You can read my experiences trying to learn to fly here.
Watch out for Airleaf Publishing
written by Julie R. Neidlinger 21 comments link this post
Keep Yog's Law in mind, always.
You know you've arrived as a writer when you start getting publishing enticements in the mail and in email.
Airleaf Publishing swears up an down that my self-published book, Of Rats and Men, is going to be a breakout hit if I only spend nearly $7500 with them to help promote it (a second letter offered a similar program for half that; what a deal). In fact, I received the letter in the mail just about two weeks after I finalized and uploaded my book onto Lulu.com. I'm very satisfied with Lulu.com because I'm not really out there to push the book; I'm only interested in a few copies for friends right now. Still, I'd sure hate to think they had anything to do with Airleaf getting a list of recently "published" authors. I know they hadn't read the book. I checked my Lulu.com account and could see I hadn't sold one to them before the letter arrived.
I read the letter with curiousity, but skepticism.
The first paragraph described in glowing detail how Airleaf had, for three years, "blazed a groundbreaking trail" in the independently published book arena. It further described their goal: to market a national bestseller sold in every bookstore.
Then came the paragraphs that seemed hilarious to say the least.
Only 50 titles will be selected! Act fast or miss out! We want to include Of Rats and Men in an intensive six-month program which includes:Only 500 authors have been invited for this offer!
- Two, fifteen-minute interviews on a nationally syndicated AM/FM radio show.
- One television appearance.
- Ten face-to-face meetings with television and feature film producers and directors about my book.
- An in-person introduction of your book to the decision-makers at five regional bookstore chains including Hastings.
- A specific, full-time telemarketer assigned to you for daily calls directly to stores to sell books and to set up book signings.
- Representation in a half-page print ad in a national magazine.
- A featured position on the home page of our books-to-films website www.marquisbooks.com
- A featured position on the home page of our bookselling website www.thebigbooks.com
Right. $7500 marketing plan for basically a picture book based on a Blogathon event. I'm pretty sure there was nothing special about their invitation seeing as how most of this over-priced service isn't even appropriate to my book. I don't think they've been so careful at selecting authors; their only criteria seems to be authors that are still breathing.
Would you go see a movie based on photographs of dolls and furniture? I wouldn't.
I was suspicious; I checked out their web site and didn't recognize a single book. I then tried to find out more about them, heading right over to Writers' Weekly first and then further searching on the web, but couldn't find any information about them on the web. Until now.
I got my second letter last week; I've been getting tons of spam from them which I don't think is legal because I never signed up for their service - EVER - but they just added me to their list. They either have someone watching Lulu.com and other self-publishing services full-time or Lulu.com and other companies have sold their customer lists. I'll be making an inquiry into that.
I can't imagine any bookseller appreciating their snail mail and email spam technique because I sure don't.
Either way, just as a reminder, I am not an Airleaf customer. I can't speak for those who have had success with them. I can only speak for my own experience: getting a letter that seemed to want a lot of money for a book they'd NEVER read.
UPDATE: Here's more on Airleaf, and not all of it will warm your heart. In this thread, Airleaf employees and customers do respond, so you can judge for yourself. I do want to point out one little snarky thing: the emails by satisfied Airleaf customers (replies #9 and #10) are, uh, badly written for having been written by writers. I know it should be a small thing but if the happy customers of a publisher are writers who can't put together coherent emails with half-decent grammar, capitalization and thought, there's a problem.
More links on Airleaf (formerly known as Bookman):
Brady Magazine Forum
Absolute Write Forum
Making Light Scam Discussion (you should read this)
Making Light Follow-up Discussion (you should read this)
The Return of Airleaf
UPDATE 1-12-06: Writers Weekly has another forum discussion on Airleaf that you won't want to miss.
If you have a link to a blog post or forum on this topic, please email me.
UPDATE: You might want to check this link out if you're looking for a self-publisher and not sure which one to pick.
UPDATE 2/1/07: I just received this email and thought I'd post it for you to read and come to your own conclusion.
Dear Julie,
As you may have heard, Mr. Brien Jones resigned from Airleaf Publishing and Bookselling on January 19th, 2007, to pursue other goals. We know that there has been conflict, even animosity, between some of your readers and Airleaf, but we wanted to let you know about this important change, and to inform you that we have chosen to treat it as an opportunity to turn over a new leaf, so to speak: we are taking this chance to rededicate ourselves to open and honest dealings with our clients and, yes, our detractors. I plan to keep these goals in mind as we re-staff Brien’s position and several others within our growing organization.
Please accept our apology for any misunderstanding or lack of respectful communication in the past, and consider this missive an open invitation to you or your readers to contact us with questions about the services we offer and how they are carried out, whether they have never had any dealings with us or are already clients. If you or your readers have any questions or concerns, or if you just want to discuss what changes are on the horizon, please give me a call at 1-800-342-6068 or send me an e-mail at carl@airleaf.com. We understand that it will take some time to rebuild trust with our clientele, but we wanted to take this important first step in reopening the channels of communication.
