Customer Service Nightmare with WestBow
I submitted my novel for an initial review with WestBow earlier this fall and was told it was lovely and a good fit for this publisher. I signed a contract and paid them nearly $5000 for publishing services. I was perplexed to receive an email two weeks later stating that, after a closer read, my prose was considered offensive and objectionable. (The adverbs "madly" and "crazily" were cited as being inappropriate for a Christian audience.) I requested a refund. WestBow has given me a partial refund but refuses to refund the full amount. Friends, this publisher is a vanity press; their authors pay in full for all services. If WestBow initially accepts and then later rejects a manuscript, should the author be penalized? I encourage authors to carefully read reviews and research lawsuits against WestBow before proceeding with this publisher. There are hundreds of vanity presses in existence today; choose one with a better reputation. Incidentally, WestBow responded to my last review and encouraged me to contact them. I have done so multiple times. I'm still waiting for responses to the phone and email messages I've left with their staff over the past month.