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I signed up for Book and e-Book was told by sales staff that the Royalty on e-Book was 50%.
Later told by Book Production Manager that the e-Book was 30%. There was no contract written to prove the e-Book's Royalty. I canceled the e-Book still have not received the money for that cancellation it should have come via my email has not been done yet although I was told it would be done 3 weeks ago.
First Manuscript was sent back to me as a PDF form for me to correct but there were more than the allowed corrections so it was going to cost another $300. to do the corrections I had the PDF converted to text only to find that they had used the GROTESQUE FONT. Plus there were so many errors created by this company that the editing overcharge would be $300. I had it edited by a local editor and the corrections were done eg of corrections created by this company were;
1 the roman numerals for 1 and 2 were changed from I and II to exclamation marks ! and !
2 they added many periods to the end of sentences so that there were double periods which had to be corrected
3 In my opinion, they used a macro to insert all of these errors so that writers end up paying even more money to this company to fix errors that were never there to begin with.
4 after I returned the manuscript corrected by a editor that I trust here
they then returned it to me in a PDF form of 6X9.
5 this meant that I had to go through the whole book again making sure
there were no hard returns in this book This took another 40 hours which should never happened at all.
After 4 months of this going on I finally took the finished manuscript that I was able to produce on my Serif Page Plus 5 program and submitted it to Trafford where it was published in 3 weeks Friesen Press still does not have the book done. I asked them at one point to put my book on hold so that I could go ahead with Trafford and get the book done. Since then I have asked them to resume publishing my book; but after 3 weeks I still have heard nothing from them.
In my opinion, they publish only the books they wish to do such as cook books and children's books and my type of book which is an expose they do not want to do. They do not have the honesty to tell me this as they want to keep the $1200. dollars that they charged me In my opinion, they are acting in a fraudulent manner and that this is their manner of dealing with writers. In my opinion, they want to keep the money from writers like myself and not do much to earn it. In my opinion, at this point I would not trust them to handle my book as I do not believe that I would ever get the Royalty on the amount of books that would be sold the way they have it set up to let the author know how many books are sold is dishonest as there is no way to verify their sales of the book . Just their say so.
I would like to see this company audited as in my opinion, they need auditing in my opinion, they are having a great game using writers how ever they please and discouraging many writers from writing it is bad enough that they are charging double what Trafford wanted for their services; but do not deliver any service at all; at least in my case. Please see what you can do I would like to cancel my contract with them and I do believe that I should be able to get back at least half of the money that I gave them.
One more thing, Book Production Manager kept telling me that if I didn't go along with their program that she would cancel the contract and I would be out the $1200. approx. money that I had already given them for doing the book. In my opinion, it felt like extortion; not a business doing business. I would like at least half of my money back and I would like other writers to know how this company operates I have all of the emails to prove what I have been saying here.
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We have not offered a 50% royalty on eBooks and it is very clear in our package documentation and publishing agreement that ebooks have a 30% royalty. We do, however, offer 55% royalties on trade books through our own online bookstore.
During the publication process authors and their account managers work closely to ensure that any mistakes or errors are identified before publication. We have developed a system that utilizes PDF annotations to record any changes that the author would like to make prior to publication. In this case, once the book was laid out, the author decided to make a large number of changes. When this occurs we generally offer two options:
1. To convert the book back to text so that authors can make the changes to the document themselves.
2. To proceed with our standard PDF based system keeping the layout intact.
Each of the two options have benefits and drawbacks depending on how many changes the author would like to make.
We have a strict policy of not changing the content of the manuscript under any circumstance. We do reformat the work and prepare it for distribution but at no point do we make changes that are not authorized by the author. We have revision rounds that allow authors to check the work prior to publication. We also will not publish a book without final consent from the author.
Our books go through a number of steps prior to publication and are professionally reformatted and laid out by a qualified designer. We believe that we create a much higher quality product than other popular self-publishing companies. We publish a wide variety of books that can all be found on our bookstore at: www.FriesenPresss.com/bookstore
During our final pre-publication steps the author in question decided to take their manuscript to another publisher and proceeded to publish the book with them. Our contracts are 100% non-exclusive and authors can choose to publish with another publisher at any time. When an author publishes their work with another publisher we remove our edition from distribution channels so that the newer edition take precedence.
Unfortunately we were unable to meet the expectations of this author no matter how hard we tried. We consider this matter closed and have detailed records, emails, and voicemails that support our position.
I submitted a detailed complaint and it appears to be missing. Do you have it?
