Next Century Publishing

Complaint: ***
I am rejecting this response because: I believe it is a stalling tactic While I don't doubt that Mr*** has been on vacation,
I first contacted him over a month ago when I was informed that he was taking over the duties of the then VP for Marketing at Next Century Publishing He has had more than ample time to respond My experience with NCP has been that refusal to respond to client e-mails and phone calls is part of the NCP corporate culture
Regards,
*** ***

I wish to move ahead with this company's severance from their contract (as allowed by their wording in their contract), but I need to hear back from themI have asked that they not only release to me the books I have paid to publish and sales of ebooks but also the entirety of my royalties and costs of shipping and dues to USPS for misshipped books on their part All issues happened during the past year as they moved from Las Vegas, Nevada to Austin, TexasHave you heard back from Next Century Publications? Thank you for your assistance *** H***
*** ***

I have no problem agreeing to your conditions, [redacted].  Send me an email, so we can get the process started.  I will make up a release document for us both to sign.  You will get your books, royalties, shipping costs you ask for, and we will remove all our listings, and send you all your source files. thanks You [redacted]

Complaint: [redacted]
I am rejecting this response because: As stated by the business, there are facts that have no been properly discussed/described.As requested by [redacted], I turned the CaringBridge pdf journal into a word document for [redacted] to "review".  I was never told it would go to layout, I was never asked if I gave my "final" acceptance of the book in terms of it's content.  I was simply told it was for Simon to review.I inquired several months later as to the status of the "review" and was told I had given final approval and that the book was now in layout.  Nobody asked me about how the "journal" was layed out as a book, what the whole CaringBridge site was about.  Once I explained that to Simon he sent it back to layout.  Each time I was given a rendition to "proof" there were font inconsistencies and heading issues.  Once I finally gave my full approval, it finally went to a "proof-reader" who made comments and recommended changes to what was a "raw journal".  Simon and I then had conversations about what to keep and change.  Delays also occurred when employees left NCP and I wasn't notified.  When I hadn't heard from [redacted] for > 2 months I was told she was no longer with the company when I called the office in Vegas.  Once a year had passed, I started to inquire about the cover.  I was told for 2 months (by Simon) that I would be getting some starting ideas and when I finally did, the designs really had nothing to do with the book content.  I spent $150.00 and many hours of time to have birds painted on a canvas and have the whole thing professionally photographed to be used as the cover.  Finally, once I had given complete approval, and the cover had been sent, there were 3 months of "printing delay", at which time my "launch date" was changed 3 times over 3 months.  My followers that were awaiting the book launch were kept waiting, and waiting.  I was told it would launch 8/22 but got an email on 8/18 that the book was for sale now.  I did my own launch on FaceBook and it began t sell nicely.  One of the worst parts of this ending is that the description on Amazon that was done by NCP included the name of the book from a suggestion from Simon before I actually named the book to his liking.  It was embarrassing and it was commented on by a buyer.  I was told it couldn't be changed for several days.  I request a half refund ($1500.00) and my digital file.  End of story - I never submitted a whole 'nother book.        
Regards,
[redacted]

Complaint: [redacted]
I am rejecting this response because I have audio files and inventory records that I can forward to Revdex.com to prove that even though my first shipment of books came to my address, the second shipment of books--which I have written proof that I can forward to Revdex.com--I did not order and NCP sent to another address. The cost for USPS to find and forward the books to my address was $79.40. Mr. [redacted] agreed to pay the cost. Since I did not order the books, it is not fair that the shipping was taken out of my royalties. I was charged $125 as is shown on the line from NCP's invoice. Since I have a written list that can be held beside the contract from NCP showing breaches in marketing that I paid for, it seems that Mr. [redacted] would jump at the opportunity to settle to pay the full $125 and be pleased that I have not yet stood my ground and requested marketing services or return of fees charged for marketing services contracted and not completed. As I have not yet pursued this breach, returning my royalties taken for shipping ($125) and the return of forwarding cost ($79.40) seem to be a good settlement. [redacted]     0 0 100 0% 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 -125.00  I have record of all I have listed above from Mr. [redacted]'s agreement via audio, NCP contract and a list of breach, as well as NCP's Invoices. The latest royalties invoice is from April. I request the following to consider settlement:600 books remaining in warehouse sent to my address without shipping costfull royalties of $353.39 PLUS royalties from May and June   [$79.40 reimbursement for shipping to wrong location + $125.00 shipping for books not requested + other royalties through April LESS warehouse expenses = $353.39]stopping ebook sales on Amazonrelease from contractI will provide audio and written proof of anything requested. I will make public statement that several of the employees for NCP have been most helpful and sympathetic to this endeavor and it's challenges.  They have acted most professionally, even as they have written in emails to me (again, I have written proof) that they are not allowed to act or react to my needs without approval by Mr. [redacted]. I think Mr. [redacted] himself had good intentions, but somewhere intentions have gone awry. 
Regards,
[redacted]