Sincerely,
Carl A. Lau
President, Airleaf Publishing
UPDATE 9/24/07: There is a new web site where people who have had a bad experience with AirLeaf can get involved. In a direct email, site owner Bonnie Kaye informed me of its existence: http://www.airleafvictims.com
Labels: links, publishing, writing
Copyright (c) Julie R. Neidlinger 12/22/2005 12:23:00 PM
SHARE THIS POST: Facebook | Stumble It! | Del.icio.us | DiggIt! | Technorati | Blinklist | Furl | reddit | Newsvine
Like this post? Subscribe to the feed.
Click here to help support this site.
21 Comments:
I am a very satisfied Airleaf customer. In the past two years, they have published AND sold three of my children's books.
I totally agree with you regarding "writers" who can't seem to use the American English language and proper grammar to convey their ideas. I cringe whenever I read our local newspaper, only to discover that their writers must have learned a different laguage, maybe slang, or ebonics, or just plain lazy English. Feel free to e-mail me back for further comments regarding Airleaf.
Thank you for your time.
Annie Monsen
Friendly Fly
Captain Blye and the Friendly Fly
Rusty Raccoon Meets Ricky Rabbit
By 
, at
January 07, 2006 4:10 PM
I also received a letter from Airleaf Publishing. I have four titles published, one of which is on a best seller list in England. My titles are already in bookstores. Why would I want to pay $2995 for them to "sell" my titles "to a national audience?"
These people have not done their homework. Do you think that maybe they only want your money?
LMA,
The Woodlands, Texas
By , at
December 26, 2006 8:13 PM
I am not satisfied with Airleaf Publishers. Every time I turn around they are asking for large amounts of money. They inform me it will help get my book out there. I have spent an enormous amount of money with this publisher and my book is collecting dust in their warehouse. I think they are only interested in the author's money and could care less about the sell of the book. I have reason to believe our money is going to finance their fancy cruises and dinners. While we, "the authors" sit by and hope for a serendipidous event to occur. Let's open our eyes and see the truth for ourselves. We are being taken, there is no question about it in my mind. Readers and author's please "beware."
By , at
February 12, 2007 9:10 PM
Authors, have you had to wait months for any word from this company? Remember when you were promised your promotional material within a certain amount of time? well for those of you who got tired and contacted the attorney general as soon as airleaf gets word of that they take the book in question to their writers and tell them they need SOMETHING that day because as long as they prove they did SOMETHING you have no leg to stand on. Even if it's the biggest piece of crap promo ever written. oh and they at least use to have a system called gammadyne that would mass email the promos you thought were going to places that actually wanted the promos. most of the 'bookstores and such' considered it spam and it got deleted. oh and if you think jones harvest publishing is any better. do you remember dealing with brian jones? well it's his company and he stole author info before he left airleaf. so be ware!
By , at
June 04, 2007 8:08 AM
From what I hear, Brien Jones stole the Airleaf database when he left the company and has been hell-bent on destroying Airleaf (as if he didn't try his best when he worked there). He has been mailing me "offers" to sell my book and bashing Airleaf at the same time. He is the worst kind of person to do business with, as he promises the world just to get your business. SCAMMER! He'll even act like he's a man of God if it would get you to sign up with him, but he's anything but a moral person. If you look at the address on Google Earth, you can see it's a residential neighborhood -and there's not even anything there! It's an empty lot! His publishing company was supposedly opened up in his basement, but - where's the house even??? And his staff is nothing but family and friends. Please avoid this sham publishing company for your own good. Everything he says is a complete and total lie!
By , at
June 07, 2007 1:29 PM
I think both sides of the coin are liars, Airleaf is no saint either and I think Mr. Jones is an arrogant jerk.
By , at
June 15, 2007 8:11 AM
Airleaf is a total rip off..check out the www.BBB.com site and you'll see the Better Business People almost SCREAM DONT DO BUSINESS WITH THEM! They make their money by upping the actual print cost by 150% AND SELLING AUTHORS THEIR OWN BOOKS. Then when the book actually sells thru Ingram or B&T distributors (because no one buys from their obscure website.) They NEVER SEND YOU A ROYALTY CHECK..but they will be sure to ask you to pay for "reprints" due to demand.
ALWAYS CHECK WITH THE BBB!!!
As for Brien Jones...wasnt he just an employee? I thought the previous post said Carl Lau was the owner/president.. If they're such a great company...how can 1 employee do so much "damage"..and why wasnt he fired immediately if he treated people rude..as the letter claimed? I dont trust Airleaf because of the documented proof they are ripping people off..I also hear they are under investigation by the IN ATTY GEN ! Self publishing is way safer than paying them big $....
