[SCA-Dance] pennsicdance: Fwd: To: Lord Darius the Dancer / Pennsic University

[Tim McDaniel]

[Bounced due to too many recipients]

On Fri, 14 Dec 2012, David Learmonth <david.a.learmonth at gmail.com> wrote:
> I just thought this was an interesting email I just received, and figured I
> would forward it to the group, to see if anyone else has received something
> similar?
>
> Probably automated.  Let me know if anyone actually contacts them, I'm
> curious what more they would say.  :)

You can find all sorts of testimonials with a Google search for
     "LAMBERT Academic" scam

Some of the hits are a few years old, so I don't know whether every
single detail is up to date, but
http://journalology.blogspot.com/2012/09/lambert-academic-publishing-or-how-not.html
looks like a good set of recent details.  He notes that they have
editor profiles on Facebook, but he found that the "profile pictures"
were stock pictures from Yuri Arcurs Photography.  He adds,

- They have no selectivity - anyone who submits their "book" will have
   it "published";
- They do not conduct peer review;
- They do not edit the "book", and they "publish" exactly what is
   submitted - and apparently they charge for any changes made by the
   author after submission;
- Authors will almost certainly never receive any royalties (a
   blogger notes that "I have yet to found the testimony of anybody who
   has received royalties");
- They do not market the "books"

He quotes

"Where royalties average less than 50 Euro a month, the author is
given book vouchers for other LAP Lambert stock. An author's share is
usually always under this because at the average rate of 80 Euro a
book, it means they would have to sell 11 copies a month to exceed the
50 Euro threshold, which is difficult since the company does not
undertake any marketing on behalf of the author."

Another page notes that, while he got one free copy, the price on his
dissertation was really inflated, as in over $100 a copy, and suspects
that they make money by authors convincing their friends and relatives
to buy copies.  Another says that you have to sign over to them all
rights.

So: vanity press.  Don't.

Danett Lincoln
-- 
Tim McDaniel, tmcd at panix.com