Write One Publications Inc WriteOnePublicationsLifeofawriterStephanie Newell Ripped off, breached contract, did not complete the work or services paid for, refused to refund money owed, did a horrible job on book, deceptive practices, condescending, no resolution Chicago, Maretta Georgia Internet and Georgia, Illinois

Carmen Love first reached out to me via Facebook on August 28, 2016. In a phone conversation she stated that her book had previously been published and that the first company she’d worked with was a scam, stole her royalties, kept her copyright, and she was threatening to sue them. 

I advised her that I would assist her in republishing her book and sent her an agreement to review and sign. She signed the agreement on August 31, 2016 and paid the first half of her payment arrangement. After she submitted the files from the company that previously worked on her book, all was well and my team and I began working on her book. But when the second half of her payment was due on October 3, she sent an email now accusing me of being a scam like the first company she’d worked with. 

Shocked, I called Carmen Love immediately to assure her that I was a person of integrity and honesty and was unsure of where her distrust had stemmed from. She advised, that she’d lent someone $700 for rent and they were taking advantage of her and she’d had a mechanic scam her earlier in the week. She then apologized profusely and told me that she was very sorry for her accusations. Even though I was extremely hurt, I told her that all was forgiven and that we never needed to bring it up again. We ended that call and everything was fine, so much so, that she ended up paying the second invoice early and telling me she would recommend me to a friend and she even mentioned her next book.

All was well again for a few weeks until she requested an outside graphic designer handle her book cover. I strongly advised her to allow my company to handle her book cover since it was included in her package. I also advised her that it would have to be within the realms of the agreement, which included one image for the front cover and an author photo on the back cover. She forwarded three photos for her front cover and a photo for the back cover, some of which would require Photoshop and additional work on my graphic designer’s part. I advised her that since it was outside of the agreement it would be an additional fee of $100. Carmen Love decided to pay $150 to her own graphic designer.

When Carmen Love later forwarded the book cover to me that her graphic designer created, I made some suggestions, like making her author name bigger, removing the barcode and ISBN (which couldn’t be used because it was from the first publishing of the book). She submitted those changes to her graphic designer and when he didn’t respond back in what she felt to be an appropriate time, she fired off another email to me insinuating that he had run off as well and again spoke of her distrust and dissatisfaction. Within twenty minutes of sending that email to me, her graphic designer materialized and she forwarded the book cover with the updates I’d suggested. 

I then responded with an email advising Carmen Love to review her agreement, as many of the things that she was not satisfied with, weren’t actually a part of the agreement. She responded back “ok.” This was a common theme throughout our working relationship, her refusal to read any of the reports, emails, or agreements that had been sent to her. 

All was well again until I sent her the proof copy in the mail. I even included the tracking details so that she would know when her book would arrive. She sent me an email stating that she didn’t receive the proof and accused me of not sending it. I then forwarded her a screenshot of the tracking details to “prove” to her that it had not only been sent but it had been received at her PO Box a day before she’d sent the email. 

Then came a barrage of emails accusing me of being a scam, argumentative, of spewing legal rhetoric and each email got more and more abusive and inflammatory. I canceled the agreement with Carmen Love, because it was clear that she was distrustful and would be impossible to satisfy.

Since then, Carmen Love’s complaints of my service have changed numerous times. The “mess” she’s claiming is in fact a result of the file she submitted to me from the previous company who published her book. Further, a proof copy is just that a proof copy. It is not the final and is meant for the author to review to make suggestions on the corrections that need to be made. She has completely misrepresented this proof copy as being poor work or as if it were the finished product, yet what hasn’t been stated is that she: used her own graphic designer for the book cover, had her own editor edit the book three times (my staff only did proofreading to which we found errors), she had her book previously formatted incorrectly (to which I re-formatted the inside text to ensure that her chapters fell on the right side of the book), and she submitted her own pictures for the interior (that weren’t high-resolution).

Carmen Love has posted comments (not reviews) over 100 times on my YouTube channel under her own account and numerous aliases. How do I know the aliases are her? Because I have been in business for over 8 years and have NEVER had an issue with a client. She’s also commented numerous times on my Facebook page. When she does email me, she emails me several times back-to-back and even signed up for my newsletter AFTER I canceled her agreement, in an attempt to further harass me under the guise of “warning” other people.

My track record is solid and my entire business was founded on the principle of helping writers to understand the publishing business so as not to be taken advantage of. I would never do anything to compromise my principles as a business owner. Despite my first conversation with Carmen Love where she expressed being taken advantage of by the first company, I still took her on as a client because I wanted to help her produce a book she could be proud of, and she has since gone on to unfairly misrepresent my business and my services in an attempt to discredit me to my audience.

I have offered twice to refund her the balance for the services that were not completed. My initial offer of $100 (which is in fact the amount due) was included in the email I sent when I canceled her agreement. She responded to that email continuing to argue, making inflammatory remarks, threatening me with the police, to sue, etc. When she refused my initial offer, I made a second offer of $250 that was not only fair, but also generous, in an attempt to reach an amicable resolution. She refused again and sent me an email telling me to never email her again. I've attempted to no avail to reach a resolution with Carmen Love, however, I don't believe she wishes to reach an amicable resolution with me.