strauss/internet/author-victoria-strauss-failure-to-produce-documentation-of-police-investigation-regardi-718916. The posting time indicated is Arizona local time. Arizona does not observe daylight savings so the post time may be Mountain or Pacific depending on the time of year. Ripoff Report has an exclusive license to this report. It may not be copied without the written permission of Ripoff Report. READ: Foreign websites steal our content

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REBUTTALS & REPLIES:
9Author
11Consumer
3Employee/Owner

#23 General Comment

Response to "The Write Agenda"

AUTHOR: Audrey Davis - (United States of America)

POSTED: Monday, October 17, 2011

The first thing you should know about The Write Agenda is that it is most likely owned and operated by C. Lee Nunn of American Book Publishing.  She seems to have hired the same PR firm that handles on-line propaganda for Robert M. Fletcher of Strategic Book Publishing, another vanity press,  but she's really the one behind the mask.

Cheryl Lee Nunn was formerly a certified financial planner.  Her certification was suspended for churning her clients' accounts in order to generate commissions.  From there she went on to become a vanity publisher.  She called her vanity press "Forbes Publishing" until the real Forbes found out and stopped her.  After that she changed the name of her vanity press to American Book Publishing.

See:

http://www.wipo.int/amc/en/domains/decisions/html/2000/d2000-1069.html

and
http://cjv123.hubpages.com/hub/ASPIRING-AUTHORS-BE-AWARE-OF-AMERICAN-BOOK-PUBLISHING
and
http://cjv123.hubpages.com/hub/Aspiring-Writers-or-Authors-Be-Aware-of-American-Book-Publishing-II

Look at The Write Agenda's furious (and nearly incoherent) response to "Sophronia Flex" [sic].  It starts off with personal attacks (e.g. "reared her/his ugly head once again")  From there The Write Agenda moves to irrelevant blathering about Amazon reviews.  The only important parts here are that The Write Agenda misspells Felix's name (as "Flex"), and gets the date wrong by a decade.  Normally this wouldn't be worth commenting on, but it shows the quality of research that "The Write Agenda" does.

What can we learn from the Amazon review?  That Felix has been active on the Net for  a long time and has expert opinions on literary theory.  The further reference that The Write Agenda makes to a review at Thrift Books is meant to prove ... what?  Perhaps The Write Agenda didn't notice that Thrift Books reprints reviews from Amazon.

Above, The Write Agenda posted this:

Most concerning of all in Sophronia Flexs [sic] commentary above is this (new) unsubstantiated claim: their premises were being raided by the FBI. This ranks up there with the claim made by Writer Beware:  American Book Publishing has been the focus of at least one police investigation. The Write Agenda has proven that this allegation made by Writer Beware, Victoria Strauss and Ann A.C. Crispin is false.

The Write Agenda has proved no such thing.  More on that in a bit.  Right now: The excerpt that The Write Agenda posted is deliberately misleading and deceptive.  Here is what Felix actually posted, in context:

By the way, the part about Nunn having "references from the Utah Better Business Bureau" is meaningless. The Better Business Bureau doesn't understand the publishing industry, and never has. They're useless when it comes to ripoffs aimed at writers. There've been literary scammers who were in good standing with the BBB at the point that their premises were being raided by the FBI, and they continued to be in good standing with the BBB for some time afterward.

Nowhere did Felix say or imply that American Book Publishing had been raided by the FBI.  The subject was the BBB and how useless it is.  The specific literary scammers who were in good standing with the BBB on the day the FBI raided their offices were Dorothy Deering and her husband, Chuck.   Dorothy got forty-six months in federal prison on a plea deal. Chuck got forty-one.

Now is the time to look at The Write Agenda's "extensive (exhaustive) research."  It posted scans of the letters it got from various agencies on its page.  Here are the pertinent quotes from those letters:

District Attorney, Salt Lake County.

The District Attorney's office prosecutes people rather than entities.

 We are a County agency and historically have not prosecuted much in the form of business fraud etc. (assuming there was some possible illegal conduct by this company).  This responsibility has fallen primarily on our State Attorney General's Office.  You may want to consider checking with that agency.

State of Utah
Office of the Attorney General

The information you are requesting will most likely be found through the Utah Consumer Protection Division, which is not a part of the Utah Attorney General's Office.  Therefore you will need to address your request to the proper state office, the Utah Consumer Protection Division.

South Salt Lake Police Department

Unfortunately American Book Publishing is not with in the jurisdiction of the City of South Salt Lake, which is the address you mailed your request to.

Upon checking the address that you gave in your letter, American Book Publishing is in the municipality of Murray, Utah.  Therefore, you will need to contact them for further information.

The Freedom of Information Act is for Federal Government information only and does not apply to local governments.

Salt Lake City Corporation
Police Department

As a procedural matter, requests through the Freedom of Information Act are primarily made to Federal government agencies.

Please be advised that the address of this company is outside the jurisdiction of the Salt Lake City Police Department.  Murray City Police Department would cover that area.

Another agency you may want to contact for information regarding this company is the Utah State Consumer Protection Division in Salt Lake City, Utah.

Unified Police
Greater Salt Lake

"This location is under the Midvale City Pd jurisdiction and you may wish to direct your request to them."

U.S. Department of Justice
Federal Bureau of Investigation

Unfortunately, we are unable to access the manual indices of the Salt Lake City Field Office at this time as they are currently being prepared for automation.

City Council
The City of South Salt Lake

Although you make the request pursuant to the Freedom of Information Act, that law applies only to federal agencies.  See 5 U.S.C. 522(f)(1).

