Between February and August 2025, I paid over $31,000 to a publishing company calling itself "Dan Brown Academy."Dan Brown Academy is a not a registered CA entity, although claims to have a LA address.In my opinion, this organization used deceptive sales tactics, false promises, and vague contracts to extract money from me under the illusion of professional publishing and marketing services. They frequently invoked famous author Dan Brown's name and displayed his image on their webpage to appear legitimate. This was done to get me to believe they were owned by Dan Brown so that I would sign the initial contract. Sadly, I was fooled and signed.Their contracts were generic, their work unusable, and every "milestone" was just another upsell. Calls and emails came from people using fake names and mismatched email addresses, constantly pushing new "mandatory" services to reach the "next level."Once I paid Dan Brown, their operation turned into a high-pressure hustle. My "advisor" praised my work, gassed me up with the idea of turning my book into multi-language translations, audio book, ebook, and (I am not kidding) an iphone game based on my book, all for fees of course. They tried to sell various website packages (one for the book and for me the author). Oh, and social media marketing- all extra. They also said that they would, for a fee, write a movie script and pitch it to to Netflix, Amazon, and Paramount--if I would just pay one more fee. Stupid me should have stopped right there and run away, but I got caught up in the hype. Mind you all these high-pressure sales are before the book is even written.Eventually, I did come to my senses and when I questioned results, they stalled, and claimed management was "reviewing the book." In my view, their goal was never to deliver services but to keep clients paying until they ran out of money or patience.I challenged charges on my credit card and got back alot of my monies but not all. I threatened to sue and still may sue because they still have not issued all my refund back.I was eventually able to get almost all of my money back after threatening legal action but the refunds were not issued by Dan Brown Academy, but instead were issued by another company--raising further red flags. I have filed complaints with the California, Massachusetts, and Texas Attorneys General, and the FBI Internet Crime Complaint Center. I strongly warn authors to avoid this company--it operates as a sales hustle, not a publisher..
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Dan Brown Academy welcomes you, our esteemed potential client, to the wonderful and magnificent world of ghostwriting! Ghostwriting is a professional service offered by talented and creative professional writers who are willing to use their expertise with the written word to formulate your ideas and concepts into a worded reality. It’s a great service to avail, especially for those too busy to write their own books but have concepts, ideas, or personal experiences to share to the rest of the world (such as celebrities or entrepreneurs). Ghostwriting is also really useful to aspiring writers suffering from writer’s block or those who have stories to tell but aren’t confident in their ability to write it down.
At Dan Brown Academy, we take the load of writing off your back so you can enjoy the creative liberty of storytelling/sharing your idea.See more
