Shady academic publishing...
It turns out, depressingly, that this is the most popular post in the history of my website. More popular than my scathing excoriation of the Creation Museum, which biologist PZ Myers picked up at Pharyngula. Bigger than my letter to Lisa Edelstein. And, yes, even more popular than my exclusive interview with Satan, who, surprisingly, works at Starbucks. I would be remiss if I did not point you to these. Still, the answer to the question that brought you here is below.
I really want to publish my dissertation, but it is certainly not ready to go to press, and there are a few other projects I want to complete before I can return to it with the proverbial fondness wrought by absence. Publishing can be life or death in academia, so your ears (eyes?) perk up when you see words "Publishing" in your in your inbox. This morning's email reads:
Dear Bing McGhandi,
I am writing on behalf of the German publishing house, VDM Verlag Dr. Müller AG & Co. KG.
In the course of a research on the Internet, I came across a reference to your thesis on "The Representational Hermeneutics of Ferrets and Ferret Care in the Lesser Known Poetic Works of Midget Lesbian Eskimos."
We are a German-based publisher whose aim is to make academic research available to a wider audience.
VDM Verlag would be especially interested in publishing your dissertation in the form of a printed book.
Your reply including an e-mail address to which I can send an e-mail with further information in an attachment will be greatly appreciated.
I am looking forward to hearing from you.
Sincerely yours,
Varadha Ramsamy
--
--
Varadha Ramsamy
Acquisition Editor
VDM Publishing House Ltd.
17, Meldrum Str. Beau-Bassin Mauritius
Tel / Fax: +230 467-5601
v.ramsamy@vdm-publishing.com http://www.vdm-publishing.com/
Business Registration No.: C07072290
Board of Directors: Katalin Bontenakels & Benoit Novel
In coorperation with:
VDM Verlag Dr. Müller AG & CoKG (http://www.vdm-verlag.de/)
LAP Lambert Academic Publishing AG & CoKG (http://www.lap-publishing.com/)
SVH Südwestdeutscher Verlag für Hochschulschriften AG & CoKG (http://www.svh-verlag.de/)
So, what I'm saying is be careful and practice safe publishing.
(image: photobucket file)
HJ
Seed Newsvine
52 comments:
Speaking of protecting oneself--is a little image credit in order?
Good call.
If I only remembered where I got it...
I received something similar from a UK company a while ago, encouraging me to publish my dissertation as-is through a print-on-demand program, "at no cost to the author." How funny that these scams are now targeting academics ...
Bing
I too recieved this email back in September. And I was also suspicious, particularly as to register VDM asked for bank account details and also my Windows security setting threw up and alert when I connected to the VDM site.
However, I emailed Varadha Ranmany and explained my concerns. To which I was told to ignore the bit about bank details, and the security notice was sorted with VDMs technical people.
I also checked VDM Dr Muller on Amazon and found loads of books published by them: all by people looking to get their PhDs published.
Anyway, I went ahead and followed the submission process on the VDM site and on Saturday (13th December) I received a copy of my book (ie. thesis). It looks bloody good as well. So, whether PoD is a form of vanity publishing or not, I can vouch for VDM Dr Muller not being a scam.
Cheers
Ivan Horrocks
i.j.horrocks@open.ac.uk
Ah, the momentary flutter of pride has landed on the hard pavement of avarice. Thanks for sharing your experiences.
VDM does indeed actively contact potential authors - which is something other publishing houses hardly ever do. The reason for this is that wie are continously identifying scientific work developing from the multiplicity of universities and colleges of further education due to their suitability for publication, quality and practical orientation. In this way we would like to quickly convey the latest scientific knowledge and also meet the demand from the respective specialized public.
We do not find anything "wrong" with this approach unless the author has a problem in principle in being contacted.
Regards,
Esther von Krosigk, VDM
I received an identical e-mail today. Thanks for letting me know about the request for a bank account number - that does make it HIGHLY suspicious.