I note that the business address that you provided is located within the boundaries of Murray City, rather than our jurisdiction.

U.S. Department of Justice
Federal Bureau of Investigation

"We have referred your request to FBI Headquarters (FBIHQ) for processing your request for records maintained by Salt Lake City."

Department of Public Safety
State of Utah

We have researched your request and found we do not have any knowledge or working case investigation in regards to the report you requested.

One of the agencies directed The Write Agenda to write to the Midvale Police Department. Two of the agencies directed The Write Agenda to write to the Utah Consumer Protection Division.  Three directed it to write to the Murray City Police Department.  Conspicuously absent from the letters The Write Agenda posted on their page:  The Midvale Police Department, The Utah State Consumer Protection Division, and the Murray City Police Department. Several of the agencies specifically comment that the FOIA doesn't apply.  So much for "Consistent with the applicable Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) we have conducted some extensive (exhaustive) research...."

The FBI didn't search their records, so it's misleading at best for The Write Agenda to imply that the FBI never investigated American Book Publishing.

When The Write Agenda says, "The Write Agenda has contacted every police agency in the State of Utah, has posted its evidence and has not been able to authenticate the claims of Victoria Strauss," it is lying.

The Write Agenda says it wants Crispin to tell it what American Book Publishing was investigated for.  The answer seems to be "cyber fraud."

03-12-2004 09:43 AM #4
A.C. Crispin

C. Lee Nunn has been threatening to sue Writer Beware for a long time now, but can't get an attorney to take her case once they find out about the "cyber fraud" investigation by the Utah authorities.

See:
http://www.writers.net/forum/showthread.php?74870-American-Book-Publishing-legit&p=912066&viewfull=1#post912066

Frank is entirely right about the Freedom of Information Act.  The Write Agenda opened the door on that by waving it around in its initial post here and on its web page.

The Write Agenda's claim that Frank's decision to investigate The Write Agenda means that Frank doesn't believe Crispin and Strauss is Looking-Glass Logic.  The Write Agenda's claim that posting here is an attempt by Frank to sell books is a personal attack.  Nor is Frank the only one The Write Agenda has attacked.  Attacks on writers are a hallmark of The Write Agenda's MO.

See:
http://afantasyfiction.blogspot.com/2011/08/write-agenda-defines-hate-groups.html

The Write Agenda writes, above:

If there is anything in this commentary by Sophronia Flex [sic]  that we do agree with is this: Let the writer beware. We would strongly encourage "Sophronia Flex" [sic] to produce evidence that American Book Publishing was "raided by the FBI." Otherwise, "Sophronia Flex" [sic] should 1) admit that this this is a lie, and 2) encourage Victoria Strauss, Ann "A.C." Crispin and Writer Beware to admit that their claims regarding American Book Publishing are also lies.

As we have seen, Felix did not say that American Book Publishing was raided by the FBI.  The Write Agenda should 1) admit that it lied,  2) admit that Strauss, Crispin, and Writer Beware's claims are  true, and 3) admit that the sole purpose of this Rip-off Report was personal attack against and harassment of Victoria Strauss and Ann Crispin.

Crispin and Strauss are under no obligation to give any information at all to the proprietor of an anonymous hate site.  If Nunn wants to see what they have, she can push her chips to the center of the table and call.  American Book Publishing can file a lawsuit at any time.

Any objective person reading this thread and The Write Agenda page(s) can only come to one conclusion:  The Write Agenda relies on fallacious arguments, out-of-context quotes, outright lies,  and personal attacks to carry out its agenda.  That agenda isn't to help writers, it's to defend scams.  
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#22 Consumer Comment

Even Publish America....

AUTHOR: Janrae Frank - (United States of America)

POSTED: Wednesday, October 12, 2011

Even Publish America has some glowing customer opinions posted. A minority of satisfied clients and a majority of dissatisfied ones does not make a good company. Remember to read the small print on all contracts.

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#21 General Comment

'Disgruntled author' could hold clue

AUTHOR: DebbieUK - (United Kingdom)

POSTED: Tuesday, October 11, 2011

Perhaps 'disgruntled author' Dr. Neddermeyer has documentation that would serve as evidence. Have you asked her?

Perhaps you could also clarify (in the interests of transparency, of course) how she came to be disgruntled with a publisher that has so many fine testimonials.

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#20 Consumer Comment

Authors don't count

AUTHOR: Janrae Frank - (United States of America)

POSTED: Tuesday, October 11, 2011

So, authors don't count. For a group that claims to be protecting the rights of authors, you sure seem to be extremely contemptuous of them. And seeing as how Detective Wilkins' number and such are on it and as how it is on record elsewhere that Wilkins conducted the original investigation, you come across as small minded.

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#19 Author of original report

Res ipsa loquitur & Standards of Proof

AUTHOR: The Write Agenda - (United States of America)

POSTED: Tuesday, October 11, 2011

After going into great detail regarding your skills as a journalist, we would think that you would have posted primary source material to speak for itself. Attaching a blog posting from a disgruntled author, while it may lead to primary source material, is not proof that a real investigation ever occurred. Therefore, the doctrine of res ipsa loquitur does not apply to this pitiable attachment.

Journalists, as yourself, are held to a higher standard in reporting and presenting evidence. We do hope that your independent research activity leads you to a trail of primary source material including, but not limited to, documented evidence of a police investigation with a corresponding incident number.

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#18 Consumer Comment

Let's start with these

AUTHOR: Janrae Frank - (United States of America)

POSTED: Monday, October 10, 2011

I am attaching two screenshots from 2003. I think they speak for themselves.

