Beyond the South End

A Personal Gripe

And a Warning for Professionals

This blog space is not usually used by me as a personal gripe platform; however, I feel I must speak out on behalf of other professional writers and professionals in other fields as well. I have been duped and I don’t much like it.

Here’s how it happened. One day I got a phone call from an outfit in New York who flattered me by telling me that they would very much like to include me in their Who’s Who book. They made it very plain they were not THE Who’s Who book of Whatever. However, I liked what they said and thought it would be nice to have my name out there in some kind of professional capacity. Most professionals belong to some kind of professional organization if only for the networking possibilities.

Big mistake! It only escalated from there. Every day I would get another call from them (and I will not name the actual outfit here because I don’t want to give them any more publicity) trying to sell me something more. First it was a plaque; then it was a special page in their book; and on it went. If I said no, they came down another $100 or so or offered something of lesser value. All the while they promised that it was the very last thing I needed to purchase to have my name and profile included in their stupid book.

What I ended up with is the stupid plaque; a place in their online web site; plane tickets if you can believe it; and “special” people to talk to if I wanted to connect to anyone else in the book. I never did get the damn $300 book and don’t expect I ever will. I don’t even want to call them and ask where it is because I don’t want to start down that road again with them.

Oh, here’s another way they try to get to you on the phone. If you don’t answer one phone number from the New York area, they will resort to personal cell phones. Now I never answer the phone if I don’t recognize the number on my phone ID screen.

I did look through the people on their website and didn’t really see many people connected with the publishing business and not even one other author.

I suppose I could contact the Better Business Bureau or something, but I don’t hold out any illusions of a good outcome there. I consider it a lesson learned and thought I would pass on the information to others out there who may be tempted to try their service.

I have nothing against any “Who’s Who in American” anything. They have a long outstanding reputation of helping professionals to grow in their field. Just be wary of the “off brand” of any book that sounds like the real thing. Don’t get taken like I was.

Thanks for listening to me vent and be careful out there.