I also recieved a email very similar to the one that Bing recieved. A bit different background though. My thesis is already published by the university and is freely available on the internet. So why VDM want to publish it in a printed book makes little sence. The Acquisition Editor was, however, able to find the name of the university from which the thesis was publish and an email address that was not affiliated with the thesis. So it looked kind of credible. I decided to check VDM out before I replying them and came across this forum which makes the case clear for me. Bank account and bank details - forget it.
I just got a similar letter from LAP LAMBERT Academic Publishing AG & Co. KG. And mine is even more shady. It said it found a reference to my dissertation entitled "M.A.". That is not the title of my dissertation but rather refers to my master's thesis. I am in the middle of a master's program and aren't anywhere near completing my thesis (read: haven't even started). As far as I know, no one from the university has ever published anything about what my thesis will actually be about, since only a handful of people know. How can the company have possibly judged its "suitability for publication, quality and practical orientation" if they don't even know what it's about?
I agreed with everything you have shared...however, they appear legit as they also publish under the name Lambert Academic Publishers and have quite a few (scores) of books available on Amazon and other book sellers that I checked.
Happy sailing. Cheers!
Richard
I just got an almost identical email from LAP Lambert. Actually a friend of mine (who was never with me in the college where I did my masters) received it and he forwarded it to me. I find that very very surprising.
The email addresses me with the shortened name I used on my thesis. It specifies my thesis title, the institute where I did it. Otherwise the email is almost the same as here.
I went to amazon and looked at the titles. They don't look anything like academic works.
Well, there is little doubt that they are seeking "business." I probably will not publish with them as I do not really see any benefit. Truth is there are other free or nearly free means of self-publishing these days such as that which Amazon now provides.
Happy HOP-ing! ;-)
I have recently been sent an unsolicited email from Lambert Academic Publishing. It was very similar to the satirical version at the top of this site. It was also an Indian name at a German company. I must admit that the idea of someone being interested in my thesis got me excited. I spoke to a prof. who was less enthusiastic about it. He said my thesis is already accessible online so why bother. I need to investigate more. I urge others to do the same.
Email 1: A form letter like up top.
Email 2 (after asking where they could send information): We need your mailing address.
Email 3: If you're interested, send us your work for review.
Email 4 (after I expressed my surprise at email 3, since i had assumed they were mailing me something, and also since I had assumed they had access to the digital dissertation in the first place): Thank you for expressing interest in . . . [details] Please send . . . for review.
That's when I trained my spam filter on these messages.
Now they are legit in the sense that they really publish, but who needs to work with anyone who communicates this poorly? The lack of access to a dissertation database is also odd, though maybe those are more expensive than I thought. I dunno. It seems it would bring zero benefits, since academics can access the thing anyway, and I don't think anyone else would be looking at it.
The whole Indian name thing (mine was different is also a bit odd for a German company. I'm guessing they outsourced this communication to India (I could be wrong), though there are plenty of people who speak English in Germany.
Outsourced or not, I want an "acquisitions editor" to be able to remember what was last said and not to use inconsistent form letters.
I am still undecided about what to think of this publisher, though I am inclined to think well of them so far.
The main concern for most people who have commented here seems to be needing to give their account details. However, that is indeed common practice in Germany and hasalways been so. Just a thought.
Just got one myself. Chuckled when I read this: "Your reply including an e-mail address to which I can send an e-mail with further information in an attachment will be greatly appreciated."
DERP. Did they not send this canned message via e-mail or ???
omg this stuff frustrates me.
DERP indeed. Derp indeed, my friend.
HJ
Folks -- for any aspiring academics, the press with which you publish matters. If you are applying for a position and those considering your CV note that you published with a "vanity press" that takes everything, that is a black mark against you, not a plus.
Escribo desde España. He recibido el mismo mail sospechoso.
Me he quedado atónita pues mi tesis doctoral ha sido publicada. He entrado en la web. No me ha quedado nada claro de qué iba esto y acabo de descubrir este blog, donde dicen que es un timo.
Gracias pa internet!!!