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#17 Author of original report

Unvetted Blog Postings are not Proof of Anything

AUTHOR: The Write Agenda - (United States of America)

POSTED: Monday, October 10, 2011

Yes, we have claimed that your discussion of the FOIA was both Ad Hominem and a Red Herring. No, we have not invoked FOIA as proof of any claims here or on our website. What we have done is completed document searches and posted the results thereof. Our act of posting these letters from the agencies cast doubt on the veracity of the statement of Victoria Strauss and Writer Beware that American Book Publishing was the subject of at least one police investigation. Our only statement is that we cannot find any evidence of a police investigation. We are not going to rely solely on an unvetted blog posting as proof that a police investigation occurred. Regardless of what methods are deployed to secure information in this matter, if evidence does not exist that casts in doubt the veracity of the statements made by Victoria Strauss and Writer Beware.

Now you appear to be making a similar statement without documentary evidence to back it up. To wit: ABP was investigated in 2003 by the Salt Lake City police department. The detective assigned to the case was Robbin Wilkins. Your act of merely reciting a statement from a blog posting is also not definitive proof of an actual police investigation. In addition, since you have chosen to take on the chore of investigating this matter further, this suggests that you are now questioning whether evidence of a police investigation exists yourself. This is a positive step; we could only wish that others would be as inquisitive. What is most ironic is that this proves that you are not willing to solely rest on Victoria Strauss statements including: 1) she doesnt have an obligation to prove anything; 2) that she stands on her reputation for honesty and meticulous research; 3) that she is willing to simply  let people judge for themselves; and 4) that you are not satisfied solely with her confidential documentation [that] includes emails from individuals as well as [her] handwritten notes of the phone conversations [she] had with both investigators as proof of a police
investigation.

We are actually flattered that you have the courage to take the time to be objective. However, its distressing (and unfortunate) that you have to pursue information that should have been made available by Victoria Strauss and Writer Beware; assuming that it actually exists. We wish you well in your endeavors. We also pray that your efforts reveal the existence of a police investigation with a corresponding incident number. In the event that your efforts are inconclusive, we also anticipate that you have the resilience to publicly admit it.

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#16 Consumer Comment

FOIA STILL VALID

AUTHOR: Janrae Frank - (United States of America)

POSTED: Sunday, October 09, 2011

You have claimed that my discussion of the FOIA was both Ad Hominem and a Red Herring. Yet you have invoked FOIA as proof of your claims, both here and on your website. Therefore it serves every purpose to prove that you have not actually done so, as that casts in doubt the veracity of your statements.

Furthermore, ABP was investigated in 2003 by the Salt Lake City police department. The detective assigned to the case was Robbin Wilkins. Since the case is nearly ten years old now, it will probably take some time to investigate further.

However, I am pursuing it.

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#15 Consumer Comment

FOIA STILL VALID

AUTHOR: Janrae Frank - (United States of America)

POSTED: Sunday, October 09, 2011

You have claimed that my discussion of the FOIA was both Ad Hominem and a Red Herring. Yet you have invoked FOIA as proof of your claims, both here and on your website. Therefore it serves every purpose to prove that you have not actually done so, as that casts in doubt the veracity of your statements.

Furthermore, ABP was investigated in 2003 by the Salt Lake City police department. The detective assigned to the case was Robbin Wilkins. Since the case is nearly ten years old now, it will probably take some time to investigate further. However, I am pursuing it.

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#14 Author of original report

Propaganda Strategies Fail to Lead to Transparency

AUTHOR: The Write Agenda - (United States of America)

POSTED: Sunday, October 09, 2011

Clearly Janrae Frank chose to utilize propaganda strategies (Ad hominem and Red herring) in her confutation. For example, instead of rebutting the original rip off complaint (i.e., Author, Victoria Strauss Failure to Produce Documentation of Police Investigation Regarding American Book Publishing) she is attacking us instead rebutting the original argument. Also, she is presenting new issues (i.e., the Freedom of Information Act) in a compelling fashion, but it is irrelevant to the question whether Author, Victoria Strauss Failed to Produce Documentation of Police Investigation Regarding American Book Publishing. She somehow seems to think that this validates or implies that we are misleading people.  (Note: She has also posted on Twitter that: "The Write Agenda has gone after me." We fail to see how this amiable debate has escalated to that level.) 

Theres no need for Janrae Frank to school us any more on the Freedom of Information Act. We all understand its purpose regarding public records as they apply to legal actions. However, in this instance we are dealing with a police investigation not a legal action. The application of the Freedom of Information Act is irrelevant and further discussion about it is an act of obfuscation.
Admittedly, it was a very noteworthy review but really serves no purpose regarding this issue.

Transparency is all that we have asked for. Victoria Strauss and Writer Beware are responsible for making the initial claim that American Book Publishing  has been the subject of at least one police investigation. Merely posting this on a blog is not proof that  American Book Publishing  has been the subject of at least one police investigation. Victoria Strauss and Writer Beware have not been transparent in this regard. As a result thereof, we have sought to make this claim transparent
by contacting the agencies within the jurisdiction where the police investigation allegedly occurred. When documentation and research fails to uncover evidence of a police investigation, transparency is impossible. The ongoing acts of denying, deferring and dismissing, by Victoria Strauss and Writer Beware, can no longer continue; it impedes the quest for transparency.

