Phillipa, Graham uses LightningSource as his printer. As soon as Lightning prints the book THEY buy 2 copies so they have them in stock in case they're ordered. You should have recieved your % of royalties for those two copies. I don't imagine it would be much. Now, those two copies will remain on Amazon and everywhere else until they are sold. In addition, the used books you see don't actually exist. Those book resellers just link in to Ingram's feed (Ingram is the part of Lighting's company that sends out book orders to bookstores and customers). The resellers usually don't have any copies of the book. If I were you, I'd simply purchase your two copies from Amazon, and then "test" the resellers, to see if they can indeed sell you a used copy of your book. If you've pulled the book from Graham's company, etc. then it should simply be marked as unavialable - eventually. It sometimes takes time.

The two copies you buy from Amazon will be the two copies that were SOLD before, because they were bought by the fulfillment company and they're then being sold to you, the customer.

I hope I explained that well enough, someone else might do a better job.

Duncan Bamford @ ScamFraudAlert <info@insightillustration.co.uk> to admin
Hide options Apr 11 (1 day ago)

From: Duncan Bamford @ ScamFraudAlert <info@insightillustration.co.uk>

To: admin@scamfraudalert.com
Date: 11 Apr 2006 09:11:44 -0000
Subject: ScamFraudAlert Contact Us Form - My e-mail adrdess and phone No. has been posted on your site without my consent!!
Reply | Reply to all | Forward | Print | Add sender to Contacts list | Delete this message | Report phishing | Show original | Message text garbled?
The following message was sent to you via the ScamFraudAlert Contact Us form by Duncan Bamford.

--------------------------------

Please immediately remove my e-mail address from the thread!!!:
http://www.scamfraudalert.com/showthread.php?p=4242

I DID NOT authorise De'Rocher's to send that e-mail to anyone or post it - as it clearly states at the bottom of the message. It was a private e-mail to her after finding information on her website about Writersworld.

I hope you will immediately remove my e-mail, phone number and name - and forwarded message from your site!

I have had enough grief over the Graham Cook debacle - I don't need any more.

To answer his claims that he offered to pay me 'in good faith' - as I said in my e-mail - I knew that editors were unpaid, therefore I made the condition that if I was paid - I needed proof that they also were to be paid. Graham then didn't want to know - all he needed was my completed covers and he could print the books. I therefore withheld them, this cost me a months work and was not an easy decision to make!

I hope you will remove the message with my address- I don't want to be drawn further into any row between Rose De'Rocher's, Graham and yourselves. I also dont want any further spam from any published e-mail!

Best wishes

__________________

YET ANOTHER POSTING FROM WRITERSWORLD RESULTANT FROM THE ACTIVITIES OF PHILIPPA ROBERTS.

The judgements referred to are years old and have been satisfied either by payment or obtained by mistake or for whatever reasons, so what; that's what happens when you run a business. As to our credibility or viability, let’s make this simple for the person making the posting to understand; www.lightningsource.com (part of Ingram Industries) the printer of the book claimed by Philippa Robets to be defective had until last week a $25,000,000.00 plus judgement against them, which they overturned on appeal. So they had their day in Court and won, and are entitled to leave that stain behind them.

Wouldn’t it be nice if the persons making these posting had the guts and common decency to put up their real name, e-mail addresses and home addresses. Of course not, talk is cheap.

Graham Cook

No, Cook, that's NOT what happens when you run an honest business. One problem, MAYBE, but you have an entire list and that doesn't even include a much longer list of people who have worked with you and have posted on the net but never bothered seeking legal solutions. And keep in mind, those judgements on Rose's site are cases in which you were found guilty.

Furthermore, your judgements are far more personal in nature. You take advantage of individual Joe's just trying to earn a living. You target, engage, manipulate and hurt individuals, many just trying to give you a helping hand because we believe all of your sob stories. You told me that you owned a credit union in California and were worth 30-million at one time, but (and I was always confused on this) moved, gave it up or lost it because you were desperate to find your son who had been kidnapped by his mother when he was six. You also told me you were quite wealthy, a fact that does not seem to be supported when one checks out your street address. Lightning's lawsuit was completely different. You behave like any con man I've ever met.

Why don't we put our real names on here? Simple, you send out dozens of threatening e-mails, telling people you're going to sue them all the time. How many would you estimate you send out a year? Two or three hundred, maybe? I've seen you post at leat 15 or 20 on various sites. I've read at least another dozen private ones. Is the entire world really against you? They're ridiculous. Who needs that grief? Why don't you just pay people and stop the drama? You'll find life goes much easier. No, I'm well rid of you and I plan to keep it that way, but I can't stand back and watch others be taken advantage of, either. And believe me, I HAVE contacted people and offered to step forward in any legal course against you they choose to take.