I just got a similar letter (see below) and I was immediately suspicious. My PhD dissertation is on the net and published via my University with the ISBN number ISBN 91-554-6412-2
WHY would somebody feel like publishing this again?
A search on the internet found this site and I agree with those that are suspicious. "Vanity publications" always cost you something! Even if it is to buy one copy for yourself so that you can gaze at it in your bookshelf.
So think twice!
Katrin
Here is my letter...
While researching publishable academic papers at the Library of Uppsala University, Sweden, I came across a reference to a work entitled “QSBMR Quantitative Structure Biomagnification Relationships : Studies Regarding Persistent Environmental Pollutants in the Baltic Sea Biota”.
LAP Lambert Academic Publishing AG & Co. KG specializes in the publication of theses and dissertations.
I am therefore wondering if you would be interested in cooperating with us towards a worldwide marketed publication of your work.
Your reply including an e-mail address to which I could send an e-mail with further information in an attachment would be greatly appreciated.
Looking forward to hearing back from you.
Kind regards,
--
Farzabeen Bahadoor
Acquisition Editor
LAP LAMBERT Academic Publishing AG & Co. KG
Theodor-Heuss-Ring 26
50668 Köln, Germany
Fon +49 681 3720-310
Fax +49 681 3720-3109
f.bahadoor@lap-publishing.com / www.lap-publishing.com Handelsregister Amtsgericht Köln HRA 26549 Partner with unlimited liability
VDM Verwaltung Aktiengesellschaft
Handelsregister Amtsgericht Saarbrücken HRB 16777
Board of Directors: Dr. Wolfgang Müller (CEO), Christoph Schulligen, Jürgen Gerber, Esther von Krosigk Supervisory Board: Prof. Dr. Johannes G. Bischoff (Chairman), RA Thomas Bischoff, RA André Gottschalk
I'll add one to the pile. My form letter came from someone named Calix Furus. It was addressed to someone with my first and last name but a different middle name, and it referred to a paper totally unrelated to my field. I replied to say that the message was addressed to the wrong person and received this:
"Thank you for you kind reply and sorry for causing you any
inconveniences. However, should you have written other academic papers that are at least 40 pages long and you consider them suitable for publishing, I would be happy to review them. Please let me know if you are interested in publishing your work with us and I can send you further information on VDM.
I am looking forward to hearing from you.
Kind regards,
Calix Furus"
Hello,
I just got this today through facebook.
In the context of facebook the request for an email address in the reply makes a bit more sense I suppose.. but still this line seems unwieldy and unecessary..
anyways, here it is;
Rachel sent you a message.
--------------------
Subject: The United Front and the Popular Front in the North East of England, 1936-1939
Dear Lewis ,
I am writing on behalf of the international academic publisher, LAP Lambert Academic Publishing AG & CO.KG.
In the course of a research at the Library of California State University, Northridge, we came across a reference to your thesis on "The United Front and the Popular Front in the North East of England, 1936-1939".
As we would like to make your work available to a larger audience, I am wondering if you may be interested in publishing your thesis in the form of a printed book.
Your reply including an e-mail address to which I can send an e-mail with further information in an attachment will be greatly appreciated.
I am looking forward to hearing from you.
Sincerely yours,
Rachel Flore
Acquisition Editor
LAP LAMBERT Academic Publishing AG & Co. KG
Theodor-Heuss-Ring 26
50668 Köln, Germany
Fon +49 681 3720-310
Fax +49 681 3720-3109
r.flore@lap-http://www.facebook.com/l/c0c08;publishing.com / http://www.facebook.com/l/c0c08;www.lap-publishing.com
Handelsregister Amtsgericht Köln HRA 26549
Partner with unlimited liability
VDM Verwaltung Aktiengesellschaft
Handelsregister Amtsgericht Saarbrücken HRB 16777
Board of Directors: Dr. Wolfgang Müller (CEO), Christoph Schulligen,
Jürgen Gerber, Esther von Krosigk
Supervisory Board: Prof. Dr. Johannes G. Bischoff (Chairman), RA Thomas
Bischoff, RA André Gottschalk
--------------------
Rachel has shared a link with you. To view it or to reply to the message, follow this link:
http://www.facebook.com/n/?inbox%2Freadmessage.php&t=171552672445&mid=159f4a8G29faf04dG3049dadG0
Published my PhD thesis with VDM, had a great book launch and am very happy to have my book in print. My publishing from now on will be peer reviewed articles and another book with a more established publisher. But this was an easy way to start getting my work published and I have received no negative feedback about the publisher of my book!