As self-proclaimed publishing industry watchdogs, Victoria Strauss and Writer Beware are ethically responsible to produce to produce this evidence. What is dreadfully transparent is that their failure to do so only serves to call into question their credibility. This could be easily accomplished by providing primary source material of a police investigation. This would include: 1) the name of the investigating police agency; 2) supplying an incident number; and 3) state exactly what America Book Publishing "investigated" for. The failure of Victoria Strauss to provide this information lends itself to a meaningless claim and doesn't support the necessity of challenging other disputed claims; that's another issue. If the three (3) questions above cannot be answered, this "investigation" has to be deemed a falsehood that was conceived with other motives. Transparency will only occur when this evidence is provided. The sooner this happens the matter can be resolved and we can all move on to other issues. If it cannot be supplied, Victoria Strauss and Writer Beware would be well advised to begin using some different PR strategies; denying, deferring and dismissing these accusations isn't working:



  • Fess up.

  • Have some humble pie and display some remorse.

  • Strive for atonement and clean up this mess they made.

  • Rehabilitate themselves, restore faith and trust by utilizing objective (not bias) reporting standards.
We all want transparency, if this cannot be achieved this matter will stay in the forefront and will continue to be a blemish on Victoria Strauss and Writer Beware.
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#13 Consumer Comment

The Freedom of Information Act

AUTHOR: Janrae Frank - (United States of America)

POSTED: Saturday, October 08, 2011

Let us start here so that I do not have to repeat myself. And now a link to the actual Freedom of Information Act. All states keep a public record of legal actions and have a clerk assigned to maintain and release information on them. Back when I was an active journalist, it was very simple to go to the county or state clerk's office and get a list of all lawsuits (both criminal and civil).

It does not require use of the Freedom of Information Act, which incidentally is Federal only. The states have similar legislation, although the name varies from state to state.

Filing and pursuing a Freedom of Information Act suit requires deep pockets and also requires that something actually exist before you can file on it. It cannot be employed in the manner that you allege.

If you want transparency in your pursuit of Writer Beware, then we first need transparency from you -- which we have not received.

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#12 Author of original report

More Smoke from Janrae Frank

AUTHOR: The Write Agenda - (United States of America)

POSTED: Saturday, October 08, 2011

From your reply, its clear that either you dont read or that you are intentionally trying to mislead the reader.

The first fact is that none of the law enforcement agencies ignored our request to confirm whether there was a  police investigation of American Book Publishing as alleged by Victoria Strauss and Writer Beware.

The second fact is that Victoria Strauss and Writer Beware alleged that this was a police investigation (i.e. implying that a law enforcement agency was involved) not a filing of record within the county clerks office. Victoria Strauss has stated that she has hand-written notes from her conversations with "investigators." We're certainly not aware of any county clerk's office having and "investigative" division. 

The third fact is that Victoria Strauss and Writer Beware didnt say that American Book Publishing has been the subject of at least one lawsuit, which would make the county clerk's office the proper depository of such documents. If you are  claiming that law enforcement agencies in Salt Lake County file the reports of their police investigations with the county clerk; that is a preposterous statement. However, giving you the benefit of doubt, a case number would be very useful in this regard; thats all weve asked for. Actually, we did overlook investigating whether there are documents filed with the Salt Lake County Clerks office relative to the allegation that American Book Publishing has been the subject of at least one police investigation. We will certainly have someone check that out for us and we will report those findings.

The fourth fact is that we have already contacted the Utah Attorney Generals office; we've reported that previously and it is listed above in our kitchen sink list of law enforcement agencies.

Writer Beware is doing a great disservice to the writing and publish community. Nothing you can say will change that. There is absolutely no proof that American Book Publishing was never the subject of at least one police investigation. The evidence here proves that.

Again, Police agencies seek the truth and from our research, they have accomplished that. They have given The Write Agenda proof that American Book Publishing was never the subject of at least one police investigation. 

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#11 Consumer Comment

It is clear that you do not have a clue

AUTHOR: Janrae Frank - (United States of America)

POSTED: Friday, October 07, 2011

From the kitchen sink list of law enforcement agencies, it is clear that you do not have a clue. The Freedom of Information act has nothing to do with what you are claiming to have checked. Most of them would probably have ignored you.

The actual process of investigation starts with the country clerk's office in the area that the documents were allegedly filed in. You do not need to invoke the Freedom of Information Act to get those documents. You first have to come up with a case number before going deeper into detail. You go to the clerk's office and start there.  It is extremely easy to locate.

If nothing can be located there, the next step is to contact the state attorney general's office.  Again, it is very easy to do and does not require invoking the Freedom of Information Act.  Such things are a matter of public record.

Writer Beware is doing a great service to the writing community. Nothing you can say will change that. I have had the great good fortune of receiving their help many times over the years.

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#10 Author of original report

Janrae Frank Comments Generate More Smoke than Substance to Shield Victoria Strauss and Writer Beware

AUTHOR: The Write Agenda - (United States of America)

POSTED: Friday, October 07, 2011
The Write Agenda has not questioned the fact that Writer Beware has helped numerous individuals over time. They have without question. Somewhere along that positive history something has run afoul. The claim that American Book Publishing has been the subject of at least one police investigation is a primary example of how Writer Beware has forgotten its original mission and responsibility to provide true information.

Our demand, to force and compel Victoria Strauss, Ann A.C. Crispin and Writer Beware to produce substantiation of their claim that America Book Publishing has been the subject of at least one police investigation is hardly intimidation. So, authors, publishers and publishing industry professionals are just supposed to take Victoria Strauss, Ann A.C. Crispin and Writer Beware for their word? Without substantiation? Without verifiable proofs? 