It is a misrepresentation of facts for Friesenpress to state that "westrict policy of not changing content of the manuscript under any circumstance." That may be a policy but it surely isn't being adhered to as there certainly were some insertions in my book that had not and would not be authorized by me. Additionally, it is a misnomer to suggest that the pricing of the books is exclusively within the author's purview. I was threatened and bullied to accept the exorbitant price decided by Friesenpress and was told that if I did not agree, the publication process would be closed as incomplete and I could go to another publisher with no reimbursement of my money paid. (This is after the book has be completed and ready for production).
Publishing with Friesenpress is a complete scam so writers please beware. The represent themselves as a full service publishing and printing company but are really a front for Barnes and Noble, the manufacturer, the printer, the distributor, and the sellers. Most shocking is that they will commandeer your product and make it their own without any regard to your rights as the author.
There has to be some antitrust or copyright laws being violated and this egregiously greedy and exploitative behavior needs to stop! Any writers who have experienced issues with Friesen, please contact me at christina@unravelingtheriddle.com.
Hi my name is sherry and just recently started my first book ever. When I googled publishers the first name I got was friesenpress. I filled out a questionnaire hoping to get some guideance. They will calling me in the next few days as I was unable to tall to them today but after reading your complaint I'm having doubts because I was under the impression that it didn't cost the writer anything . And the writer is given an advance against the royalties. Can you advise on who I should be talking to. I can't really afford the kind of money you did. I really believe I have the makings for a great book. I guess what I'm really asking is if I don't have at least a thousand dollars to launch am I wasting my time
I understand your pain and agony because I am a sufferer. There are a bunch of lying racists in FriesenPress who lied with me, committed sabotage in my manuscripts, and then asked me for more money to clean them up, they mocked at my accent and what else you expect from those heartless crooks and scammers. This is a pure and typical Canadian racist company what good you can expect from them.
Taklode: FriesenPress did the same heinous thing with me. I agree with Christine, FP downloaded my manuscript in PDF using Macro with lot of errors and threatened me to pay the amount they want. If not they will cancel the agreement and no money back. What's about the 2 editorial round up by FP as per the terms and conditions that I signed and paid for? I said "No, I don't agree with the criminal thugs'. They cancelled it.
I still think how human beings can be this much shameless for money? How human beings can this much crook when they have a religion? How human beings can be this much liar when their prophet has a legal father? I am so confused.
Perhaps you could learn to communicate in language that can be understood - "I still think how human beings can be this much shameless for money" or "how human beings can be this much liar when their prophet (or 'profit', maybe?) has a legal father?" is rubbish . Sorry, I an NOT a racist, which is the easiest slur to put upon someone who dares to question lazy use of language, but what the f*** are you on about? I get the gist of it, but really...
And, please, what has religion got to do with any of this? Or a prophet (of which there are far too many)?
Frisen Press might be shysters, but you all will have to up your game if you want to be taken seriously.
You ought to watch your own grammar very closely when critiquing another's.
"Sorry, I AN not a racist, which..." is exactly what people always say after something incredibly racist passes their lips.
Who needs to up their game now?
I have recently had the same issues with Friesen as outlined in the complaints above. I am seriously considering legal action through the US Federal Court system and would appreciate hearing from anyone who found their practices deceptive and/or totally dishonest. They appear to push the little guy around until they become discouraged and give up, considering legal action too expensive and not worth it. I may just be the "little guy" they have pushed too far. Jim Cleary CCNCDOC@aol.com
Anyone knows a good publishing company ?
Kaka77...there is no good publishing companies in NA. All these smooth talking publishing companies have a big tongue, they suck either this way or that way --- I mean either before publishing or after publishing. I advise should you have any other profession, stick to that and take publishing as a hobby.
Just keep in mind, there is no justice for these crooked publishing companies. Even Barack Obama is helpless, because the corruption is so deep and ganged up that Obama's eloquence will falter.
Rent-a-doc...good luck. But FriesenPress is a subsidiary of Barnes&Nobles.com and B&N had a 40 million net loss last quarter. I hope you win but I don't know how much of this vicious organization will remain when you win.
I have had similar issues with Friesen. Throughout their whole process they were totally incompetent especially the professional editor (who introduced so many errors that it took me 3 months to correct) and the professional designers who made a mess of the job. It is not true that they do not make changes as I found on several occasions things changed and needed rectifying. I wish I had read this complaint before I entered into a contract with the company which cost me $1, 800. They eventually finished and published my book but now I have ended the publishing agreement (as I refused to pay them another $29 a year to continue the distribution) and they are refusing to pay me the royalties they owe me. It is only a small amount (approximately $5) but it is due to me and in essence they have stolen it as they know it would cost more to try and collect it.
