St. Albert Author Warns About Publishing Scam After $40K Loss

An 88-year-old St. Albert author is warning others to be cautious with publishing companies after spending more than $40,000 on a self-publishing deal that left him with almost nothing to show for it.

Charles Schroder, whose gardening column appears regularly in the St. Albert Gazette, worked with a Florida-based company called Writers Clique to publish Urban Gardening: Planning to Preserving in April 2024. The book, compiled from his newspaper columns, was released to Amazon and Barnes and Noble as promised. But two years later, Schroder says it's been discontinued and he's received only $550 in royalties.

"As far as I know, Amazon has discontinued it," Schroder said. "I'm not sure about Barnes and Noble, and I have received no inquiries from any other booksellers."

The initial invoice from Writers Clique was about $8,000, agreed verbally and by email. It included social media accounts, email marketing, and press releases. More invoices followed — Schroder estimates the total came to roughly $42,000. Yet many promised services fell short: the book index didn't function properly, and the audiobook narrator wasn't the person he was promised.

When asked about the complaints, a Writers Clique procurement officer said the company delivered on its promises and is aware of Schroder's concerns.

Giorgia Severini, executive director of the Writers' Guild of Alberta, advises authors to check a company's back catalogue, contact previous authors published through them, and scrutinize contracts before signing. "It's also a red flag if they give you a quote and then add additional charges that were not in the original quote," she said. Unlike traditional publishing, where the publisher assumes all costs and authors receive royalties, self-publishing puts the cost burden entirely on the author.