Re-Post on Why I Left Vanilla Heart Publishing

I have been asked to re-post this story about Vanilla Heart Publishing and their unethical business practices; so here it is.  If you are an author seeking a publisher or if you know of an author seeking representation, please read this and heed the warning.  Vanilla Heart is not the only small press publishing company guilty of these charges.  Do your homework before signing a contract with ANYONE.  Protect your rights and your work from scam artists and liars like Kimberlee Williams and Vanilla Heart Publishing.

In October 2010 I signed a contract with Vanilla Heart Publishing to publish my debut novel, No Easy Way, which was nominated for the 2010 Molly Award by the Heart of Denver Romance Writers. 

In August 2013, eight novels later, I terminated my relationship with Vanilla Heart Publishing on the grounds of a severe breach of contract, misrepresentation, fraud and theft pertaining specifically to Articles #5, #7, #10, and #11 of the contract.

During my stay at Vanilla Heart, I upheld my end of the agreement.  I continued to write novels, producing eight in less than three years.  I continued to submit my novels to Vanilla Heart first, as per our contract she was entitled to a thirty day right of first refusal on all Just Call Me Angel books.  I continued to blog, participate in blog tours, promote and market my work through book clubs, book signings, holding contests and networking via numerous social media outlets (Twitter, LinkedIn, Facebook, Pinterest, Goodreads, Instagram, etc.)  In return for my loyalty, I was lied to, manipulated and used.

Upon confronting Vanilla Heart Publishing with the breach of contract, misrepresentation and fraudulent activity, I was given no apology for wrongdoing nor was there an admission of remorse whatsoever.  Instead, I was sent a list of termination items wherein it was stated that I was “not to discuss the Author’s Group or any information from that group, or discuss Vanilla Heart Publishing, nor speak as an agent or former agent of the publisher, either by verbal, written, or electronic communication with any persons, groups, or agents.” It goes without saying that I did not agree to this and, per the advice of my attorney, informed Vanilla Heart that all statements that are factual, unbiased and can be proven with subpoenaed records, email correspondence or any other written form of communication do not fall into the category of slander or libel and are allowable for discussion in any setting, person-to-person, blog, group format or social media.   

My attorney is now in the process of reviewing back royalty statements from all of the distribution channels and thus far the information I have received from Vanilla Heart Publishing does not come close to matching the real reports in number of books sold nor in amount of money owed.  I sit amazed at how I have been ripped off for almost three years.  It saddens and angers me.

I requested royalty statements from Vanilla Heart at least eight documented times since October 2010.  Every statement was falsified.  Every paycheck came months late.  I never even received a statement for 2012 from Vanilla Heart and the check I received doesn’t match the distributor’s royalty records for the quarterly periods during that time.  Each time I requested a statement or a check I was promised it and then given an excuse as to why it would be late.  The excuses ranged from severe medical issues to a gardening accident and countless laptop crashes, an accountant who allegedly printed the reports too small to be read and the post office that lost checks or statements along the way.  Every excuse added to the sour pit growing in my stomach.  Still, I wanted to believe that everything was on the up-and-up; but, over time,  there were just too many red flags.

Little did I know, but several of the Vanilla Heart authors were experiencing the same frustrations I was.  No statements.  Late checks.  Excuses galore.  The problem was, for a long time, none of us communicated with one another.  We didn’t compare notes and that’s exactly how Vanilla Heart wanted it.  Manipulative phone calls from the Publisher psychologically pitted one author against another.  “She’s the next one I’m getting rid of,” was said to me on several occasions, referring to fellow Vanilla Heart authors.  The Publisher made a point to let everyone know who was in her “Core Group” and who was not.  I was in the Core Group and I think that was one of the reasons it never dawned on me that she might be breaching our contract at all, much less in so many ways.  I was made to feel “special” as if we had more than just a business relationship…as if we were “friends.”  Friends don’t steal from or lie to friends, my mind would justify… but the red flags waved.