I am still in the Production process but so far..not so great.
I paid for my All-Inclusive Package in FULL and triple-asked the sales rep Kim S if there were any fees I should account for, anything at all so I can budget. The answer was always a firm NO (proof in emails). Well guess what, when it came down to designing the cover, you have to either but a stock photo (up to 800$) or have them illustrate it for you (up to 600$). And that is an additional 8 weeks of work.
The other issue I have (so far) is that everything is third party interpretation. You speak to an account manager and they relay the message to the editor, designer, etc. You never actually speak to the person doing the work. The alternative is filling out forms to describe what you want to see. I see this as an issue because if you dont have a good ability to explain things properly (or they dont) you get stuck with their product, which is sub-par, and you have to pay to get it redone.
I will continue to review as I go through this process, but so far, I would definitely not recommend this publisher.
Thank you for sharing your experiences in dealing with Friesen Press and making it clear that they are a Canadian company. I am very well aware of the criminality and racism that exists in Canada (alluded to in several customer comments). Warning taken. I will not be using this publisher.
I don't know about Friesen press yet, but I VERY STRONGLY disagree with you about racism in Canada. I am an immigrant, from South Asia, a Muslim one of the group who seem to be the most targeted in racism, discrimination and bigot ism. i have now been a Canadian for over 22 years and found my Canadians to be polite, accommodating, tolerant and accepting
Friesen Press has the worst editing team...not in a level of grade 6.
A couple of years ago I hired Friesen to assist me with the finishing end and distribution of my book. It was a huge mistake. The so-called editor had no feel for the material (my work was non-fiction), making useless and ridicules suggestions, which I ignored. Once I submitted the manuscript, I had a mess on my hands. They changed the order of some pages, they ignored my table of contents and added chapters that did not exist, since all formatting was changed the body of the manuscript had to be edited, edited, and edited and it took weeks to correct. Once I released the final files the book went into production and distributed to the various outlets. When I received my free copies, I discovered they had changed the table of contents back to the one they had originally set up and which I had corrected. Frieden did correct the problem and resubmitted the files to the distributors. However some books had all ready be sold with the incorrect table of contents. Working with Friesen was a nightmare.
Good Evening!
I agree with the author of this complaint.
My Name is John Parry and I am the Author of the poetry book Arctic Breeze. The manuscript I published was completed in 2012 and I have been promoting my book on Twitter for almost five years. During this time I recall similar issues that the author of this complaint describes against Friesen Press. I have been waiting for royalty payments from Friesen Press since 2012. I believe that withholding information on book sales by the publisher is unfair to the Author and that Friesen Press should be audited and submit full disclosure of sales records to any published author that is waiting for royalty payments. Up until now I have received $0.00 in royalty payments from Friesen Press.
John Parry
Author of Arctic Breeze
Good Evening!
My Name is John Parry!
I agree with the issues surrounding this complaint. My experience with Friesen Press was almost identical to what is being described in this article. I beleive that royalty payments should be paid to the Author in a timely fashion. I published my poetry book in 2012 and have yet to receive any royalty payments whatsoever. Up until now I have received $0.00 from Friesen Press. I don't think it's fair to the Author to not give out sales information to the artist who is entitled to receive some form of payment for services rendered..
John Parry
Author of Arctic Breeze
I have had two full length novels (400pp) published by Friesen Press and have been delighted with both. A few salient points that pertain to the above comments might clarify some complaints. I declined the editorial services as I have earned a living for 20 years as an editor and business writer; and I could not see the value of the first 70 pages only to be serviced and the cost of the subsequent 330 pages I considered exorbitant. I did use the design services for the cover of my first book -- I provided the content and the concept and was pleased with the result. The second novel, I needed to be designed from scratch to my own concept. There again, the cost Friesen quoted was prohibitive in relation to my budget so I contacted a friend who did a brilliant job for me (both designs and excerpts from my scribblings can be seen on my website, www.patriciamcooper.com.)
However, recently a comment appeared on the reviews on my website which said that the e-book version of DEAR CEDRIC... contained many errors which did NOT appear in the hard cover and soft cover copies. This is bothersome as up to now the e-book version has been fine, but I have yet to take up this issue with Friesen.