I also don't post my name because Rose DesRochers has a nasty habit of ignoring Canadian laws that prohibit the release of personal information obtained during the course of an internet business. In short, anything you write her in confidence will end up posted on the net with your e-mail address, phone number, IP address, real name, postal address and anything else she manages to get. If you send her an e-mail she doesn't like for whatever foolish reason, she'll send your IP address off to people claiming you're harassing her. She reads and sometimes discusses the private messages of people on her site, and sees nothing wrong with that. She has zero respect for internet safety and sharing such information can not only lead to harassment, but to having your identy stolen, not to mention endangering your physical safety. And that's what she does to people trying to HELP her cause. The previous post is a prime example of that. That poor man assumed he was supporting Rose, yet he gets burned by her.

And then, Cook, there's your nasty habit of forwarding e-mails to other people and encouraging those people to join you in your harassment campaigns. Of course, we have no way to know what means of creative editing you engaged in before forwarding said e-mails, but judging from the e-mail I recieved about six months after my last dealings with you, it's either very liberal or your associates are raving lunatics. I honestly can't even hazard a guess as to which is the case.

PS: Oh, and the fact you can't figure out who I am speaks volumns, doesn't it?

WHAT HAVE WE LEARNT SO FAR

Any raving, rambling, insecure, inadequate, pathetic, vindictive and cruel wimp can post on this website unfounded allegations without the "guts" to identify themselves. From now on each and every time there is a post about WRITERSWORLD on this website we will simply post this reply.

AS TO THE LAST RANTING, RAMBLING, RAVING, ANONYMOUS POSTING ON THIS WEBSITE ABOUT WRITERSWORLD

If it is of any interest it was made by Duncan Bamford who falsely claimed via this website he was owed money by WRITERSWORLD and was also involved in the designing of the plagiarised version of our website www.writersworld.co.uk, by Mrs Shahida Rahman whose activities and business ethics are outlined in www.ourdotcom.co.uk, and now designs book covers for her. Hardly an objective person to post an opinion.

Apart from being a liar, he does not have the guts to post his contact details which are info@insightillustration.co.uk

Actually, Cooke, why don't you post the names and addresses of your many solicitors on here. You know, the ones who send people all those e-mails. There must be seven or eight of them. Of course, there always seems to be some sort of information missing from their emails so no one can ever quite contact them, or even confirm they exist. If you could please do that, I'd apprecaite it. I'm not suggesting they're imaginary or anything, but since you're calling people cowards and that is the hammer you so like to yield... . You also told me you were a lawyer in America. Would you mind giving me your information so I could confirm that? I'm not sure being anonymous is that much worse than playing dress-up at your age.

explain to me who has rights to the books?
the author?
or the publicists?

I don't think any of these authors had publicists and a publicist wouldn't have any sort of claim on a book. Did you mean publisher? If so, it depends on the contract. This isn't a traditional publishing arrangement where the author gets an advance and the money flows towards the author. This is a vanity publishing arrangement where the author pays someone to produce the book, whether it be a company like Cooks or a situation where the author also becomes the publisher and pays the printer directly, with no "middle man" and the author doing all of the fulfillment work, etc..

These various non-traditional arrangements have many names: self-publishing, POD publishing (that term is not accurate), vanity publishing, co-op publishing, and a few others I can't think of right now. Who owns what and for how long simply depends on the contract.

There are many companies such as Cooks, most using LightningSource as a printer and most are less expensive than his. I'm surprised Cook no longer uses LightningSource, but I have been told he's now suing them over something. LOL. Maybe he can come on here and tell us all about it.

There is also another company that does not charge authors up front to publish, but their contract is lethal, although I've never figured out why people sign contracts without a lawyer. Here's an interesting story about them, here:
http://critters.critique.org/sting/

well i have been all over the net reading up on these web sites, and not one has produced any book of value and if they have, well they have not been mentioned. also would a reputable company sink this low? i don't believe so. I'm sure we'll hear of some big writer soon enough. and please don't give an explanation of contract. all you have to do is look inside any book cover and see what company has published it. i believe that right there gives way( information act?) i may be wrong.

I wish to inform all your members about Writersworld and Mr Cook: This man should be penalised for bringing disrepute to all who are working hard to provide an ethical service on the net.
Hi Everyone:
Everything I write in this email is the truth and nothing but the truth so heaven help me and I have still got emails to prove my credibility! I have done a lot of research over the years since I lost £1000/- to Writersworld and had the wrath of Graham Cook who thinks he can use, and abuse people for his own financial gain. So Writerworld and Mr Crook can be my guest and sue me for whatever he wishes for…Only heaven knows how I am stopping myself from using every swear word that exists in this email.