The real intimidation is the fact that Victoria Strauss, Ann A.C. Crispin and Writer Beware have posted this information, refuse to delete it and refuse to provide documentation that proves the claim. This is neither a grand jury investigation nor an investigative newspaper report. Both of these examples are not entitled to the protections of confidentiality and would be not be deemed privileged information; not to mention the fact that Victoria Strauss is not a professional investigative journalist and would not legally be permitted to claim these privileges to protect herself. The Write Agendas request has nothing to do with protecting police investigators. Police investigators could not remotely be claimed as sources as Janrae Frank would have you believe. Think about it, dont individuals go to the investigators? Dont investigators write police reports? Isnt is not true that police reports are assigned incident numbers?

Contrary to Janrae Franks unfortunate smoke screen, the information contained within any police investigation is subject to discovery, available under the Freedom of Information Act, has an incident number and is not subject to any protections under the law (assuming that it actually exists). The fact here is that there never was a police investigation conducted against America Book Publishing. Victoria Strauss, Ann A.C. Crispin and Writer Beware know this and they cannot produce 1) an incident number; 2) what was American Book Publishing Investigated for; and 3) the name of the investigating police agency. This is true intimation and a it's scam that has been perpetrated by Victoria Strauss, Ann A.C. Crispin and Writer Beware. Now, Janrae Frank has made the personal choice to attempt to deliberately cloud this further; that's very unfortunate.

Janrae Frank, who is a well-respected American journalist, knows for a fact that police investigations are subject to discovery under the Freedom of Information; it is the most commonly used tool of any investigative reporter. Considering that Ms. Frank chose  to weigh in here, without any appreciation for the actual facts, it appears that she is more interested in participating in this viral controversy as a means to help her slumping book sales. Self-serving conduct? It appears to be. Her current Amazon Sales Rankings range from 315,555 to 3,405,977.  As an industry standard, an Amazon Sales Ranking of 100,000 equates to 1 copy every 5 days; 2,000,000 equates to 1 copy every 1000 days. (We'll track this and see if her strategy works.)

Bottomline: A police investigation is not subject to non-disclosure privileges. The Write Agenda has contacted all of the agencies listed below. You will not find in any of their correspondence to us that a good journalist learns early is to protect their sources or that they were concerned that if those names were made public, then the complainants would soon find themselves under siege from ABP. The entire claim that American Book Publishing has been the subject of at least one police investigation is a lie and a fabrication perpetrated by Victoria Strauss, Ann A.C. Crispin and Writer Beware. The letters from these agencies may be viewed here.

If there was a police investigation wouldnt The Write Agenda have received something from one of these agencies that stated the information is protected and not available under the Freedom of Information? Fact: The Write Agenda did not . . . most of the replies clearly state that there is no documentation of any police investigation.

Police agencies seek the truth and from our research, they have accomplished that. They have given The Write Agenda proof that American Book Publishing was never the subject of at least one police investigation.

Agencies Contacted:

Salt Lake City Police DepartmentPublic Safety
Building

315 East 200 South, SLC
(801) 799-3000Pioneer Precinct
1040 West 700 South
(801) 799-4600
http://www.slcpd.com/index.phpUtah Highway
PatrolFirst Floor South


4501 South 2700 West
PO Box 141100
Salt Lake City, Utah 84114-1100
Administration: (801) 965-4518 (During Business
Hours)
http://publicsafety.utah.gov/highwaypatrol/index.html

Department of Public Safety Investigations Bureau
5500 West Amelia Earhart Drive, Suite #100
Salt Lake City, Utah 84116 (801) 532-2168
http://publicsafety.utah.gov/investigations/index.html

Federal Bureau of Investigation Salt Lake City
257 East 200 South, Suite 1200 Salt Lake City, UT
84111-2048
Phone: (801) 579-1400
Fax: (801) 579-4500

Salt Lake County Sheriffs Department
3365 South 900 West
Salt Lake City, UT 84119
Non-Emergency: 801.743.7000
http://www.slsheriff.org

South Salt Lake City Hall
220 E. Morris Ave (2430 South)
Salt Lake City, UT 84115

City Attorney, 2nd Floor 801-483-6070 801-464-6791

City Prosecutor, 2nd Floor 801-483-6070
801-464-6791

Police Department
2835 S Main St, South Salt Lake, UT 84115-3200

NON Emergencies 801-840-4000
Administration 801-412-3606
Investigations 801-412-3604
Ordinance Enforcement 801-464-6712
Records 801-412-3600
http://www.ssl.state.ut.us/government/contactus.htmlhttp://www.ssl.state.ut.us/police/policedepthome.html

Utah State Capitol Office
Office of the Attorney General
Utah State Capitol Complex
350 North State Street Suite 230
SLC UT 84114-2320
FAX: (801) 538-1121
http://attorneygeneral.utah.gov/contact_us.html

Salt Lake City, Prosecutors Office
349 South 200 East, Suite 500Salt Lake City, Utah,
801.535.7767
http://www.slcgov.com/Prosecutor

Salt Lake County Prosecutors Office
Investigations Division
111 E Broadway Suite 400
Salt Lake City, Utah 84111
Tel: (801) 531-4189
Fax: (801) 531-4137
http://www.districtattorney.slco.org/admin/contact.html

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#9 Consumer Comment

Writer Beware has assisted me several times

AUTHOR: Janrae Frank - (United States of America)

POSTED: Friday, October 07, 2011

Writer Beware has helped me and many of my professional friends many times over the years. The demands by Write Agenda to see the names of those who complained about American Book Publishing in their most recent comment to this thread smacks of intimidation. If those names were made public, then the complainants would soon find themselves under siege from ABP.