I just had my old Ph.D. dissertation published by Lambert and I am NOT happy. After spending weeks making edits and ensuring that everything was perfect, I was SHOCKED to see that all of the italicized titles of published musical and other works are now no longer italicized. Also, to make matters worse, some words and phrases are half italicized and half unitalicized...I'm extremely embarrassed as several of my colleagues and few libraries have already purchased this book. I have written numerous letters asking Lambert to correct the problem, but have yet to receive a reply.
Why would anyone want to publish with them? I have a number of colleagues who published with them. The whole process took around a month. For those of us who have submitted articles to peer-reviewed journals, you would know that this process, if quick, takes something like 6 months. To have a book out in under a month just shows that there is no quality control. You are not publishing a book. You are printing a book.
Unsolicited emails always make me leery. I just received an email from these people. Anything that sounds too good to be true usually is. I'm not even close to finishing my dissertation, but from what was written, I think they got it from my department website.
They couldn't even be bothered to fill in what is obviously a form letter completely. ...of course, since nothing of my dissertation has been published in any form as yet, they couldn't have found it in a library. In addition, they couldn't even be bothered to copy and paste the title (which is woefully out of date, by the way) correctly.
Sorry, but that does not fill me with confidence. Thanks for blogging about this so that I could see its sketchy nature.
Dear ________,
While researching publishable academic papers at the Library of , I came across a reference to a work entitled “efenses of astrology in Islam and the Latin West”.
LAP Lambert Academic Publishing AG & Co. KG specializes in the publication of theses and dissertations.
I am therefore wondering if you would be interested in cooperating with us towards a worldwide marketed publication of your work.
Your reply including an e-mail address to which I could send an e-mail with further information in an attachment would be greatly appreciated.
Looking forward to hearing back from you.
Kind regards,
Jamuna Bhunjun
Acquisition Editor
LAP LAMBERT Academic Publishing AG & Co. KG
Theodor-Heuss-Ring 26
50668 Köln, Germany
Since this entry is apparently the worldwide clearing house for discussion on this topic, I want to add my experience: I got this email today, except that in the place of [thesis title], they had copied my research interests from my self-written biography as it appears on my university website, so that the sentence looked something like "In the course of a research at the Library of [my school], we came across a reference to your thesis on "Western Czech archeological discoveries, with a special emphasis on the ways in which cultural relics are treated as symbols of national pride".
Any publisher not dominated by DERP would be able to tell that 1) this is not a real thesis title, and 2) the rest of my bio online makes it clear that I have not completed a thesis. Also, any publisher worth working with would not lie and say that they've done library research, when it is completely obvious that they haven't.
Fail. If you didn't poop out your thesis, don't entrust it to these people. Take it to a copy shop and have them put a slick cover on the thing instead.
Holy crap! That's the damnest thing ever! Thanks for the head's up!
HJ
We have received a similar email from LAP Lambert. Since I am in India, I'd like to point out that though some people think that the names sound Indian, they are actually not Indian names and appear to be completely randomly created.
Examples:
1. Jamuna Bhunjun: Jamuna is Indian name but I have never heard of Bhunjun.
2. Bahadoor would actually be spelt Bahadur in India.
3. Nihah Naraina - never heard of Nihah!
4. Sarojadevi Pitchacaren: Pitch A Caren? Nah defintely not Indian
5. Olivier Ahfat: Ahfat would mean trouble, I dont know why anyone would name their child Ahfat (or could it be "Ah Fat")
6. Toolasee Marooodamoothoo: That should be Thulasi (for south Indians and Tulasi for north Indians), and definitely not triple o in any name - first or last.