After you read what I have to say you be the judge. It is sad that Mr Cook thinks he is above the law and it make’s me angry in the manner he treated me. I found his company over the net and since having dealings with him it has SCARRED me to trust anyone selling a service over the net. I found his impressive website and went to meet him in Oxford at the Woodstock Hotel he is promoting on his site presently. He seemed a nice pleasant old man and I was desperately looking for my book to be published...He immediately began telling me his life story about his son, and his wife, he was a lawyer in CA Los Angeles, how he hated the CIA and the British secret service, how much he missed his son, who is in the American army and my heart went out to him, he kept complimenting my son who was also present that evening.

I too told him MY STORY of still trying to track my father down as I was trying to make my mother’s last wish come true that he should know about me and how my grandma did not pass some love letters on that my father a Portuguese soldier stationed in Goa in 1959 wrote when he had to return home back to Portugal earlier before the actual take over of Goa. How I was nearly adopted by an American couple from the Mother Teresa orphanage in Calcutta India. How at the age of seventeen I found those letters. As strange as it seems I feel that a certain book first released in Canada as per copyright info in the book is too close for comfort has the copyright of 2004…I am shocked that this author’s story not only covers the history bits of my novel but also my life story…I recall telling Mr Cook that my life story was going to be the plot for my next novel but I do not know for sure at this moment in time if there is any connection between that author and Mr Cook in any way, but I thought I would mention this as one of my concerns.

That evening he offered the service of editing, cover design and print on demand...I was to get 100% of the profits...the total fee would be £1000/- and the Book was to be in all the shops before Christmas of 2003.
I deposited the money in good faith directly into the Writersworld HSBC account...I have all the written proof... After I paid the money... He sent me an email to confirm that he had engaged a woman gave her glowing testimony that he had worked with her before to do my editing...and asked me to correspond with her. When the time came to pay her for her services...he changed his mind about her credibility and wrote nasty things about her to poison my mind...he refused to pay her and she refused to release the edited document...he also changed his mind from the initial offer of 100% that I was only to get 10-15% of the profit and I wasn't happy...and I made it clear that I was misguided by him and told him that I was going to seek legal advise with regards to the percentages before signing any contract with his company...so Christmas came and went!

He then engaged another lady and the same story as above...I was caught up in the middle not knowing what to do and what was going on...I asked him to release the funds to pay the second woman...he refused saying it was his decision whether he should or not...I was confused...initially he said that after the editing was complete and I was happy I was to email him and he would release the funds to pay her...and that is what I did...He wanted the complete edited version and she refused to send it unless she was paid...ethically she was right...in demanding to be paid...By then I had lost my patience...I refused to sign the book off and withdrew my novel as my lawyers had advised me to do immediately... He became very aggressive again and made a lot of bad statements against the women and her husband…their personal lives has nothing to do with me…He then emailed me and I caught him out in his lies: He completely disowned knowing this woman and I was shocked beyond words can express…He had handed my documents to two different women who I personally did not know and now he was trying to get him out from paying both. Both the women began to ask me who was going to pay them for their service? They were both lovely women and I apologised as I felt bad for them. One of the ladies was pregnant at the time. We have all kept in touch over the years.