Revdex.com:
I have reviewed the response made by the business in reference to complaint ID [redacted], and find that this resolution is satisfactory to me.
Regards,
[redacted]

Hello [redacted], there are some facts missing here, that attributed to the delays.  After we completed the 1st proofread, and sent it to you for review, what you sent back was a totally different book, with a different title.We had to start the layout out all over again, and we did not charge...

you for this.  Then we did the second proofread, and many more changes.  There was also times in the production that you had changes for may weeks, and did not get the back to us.Our company has never done Print on Demand, nor would out staff say we did.  We call short run printing, 10 - 100 copies, POD, but that is not the type of Print on Demand, where a customer orders a book online, one copy is printed, and mailed to the customer, that has never been part of our business.Your contract is almost over, so I am willing at any time to end our contract, at any time, through a standard release agreement, send you all the files you need to do this on your own.  Please let me know when you want to start that process.You book is selling well in its first week, congratulations,  Thank You[redacted]

Hello Dean, as I have written and explained to the Authors, the publishing deal contains 2 aspects, p[redacted]uction, printing and sales. Our prices are based on us making money on all three parts.Yes, the 30 day clause under the terms, is a standard cooling off clause, and means 30 days from the date of the agreement.  A publisher would be crazy to let authors leave at ant time during the contract. I will go one step further.  I will p[redacted]uce print ready files, without our name or logo on them, you approve, we print and ship to you, and the contract is over. So in essence, you and the authors will be publishing your own book. So I am giving up our rights to royalties on the book.This can happen within 30 days if you agree.  I believe it is a fair solution to this situation, and the book is done, just needs to be printed.

Revdex.com:
I have reviewed the response made by the business in reference to complaint ID [redacted], and find that this resolution is satisfactory to me.
Regards,
[redacted]

Complaint: [redacted]
I am rejecting this response because: I am waiting for the response from the business. I want a response from the business ASAP, as I have been waiting to hear a response already for over ten days.
Regards,
[redacted]

Hello [redacted].  I think your explanation of the time it took to publish the book, left out one part, the unfortunate passing of your co-author, and the delay that took.  Estimated timelines in books are never set in stone, as the contract also says, sometime it takes longer.Your book has been a great success, and not by luck, 95% of books published without marketing will sell 100 copies.  Our marketing team really pushed the book pre launch and to date you have sold 2500 copies, that is huge.  Once we saw what was pre selling your book, we had to pump money into that area to get even more sales.  And your book is still performing well, with only 100 return copies in the first 6 months.Yes, our company went through many changes and hurdles this year, and many communication problems, I do admit that, and yes you are right, we still have some work to do on the marketing of your book, and this fall is a great time to address that, for a second wave of selling.I do apologize for not seeing your email this past July.I will discuss with [redacted], our new Marketing Director, your marketing package and deliverable's, and get you added to the Publicity list this fall. She will reach out to you this week.Your first royalty check will be due next month, and it will be around $8,000, which is great for a first time author.

I did sign it, sent it back to you with your files two days ago.

[redacted] did send me an agreement to sign to pay my book royalties and end our contract. However, he omitted the name of my co-writer, and there were two places in the contract he drafted that allowed no protection for me to receive the books I have already purchased or to ensure I am not charged again from my royalties. Thus, Friday, July 28, I asked that the contract be completed.   I have not heard back from [redacted].

Hello [redacted].  We are sorry you are not satisfied, and I will fully agree to release you and your book. As per your royalty report you receive every month, you are only owed $148.99, so we will send that to you.  As far as the shipping charges for your 100 books, I am willing to pay half...

of that, as you did receive your books, and it did cost us the shipping, so that is an additional $63.65.We will ship your 600 books the address you specify, please email me that address.  We will not charge you shipping for this shipment.We will remove all listing that we have for sale, and you can list the book yourself.Please let me know if this is satisfactory, so we can get started on this.Thanks you,[redacted]PresidentNext Century Publishing