The names that most Indians get are actually western sounding. We got "Arnaud Cathan"
It is probably an automated program that searches the Internet for words thesis/theses etc and then correlates the names to email addresses somehow. If I had a small operation, that's how I would go about it. The editor names could be made from some sort of speech recognition software (answering machine to computer?)
The bank details part is fishy. Wonder if its a new form of Nigerian scam?
this kind of blog always useful for blog readers, it helps people during research. your post is one of the same for blog readers.
Thesis Papers Writing
I wrote a post similar to yours questioning this "offer." The company contacted me and asked me to remove the name of the employee (turns out he is real) - i am surpised they haven't asked you to do the same.
So far they are answering my questions - but curiously so. As in, i am not convinced that the answers are to the questions I have asked! I'll be writing another post soon as a follow-up.
I appreciate this post and its comments because it provides an interesting variety of experiences with this company and as such offers a few perspectives which have been mirrored also in the comments i've been receiving on my equivalent post.
Have a great day!
I got a great one today from Ludmila Caus - the annoying part is that is came to my Facebook page!
Yes I just got one lap publishing " signed by Tatiana Zetu. Thing is my thesis was submitted 25 years ago - it was crap then it is still crap now, but I got a PhD out of it :)
My letter had no obvious mistakes-- the thesis title was correct, as was the name of the school I attended. But it was signed by someone named Calix Furus. CALIX FURUS?! Are you Serious?!!!
Calix Furus kind of sounds like one of those names you get from fantasy name generators online. Anyway, just got the same letter asking to publish--get this--my undergrad thesis, which I wouldn't want published anyway for sheer embarrassment. It just feels a little shady to me anyway.
I just got the letter too via Facebook.
A quick Google search of the supposed Acquisition Editor yielded little else but websites for Ukranian mail order brides!
I don't think I'll be contacting them :o)
I received same from Lambert Academic Publishing.I must say the possibility of publishing my work raised my eyebrows but like always if its too good to be true then maybe it is not real!
My dissertation was done 10 years ago and i am wondering where they have been, cos the research is now outdated.Anyway they asked a silly question ,they sent me an email and they are asking for my email to send an attachment..how daft is that?bank details- i never give out ,its definately scam!
You're going to love this one - now the company has asked me to change the title of my post on this subject to something else because it does not accord "with our business aims." Pray tell, why would that matter to me, an academic simply reporting an email i have received. They've starting posting the same comment over and over on the post too - do you delete them here? because i'm suprised the same form letter hasn't appeared here?
I have so much mroe important things to do (like actually research than worry about these people...and their business practices)
cheers!
You are not the first person to report this to me, Anna. I hope that we ARE cutting into their business.
HJ
Just received a similar email this week. I'm not even remotely interested given that my paper was an undergraduate thesis, in a field with which I am no longer affiliated, and written 5 years ago.
They had the name of my thesis right, the correct school, and my name spelled correctly. But it was signed by Colette Julie, which sounds like a French name in reverse. And again with the nonsensical "Your reply including an e-mail address to which I could send an e-mail with
further information in an attachment would be greatly appreciated." How did you just contact me?
This sounds extremely shady at worst and cripplingly unprofessional at best. I emailed a response to have written record of my refusal, just in case I need to protect my intellectual property. Though after reading these comments it sounds like they may be more interested in my bank account.
Likewise, folks. Mine does not even mention anything specific, other than the shady "I came across a reference to your work in the field of English." I am a published author (for 31 years now), and the "dissertation" that the sender, Tatiana Zetu, refers to as a "research" is already available online!
Given the relatively long history of this dubious practice, and the posted comments here and elsewhere, the persistence of the sender(s) makes me wonder: Who is behind this? And why would they give away themselves so easily?
Hi, Get Lost.
You know, in academia publishing is so professionally desirable, I'm sure that the occasional desperate grad student who does not talk to their advisor is willing to play along. There is probably some sort of self-deception involved--I'm wouldn't there have to be? In my experience, emotion often trumps reason.
