How to spot a publishing scam.

Publishing your own book, for the first time, means trusting a stranger with your manuscript and your money. Most publishers are honest. Some are not. The red flags below are the same ones consumer-protection groups and writers' organisations warn about — checking a publisher against this list takes ten minutes and can save you a great deal of money.

Seven warning signs

• A guaranteed bestseller. No publisher can promise where a book will rank — sales depend on the market, the genre and the marketing spend, not a contract. Treat any guarantee of bestseller status, awards or a fixed sales number as a warning sign.
• Pressure to decide today. Legitimate publishers expect you to compare options and ask questions. Countdown timers, 'this price expires tonight' calls, and reluctance to put an offer in writing are pressure tactics, not real limited-time discounts.
• One bundled price, no breakdown. If editing, cover design, formatting, ISBN and marketing are all one number with no per-service breakdown, you have no way to check whether any part of it is fair — or to decline the parts you don't need.
• Upfront payment with no samples of past work. Ask to see finished books the company has actually produced — physical copies if possible. A publisher with a real body of work will show it without hesitation.
• Unclear rights and royalties. You should know, in writing, before you pay anything: who owns the copyright, what royalty rate you earn, and how and when you're paid. If a contract is vague on any of these, don't sign it.
• No traceable office or landline. A company that only communicates through a personal WhatsApp number, a free email address, and no listed office is much harder to hold accountable if something goes wrong.
• Payment only to a personal account. Business payments should go to a business account or an official channel the company can issue a receipt for — not to an individual's personal bank account or wallet.

How to check any publisher, including us

• Ask for a written, itemised quote before paying anything — not a single bundled number.
• Ask to see finished, physical copies of books they have actually produced.
• Search the company name plus "reviews" or "complaint" before signing anything.
• Confirm a real office address and a landline or verified phone number, not just a personal mobile number.
• Get the royalty rate, rights ownership and payment schedule in writing before you pay.
• Never pay into a personal bank account — ask for an official payment channel and a receipt.

Where PaperCraft stands on each of these

Every price we charge is itemised, by service and by unit, on our packages page — nothing is quoted as a single bundle. You can browse books we have actually printed on our portfolio page and in our shop. We publish two real office addresses (Lahore and Islamabad) and two verified phone numbers (+92 313 4192268, +92 310 4272465), both listed on our contact page.

If anything above doesn't check out for us — or for anyone else you're considering — ask. Email hi@papercraftpublishers.com or message us on WhatsApp and we'll answer in writing.

If you believe someone is impersonating PaperCraft specifically, see our fraud alert page.