Schiel & Denver Publishing Limited
Complaint 68763 Details

Schiel & Denver Publishing Limited has undermined its contractual agreement with authors in the following manner:

1. They professed to send author complimentary books priority mail, but in fact sent them media mail. This caused a delay in book receipt by three weeks, a broken box, and books not worthy of re-sale value due to their weathering rain, and poor cover lamination. One book had a back cover ripped off.

2. Schiel & Denver refused to send a copy of the two books it professed to have sent with others in a box that was battered and torn.

3. Schiel & Denver sent 19 books in a box to the author, thereby violating the author contract that 20 books would be sent to such author.

4. Schiel & Denver professed to include the author hard-bound copy of the book in its shipment but failed to do so, for two of the author's publications, thereby violating their contract with the author.

5. Schiel & Denver management promised a re-visiting of the author's exterior cover copy of a third book for approval prior to publication, in accordance with the author agreement, and failed and actually refused to do so via an obscure interpretation not in concert with author consideration.

6. Schiel & Denver arbitrarily assigned an exterior cover to the author's book without author approval and refused to change it. Such cover had absolutely nothing to do with the story-line whatsoever.

7. Schiel & Denver took a Books Return Program fee of $699 for two books ($1398.00) and failed to distribute them to all of the bookstores they advertised on their home page. A local BAM Bookstore, advertised by Schiel & Denver, had no record of the author's books within their computer system.

8. Schiel & Denver negated the sending of payment invoices in advance of their withdrawing the funds from the author's account.

9. Schiel & Denver management are at odds with one another when attempting to reconcile author concerns relating to the publishing of said author's books.

10. Schiel & Denver editors are apt to cease communication with an author who has concerns about his $3,000 book publication investment.

11. It is not uncommon for the pre-press distribution to lie about the method of mailing an author's paid-for complimentary copies in that they would admit that such copies were sent "priority" mail, but in fact , were sent "media" mail, the absolute slowest and cost-saving method possible.

12. Schiel & Denver professes to keep an author appraised of marketing sales on a quarterly basis, but has failed to inform the author regarding the status of such sales. After five months following the release of the author's book, there has been no information provided by Schiel & Denver as to the status of book sales. Their 50% retainer rate advertised may be considered somewhat suspect in that the amount may very well be closer to 100%. There is no way for a prior author to check on the status of sales through Schiele & Denver as they have closed the author's account without informing said author.

Schiel & Denver Publishing was good to work with through the publication of this author's first book. Soon after the second book was released, the editor ceased communication altogether with the author. Management then appeared to have to step in. From that point, it went "down hill" with any positive communication and Schiel & Denver's willingness to work with the author in "good faith".

Schiel & Denver's finished product of an author's work is suspect in terms of the author's interior book design wishes. After checking with the editor about a proof concern I had relating to the second book, I was assured that all looked fine. Unfortunately, there were some glaring problems that should have been rectified by Schiel & Denver to make the entire work more professionably presentable.

This publishing organization is not ranked in the top ten in its field. Nor, should it ever be, unless it begins to listen to the concerns of its authors and forget about how much money it can make at the expense of those who want to see their story in print. Their pathetic excuses for not caring for its clientele, the very people who keep them in business, are an aberration to good common business practice. They truly need a good "house cleaning" if they are ever going to rise about the "mud" they sling at those they profess to serve.