All in all, I have had exceptional service and co-operation from all at Friesen and look forward to publishing my third novel with them. I found the revision rounds to be hard work but rewarding and there was only one small slip-up by Friesen which was promptly rectified at their expense. As an editor, I would offer the suggestion that the draft that is first submitted should be as error free and as near perfect as you can get it including punctuation (the Oxford comma notwithstanding!.) I counted the times I edited my mss and, it was close to 100 edits for each but I still found the revision rounds yielded errors and omissions. Much midnight oil was burnt before the books finally went to print.
I find it interesting that many of the complaints submitted have to do with communication, i.e. "not being able to explain what I want". Surely that's the essential component of being a writer - making yourself understood in clear and concise language. Inserting comments about racism and criminality in Canada has absolutely nothing to do with getting your book published. And comments about Obama - how did he get inserted into this picture? Some of these authors are so ignorant of the facts, it's astonishing. They don't seem to know the difference between a book publisher - Friesen and a book distributor - Barnes and Noble, just one of many. Yes, sometimes the two cross paths or work in tandem, but it's not a conspiracy. The old adage about buyer beware still applies.
My manuscript was just finished a month ago. I, admittedly, didn't know much about the process of publiscation but it have spent the past several weeks trying to educate myself. This discussion, and others, have proven very informative as I've reviewed the complaints listed and am currently in the process of considering a contract with Feisen Press to publish my first work. After these remarks and my having spent the past three weeks checking BBB ratings, perusing Author Beware, and reviewing a variety of complaints, I have simply resolved it a better option to take on the task of publishing the book myself. I'm still working out the details of distribution and I suspect, like everything else, it will require a little sweat equity but certainly won't cost me as much in headache and ulcer medications. B.G. Howard
I am nearly finished having my book published with Friesen Press and completely disagree with these negative comments. Specifically the first person. $1200 to get a book published is not much! Furthermore, no matter what you say you were promised, if it isn't in writing, of course you won't get it. Everyone has a basic understanding of contracts. I signed a contract straight away and know what my royalties will be. I think people need to understand that we all have some responsibility with how our books come out. We remain in control of our books and are responsible for the ultimate editing, illustrations etc. Despite having assistance along the way it is up to us to agree or disagree with changes. If your book wasn't published or has taken a long time I would say that your attitude may be part of the problem. I have had several discussions in length with the account manager and am assertive but professional. This is my book and I have a vision. I am paying for the facilitation of publishing but it is up to me to read and re-read my book over and over perfecting it. And especially approving any final manuscripts. Being an author is not just writing and handing it over...it's continued work throughout the entire publishing process. Take ownership of your book! If the editing was wrong then you can stay with your previous edition. You sound so unreasonable and unprofessional. I have only good things to say about Friesenpress. They've remained available to answer any questions or concerns I have had along this journey and have accepted my right to all final decisions. I am nearly completed with the publishing of my book and will be using them to publish my next book as well.
So you signed a contract straight away with royalties. We were not given that opportunity. They kept my book in limbo over time asking for more money for this and that until I said ENOUGH...then at that point they emailed me with a ... GOOD NEWS your book is getting published. They LIED about what is out there to sell and what has sold and the reason I know this is because I know people who bought the book and within the time frame, told by Friesen that no one bought the book. Trusting a company like this only comes naturally until they screw you.
I was very disappointed in this company. They made numerous errors on the FINAL draft of my book. The line read recipient of the Prime Minister's Award for teaching and the company put the comma in the wrong place TWICE. My manager quit on me, it was a sloppy transition, and they don't discuss marketing until AFTER you have published. They are expensive and useless. They also steal royalties- I sold something and it was under 20.00 so I didn't get any of the royalty. If you do the math, and they have hundreds of people not receiving small amounts of money- I'm guessing they make 20, 000 a year on other people's royalties. Their motto should be sit back while we rob you blind, and take your royalties. Useless. Stay away from them, far away. My friend found a much better, less expensive company.Four thumbs down.
Hello Tina I am continuing my search for a self publisher What is the name of the other company please?
Who was the inexpensive company your friend used to publish
My experience with FP was costly, 4, 000 + 300! My photography PDF was ridiculed to a matte finish which shocked me! After a year, my experience with this new book was an awful feeling so I cancelled it and when they sent me an email wanting to know why, I was appauled when she couldn't get the name of my book right! Shame on Freisenpress. From wildlife to wildfire...they just don't get it. Forwarding that same email to Christoph, who signed me up for this experience in the first place, never to be heard from since. Not one comment on a misspelled title in that email. Maybe I should charge them 300 to edit their content.
Janis Watt
Author of Ten Acres of Wildlife
Katrina McLean...you're one dimensional. And you must. You've no idea how non-white immigrants (whose mother tongue is not English) suffered at the hands of Friesen Press. Some of them in Friesen Press aren't human beings.