It wasn’t until two of the Core Group authors left within a short period of time that I mustered up the courage to start asking questions and digging deeper into what was going on.  I dug out every contract, read through every email, analyzed my notes from phone calls, etc.  Every hour spent researching deepened the pit in my stomach and leant proof to the revelation I didn’t want to face:  Vanilla Heart was guilty.

Guilty of copyright infringement.

Guilty of breach of contract.

Guilty of misrepresentation of intent.

Guilty of fraud.

Guilty of theft. 

On August 10, 2013 under the guidance of my attorney, a termination letter was sent to Vanilla Heart Publishing.  A complaint was filed with the Washington Attorney General’s Office and DCMA Take Down Notices and Perjury Statements sent to every distributor that carried my books under the Vanilla Heart imprint.  All books in all formats were pulled from the market.  The distributors worked quickly to make this right, as their policy is first and foremost to protect the intellectual property of the author. 

I want to give a shout out to the employees at Amazon, Barnes & Noble, Smashwords, All Romance Ebooks/OmniLit and Payloadz who were amazing in getting my attorney the information we needed (and I deserved) and in helping to protect my intellectual property rights going forward.  These people were absolutely amazing and I am grateful to all of them. 

My publisher used to call Amazon “Damazon” and always told me how slow and non-responsive they were.  That must have been a lie too…because after this experience, I would dub them “Amaz(ing)on.”

So, why am I writing this blog?  Because I feel a moral obligation to warn other writers who are as naïve as I was and can become easy prey.  The warning signs were there, but I didn’t see them…or I choose to look the other way.  Don’t make the same mistake I did.  

As an author, you deserve to have your books registered with the U.S. Copyright office.  You deserve a signed contract on every book.  You deserve to have timely statements and timely royalty payments and those statements and payments should match down to the penny.  You deserve a publisher who will protect your rights and who will not breach your contract.  You deserve a publisher who will conduct business in an ethical and moral manner, not hide behind excuses and outright lies.  You deserve better than Vanilla Heart Publishing.

In the past two months, seven authors have left Vanilla Heart… all of which were a part of the “Core Group.”  Some of us have found other publishers who have picked up our work.  I’ve signed with Global Publishing Group and my books will be back on the market in all formats by the end of the week. Others have decided to self-publish and still others are so shell-shocked they haven’t decided what to do.  What happened to us wasn’t fair and it wasn’t right, but we are all dedicated writers and will come out on top.

The moral of the story is:  Stay away from Vanilla Heart Publishing.

~

Lied, Defrauded & Falsified

I received tax information from my ex-publisher (Vanilla Heart Publishing) and couldn't help but laugh. Though she noted what she had paid me for 2013, what she failed to provide in this sloppily, hand-written W-2 form was any element of truth.  Book sales?  Not included.  Statements?  Not included.  Just a random number for a random payment that matched none of the numbers provided by any of the retailers in 2013. I wasn't surprised...for you see, had she claimed the correct number of book sales she would have had to admit to fraudulent activity and theft.

I wonder... what earnings is she claiming to the government?  It might be worth suggesting to the IRS that they audit Kimberlee Williams and Vanilla Heart Publishing, for I am merely one author in a line of many from which she has stolen money and, sadly from some,  is still stealing.  I just might take this up with my attorney and will certainly register another complaint with the State of Washington and the Better Business Bureau.

You see, for me, this was her last chance to rectify the wrongdoing.  Admitting she had stolen from me and taking steps toward restitution prior to sending out legally falsified W-2 documentation would have shown at least some form of remorse, be it small and pathetic.  But, that time limit has ceased and the hour of pursuing restitution is now upon us.

To the authors who are currently with Vanilla Heart Publishing, please be aware that Kimberlee Williams is lying to you.  She has the ability to print monthly reports of your book sales from Amazon.  Also, Amazon pays timely, VERY timely each month and so she should be able to pay you on time as well.  No excuse is viable.  EVERY excuse and play for your sympathy is a lie.  In addition, Smashwords pays every quarter in a timely manner.  They are never late and reports can be pulled at any time during the quarter where she can see book sales by title, type and distributor.  There is no reason you are not receiving statements and payments in a timely manner.  NO REASON!