One of the things that a good journalist learns early is to protect their sources. That is what Victoria Strauss does. Knowing that they are not going to be thrown to the wolves, victims are more willing to speak out against the injustices they encounter.

Writer Beware is a treasure. They helped me rescue a friend from a bad contract with a scammer. For that I will always be grateful. The internet is full of scammers and opportunists looking for a patsy. Without Writer Beware, most of us would have lost our way long ago.

My gut feeling on this matter is that what you are looking at here is an attempt by a scammer to discredit Writer Beware and not a genuine complaint.

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#8 Author of original report

Clarification of Victoria Strauss' Statement

AUTHOR: The Write Agenda - (United States of America)

POSTED: Thursday, October 06, 2011

Victoria Strauss posted the following above"

"Fourth, I notice that TWA has never challenged any of the other elements of Writer Beware's Alert on American Book Publishing. If they are unable to dispute complaints of upfront fees, delayed publication schedules, non-payment of royalties, pressure on authors to buy huge quantities of their own books, and harassment, I'd say that making a fuss about whether or not there was a police investigation is pretty silly. If you're going to rebut something, make it a true rebuttal. Don't try to skew your response by leaving out the stuff you don't want to address."

It should be noted that she actually said in was:

"Fourth, I notice that TWA has never challenged any of the other elements of Writer Beware's Alert on American Book Publishing. If they are unable to dispute complaints of upfront fees, delayed publication schedules, non-payment of royalties, pressure on authors to buy huge quantities of their own books, and harassment, I'd say that making a fuss about whether or not there was a police investigation is pretty silly."

The following was added in the Rip-off Report reply and was not a part of her original posting:

"If you're going to rebut something, make it a true rebuttal. Don't try to skew your response by leaving out the stuff you don't want to address."

If a true rebuttal is necessary, we are more than willing to do an independent investigation of all of the complaints received by Writer Beware regarding American Book Publishing. We respectfully request that Writer Beware supply us with the information to complete this "investigation." In addition, we would hope the the combination of this "investigation" and the claim that American Book Publishing was the "subject of a police investigation" can be resolved. We also invite any author that has filed a dispute to Writer Beware regarding American Book Publishing to contact us.

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#7 Author of original report

Another Thing Too!

AUTHOR: The Write Agenda - (United States of America)

POSTED: Thursday, October 06, 2011

We do stand corrected and this is the correct quote that should be rightfully attributed to Victoria Strauss:

"Fourth, I notice that TWA has never challenged any of the other elements of Writer Beware's Alert on American Book Publishing. If they are unable to dispute complaints of upfront fees, delayed publication schedules, non-payment of royalties, pressure on authors to buy huge quantities of their own books, and harassment, I'd say that making a fuss about whether or not there was a police investigation is pretty silly."

However, this is a great attempt to cloud and shield Victoria Strauss from the real issue. There should be a "fuss" over the question "about whether or not there was a police investigation." Victoria Strauss and Writer Beware raised the issue, published the issue and have failed to prove it. They continue to have this information posted here:

http://www.sfwa.org/for-authors/writer-beware/alerts/

If Victoria Struass didn't hide the information regarding the complaints and keep them "confidential," these kinds reports could be investigated and also be tested for validity. If the complaints were found to be true we would support those findings. Victoria Stauss, by merely stating that "there was a police investigation," does little to prove anything and depletes her credibility as a "watchdog." No one should be permitted to make such claims without providing primary source material to back up claims of this nature. This kind of reporting violates every code of responsible and ethical reporting.

The smoke screen concocted here (i.e., challenging other complaints) does not lessen Victoria Strauss and Writer Beware's responsibility to 1) state the name of the investigating police agency; 2) supply an incident number; and 3) state what was America Book Publishing "investigated" for. The failure of Victoria Strauss to provide this information lends itself to a meaningless claim and doesn't support the necessity of challenging other disputed claims. If the three (3) questions above cannot be answered this "investigation" has to be deemed a falsehood that was conceived with other motives. Moreover, the failure to prove this claim should result in deleting that portion of the posting.

The Write Agenda has contacted every police agency in the State of Utah, has posted its evidence and has not been able to authenticate the claims of Victoria Strauss. The evidence may be viewed here.

http://thewriteagenda.wordpress.com/2011/05/31/american-book-publishing-investigation-research-released-no-proof-of-victoria-strauss-claims/

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#6 REBUTTAL Individual responds

Not the whole story

AUTHOR: Victoria Strauss - (United States of America)

POSTED: Thursday, October 06, 2011

Above, The Write Agenda attempts to rebut my response to its allegations. (My response can be found in full here.) Unfortunately, they left something out--namely, the last two paragraphs of my response, to wit:

Sixth, my documentation also includes message board postings. These boards have vanished into the Internet ether, but they have left traces behind, thanks to the Internet Archive. I've added two images to the Screenshots page--see #7.

Seventh, I don't expect that any of the above will make the "crap" go away--any more than Pres. Obama's release of his long-form birth certificate made the birthers go away. However, I'm curious to see what rationales TWA will manufacture to explain away those screenshots. I am still curious.