And this type of behavior by some employees in Friesen Press is a crime and racism as per BC Human Rights and The Charter of Rights of Canada. Beware of that.
@Trevor Barre: People react like this when they suffer. You can't blame them. But before you judge anyone, you judge your own comments, experience, attitude, if you can.
I read your comments, you didn't come here to complain against Friesen Press, you came here to defend Friesen Press. Seems to me you're one of those.
Had the worst experience as well with this company - incredibly deceptive, upselling at every opportunity and most definitely do not care for the authors or the success of the books. Would never use or recommend.
I had a good experience with Friesen. I found the staff friendly, courteous, helpful and straightforward. Timelines were met. Editorial support was great. It was a little expensive as I purchased the high end service and I had a 132, 000 word manuscript. I knew nothing at the beginning and felt then, as I do now, that it was a great investment for someone embarking on a writing career. The book, "Degrees of Guilt", has sold well for a self published novice. My website, which Friesen built for me is www.jimbennettwriter.com.
I have a friend who just finished publishing her first book and was given the run around with additional charges over and over again. Also had horrendous experiences with formatting.
Would not recommend
I honestly wish I had found these complaints before I gave my heart and soul to this company last year to publish my children's book. It has been a nightmare from day one which included a specialist who consistently reschedule phone calls because he was "out of office" even on the day the book was to be released I called him for a follow up and I got that message. I have spent well over $3000 and my book is no more accessible now than it was last year. I just want to be able to obtain my materials and print independently with people I trust.
Did anyone have success terminating their contract and what exactly happened to your materials after?
I'm having a similar issue. I feel so betrayed and like I'm getting completely scammed. I've paid over $2700 CAD so far for mediocre services, and now I'm being asked for another $500 for additional "design hours" that weren't accounted for (even though I provided all the details at the intake stage)
I don't know what to do as they are refusing to give me any kind of refund. This whole process has been an absolute nightmare and any time I made any complaint about the lack of quality in their services, there was absolutely no meeting me half way. It's either I pay or we don't move forward. These guys are scammers!
glad im seeing these ocmment si have soem stuff id like published ..subsidized publishers neevr screamed out like they were legit but maybe seom are..ive been writing for years but never bothered to try very hard getting stuf fpublished ..maybe its just not meant to be idk...but alot of these experiences sound horrid, nothing but deception and getting ripped off..as if this world isnt filled wiht horrible people as it is now they want to destroy peoples passion also?
Sonny please don't give up on your passion. There are legitimate publishing companies who would love to publish your works . I too am very grateful to have found all of these comments. I had Friesenpress actually call me to talk about publishing a book because I seen an ad on YouTube which offered a free guideline to help you write a novel. I thought it strange that they call me but was excited as well. So happy I found out the truth before I spent any money, hard work and dedication to a company that is obviously crooked. I never even heard of anyone paying for their book to be published along with the fees involved even before hand. I appreciate everyone sharing. Hope you continue writing Sonny. And I hope to one day read some of your works. God bless 🙏
So far in 2022 after publication December 21st, 2021 it's been a joke. I have 7,500 followers on IG and 5,000 on tik tok that have held my book (in hand) writing reviews
and posting, also sending me pics of their purchases! From April 2022 to currently November 2022 no sales have been reported. How do they get away with this and the BBB up their [censored] is beyond me. If, you think it's a joke, order a couple of copies of your own book from Amazon and see if they actually get reported ( They don't) I've ordered copies that I needed quickly through Prime and NOTHING. I also went through a final revision and something as simple as spacing that I've pointed out since the first revision round has yet to be corrected but of course my so called Specialist lied saying I didn't point it out and if I'd like I could buy another revision round at 450$ Its funny that I've had two different specialist that couldn't fix the spacing problem. Complete leaches that want your money. I found it very suspicious when my first SPECIALIST wondered how a professor from California read my book? How did he get it, he says? I feel like Rodriguez, "Searching for sugarman"
Have you noticed your book is no longer offered as an E book on amazon. I don't know what's going on !
IG www.instagram.com/pickingupthebrokenpieces
If you want to message me
Working with arrogant amaturesof Friesen Press after paying out $3K was not my idea of professionalism. Each employee was programed to say repeatedly the same words when asked why something wasn;t done right.
Oh how warm and convincing Marc was during his introduction to their services and totally convinced me to comply.
I was lied to and threatened by the young uneducated in the publishing business. They terminated my contract after every step of the process had been completed and never published the book. it took many emails for them to refund a portion of my money.