Thankfully, for me, the Vanilla Heart nightmare is over.  I have moved on and found great success.  I wish that for every author.  If you are with a publisher that is robbing you blind and filling your head with excuses, break free and earn what you deserve from your work.  A legitimate publisher will not give excuses because in today's world of technology and minute-by-minute reporting there is no need for excuses.

You deserve to be treated with respect and honesty and publisher's like Vanilla Heart are nothing but wolves in sheep's clothing, preying on new and naive authors.  Open your eyes and enjoy the fruits of your labor.  ~

Doing My Part

I’m receiving tons of email regarding my leaving Vanilla Heart Publishing (VHP).  People are asking questions and sharing their experiences with VHP and with other publishers as well.  At first, I felt inundated and overwhelmed by the barrage of email; but now, I feel grateful because each one gives insight and I find myself learning through other’s experiences.  I’m thankful for those lessons, so keep writing.  I will do my best to respond in a timely manner, but please forgive me if my responses come slowly.   In addition, when many of you ask the same question I will try to answer it here, in blog format, so that others can benefit from the information as well.

Several of you mentioned that Vanilla Heart (and a couple of other publishers that I won’t name here) never signed your contracts and that when you sought an attorney you were told that they could not go after a breach of contract when a contract never existed.  This is a statement of truth, but there is a loophole.  I will only speak of VHP and not the other publishers mentioned in email because my experience is limited to VHP.  

VHP never signed their contracts so that they could never be in “breach” of their contracts.  This is a manipulative ploy in and of itself.  Kimberlee Williams banked on the fact that new authors wouldn’t know any better…and it worked for her up until this year when about 14 authors grew wiser.  She banked on her cunning ability to manipulate new authors with empty promises, lies and fear tactics; but here, in the details of the law, is where truth is found:

VHP’s contracts are Bi-Lateral Agreements, which means both parties (the author and the publisher) are signing that they are in agreement with the terms of the contract.  In essence, they are both committing to do what the contract indicates they will do.  A Bi-Lateral Agreement is only binding in a court of law IF it is signed by both parties.  So, when an attorney says they cannot go after a breach of contract because a contract never existed, they are referring to the Bi-Lateral contractual agreement.

Hear me on this part, because this is every author’s ticket to freedom:  IF the publisher never signed the Bi-Lateral agreement and never rendered a copy of the signed agreement back to the author, the contract never legally existed.  Thereby, the author’s rights were never given to the publisher.  Thus, any of the author’s work that was published by the publisher and from which the publisher benefited financially falls under Copyright Infringement.

Copyright Infringement is a federal offense; a much bigger charge than a breach of contract. Every attorney (particularly those with literary field expertise) will take an infringement case, especially when you’ve got contracts and email correspondence to substantiate your claim.  In addition, if the publisher financially benefited from money gained via Copyright Infringement, that's called theft and it's another federal offense.

That’s the loophole and it’s just step one.

In the case with VHP, this puts the publisher in the position of either admitting to Copyright Infringement OR (if they want to pretend the contract was valid) admitting to a severe breach in contract involving artifice to defraud, fraudulent activity, misrepresentation and theft.

Either way, it doesn’t bode well for a deceitful publisher.

 

Authors, in today’s world of technology there is no reason why you cannot receive sales reports, royalty statements and payments on time.  In addition, there is no viable excuse for not receiving them.  If you are locked into a contractual agreement with a publisher who is not giving you the information you deserve, take action.  If you sit idly by, you’re hurting yourself and you’re doing an injustice to other authors. 

One woman wrote:  “I know my publisher is cheating me but I’m afraid if I say anything they won’t publish my next book and all of my books will go away.”

I felt that way too.  I was scared.  But…aren’t we all scared right after we finish our first novel and we start to send out queries and submissions?  Aren’t we all frightened that our work won’t be good enough or well received?  But we press on.  We press on…and that’s what you have to do if you’re in a negative relationship with an unethical publisher.  Unethical publishers like Vanilla Heart don’t deserve your talent.  They don’t deserve the right to work with you.