The Write Agenda has also misquoted me. Here is what they purport I said:

"Fourth, I'd say that making a fuss about whether or not there was a police investigation is pretty silly."
Here is what I actually said:

Fourth, I notice that TWA has never challenged any of the other elements of Writer Beware's Alert on American Book Publishing. If they are unable to dispute complaints of upfront fees, delayed publication schedules, non-payment of royalties, pressure on authors to buy huge quantities of their own books, and harassment, I'd say that making a fuss about whether or not there was a police investigation is pretty silly.If you're going to rebut something, make it a true rebuttal. Don't try to skew your response by leaving out the stuff you don't want to address.
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#5 REBUTTAL Individual responds

Another thing

AUTHOR: Victoria Strauss - (United States of America)

POSTED: Thursday, October 06, 2011

I didn't notice this the first time around, but The Write Agenda has misquoted me.

Here is what they purport I said:

"Fourth, I'd say that making a fuss about whether or not there was a police investigation is pretty silly."
Here is what I actually said:

Fourth, I notice that TWA has never challenged any of the other elements of Writer Beware's Alert on American Book Publishing. If they are unable to dispute complaints of upfront fees, delayed publication schedules, non-payment of royalties, pressure on authors to buy huge quantities of their own books, and harassment, I'd say that making a fuss about whether or not there was a police investigation is pretty silly.

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#4 Author of original report

The "Agenda" of Victoria Strauss

AUTHOR: The Write Agenda - (United States of America)

POSTED: Wednesday, October 05, 2011

As you know, weve asked a simple question to Victoria Strauss and the Science Fiction & Fantasy Writers of America (SFWA): Show your evidence that American Book Publishing has been the focus of at least one police investigation. Consistent with the applicable Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) we have conducted some extensive (exhaustive) research with the agencies listed below. As a result, we have neither located evidence nor reports of any investigation involving American Book Publishing in these jurisdictions. The only investigation that we did locate involved a theft at the residence of Ms. Nunn who had a break-in to her home and also sustained damage thereto. Pursuant to the request of many of our readers, we are releasing copies of our findings herein:

American Book Publishing Investigation Research Released: No Proof of Victoria Strauss Claims

http://thewriteagenda.wordpress.com/2011/05/31/american-book-publishing-investigation-research-released-no-proof-of-victoria-strauss-claims/

Ask yourself, why is it that Victoria Strauss cannot produce 1) an incident number; 2) what was American Book Publishing Investigated for?; and 3) what is the name of the investigating police agency? How can you claim that a company "was the subject of a police investigation" and not provide this information? This is information that is subject to discovery and is not confidential as she has indicated. Her response to this is as follows:

"First, I don't see that I have any obligation to "prove" anything to anonymous smear campaigners." (What's the smear? Just answer questions 1- 3 above.)

"Second, our organization stands on its reputation for honesty and meticulous research." (Meticulous research is backed up by primary source material. For example, an incident report number, the name of the investigating agency and the reason that the company was investigated. Any organization that was "honest" could provide this information. Why isn't it provided here?)

"Third, regarding the ridiculous and defamatory allegations about me and my 'motives'--I'll let people judge for themselves how plausible it is that I (among other nefarious alleged actions) 'followed up on a threat to post a false report because Company X refused to retain [me] as a contract administrator.'" (Victoria Strauss could easily disprove these inquires if she could supply the requested information . . .  which some real investigators have failed to find.) 

"Fourth, I'd say that making a fuss about whether or not there was a police investigation is pretty silly." (Whether or not there was a police investigation is a topic of interest since Victoria Strauss raised the claim. Not that it has been called into question  . . . she can't prove it? But, we should all just believe her because of her honest reputation and meticulous research? Does show your evidence mean anything to Victoria Strauss? What's "silly" about backing up your claims?)

"Fifth, my documentation includes emails from individual as well as my handwritten notes of the phone conversations I had with both investigators. People who contact me do so in the assurance of confidentiality; I am certainly not going to breach that trust in order to satisfy a bunch of faceless name-callers." (Victoria Strauss should release the names of "both investigators," the police agency that they work for and the incident number regarding this matter. Police "investigators" are not subject to any veil of "confidentiality" and if  . . . if . . .  there really was a "police investigation" there would be a police report and an incident number."

The Write Agenda has contacted every police agency in the State of Utah, has posted its evidence and has not been able to authenticate the claims of Victoria Strauss. 

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#3 REBUTTAL Individual responds

The Agenda of "The Write Agenda"

AUTHOR: Victoria Strauss - (United States of America)

POSTED: Tuesday, October 04, 2011

http://accrispin.blogspot.com/2011/10/agenda-of-write-agenda.html

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#2 Author of original report

Sophronia Flex Commentary Demonstrates the Need for Caution with Writer Beware

AUTHOR: The Write Agenda - (United States of America)

POSTED: Sunday, September 04, 2011

The illustrious Sophronia Flex has reared her/his ugly head once again. This Sophronia Flex has appeared in different forms (and forums). Just like in Anthony Trollopes Barchester Towers. To wit: "Rebellion had already reared her hideous head." 

September 26, 2010, Sophronia Flex gave Terry Eagleton, author of Literary Theory: An Introduction, a 5 Star review on Amazon. There have been no further reviews since that time from Sophronia Flex.

Reference: http://www.amazon.com/review/R27XGLXRMTF9JM

January 23, 2008, Sophronia Flex posted a Consumer Comment in this forum relative to some unsubstantiated claims against AuthorHouse. In addition, Sophronia Flex praised the work of WriterBeware.

Reference: http://www.ripoffreport.com/con-artists/authorhouse-publishe/authorhouse-publishers-ripoff-6cd3b.htm

September 26, 2000, Sophronia Flex gave Terry Eagleton, author of Literary Theory: An
Introduction
, a 5 Star review on Thrift Books.