By this time 6months had passed from the earlier promise that the book would be in the market. I demanded my money back and he said it wasn't my money any more it was HIS money as he had spent so much time on the book and he had already advanced money to the guy who had by then created the book cover...I could not believe the audacity of this man. He had not kept to any of his promises he made… and now for NO FAULT OF MINE HE WAS TRYING TO BLAME ME FOR THINGS GOING WRONG…. I felt cheated as that money was a gift from my children...they had saved for mother's day...I was fuming mad...I requested him*again to rethink his decision. He became very aggressive and threatened to sue me, and the two women he had engaged accusing them of libelling him...they only asked for their payment...I realised that it would cost me more to take him to court, he convinced me that he had paid for the design of the cover, so I walked away believing that he had paid out to the other guy. A few months later I got emails from the book cover guy complaining that he too wasn't paid...
I have now read through all the problems he had with Rose as with all the others. Shocked to think that so many people also have had sour business relationships with the man ...I reported him to the Dept of Fair Trading etc. It makes me sad that he too has abused other people and I guess he has become used to the amounts of easy money he is getting from innocent victims worldwide and I firmly believe that he should be penalised for what he is doing to all these people who are all trying to earn their bread and butter...and people like me who are trusting fools. He talks about trust, integrity etc on his web and he cannot practise what he preaches to others.
I don't believe that,*all the people giving him,*bad press are competitors they are just angry people whose time and energy have been wasted in trying to get*,paid for services they have provided to him, like myself, and the others who have succeeded in obtaining judgements against him. Think about all the people who may have walked away from him like me…He definitely has won the Internet Lottery!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! A thousand pound a round…. that is totally out of order. It no wonder he’s guarding his company like a diamond mine and gets so aggressive immediately by any person airing justified negative opinion about him and his company. I have far better things to do with my time than to sit and write this email, just like all the other frustrated people he has not paid...and we are not PROTECTED BY THE LAW governing Internet ABUSE. WHO MAY I ASK IS TO PROTECT US VICTIMS FROM PEOPLE LIKE HIM????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????? Sour memories really spoils one’s mood and right now I am in the foulest of moods that I have been in a long time. He has not only let me down but he has let my kids down who worked very hard to save all their pennies to surprise me with the Mother’s day gift…That scumbag need to rot in hell.
I am willing to stand as a witness to anyone who decides to sue Mr Crook, including any Government Agencies who may wish to take action against him after I post this email to every site that involves the law…He has to be stopped! Before any serious damage is done…I wish to inform Mr Cook who will be closely monitoring this site for sure, that before he thinks of slashing my tyres…think twice as the security camera’s will get the footage and if he thinks he can threaten me with his stooges…if any damage comes to my home and my property from this day onwards I will personally hold him responsible as he knows where I live….talking about a hornet’s nest….I have named myself….the Queen Bee…I too will sting as hard as he does….so heaven help me! To all who are afraid of his threats... show no fear...he will not win against what we all have on our side....is the TRUTH.... also for those who have fallen out with each other pls don't let absent minded mistakes...a few I have made myself in my attempt to master the use of the computer...cause a rift between yourselves over a scumbag like Mr Cook. Stay united and strong...he needs to be sorted out...to make the internet the world community a safe place to shop.
Warm regards to all on this forum.

Julie de Souza

I'm sorry, but I've read your message a few times and I still don't think I'm sure what you're trying to say. " i believe that right there gives way( information act?) i may be wrong." Are you talking about the Freedom of Information act, that has nothing to do with the topic at hand. And yes, the self-publishing company may be on the book, or it may not. There is no legal requirement to reveal this on the book itself. In fact, if you look at most books, you will only see the logo or company credited, but never actually realize who the parent company is unless you spend weeks going through company registrations world-wide. What will tell you who the publisher of record is is usually (not always) the ISBN. It is usually the publisher who purchases or applies for the ISBNs. Some printing companies will supply these and some self-publishing companies will allow an author to use her own ISBN, so again, it's not full-proof. And again, with traditionally published books, the ISBN will probably only point to the imprint and not the parent company.

Self-publishing is usually a bad idea unless you have a niche market you can tap into, such as a course you teach (you can sell to students) or something of that nature, or you just want to get your family history put together so you can hand it out as gifts. There are some success stories and some people have made a lot of money, but no, none have ever achieved traditional best-seller status. I do knopw one person who has made more than $100,000 with self-published books. I can name a few who did get traditional contracts after self-publishing the book. I can name 100s who have spent a fortune publishing a book and have only sold 50 copies. It's also a business far better suited to non-fiction than fiction.

Thanks so much for all the help you have given me to air my grievences against Mr Cook and Writersworld. May I take this opportunity to add thank Rose des Rochers, Angela from Writerweekly and Invisiongraphics.com for also helping me, to add my views on their sites. Also before I forget my head is zooming around in circles...The all took my permission prior to them adding my comments to their sites and both were extremely curteous and helpful. I am not very good at forums and haven't mastered the use of the internet yet etc but I am learning fast...

Thanks so much for all the help you have given me to air my concerns against Mr Cook and Writersworld on your website. May I take this opportunity to add thank Rose des Rochers, Angela from Writerweekly and Invisiongraphics.com for also helping me, to add my views on their sites too. Also before I forget my head is zooming around in circles...The all took my permission prior to them adding my comments to their sites and were extremely curteous and helpful. I am not very good at forums and haven't mastered the use of the internet yet etc but I am learning fast...Take care everyone. Lets all live together in one happy internet community where we look after the interests of each other. Julie de Souza

(creative type thank you so much for the expalation.) question, this being in another country, is it possable for a class action suit? to at the least to close his busness? just a question.