Change can be scary, but it is often necessary for growth.  It’s one thing to be blinded by a lie…it’s another thing to know the truth and make an active choice to live the lie.  

An ex-VHP author wrote in her email:  “At first, I believed the lie.  Then, I hoped it wasn’t true.  Now that my eyes are opened it’s my responsibility to do my part and make sure no one else believes the lie.”

 

Amen!  That's the very reason I blog and try to answer your emails and questions in a timely manner ...because it's my responsibility now to protect new authors from getting caught up in the lie... it's my job to do my part and I'm going to do it. ~

 

 

Criminal Charges

I’ve received some emails wherein people have been asking for specific details (as in the legalities) of what Vanilla Heart Publishing did wrong.  Many of you have asked if the charges against Vanilla Heart are criminal.  Since I’ve touched on the specific breach of contract in previous blogs, I decided to define some basic terminology in hopes of providing clarity. 

Fraud: the crime of cheating somebody; the crime of obtaining money or some other benefit by deliberate deception; somebody who deceives; somebody who deliberately deceives somebody else, usually for financial gain.  Fraud is a felony charge.

Scheme or Artifice to Defraud:  the deprivation of something of value by fraudulent pretenses, representations, promises, trick, chicane or overreaching; it connotes a planning to defraud and/or a pattern of fraudulent behavior.  This is a felony charge.

Copyright Infringement:  to disobey or disregard the copyright; to fail to obey or observe the terms of the copyright law.

Copyright Infringement is a felony.  On October 8, 1992 Congress approved the Copyright Felony Act.  Title 17 of the United States Code defines criminal copyright infringement as willful infringement for the purpose of commercial advantage or private financial gain.  Running a close second to copyright infringement is piracy, also another felony charge.  

Breach of Contract:  a failure to obey, keep or preserve a law, trust or promise; a breach of confidentiality; a breakdown in contractual obligations or relations.  This is usually dealt with in a civil court, when criminal charges do not come into play.

 

Theft: the act or crime of stealing somebody else’s property and/or money.

Just for fun let’s look specifically at what the State of Washington (home to Vanilla Heart Publishing) has to say about theft. 

Definition of Theft

Section 9A.56.020 of the Revised Code of Washington defines theft as the wrongful taking of property or services with the intent to deprive the owner of his property or the services he provides. Theft can be committed by actually stealing the property or by receiving the property from the owner through some act of deception.  This is a felony charge.

Second-Degree Theft

In Washington, a person can be charged with second-degree theft in accordance with Section 9A.56.040 if she steals property or services with a value of at least $750, but less than $5,000, or any public record kept in a public office. The Revised Code of Washington classifies second-degree theft as a Class C felony.

 

Clearly, more than civil charges can be brought against Vanilla Heart.  Subpoenaed sales statements and royalty reports alone are concrete evidence of theft; a felony charge.  That is without even mentioning the breach of contract leading to copyright infringement, artifice to defraud and fraudulent behavior as documented in email testimony by numerous authors and in email correspondence from the publisher. 

I hope this answers some of the basic questions.  ~

Pucker Up You Scam Artists!

On behalf of all authors everywhere who have ever been cheated, manipulated, stolen from, lied to and used...

On behalf of all of the authors who have fallen prey to scummy publishers and scam artists who have breached your contracts...

It's time we tell these shady publishers to pucker up and...

 

 



 

Shady publishers will continue to steal, lie and cheat.  That's who they are.  It's what they do and what they've always done.  When they get caught or the heat gets turned up too high they file Chapter 7 and then re-emerge under a new name so they can find more victims; just like Vanilla Heart did in 2002.  

 

Before signing with any publisher do a background check.  There are numerous on-line services that, for a minimal fee, will provide you with all of the information on how a company and/or a person conducts business. Look for red flags.   If they have a history of filing Chapter 7 and re-emerging with a new company name...that's a red flag.  If they have a bunch of  aliases...that's another red flag.  If they have numerous company names... that's a red flag.  Now, I'm not saying anyone who has ever filed Chapter 7 or has had multiple company names is shady; I'm merely saying it's good information to have up-front and to ask about prior to signing any type of contractual agreement.  You can save yourself a lot of hassle and heartache in the long run by gaining this information up front.