Reference: http://www.thriftbooks.com/viewDetails.aspx?ISBN=0816612412

In this new posting, (September 1, 2011) Sophronia Flex once again offers the highest praise for Writer Beware, Victoria Strauss and Ann A.C. Crispin. The Write Agenda has proven that the respect for Writer Beware, Victoria Strauss and Ann A.C. Crispin is waning. In a recent posting, American Book Publishing Investigation Research Released: No Proof of Victoria Strauss Claims, they shared the results of their findings. Please see:

http://thewriteagenda.wordpress.com/2011/05/31/american-book-publishing-investigation-research-released-no-proof-of-victoria-strauss-claims/  

Most concerning of all in Sophronia Flexs commentary above is this (new) unsubstantiated claim: their premises were being raided by the FBI. This ranks up there with the claim made by Writer Beware:  American Book Publishing has been the focus of at least one police investigation. The Write Agenda has proven that this allegation made by Writer Beware, Victoria Strauss and Ann A.C. Crispin is false. For more information, see:

http://thewriteagenda.wordpress.com/victoria-strauss/

It is exactly these kind of false, defamatory and libelous postings that give The Write Agenda its purpose. If you really want to see an example of how Writer Beware conducts fact finding, please see our posting Proof That Ann A.C. Crispins Fact-Finding and Research Skills Are Questionable here:

http://thewriteagenda.wordpress.com/2011/08/28/proof-that-ann-%E2%80%9Ca-c-%E2%80%9D-crispin%E2%80%99s-fact-finding-and-research-skills-are-questionable/

If there is anything in this commentary by Sophronia Flex that we do agree with is this: Let the writer beware. We would strongly encourage "Sophronia Flex" to produce evidence that American Book Publishing was "raided by the FBI." Otherwise, "Sophronia Flex" should 1) admit that this this is a lie, and 2) encourage Victoria Strauss, Ann "A.C." Crispin and Writer Beware to admit that their claims regarding American Book Publishing are also lies.

With all sources of information available to us today, its sometimes difficult to know which are based on facts, to discern whether false information was provided or whether the whole story was communicated. While some Web sites, and their commentators, began as providers of information based on facts and or unbiased opinions, many over time have been corrupted either in whole or in part to a point of view or ideology. On this page (click here) you will find a list of sources that have been shown to promote progressive ideologies, open ended commentary and unsupported  statements. Some are presented as non-biased or based on facts; others do not. Through an examination of the information these organizations and individuals offer, including their sources of funding, parent organizations, leadership, agendas, goals and content of the information presented and based on comparison with the facts as determined by the primary source material as it becomes available, many warrant further review. The objective is to encourage you to evaluate these sources of information with a discerning eye, become a skeptic and utilize the C.R.A.P test to evaluate postings, articles and information. C.R.A.P. is an acronym for Currency, Reliability, Authority and Purpose and Point of View.

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#1 Consumer Comment

Victoria Strauss is the most reliable and respected consumer advocate in the writing biz

AUTHOR: Sophronia felix - (U.S.A.)

POSTED: Thursday, September 01, 2011

Victoria Strauss, A. C. (Ann) Crispin, and the Writer Beware site are the writing and publishing field's equivalent of the Ripoff Report, except they've been doing it longer. They specialize in sniffing out scams aimed at writers, keeping track of who the good guys and bad guys are, and teaching new writers the ropes. You just don't get more respectable than Victoria Strauss.

C. Lee Nunn of American Book Publishing has been periodically throwing dirt at Strauss, Crispin, and Writer Beware for many years now. This is because they identify ABP as a very expensive and unsatisfactory vanity publishing operation (which it is), keep meticulous track of all the complaints they receive about it, and give American Book Publishing the top spot on their "Two Thumbs Down" list of publishers to be avoided. 

From their entry on ABP:


ABP, which presents itself as a traditional publisher, requires its authors to pay a sizable setup fee, and pressures them to buy large quantities of their own books (500-1,000 copies is the number most often suggested).

Complaints include non-standard contract terms (including royalties paid on net profit), non-production of promised e-book editions, non-fulfillment of marketing and publicity promises, repeatedly delayed publication schedules, finished books full of errors, difficulty with orders and order fulfillment, non-payment of royalties, attempted blackmail (some authors wanting to get out of their contracts have been told that they must pay $500, or ABP would pull their books from circulation and hold the rights forever), and harassment of those who question or complain. American Book Publishing has been the focus of at least one police investigation.

ABPs founder, C. Lee Nunn, may be using the aliases Nathan Fitzgearl, Kathleen Montgomery, and/or Abigail Woodward Wright.

You can see why Nunn would dislike having that said. Is it true? Well, let's just say that Strauss, Crispin, and Writer Beware have been sued more than once, but the suits have gotten nowhere because they're meticulous about checking their facts. One of those lawsuits was brought by C. Lee Nunn back in 2003. It pretty much evaporated shortly thereafter. If there were a case to be made, Nunn could have made it back then. Didn't happen.

By the way, the part about Nunn having "references from the Utah Better Business Bureau" is meaningless. The Better Business Bureau doesn't understand the publishing industry, and never has. They're useless when it comes to ripoffs aimed at writers. There've been literary scammers who were in good standing with the BBB at the point that their premises were being raided by the FBI, and they continued to be in good standing with the BBB for some time afterward.

As for the claim that American Book Publishing has a 95% author satisfaction rating: I don't know whether ABC/Nunn's contract still stipulates that the author agrees to pay a $10,000 fine if they badmouth ABC in any way, for any reason, but it sure used to be there.

Let the writer beware.
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