The trust, time, and money I invested is what I regret
My experience with Next Leap Publishers started very positively. Will, the sales representative I originally dealt with, was patient, caring and answered all my questions. I was excited about publishing my children’s book and genuinely believed I had made the right choice. I am no longer able to reach Will through his Next Leap email address, as emails to that address are now returned stating that the user does not exist. Unfortunately, my experience afterward has been completely different, and I now sincerely wish I had never started this process. I initially paid to have my book illustrated, published and distributed across 40+ platforms. This process began on April 22. My completed manuscript was ready July 9. As of August 27, more than four months after this process began, the wider distribution I paid for has still not been completed. The company asked me to provide my Amazon account login information so they could log in and handle the publishing themselves. By that point my trust in the process was already declining, and I was not comfortable sharing my Amazon login credentials, particularly given Amazon’s account-security requirements. I therefore uploaded the materials into my own KDP account myself, which is why my book is currently live on Amazon. I was also talked into purchasing a Bestseller Package after being specifically told that 120 Amazon sales were guaranteed within a two-week campaign. I purchased the package based on that guarantee. I have repeatedly requested the campaign start date, end date, measurable activity and sales generated by the campaign. I still do not have those answers and continue to be told that they are “working on it” or “working toward” the sales objective. I also paid $2,000 USD for press release services after being convinced that this would give my book wider exposure and create meaningful publicity opportunities. Instead, since the first two press releases went out, I have been inundated with unsolicited emails and approaches regarding my book that ultimately turn into offers asking me to spend even more money on publishing, marketing, media, awards and promotional services. So far, the most noticeable result of the press releases for me has been an influx of people trying to sell me more services. Definitely not money well spent. I eventually requested a refund for services that remain incomplete. On August 26, that request was denied because I was told the services are still actively being performed. I find that especially concerning regarding the 40+ platform distribution. Next Leap no longer has access to my IngramSpark account, yet I am being told the distribution is actively being worked on. I have requested clarification about which distributor is being used, what has actually been submitted, where it has been submitted and when the distribution will finally be completed. I have spent months trying to resolve this directly and asking for concrete answers. The hardest part is knowing that I could have hired an illustrator, published the book through Amazon myself and handled the IngramSpark distribution myself. Instead, I invested thousands of dollars because I believed I was paying professionals to handle these services for me. As of August 27, this remains unresolved. I will update this review if the situation is resolved. Based on my experience to date, I deeply regret the trust, time and money I invested in this process. I wish I had listened to my initial hesitation and handled the publishing process myself from the beginning. Everything happened very quickly because I put my trust in Will and genuinely believed, based on what I was being told, that this would be a successful investment in my book. Unfortunately, my experience since then has left me wishing I had trusted my own instincts instead.
By Anna