I am not a lawyer so I'm not sure of what is possible in terms of class-action suits. It seems Cook's victims are scattered about the world, so it would be costly. If you look at the tax accounting sheet for his company posted on Rose's website (apparently this is all public info in the UK) you will see he's operating at a deficit, so I doubt he'd be able to repay anyone even if ordered to do so.

If it were my book/cover/design I would send a cease and desist order to his printer, from a lawyer (about $200 to have done, but you can do it yourself in some regions). I would explain that since payment or contract obligations have not been made/met, Cook does not have permission to print the book and if the printer continues to print the book you will hold them (the print company) responsible for copyright violation. There have been several high-profile lawsuits against printers and photocopy stores in the last few years, so very few are willing to risk getting into trouble - especially when it's probably not a money-making venture to begin with (Cook's books).

I'd be willing to bet they'd dump him pretty fast, particularly if several people organized and did it at once. That would include anyone - authors who are unhappy and feel they can legally prove he did not meet contract obligations, editors who have not been paid, if he's printing the edited version of the book, cover designers who have not been paid and layout/interior designers who have not been paid. Each person owns the copyright to his or her own work, even if the copyright is not registered - until all contract obligations have been met (i.e. payment) and within terms of the contract. In absence of a legally signed contract, e-mail agreements for freelance work will usually be accepted in cases such as this, since Cook obviously accepted and used the work. If he can't prove he also paid for the work, he's got some explaining to to.

The worse thing that can happen is the printer will ignore the cease and desist. If he still owed me money, I'd do it in a heartbeat.

----- Original Message -----
From: Graham Cook
To: admin@todays-woman.net
Sent: Friday, April 21, 2006 12:52 PM


Dear Mrs DesRochers,

For over one year you have wilfully and with intent made false and defamatory statements in regards to WRITERSWORLD and me personally on your Website and the internet with the intent of destroying my company and my reputation.

We have all come to the conclusion that as our main core of business in the United Kingdom, that this as such where you intended to do the most harm, that your false allegations stem from our activities in the UK, and all the percipient witnesses live in the UK, then the Courts of England and Wales are the proper forum to litigate our action. We are also encouraged by the fact that due to respective treaties between the United Kingdom and Canada we can lawfully effect service on you and any judgement we obtain for damages and costs can be enforced against you as if the Judgement were obtained at your local Courthouse.

I am off to London next week to meet our lawyers so we can commence our legal proceedings against you personally and your website so this is the last time I can communicate with you direct I should point out we shall be initiating separate proceedings against your husband and his business. So over the next year the both of you are going to be spending a great deal of time and money in London defending these actions or in the alternate we get a Default Judgement.

Either way there will be no settlement in these actions, and I intend to collect in full on those judgements when we have them. Why have I taken such a firm stance? You and your husband set out to try and destroy my company and me both financially and by reputation as a result of a petty dispute. If you try any other stunts prior to us collecting on our judgements we will simply use UK law to request Google bring you and any cohorts you have down.

Which leaves me to sign off on this letter as your husband signed off.

G'day!

Graham Cook

Pretty good Graham, almost got all of the typos out of that version. Why don't you have an actual lawyer send that to her civic address, since you cannot serve legal papers via internet chat room. At least not on planet earth.

I'd also like to point out that her witnesses do not all live in the UK. I'll gladly step forward if I must, as I've said before. I have already contacted another of your victims and offered my testimony.

I'd like to make sure you understand something, though:

You might be able to sue someone in the UK for the reasons you claim. It will cost you out-of-pocket however, and I'm doubtful the UK courts would give it any air time. Now, if we're beginning this story "one upon a time..." and you did manage to get it on the court docket and even won, your proven damages would likely be very low because your own public records show your company has never made any money. You cannot lose what you did not have. And, as you say, you can have such awarded damages transferred to Canada (I won't confuse you with the legal terms), and courts in that country could approve the application to honor the judgement. The problem is, I believe the cap is still 15% of her disposable income per annum in Canada. It might have changed, so have one of your imaginary lawyers check on that.

So, let's break this down. I believe Rose lives in an apartment, has children and is a stay-at-home-mom. Hubby, MIGHT make what - $50,000 per year? He will actually take home less than $30,000 once Revenue Canada and the provincial sales taxes take their unfair share. Minus basic living expenses, another $10,000 for food and transportation, then you have to accont for oil in those cooooollllllld Canadian winters, clothing, deduct the basic exemption for the children... I'd bet you'd be lucky to come out with $30 Canadian per year in awarded costs. LOL And that's only if you sue her hubby. She probably has no taxable income and if she's the one making the statements, she is the one you'll have to sue. I don't believe the spouse is legally responsible for