If you read paperbacks, you know the real name is "Penguin Random House" or "Penguin.com" - But when you've been hoping to finally be discovered after 15 years of self-publishing and working your ass off to get minimal recognition, you may not do your checking -which I didn't and should have. This guy said he was from "PenguinPublishing.com" (and penguinbookpublication.com) - and it's NOT a real website. They apparently TOOK the penguin symbol from the true publisher and put it on their fake website.
SOME THINGS THAT TIPPED ME OFF - The "representative" was nice enough. He was obviously from India, and had an accent - but I thought nothing of it. Then when I asked a question about how royalties work, he transferred me to another man, also of Indian descent with an accent. I asked about a website to read their policies, and they said this isn't really spelled out on their website. RED FLAG #1.
The original guy called me back the next day and asked if I was ready to commit, and said since I have 11 books, and four number 1 sellers, he would cut the cost from $1300 to $699 if I would agree to have them do more books. Seemed reasonable.
He then sent me a "payment website link" - which went to something called Coaxil or something (Can't remember)- it had the "Penguin" logo on it, too. I entered my credit card info, and immediately got a FRAUD ALERT TEXT from my bank (RED FLAG #2), and a Fraud Alert email. Since I thought there was something wrong, I agreed with the bank to Cancel the transaction immediately, and REPLACE MY CREDIT CARD.
I called "Lucas" and told him about the Fraud Alert. He said "it happens sometimes, and you just need to say it's okay. I asked to talk with someone in billing, and meanwhile checked "penguinpublishing.com" from his email (they've tried to think of everything). - It has MIS-SPELLINGS ON IT - RED FLAG #3. That confirmed a SCAM.
The "accounting person" was also a man of Indian descent, - RED FLAG #4. There's no way there are three men all of Indian descent answering all questions. The "accounting guy" said, "just hit okay and process the payment." I told him absolutely not, and that my credit card has already been canceled.
FINALLY - I did an Internet search and this is what I found- "Penguin Publishers.com" IS A Scam!!
I experienced the same as the person who published the post below on Reddit.
FROM REDDIT: PenguinBookPublication.com Real or Scam?
I was looking for information about getting a book deal with a publisher when I came across this website https://penguinbookpublication.com/. FYI, I mistook them for Penguin Random House and didn't realize the difference until later.
When I spoke to a live representative and told them that I was struggling to find the time to write, they offered an alternative service that would allow me to write the outline of the story, and meet with someone over the phone for two hours every week to discuss each chapter of the book. After that, a ghostwriter would write the story on my behalf, with them estimating a 2 month period after which the book would be finished. After that, they would market the book on sites like Amazon and help me publish it. I would get full rights to the manuscript, and a full money back guarentee if I was disatisfied with their services.
They said it would be $800 for this service. I was excited at first, but my gut keeps telling me that there's something wrong here. They have a LinkedIn page, but no real people attatched to it to try and verify it.
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