By , at
July 12, 2007 12:32 PM
Hey!
As a past employee of Airleaf..I will give you sound advice on dealing with that company...RUN RUN LIKE HELL, and never look back. If you paid them money - consider it an investment in a valuable lesson learned - cut your losses and move on. They cant give you what they cant pay for themselves.
Those of you who have heard the phrase.."stuck at the printer" know exactly what I mean.
For anyone considering them as a publishing company..take a sec to look them up on the bbb site like the other person said..and again I advise you to RUN, RUN LIKE HELL!
I quit after about 3 months because I didnt want to work in a pyramid scheme..or have to lie to people on a daily basis.
As for Brien Jones and/or Jones Harvest isnt it funny that most of the people working for Brien are X employees of Airleaf? (Thats because they all walked out at the same time or very soon after. Who wants to be forced to lie in order to make $8 an hour at a company that rips people off??)
Jones Harvest also has alot of x-clients of Airleafs for the same reason..(lies and no $$)
All are quite happy with the services and the treatment they get!
I am now a happy pumpkin in the Jones Harvest patch..and couldnt be happier (in the basement)!
By , at
July 12, 2007 1:02 PM
My name is Bonnie Kaye. I am a nationally recognized author in the field of relationship counseling.
I am also a very angry Airleaf customer who is currently taking legal action against the company. The company has sold over 700 copies of my book since 10/06, but I've received 1 check for 300.00 with promises for more to come that never came. I was promised that my book would be placed in 15 bookstores--none of which happened. There was a huge demand for my book when I appeared on CNN and FOX News, but the company could not produce the orders.
I have now taken my book away from Airleaf and given it to Brien Jones, the only reliable person I could count on at Airleaf. He has done more to promote my book in two months than Airleaf ever did. My next book coming out in September will be published through him. I have sent other authors to him and they are quite satisfied with the service they are receiving.
I think that people need to give Brien a chance to prove that he can provide all the services that Airleaf promised and lied to us about. Any promise he made to me while he was at Airleaf was always carried through. I refuse to judge him by the lies of the owner of the company.
If anyone would like to pursue further legal action with me against Airleaf, please feel free to email me at Bonkaye@aol.com
Sincerely,
Bonnie Kaye, M.Ed.
By Bonnie Kaye, M.Ed., at
July 12, 2007 4:24 PM
As for the comment maid by Gayla on July 12 2007, she was doing everything but her job. As for the ex-employees that are with Brien Jones, they are friends of his who did not do there job either and that is why they are not here. Brien also stole the data base from Airleaf, and still continues to bash Airleaf and trying to still there clients because he can not get his own. Brien was vice president of Airleaf and lied to there Authors to get money. As for Brien and his crew GROW UP we are not in high school and the only reason you are bashing Airleaf and stilling there clients is because you can not get your own clients with an un knowledgeable staff.
Brien is lucky that Carl doesn't sue him, or the employees at Airleaf for all he did to them. Back off or you are going to find your self in a law suit.
anonymouse
By , at
July 13, 2007 1:38 PM
Brien Jones was sexual harassing all female employees at Airleaf. Airleaf is still cleaning up Brien’s mess, he sold services and made promises to authors and told no one. Airleaf found out when authors started calling in about what they paid for. DO NOT TRUST BRIEN JONES.
HE WORKS OUT OF HIS BASEMENT, WITH A STAFF FROM MCDONALDS.
By , at
July 13, 2007 1:56 PM
Wow! Airleaf has done everything and more for me. I would have been so lost with out them. The staff NOW is great, I would not of said that before January. The man that left early this year, I can't believe opened his own business? Specially after speaking with him myself he was so rude. (Scary looking as well) As for the staff that he took with him (2) of them that was "buddies" before Airleaf, so I have heard. Now one lady left afterwards, I bet she regrets it now.
Well, Airleaf has done and are still working on turning them self around, all I have seen is improvements. I thank Airleaf for everything. Also, do you see any movie deals by the other guys publishing company? I don't! Airleaf on the other hand has several. Everything the other guy has I bet learned it from Airleaf! How else would he open his own soon after? Doesn't make any since! Lastly, why make jokes at Airleaf unless he is "afraid" of competition enough to do anything he can to TRY to destroy them? Crazy, isn't it? He and employees should not make jokes so to speak but get to work on authors books instead of playing online. Well I thank so at least.
Honestly, Airleaf can and well give you 100% happiness. Every business has it’s up and downs. Airleaf will be rising to the TOP with the outstanding employees and great knowledge.
By , at
July 13, 2007 2:02 PM
I find it very interesting that the negative comments all come from someone named "anonymous." If you have an opinion, you need to have the courage to sign your name to it . . . . or keep it to yourself. I am one of the people "in the basement" and I'm proud to be there.
