Complaints

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• Initial Complaint

  Date:04/01/2025

  Type:Order Issues
  Status:

  AnsweredMore info

  Complaint statuses

  Resolved:

  The complainant verified the issue was resolved to their satisfaction.

  Unresolved:

  The business responded to the dispute but failed to make a good faith effort to resolve it.

  Answered:

  The business addressed the issues within the complaint, but the consumer either a) did not accept the response, OR b) did not notify BBB as to their satisfaction.

  Unanswered:

  The business failed to respond to the dispute.

  Unpursuable:

  BBB is unable to locate the business.

   
  Complaint: 23140381
  
  I am rejecting Jennifer Newman's response and will continue to seek resolution regarding a partial refund for incomplete services as outlined in her contract.

  I have recorded discovery phone calls and dozens of emails which provide materials showing that I did ask for tone, style, and type of book. I also pushed back on what Jennifer was setting forth for me when it didn't feel right. I hired and paid $1800 for a book writing coach to write my own outline that I hired Jennifer for, but she did not deliver an acceptable outline and I was concerned having had issues securing timelines for completion with her. Many experiences I had with Jennifer left me confused about inconsistencies in what she said she could do and what she did, like "becoming an expert" in the topics of the books she writes, and speaking like me. Now, she says that's not what she was hired for. There are factual inaccuracies and with hours of Otter files and discovery calls there is plenty of evidence that there was accurate material for her to write with.  

  Subjective experiences aside, Jennifer put forth a contract which I signed and paid in full for, and she did not follow through on her commitments. I will continue to pursue resolution for a contract and materials breach. 

   

  
  
  Sincerely,
  
  ******** ******

  ailure to substantially perform her obligations. Specifically:Doctrine of Substantial Performance: Under contract law, minor deviations from an agreement do not typically warrant a refund if the core obligations of the contract have been fulfilled. However, when a service provider fails to complete essential deliverables or deviates so significantly that the final product is not fit for its intended purpose, they cannot retain full compensation. In this case, Jennifer's failure to provide the required revision rounds, refusal to follow the agreed approval process, and admitted factual inaccuracies constitute a material breach, not a minor deviation, thereby justifying a refund. Implied Duty of Good Faith and Fair Dealing: Jennifer was contractually required to work in good faith to deliver a usable, high-quality product. She refused revisions and closed the project unilaterally without communicating so and breached this fundamental obligation.

  Business Response

  Date: 05/12/2025

  ******** ******, known to me as ***** ******, hired me to ghostwrite a ****** word book for her on February 9, 2022. She sent me hours of Otter files filled with information for her book. She then told me she'd be putting off the project for a year, which she did. 
  
  When ***** resurfaced, she had an entirely new idea for her book and those Otter files I'd listened to were, according to her, no longer relevant. She'd created an outline for her book that she and I went over in painstaking detail on a very long phone call. I usually create outlines for clients, but ***** insisted that this outline was what she wanted for her book. I informed her that everything that will go into her book must be included in this outline.
  
  The outline was largely pages and pages of facts and information. My strength as a writer is in vivid, immersive, emotional storytelling. I asked ***** to provide me something more beyond a pile of facts that were the outcome of her research. She did not want to do that. So I did the best I could with what she provided me.
  
  On July 29, 2024, ***** sent me an email, eagerly asking for the first draft, which is, by definition, a reference to a full manuscript. So I provided her with that on August 2, 2024.
  
  On August 14, 2024, ***** sent me an email stating that her book should include a self-assessment. But ***** had never mentioned anything about a self-assessment in her book prior to that email. I responded by saying so, along with telling ***** that if she wants a self-assessment, she has to give me the information that would go into it. I am a writer and a storyteller. I am NOT an expert on my clients' work. They need to provide me the relevant information. My job is to take that information, and put it into form.
  
  Additionally, ***** never made any requests or mentions about tone or style. Content was covered in her outline.
  
  I was more than willing to provide ***** with revisions. But her revisions were entirely amorphous (e.g. rewrite this in a tone that is almost poetic) and therefore, impossible to execute. I gave ***** very clear instructions on actionable revision requests, but, for reasons that remain unclear to me, she was unable to carry them out.
  
  ***** would tell me she understood, then disappear for a month or two, and then reappear only to, once again, ask for amorphous revision requests that I already told her I could not do.
  
  The issue here is that the book I ghostwrote for ***** is very heavy on information that I still managed to make conversational and immersive. But it is, ultimately, a collection of facts and information. However, this is completely in line with the outline ***** provided. 
  
  On October 12, 2024, ***** sent me an email stating that she'd have actionable revision requests for me the following week. I did not hear from her for over a month, and I had other clients waiting, so I had no choice but to close the project and move on.
  
