Update by user Mar 09, 2020 Nothing to add about Maple Leaf Publishers. After I told them I had recognized vanity publishing in their offer, they never contacted me again.I guess that was proof enough that they are exactly what I thought they were a scam and blood sucking vampires ready to take advantage and exploit aspiring writers who are desperate enough to pay thousands of $ to see their book in print. My advice as a creative writing teacher and mentor is that you should NEVER pay to have your works published. At least not until you have gathered enough publication credit lists which not only will help you promote the book more easily as your name would have been seen in various publications, whether small or large presses, but it also gives you the confidence and a little bit more assurance that your book will sell some copies. As I said before, there is NOSHORT CUT TO GETTING YOUR BOOK PUBLISHED neither is there one to become a published writer. You need to be patient, submit as much work as possible and always write about the subject you have most knowledge about. Do not try and write a children's story if your forte is history or travel. Write about what you know and the advantage is that you will enjoy writing at the same time. Don't forget, the more you read about the same subject, the more expertise gained. You have to be careful as well because apparently Harper & Collins have launched what they are calling a subsidiary publisher called Elm Hill for Christian writers which is nothing abut another vanity scheme which they obviously will tell you it's self-publishing or subsidiary publishing. Another email I am receiving on regular basis is from Tale Flick, which is another scam. These guys will brag about the fact that they are now accepting MSS so they can turn into films or TV serials. At first I submitted samples of the memoirs of one of Europe's top veterinary surgeons that would have matched in quality the 70s BBC TV series, All Creatures Great and Small by James Herriot. The difference between my MS which will contain approximately 58 incredible adventures of this vet who was even commissioned to take care of all the exotic animals in the epic film, THE GLADIATOR shot entirely in Malta, is that each and every adventure differs completely from another. This vet started his career at 17 and studied veterinary surgery in Hungary. That means before he could start on the course he spent a whole year learning the language as all text books and examinations were in Hungarian. The adventures are not just hair-raising at times, but hilarious, dangerous as he is a great sportsman and adventurer not to mention even supernatural. The reply I got after sending them five chapters was that it was not their style. Now if you manage to find their web site, the submission guidelines clearly tell you that they are after ANYTHING that would make an best selling series or a film! Funny because after almost four and a half decades publishing my work in 16 countries including with Penguin Books, Renaissance Magazine as a regular contributor and having edited many both poetry and short story anthologies, I think I know a good MS when I read one. Nevertheless there is more than the eye can see. Besides having to pay to have your MS read, there are categories of payment, the more you pay, the more preference your book will get and the quicker the reply. It's been some time since I received invitations from them, but unless they changed their style or submission guidelines, they are close to my description. So beware of publishers that try to make things look too good to be true. There is no such thing as becoming famous unless you work your socks off. Remember that writing is not for everybody, and most certainly not for those wanting to make a quick buck. If you want to earn big money become a lawyer, a rocket scientist, a surgeon or an architect. Forget writing. Writing is a vocation and it's 10% inspiration and 90% perspiration. It's also a risk because there is NO GUARANTEE you will ever get published. Original review posted by user Feb 08, 2020 First and foremost, Edward Fisher, you have my gratitude, because I received an e-mail by Elaine Fernandes from Maple Leaf Publishing asking me, or rather offering to boost the promotion of my books. She didn't mention which books, but I presumed they were the last two I published, THE INCIDENT OF THE MYSTERIOUS PRIEST AND OTHER STORIES, A COLLECTION OF SHORT SUPERNATURAL STORIES BASED ON TRUE EXPERIENCES AND EVENTS and GROWING WITH THE SHADOWS, (A COLLECTION OF POEMS). Both books were published by a New York publisher and were launched at Expo America in New York, and the Frankfurt International Book, Germany in 2018. She didn't reply to my questions as to how she got to know about my books, but was prompt to request that I phone her. Like you, I am 62 and retired after 45 years working as a journalist, editor, PR and copywriter. For the last 25 years, I ran my own business. Both books were published by a proper publisher, but I have four more books I need a publisher to see, and as you might know already, this business has become rather parochial. Publishers seem to look at fancy names, or authors who they know their books will sell without too much financial investment in PR and promotion. Hence why a lot of writers are turning to vanity publishing, which has now been dubbed self-publishing. I remember my tutors warning us NEVER to use such publishers. Easier said than done because seasoned authors know a good book when they see one, and if you believe you have a good MS in hand, well if you have to pay to see it published (POD today has made it cheaper than before) why not? I used to tell my students not to pay these scam publishers to see their work in print, but the situation of book publishing, now even getting a literary agent has become next to impossible. Literary agents now demand they are paid by the authors they represent. This used to be a sin a few years back. But how do you fight this system - does anyone know how it can be beaten? I certainly don't. So I've gone back to marketing individual articles, poems or literary essays, because it's the only chance of getting one's work in print honourably and without having to pay. It helps to add on to one's publishing credit list because most big publishers would want to see it. Again thanks for this article, it saved me a telephone call and wasting my time. Although my journalistic instinct would have helped me smell a rat in this publisher's offer, having worked in the criminal sector as a reporter. I live in Europe, so it would be difficult to trace these kind of scams, although I am proud to say I did manage to close down a fake university in the USA, in the 90s through the US Embassy in my country and by working together with an investigative reporter in Louisiana where the university had its offices. Thank God we recovered our money, as did many other students and the FBI after further investigation arrested seven people. The documents, the university had sent me were still in my files and came handy as proof which the DA used to issue warrants for their arrest. Again my heartfelt thanks Mr Fisher - I hope more people do the same as you and will use this web site to expose more of these fraudulent operations.