Carey Cornett
By , at
July 13, 2007 6:53 PM
Please remember that this is not a forum, nor is it a place where I will allow any and all comments, whether they be truth or hearsay. If you are going to post a scathing comment, please include your name and a contact. Otherwise, I will begin deleting comments and close the comments on this post.
I would appreciate your cooperation in keeping your written experiences to a concise, documented, non-argumentative minimum. By all means, share your experience. Once. In a factual, writerly manner.
This is a blog. Not a forum. It refelects badly on me to have a comment free-for-all on my web site.
Thank you.
By 
Julie, at
July 13, 2007 11:20 PM
Julie,
My comment involves your suspicions that Lulu may have sold your email address. Let me extract you from the shroud of mystery. Of course they did. That's how they make money. Think about it. They don't charge you anything to publish your book. They claim to make money selling customer's books, but we all know the average POD book doesn't actually sell. And they have astronomical bandwidth and customer service needs with such a large registered consumer base (all of which costs money to manage). They are an email farm, and a brilliant one. Next they will be "changing" their free model to a paid model now that they have the links necessary to get #1 in organic search on Google. And their customers will simply start paying because their consumer base has already demonstrated they take the path of least resistance.
Jordon Reilly
By , at
July 14, 2007 12:26 AM
"And their customers will simply start paying because their consumer base has already demonstrated they take the path of least resistance."
Thank you, Mr. Reilly, for assuming. There are other reasons a person might choose Lulu for their book or small publishing project. The key word being "small."
I am, of course, aware that Lulu probably did sell the address. There was no othe reason for me to be contacted so soon by Airleaf. This, however, is a post about Airleaf and not Lulu. Besides that pesky letter from Airleaf which obviously did not apply to my small book project, I've no complaints directed towards Lulu. Their system has allowed people who aren't looking for a massive number of books to be printed get a chance at a hard copy of their project.
There is no need for publishing snobbery i.e. assuming a person just doesn't want to put up the fight and therefore chooses a "path of least resistance."
By Julie, at
July 14, 2007 8:04 AM
This is Brien Jones. I am not hiding behind "Anonymous" or a fake name or an email address or a PO Box. My home addess and business address are the same.
Things like the BBB, the Labor Board and the Attorney General are all easily checked (as is spelling, usually, M-A-I-D?!?)and I invite everyone to do that. Also feel free to contact ANY or ALL of our clients.
By the way, none of us in the basement have ever worked at McDonalds, but we almost all have college degrees. That's soemthing you can't get by playing solitaire all day.
As for Carl and Airleaf, I DARE you to sue me.
By Brien Jones, at
July 17, 2007 3:31 PM
NOTE: Any lawsuits or requests for such do not include me.
No one. Please sue me.
What is with all of you people?
And, if we're going to be real snooty with the spelling: "something" not "soemthing."
Let's grow up now. Or go take this brawl to a writing forum.
By Julie, at
July 17, 2007 5:12 PM
I just received a comment from a "Denise" that was written in a manner that belied any sense that she had read what I've said about this being:
1. The wrong forum for this flame and insult war
2. A very bad reflection on the supposed professionalism of both publishers and writers in question
3. A good time to grow up
I've no doubt many here, Denise included, have many serious complaints and even personal or professional hurts. However, and I can't say this one bloody more time without closing comments, WRITE YOUR COMPLAINT IN A PROFESSIONAL AND NON-HEAR-SAY INFESTED TONE!
Do not:
1. Insult people by saying they worked for McDonalds
2. Level serious charges of sexual impropriety, intelligence, academics, and writing skills against anyone else without proof (i.e. links to documented proof on the internet)
3. CONTINUE TO IGNORE WHAT I'VE SAID ABOUT THIS! THIS MEANS YOU!
I am not publishing Denise's comment, and will no longer publish such childish things. This is nothing personal nor does it reflect that I'm "taking sides" in a petty war I clearly am not involved in. Denise is welcome to re-write her comment in a way described above. I will gladly publish that.
Summation: Quit being so bitchy, men and women included.
By Julie, at
July 20, 2007 11:07 PM
I AM PROUD THAT I HELP PUT AIRLEAF OUT OF BUSINESS. MAY CARL LAU, BOB DENTEN & DAWN ROGERS ALL ROT IN HELL!
I'LL NEVER GET MY $304.60 BACK FROM MY LAST ORDER OF MY BOOKS BUT YOU CAN DAMN WELL KNOW THAT I'M GETTING THAT MUCH SATIFACTION FROM SEEING THESE PEOPLE LOSE THIS BUSINESS
DON MYERS, USMC RET
By , at
December 23, 2007 6:14 PM
(I had to publish that last comment. It was in all caps, and so vehement.)
Oh my.