  On January 29, 2025, ***** sent me the following in an email:
  
  "I understand and validate your frustration with this process. I have my own frustrations and I am ready to release any burdens. I take responsibility for how I've contributed to this prolonged project. After my initial inability to provide useful feedback to change the first outline I stalled into work/motherhood burnout and you pushed it into Q1 of 2023 due to your scheduling availability which I understand, and in February, I started a horrendous couple of years that consumed with me grief and stress, losing my niece and my friend's daughter to an unforgiving brain cancer that wreaked havoc on my whole family, and is still moving through our systems. I lost ********* and was in a functional freeze, full stop.
  
  
  All of that said, I will be dedicated to staying within your defined constraints of the outline, and work to finish revision requests at the pace I put forward as reasonable for me. Again, if that's not acceptable, mark it as complete, but either way, please let me know."
  
  On January 30, 2025, I responded with the following:
  
  "Hi *****,
  
  Im very sorry to hear about all the difficulties and losses youve suffered recently.
  
  The issue here is not so much that we hadnt communicated in months.
  
  Its that once the book is written, revisions are usually completed within 2 weeks, 4 at the most. We are now nearly 6 months out and I still cant get actionable revision requests from you.
  
  Beyond that, youd contacted me on October 12th, solely to tell me that youd have revision requests for me the following week. Then I did not hear from you for 2 months.
  
  Im sure you understand that at some point, I have to move on to the next project, as I have clients waiting just as you were waiting before your book was written.
  
  And Im now mentally and emotionally wrapped around the latest project, just as I was with yours when I was working on it.
  
  Once Ive started a new project and gotten mentally and emotionally invested in it, it becomes extremely difficult to pivot back to a prior project. This is why one project gets closed before another is opened.
  
  Writing, especially for another person, is an extremely involved emotional undertaking. Its not a thing I can casually do, moving from one client to another and then back again.
  
  I did take some time to, once again, re-read the book Id written for you. Comparing it to the outline youd provided me, it is clear that I absolutely fulfilled the job I was hired to do.
  
  I really did want to make you happy, so I was willing to reopen the project, but I remain frustrated that I still cant get clear, actionable revision requests from you. And whats become clear to me, having looked over your latest requests, is that I will not get clear and actionable revision requests from you.
  
  My goal and intention is always to deliver the best work thats humanly possible. This is my first experience with revision requests that are not clear or actionable, no matter how many attempts we make at it.
  
  As such, I see no reasonable or viable way to proceed. Please understand that no project can continue indefinitely, especially if I cannot get revision requests I can reasonably carry out.
  
  So I see no other option than to close out this project and wish you the very best.
  
  I do want to say that, even if this book is not exactly what you were expecting, it absolutely is something you can publish to promote your business and if that is your goal, this book most certainly can fulfill that.
  
  Wishing you the best of everything,
  
  Jennifer"
  
  As stated above, I told ***** that I absolutely did fulfill the job she hired me to do. She did not dispute this.
  
  While I'm sorry that ***** had a bad experience, one must consider the facts here:
  
  1. ***** asked for a full manuscript and then was unhappy to receive it.
  
  2. ***** had expectations that she'd kept secret from me and then expected me to somehow fulfill them.
  
  3. ***** provided the outline for her book, refused to provide additional information that would have enabled greater storytelling, and then was unhappy that the book she received was entirely a reflection of that outline.
  
  4. ***** would promise to have actionable revisions for me within a specific timeframe and would then disappear for months without providing them.
  
  5. According to the email she'd sent me on January 29, 2025, ***** admitted that her issues were rooted in underlying personal circumstances involving motherhood, grief, and loss, all of which is understandable and I am fully sympathetic. But this does not require me to give her a refund or divine expectations and/or tone requests that she'd never mentioned prior.
  
  As for assumptions ***** claims I made, the issue was that ***** had made claims about her father that, once described in the book, were suddenly untrue, according to her, even though they were based entirely on information she'd given me. I signed an ***, so I won't go into detail here, but I do have that information via emails and notes if needed.
  
  Looking back on my experience with *****, I realize that nothing I could have done would have made her happy because, as stated above, she had expectations she'd kept a secret, making it impossible for me to fulfill them. She did receive a book that is a reflection of her outline and the information she'd given me. Her dissatisfaction with what's in the outline she provided, along with her choice to keep her expectations to herself are not viable grounds for me to give her any sort of refund. In fact, if I tallied up all the hours I spent on her project and charged a very modest hourly rate, I'd be sending her a ***** **** that goes way beyond the payment she made. I won't do this, of course. But I absolutely have fulfilled the job that she hired me to do.
  
  I can provide the emails mentioned above if needed.
  