 

We can't stop all of these people, but we can spread the word on how to spot them, in hopes of minimizing the potential damage within the industry...our industry.

 

We writers, authors, agents, publicists and publishers dwell in the same world...the literary world.  It is OUR industry.  Thus, it is OUR responsibility to clean it up and keep it clean.  We do that with our fingertips parading across the keyboard.  We do it through our blogs, writer's groups and social media.  These shady publishers and scam artists can steal our money but they cannot steal our voice.  Our voice will ring loud to warn others.  Our voice can make a difference.

 

Upon finding out you've been scammed, it's hard not to wallow in self-pity and blame.  It's hard not to beat yourself up, as you are now able to look back and see all of the red flags waving behind you.  As they say, "Hindsight is 20/20."  I think the most important thing is to let yourself wallow for an afternoon and then pull yourself up by your boot straps and march on.  Some lessons in life are hard, and some are costly...but those are the ones you'll never forget.  Take something from the bad, spin it around and make it into something good...something that will benefit others...something that will make the industry a better place.

 

The way I see it, Vanilla Heart robbed me, but they didn't stop me.  They may have stolen the royalties for the eight books that I've already written, but they didn't stop me from writing.  I'm going to write more and more and more and guess who is not going to see a penny from it... the shady publishers of the world. 

 

This is OUR industry and I vow to protect it, to try to make it better for everyone and to use my voice to keep scam artist publishers like Vanilla Heart from further tainting it. 

 

So, to all the shady publishers out there...pucker up assholes!

 

 

 

 

 

 





The Power of Thirteen: The Vanilla Heart Saga Continues

To say the last two weeks have been difficult is putting it lightly.  I have sobbed at my computer more than once, and not just over what has happened to me, but what has happened to twelve other authors who were once published by Vanilla Heart as well.  It began with one author having the courage to leave, then another, and another.  What was one became two, three, seven, eleven and now there are thirteen of us.  Thirteen of us giving statements to attorneys.  Thirteen of us talking directly with distributors.  Thirteen of us comparing email threads and sharing what was said to us by Vanilla Heart.  Thirteen of us documenting fraud, lies and excuses.  Thirteen of us standing up to protect other authors from falling prey to the unethical and immoral business practices of Vanilla Heart Publishing.  Sadly, but not surprisingly, our stories are very much the same in the sense that we were each manipulated, lied to and stolen from.  Sadder still is the fact that we are not the only ones.  If you read the comments about Vanilla Heart at Absolute Write Water Cooler, you will see that others have suffered the same fate.

 

As reports are rolling in from various distribution channels, the amount of money stolen is growing.  Literally, thousands of dollars was never paid to me.  I shudder when I think of how much was stolen from me and from all of us, collectively.  It makes me sick.

 

The ever-present question is:  How does a publisher get away with this for so long?

 

The answer is complex and yet simple.  Fear.  Publishers like Vanilla Heart prey on new authors…authors who would do just about anything to see their work in print.  Then, once their books are made available, the excuses begin and so does the manipulation.  Bluntly speaking, a new author is afraid to piss off her publisher, for fear that her next book won’t get published.  Thus, she is inclined to let the excuses slide.  These excuses range from blame-shifting to sympathy ploys.

 

Here are some priceless examples from Vanilla Heart:

 

1.     The post office lost your royalty check. (If this happens then another check should be mailed immediately; but this happened three times and a check never arrived.)

2.     I was going to direct deposit your royalty check but then my computer crashed and it’s going to take me at least a week to get everything up and running again.  (I have emails from Vanilla Heart wherein she stated that her computer crashed six different times in less than three years. That’s a lot of crashes.)  

3.    The distributors haven’t sent me the reports yet.  (I have numerous emails where Vanilla Heart stated that the distributors were always “months late” in reporting and paying royalties.  This, according to recent evidence gathered from several distributors is an outright lie.) 