HJ
Just got this:
--------
Dear [shortened version of my name which my university does not use],
I am writing on behalf of the International publishing house, Lambert Academic Publishing.
In the course of a research on the CUNY Graduate Center, I came across a reference to your work in the field of English Literature.
We are an International publisher whose aim is to make academic research available to a wider audience.
LAP Publishing would be especially interested in publishing your dissertation in the form of a printed book.
Your reply including an e-mail address to which I can send an e-mail with further information in an attachment
will be greatly appreciated.
I look forward to hear from you.
Kind regards,
Olga Fediuc
Acquisition Editor
LAP LAMBERT Academic Publishing AG & Co. KG
Saarbrücken
Dudweiler Landstraße 99, 66123 Saarbrücken Germany
Fon +49 681 3720-310
Fax +49 681 3720-3109
o.fediuc@lappublishing.com / www.lappublishing.com
Handelsregister Amtsgericht Saarbrücken HRA 10752
Partner with unlimited liability:
VDM Verwaltung Aktiengesellschaft
Board of Directors: Dr. Wolfgang Müller (CEO), Christoph Schulligen, Esther von Krosigk
Supervisory Board: Prof. Dr. Johannes G. Bischoff (Chairman), RA Thomas Bischoff, RA André Gottschalk
---
Interestingly, they sent this to an email address associated with my teaching job, which is not the university mentioned above. Not sure how they made the connection.
k.
Hi All
i have really appreciated reading this blog. like everyone else i too received an email from Lambert publishing asking to publish my thesis. the first email was actually sent to my supervisor, but addressed to me, weird i thought. Had a chat with my supervisor from the university who said that she has never heard of this group, we asked for more info which we got. and in the info pack they also mention bank accounts which definitely made me suspicious. after reading everyone's comments i too will be letting them know that i am not interested in publishing with them. I am curious though, has anyone published with them and received anything back in terms or 'royalties'?
Do not even answer them. Then they'll know that they can send you email. And say hello to heaping helpings of spam.
HJ
Got this e-mail too. I must admit that I enjoyed all the posts--lol!
I just graduated with my Ph.D. and I have several publications as it is, so when I received the same copy and paste letter that apparently everyone got I was initially happy.
However, knowing that when I completed my dissertation I signed for worldwide distribution without restrictions, I was somewhat leery about their offer.
After reading these posts I will decline their offer (actually, not even respond to it). Good work, looking out for people, especially in academica since it is sometimes publish or perish! I will inform my colleagues.
Thanks once again and take care!
I just got this email as well... I am an undergrad student at McGill university. They talked about publishing my essay on "Desautels" which is simply the name of my faculty. I have no idea which essay they are talking about and why would a serious publishing firm have any interest in publishing a first year student's work. This is all information they could have easily gotten off of Facebook or my university's website, goes to show we can no longer have any privacy online.
I JUST GOT THIS EMAIL too, thank you guys for you comments. I was excited about somebody going to publish my work, but now I can make an informed decision.
I got this mail too...thanks for all your posts. I know better now. Victor, Nigeria.
I've recently got this email too from Calix Furus. I sent my doctoral thesis in pdf format a week ago and I've received another email today which includes a link adressed to a form. When I've seen a field with the account number I've thought it would be a good idea to look for more information. I'm going to do nothing else: no replies to emails, no fill in the form,... nothing! Thanks a lot for the posts and this blog! Javier, Spain.
Got this letter today in German (which I neither speak, read, nor write). But unlike most of the responders on this thread, I write for a general audience, and I have a relationship with a legit (or at least old-fashioned) publishing house (meaning I have a contract, an editor, an advance, and royalties), who is in the process of publishing my second book.
My letter seemed to be targeting me because I write religious-themed books; my query came from the religion department at VDM.
I was disappointed to find out that they are a print on demand house. It's not that there is necessarily anything wrong with self-publishing and print-on-demand, it's more that I was stoked at the thought that someone in Europe actually was reading my work.
Oh well. It's good to know I'm not the only one!
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