I would not characterize this publisher as a "scam", since they are forthright about being a "hybrid" model publisher when they can't offer a traditional publishing path. However, the web site isn't transparent as to how many books are picked up as traditional publishing projects and those that are published with the financial contribution of the author. This is what I carried away from my experience with Olympia: (1) I do not believe any serious or detailed effort was made to proofread my manuscript. I've seen and have had several typos pointed out to me in the published work. I had the manuscript proof-read twice by independent reviewers and they caught a few things, but some errors still remained. The final proof should be the responsibility of any publisher. (2) They, for whatever reason, insisted that the spelling within my manuscript be changed from US standard to British Standard, yet I am an American author. (3) The cover art had a small error and, although the proof showed the graphics centered, the final paperback print had the edges cut to set the lettering off-center -it looked less than professional quality. (4) When the e-book went out for publication on Amazon, the title was posted, but the book content was from another book altogether. My book is young adult, but the content listed was for adult readers and laced with profanity and sexual content. I had to write to Olympia to correct the matter and it just made me feel that they were just "mailing it in" when it came to production. Imagine if I had not caught the error early. What I might call a "scam" is their claim that they will market the work. All they did was to have the book sent off to the three online retailers they said they would and send me a 30 second video of the book cover graphic and part of the book blurb with some music for "my use." No effort was made to do any kind of advertisement or marketing. So, if you are looking to have that sort of service, you are better off self-publishing and exploring ways to promote your own work. I don't see a rosy future for such publishers in this new age of self-publishing services that can be used at either no up-front cost or at a fraction of what Olympia charged me - and at a fraction of the time to market (they took a year from contract signing to release). Save your money and go with self-publishing because you'll have to put in the same effort with the final product anyway. They are not a scam, just "less than" and amateurish.
Claim your business profile now and gain access to all features and respond to customer reviews.
We are an independent publishing house, with offices in London, Los Angeles, UAE and Mumbai. We pride ourselves on our wide range of genres and giving ambitious authors a platform that is so rarely available in the publishing industry today. All of our books and authors are enormously special in their own way. We believe that a story can evoke a large range of emotions; they can make you laugh, cry and, most importantly, change a life. See more
