Complaint Review: Raider Publishing International

In October 2011, i signed a contract with Raider Publishing International. I was pretty much elated when i got the reply mail from the publisher, Mr. Adam Salviani saying they had read through my submitted  piece and would be happy to publish me as i was (in his words) "in elite company".

I was offered several options to chose from by way of service/payment package and i was contented with the silver package payment plan which cost me precisely $1,899USD. Definitely not an easy sum to pay for someone who was just starting off.

Mr. Adam Salviani in his agreement package made it clear it was okay to pay in two installments and that was just okay by me. At least it would afford me time enough to rally round for the second half while work was going on,on my book.

I did raise a few concerns as to how effective communication would be carried out as i was all the way here in Nigeria and the company over there in New york but of course Mr. Adam was quick to reassure me that i would be given a P.A whose job it was to see that i was well informed on progress made.

Having answered satisfactorily series of questions which i raised, i finally signed the contract and made my first installment payment of $949.50USD to the HSBC Suffern account precisely on the 19th of October 2011 to which i received confirmation by Mr. Adam Salviani on the 20th of same month.

Following the first payment, i proceeded to make contact with my assigned P.A  (Kaitlin Flaherty). I took it for granted at first when i observed Mr. Adam suddenly did not have time to reply my mails personally but when it became a trend, i had to call the office to lay complaints on my P.A's incompetence.

I was told the publication would last 6-8months and so when it was about 6months since signing the contract i began to e-mail concerning when i would receive the PDF copy for my approval. i sent several e-mails and made calls to that effect but to no avail.

My e-mails hardly ever received prompt replies except when it had to do with funds. My P.A was never available to take my calls and the same was the case with Mr. Adam. When i made further calls and complaints, i started receiving replies from either Jennifer Sommers or one Elizabeth.

I was told my work was still on hold as i had some outstanding  payments to make and untill that was resolved, i couldn't get my PDF copy. So i insisted on having at least the cover design after which i would make further payments. It was then Mr. Adam began to e-mail again.

Mr Adam continued e-mailing, appearing to be concerned when i said i had to rally round to look for the balance. Contact at this point was strictly between Mr. Adam and me. No more Kaitlin, no more Jennifer, no more Elizabeth.....just Adam Salviani.

In early December of 2012, i had to make a further transfer of $600 USD following a near threat by Mr. Adam wanting to call off the work on my book publication after which i got no mails from him or anyone else until he mailed again asking for the final balance in late December 2012.

I was finally able to complete payment for the book (via my sister's dollar account) in the first week of January 2013. This time, through a different account in a J.P Morgan Chase Bank. Mr. Adam mailed back to confirm receipt of payment a day after and that was the last i heard from him. 

I  have mailed severally requesting to know what's holding my book publication but to no avail. I made several attempts to call the same office line i had been calling the past year but all i got was the answering machine.

In search of answers and not knowing what else to do, i decided to source the internet for more info on the company. It was then i stumbled upon these shocking revelations about Adam Salviani and Raider Publishing, a discovery which i wish i had earlier made.

As i write this, i am not sure if my book(UNFORGETTABLE) is ever going to get published and if it did, i am not sure of receiving the 51% royalties or 15 copies as stated in the agreement packet. As for Mr. Adam and his co-hurts, it wont be long before they meet their karma.

To conclude, i hope that who ever reads this would be able to proffer positive solutions and prospective writers can take a cue from here to avoid being scammed as it appears i have been.