After carefully reviewing Mr. [redacted]’s email dated 8/21/ 2017, we have the following comments regarding the dispute I.D. No. [redacted]On July 23, 2017 at 6:41 AM, Mr. [redacted], CEO of Next Century Publishing, wrote “We do not cancel and refund projects where work has already been done.” To this statement, our answer is: The printing process has not been done. In this connection, it should be reminded that NCP has been paid $4,399.00 for the work its Staff has done and the prepaid $802.60. Therefore, the Sponsor is entitled to be refunded the amount of $802.60 earmarked for the printing process. As a matter of fact, we have not signed the Author Approval Form - Final Layout and Cover Approval Form. Docx, 53K - sent to the Authors on Mon June 26, 2017 at 12:27 PM. Therefore, the Sponsor and the Authors are not bound by any specific agreement authorizing NCP to go ahead with the printing of the book. In our democratic American society, no one would agree to pay a work that even has not been started; and therefore, the vendor must return the portion of pay-in-advance money, earmarked for printing, to the consumer if the latter is not happy with the vendor’s work up to this point. Furthermore, if the vendor claims that the Contract stipulates that he has the right to go through the three phases of book publishing, namely copy editing/layout phase, the printing phase and the marketing phase, all the way to the completion of the book publication process, why had NCP only insisted on the prepayment before each phase was started?  Inversely, why NCP did not make the Sponsor pay the entire basic expense for the book publication and marketing in one lump sum, right from the beginning? Furthermore, the denial from the part of Mr. [redacted] for not having received the Authors’ two (2) phone calls with messages left on his voice mail with personal voice of recorded self-int[redacted]uction and instruction on Mon July 17, 2017, the 1st one at 1:17 PM and the 2nd one three hours later, is very problematic, as the Authors have indeed, the telephone log of these two (2) calls. On Jul 25, 2017 at 8:57 AM, in his e-mail, Mr. [redacted], President of Reader’s Legacy, Inc. stated that “…this contract says Next Century Publishing will p[redacted]uce, Print, and list your book for sale.” The Sponsor and the Authors found no provision in the Contract stating that NCP could force them to go through with the printing process regardless of the Quality of NCP’s prior work, i.e. unacceptable Copy Editing and Layout and the lack of an adequate communication system with the consumer. This issue has already been pointed out in our complaint to Revdex.com dated Aug 8, 2017. In the e-mail dated Tue Jul 25, 2017 at 8:57 AM, Mr. [redacted], in the 2nd paragraph, stated “… our p[redacted]uction costs reflect the face (fact) that you will also print your book with us, and we will sell your book earning the royalty split that is in your contract. That is how a publisher make(s) money in the two-year agreement.” To this statement, the Sponsor as well as the Authors respond as follows:If Mr. [redacted]’s statement reflects the implication based on precise words in the Agreement stating that the Sponsor and the Authors must go through with the entire p[redacted]uction, meaning to the Sale phase, by specifically allowing NCP to perform all services prior to the completion of the book p[redacted]uction, they want NCP to point out where this statement is written in the Contract. I, the Sponsor, want to go back to the “Right” section, Paragraph “B” of the 1st page of the Agreement signed on Oct 31, 2016. Let’s dissect 2nd line of the Paragraph “B” in its entirety:   First, let us go over the sentence: “You have the right to opt out of this agreement at any time with 30 days written notice.” If Mr. [redacted] interprets this sentence “as a standard cooling off clause”, (see his e-mail dated July 26, 2017 at 6:24 AM) why these words – commonly used in contracts between Service Provider and Customer -- are not written as such in the contract? If Mr. [redacted] contended that the above sentence refers to a “cooling off” period, why these two words are not written explicitly in the agreement? These simple American English words do not reflect Mr. [redacted]’s interpretation. In my opinion, the parties in a contract must interpret the words in a legal manner and not based on biased personal interpretation.   Secondly, the three words “at any time” means any time during the progression of the book publication project.   And thirdly, the words “… with 30 days written notice” means any of the parties must give notice of termination 30 days in advance, period! In conclusion, the Sponsor would suggest that the NCP Directors should:1.       Terminate, in writing, the Self-Publishing, Marketing & Distribution Services Agreement without delay, as we had requested on Sat, Jul 22. 2017 at 8:34 PM and on Thu, July 27, 2017 at 5:34 PM,2.       Not insist on having the book printed through NCP; we do not want NCP to “print and ship” to us. We just want the refund $802.60 and let NCP keep the $4,399.00,3.       Surrender to the Sponsor and Authors the “print ready files, without NCP Name or Logo on them.” In the opinion of this Sponsor, the longer NCP Directors insist on printing the book and keep the prepaid $802.60 earmarked for the printing process, the greater the NCP’s reputation would be adversely affected. Don’t we want to keep our professional integrity and fairness intact?  The parties could come up with an amicable settlement and move on.

Not that I agree with your assessment of the 30 day cooling off clause, but because, there is no benefit to either of us continuing on in the business agreement, I concede and will offer what you want.I will send you within 2 days a Standard Publishing release document, which will end our contract, and oblige us to hand over source files, as they are currently, print ready files, and a refund of your printing invoice.If we are not printing the book, I am not spending more costs changing the source files, you guys can do that yourself. Thank you,

Hello [redacted], we do not offer refunds for work complete, especially since we did not work than contracted for, in the change (yes entire change) of your book half way though. However, I will agree to immediately had over source, print ready, and ebook files, and remove all listings, and you can list yourself. Please let me know when you want to start this, and after accepting this resolution on Revdex.com, I will send you the Release Document.

I am sorry for the delay in responding, as I have been on Vacation, I will prepare a response for early next week. [redacted]