Dorrance PublishingReviews of dorrancepublishing.com

It is one of one of the worst I mean literally the worst publishing company. I wouldn’t recommend anyone to work with them. They are a scammers. They will just take your money and do really literally nothing and I’m saying that because I have worked with them and I haven’t seen my book and I haven’t seen a dime and they barely even respond to me so please don’t work with them and if you want your money to be stolen by them they lake integrity they lake value and they’re like authenticity.

I submitted a manuscript to this publisher for evaluation. And was informed the manuscript had been accepted. Where I signed an e-contract for 25 books and distribution. Initially I fell behind on payment. Due to a personal matter. But paid the balance of the contract in full. Five months ahead of schedule. Concerning editing. The contract specified ‘mechanical’ (or grammatical) editing only by the publisher. And no recommendations for style. Nevertheless, when I received the editor’s draft. The style had been changed. Where the publisher had represented: ‘Your talent. Your book. Your style.’ The publisher specifies any special issues with a manuscript. Be advised at initial submission. But style did not become an issue until I received the editor’s draft. That I had been given no reason to anticipate such changes. Rather the opposite. Noticing the changes. I notified the project manager. And was advised by a replacement project manager. To submit a list of the changes and the pages they appeared on. Which I did. It was agreed that a fee for the author correcting the editor’s draft would be waived. And I thought the problem was resolved. A new project manager was assigned. Where I resubmitted the list of changes. That my corrections wouldn’t be changed again. And asked that it be forwarded to the designer. My corrections were correctly included in the proof I received. But there were other problems that were my responsibility. And I requested to submit a revised manuscript. For a $150 redesign fee. Which was agreed. But when the new proof came back. Certain corrections had been changed again. When I asked the project manager about this. I received a response from the designer. Indicating they were previously unaware of the issue. Which led me to believe. The project manager failed to forward the correction document. Or the designer had overlooked it. The publisher represents they will correct their errors free of charge. And will “…work with the author to achieve the final product that they want.” But when I asked if the changes could be corrected. The publisher stopped responding to my communications. I have tried contacting the publisher by email. Telephone. Leaving a message. And two-day tracked mail. To the Author Services Director. Offering to pay for the corrections myself. With the intention to complete the contract. But no response. While they kept my payment in full. For no books published. The publisher represents they are trusted by authors. But anyone who takes your money. Fails to provide an acceptable product. And disappears. Should not be trusted. Not recommended. Thank you.

About this time last year I completed by first manuscript and submitted it to Brenda McDonald with Dorrance Publishing. She was very convincing that they could edit and publish my book to make it a huge first attempt. We agreed on a soft cover approach and I paid, in advance, for it to be published as an eBook as well. She offered, and I accepted, to add an auditory version as well as now cost. Because it was an anniversary year, she also offered 103 copies of the book to me at no charge to use during book signing. I fell for a very large sales pitch that included marketing, developing leads, promoting and scheduling book signings, they would contact media outlets, solicit displays with major booksellers (BooksAMillion, Barnes & Noble, Amazon, Walmart), list the book through distribution hub Ingram, promote it through Publishers Weekly, yada yada. What I got what a really nice looking book and cover, a poorly edited product, ZERO distribution effort, and a product only available as a PRINT ON DEMAND product that booksellers refuse to stock or display. Why? They would have not investment in the book and no incentive to sell in their stores. Dorrance has nothing invested in the process. I wound up being 100% responsible for cost and 100% vested. We had a non-traditional VANITY agreement for what turned out to be a self-publishing project, they simply provided incomplete editing and nothing else. You would think that a company in business for over 100 years would be much more reputable and truthful. Everything looked legit, I was entirely sucked in. Ms McDonald no longer answer any emails. The company President, David Zeolla, will not answer me. We submitted multiple complaints, request for our money back (at least the marketing and promotions portion or 50%) and they refused. This is a huge and incredibly elaborate SCAM. Between this company and my attempts at starting an internet and getting scammed last year we have lost in excess of $10,000 in 2024. If you are looking for a publisher - DO NOT accept anything short of a hybrid contract where the publisher is at least 50% vested in the process. You are at a HUGE disadvantage. Dorrance is a VANITY publishing company. They have NO vested interested in book sales, they make their money off YOU. Good luck.

Dorrance Publishing is basically a "Vanity Publisher". Their business model is not to make money selling books, it's to make money from aspiring authors who pay to have their book published. They have a system in place that is geared to get the aspiring author excited. They send you an Email marked "Confidential" letting you know that they wish to publish your book. Then a sales person contacts you by phone and 'softens' the would be author up into signing a contract that will obligate them to pay for publishing the book. Please avoid them, they are predators