4.    I am sick (flu, sinus infection, fell in a hole gardening, food poisoning, etc.) and haven’t been able to make it to the post office to mail your check.  (This happened so many times I finally switched to direct deposit and then, ironically, her computer started crashing all of the time.)

5.    My husband needs another surgery so everything will be delayed a couple of weeks.  (Sympathy ploy.  I actually added her husband’s name to our prayer list at church and in my Bible Study group.  Now, with all of the lies she has told, I doubt that he ever needed surgery at all.  I was played for the fool.)

6.    I have to take care of my mother-in-law.  (Again, a sympathy ploy that makes the author think, what a good-hearted, wonderful publisher I have… a person who takes care of her in-laws in need.  It’s a ploy.  Don’t fall for it like I did.)

7.    I can’t send out the royalty statements because my “stupid accountant printed them too small to read.” (Use a magnifying glass!)

8.    The post office lost the ten books you ordered.  I’ll have to track the shipment and let you know.  (To this day, I paid for 10 of my books to have for a book club meeting and have never received them.  She still owes me $97.50 and has not responded when I’ve asked for a reimbursement.)

9.  Fifty-six copies of your book, House of Lies, were downloaded from Smashwords using the free coupon code.  Someone must have gotten hold of that code and passed it around.  (According to the actual distributor report, only 13 copies were downloaded free using the coupon code.  The other forty-plus copies of House of Lies were purchased, paid for and royalties were paid to Vanilla Heart; but Vanilla Heart never paid me for any of those books.)   

 

These are but a few of the many, many excuses that were given.  If I listed them all, this blog would be endless and you would surely shake your head and wonder, as I do, how in the world people get away with this.  It’s criminal behavior, and on-going criminal behavior with no sign of remorse is sociopathic. 

 

Whether you dwell in the literary world, the sales world, the banking world, the world of technology, retail, medicine, law, etc., there are acceptable business practices and there are unacceptable business practices.  Everything in life won’t be fair, but it should be ethical.  Don’t let anyone manipulate you into taking less than you have earned, nor deceive you into believing they are due your sympathy for countless circumstances that have rendered them unable to do their job. One emergency or accident is understandable; ten is not.

 

Business is business and a good publisher shouldn’t have to prey on your sympathy to excuse her inability to give you the royalty statements and payments your hard work has earned. 

 

Authors, you’ve invested your time, energy, emotion and money into creating your work of art.  Do not let any publisher rob you of your rightful royalties on that work.  NO excuse is viable.

 

Before you sign a contract with any publisher:

 

1.    Visit the Preditors & Editors page on Warnings and make sure everything is on the up-and-up.

2.    Talk to authors who have left the publishing company and talk to authors who are currently with the publishing company.  If there is nothing to hide, all of these people will speak openly with you.  If there is something awry, the ones who have left will be afraid to speak.  (On that note:  if upon leaving, a publisher asks you to sign an agreement that states you cannot speak about what has happened, don't agree to this.  This is a major red flag and they have no legal leg to stand on.)

3.    Ask questions and don’t settle for indefinite answers.

 

4.  If you have any red flags, call an attorney.

 

The hardest part of this whole ordeal is to not allow myself to grow bitter.  It’s no fun feeling used, playing somebody’s fool and having thousands of dollars stolen right from under your nose.  It’s agonizing knowing that friends and family warned you and you ignored the signs because you were afraid to see the truth…afraid of what the truth might mean.  Will my books ever get re-published?  Will my work disappear forever?  It’s scary, but if I have learned anything it is that I am not alone.  There are ethical publishers out there.  There are ethical agents and wonderful writer’s groups filled with people just like me and just like you.  There is safety in numbers and wisdom in all of our minds and experiences meshing together.  Don’t be afraid to speak out and let others know what is really happening behind the scenes.

 

If I can lend one piece of advice to a new author, it would be this:  Talk to other authors.  Listen to their wisdom.  Join writing groups.  Consult warning sites and realize that you do not have to settle for unethical treatment.  You deserve better. 

 

When we all join together, we can change the world.  Right now, I'm calling that the "Power of Thirteen."  ~