  Business Response

  Date: 05/18/2025

  I have checked both the outline I provided ***** ******, and the one she provided for me to use, and neither of them mentions tone or style. Hers clearly specifies genre, point of view, objective of the book, and demographic, but no mention of tone or style.
  
  As I'd told ***** before her book was written, every bit of information that is to go into her book must be clearly stated in the outline.
  
  As for ***** claiming that she hired a book coach because she was dissatisfied with the outline I provided, this is the first I'm hearing of any dissatisfaction with that outline. In fact, on April 29, 2024, ***** sent me an email that simply said, "As always Jennifer, you rock."
  
  Then she provided her new outline on May 3, 2024. If this was done out of dissatisfaction, it seems odd that just days prior, she'd send me an email saying that I "rock as always."
  
  The biggest issue for ***** seems to be what she believes to be a material breach because she received the entire book instead of the first few chapters.
  
  As stated in my initial response, On July 29, 2024, ***** sent me an email requesting the first draft, which, by definition, is a full manuscript.
  
  On August 2, 2024, I emailed ***** with this exact language, "the book is done."
  
  On August 6, 2024, ***** responded with the following, "Thanks for sending over the book! Congratulations to us both for seeing this through, and cheers to a first draft!"
  
  In summary, ***** requested a full manuscript and I delivered it. 
  
  She acknowledged receipt and expressed gratitude, thanking me profusely for sending over her completed book.
  
  She made no objection at the time, despite ample opportunity to do so.
  
  This is textbook waiver of contractual expectation.
  
  If one deviates from a contract at a client's request and the client accepts the results without objection, said client cannot later weaponize that deviation to demand a refund.
  
  Simply stated, ***** ****** asked for a full manuscript. I delivered it. She thanked me. Her window for claiming a material breach closed permanently the moment she hit "send" on that thank you email.
  
  Complaining to the Better Business Bureau about a "material breach" when she asked for a deviation of the contract and then happily accepted it is deceptive and malicious, and it's downright fraud.
  
  There should be a penalty for making false complaints and seeking to harm a business in bad faith.
  
  I can provide screenshots of all emails mentioned in this response if needed.

  Customer Answer

  Date: 05/19/2025

   
  Complaint: 23140381

  I am writing in response to the complaint filed by Jennifer Newman to clarify the facts surrounding our ghostwriting agreement and the concerns that led me to file a formal complaint through the Better Business Bureau. My intention has never been to damage Jennifers business or act in bad faith, but rather to seek a fair and proportionate resolution to a professional dispute involving undelivered services and unmet contractual obligations.
  

  I paid $12,000 in full and upfront for a collaborative ghostwriting project that, according to Jennifers own written proposal, was to include:
  Early chapters submitted for review before the full manuscript was completed,
  A final manuscript aligned with a clearly defined tone and style, and
  Three full rounds of revisions.

  From the beginning of our engagement, I was clear, consistent, and professional in outlining the tone and intention I expected for the book. In an email dated January 28, 2022, I wrote:
  **** ***** and other self-help gurus have written books that I totally resonate with. Not just the message, but the pace, wording, energy, style, approach, intention. Everything a conversational style, competent delivery of lessons and insights, humbling and triumphant personal stories, with a passionate energy and easy/soft pace and sequencing that shows real caring through authoritative and compassionate delivery.

  This was not vague or shifting guidanceit was foundational to the project. Jennifer affirmed, both verbally and in writing, her ability to nail my voice and style, as I described above that I wanted, and to speak like me. She encouraged me to provide source material in whatever format I couldfragmented stories, journal entries, reflectionsreassuring me that she could weave it together and fill in with appropriate narrative based on our shared vision and examples and I provided plenty of accurate and fair information that portrayed my experience as dynamic, complex and above all sensitively related.

  Despite our agreement, Jennifer did not follow her own outlined process. Instead of submitting early chapters for review and refinement, she delivered a complete manuscript all at once, without any interim drafts or checkpoints.
  To be clear, when I sent my comprehensive outline and said, As promised, I'm sending you a link to my ****** doc with a new outline. It is robust, I will take suggestions, and I can provide whatever you need to start writing the draft, I was referencing the start of the draft, not instructing her to bypass our agreed-upon chapter-by-chapter approval process. I continued to check in regularly to ask where she was in the process, expecting to review and approve the initial chapters before moving forward, as promised. She had ample opportunity over a period of more than two (2) months to clarify or correct any misunderstanding if she intended to alter the contracted process.
  
  The manuscript I received felt rushed, clinical, and impersonalfar from the warm, compassionate, and transformational tone we had discussed. There were sections that were disjointed, hyperbolic, and in some cases, factually inaccurate. After consulting with my writing coach, who helped me assess my perspective of the situation and the drafts misalignment with my original vision, and the contractual breach regarding the first few chapters for review, I followed her counsel in which she said,

  It sounds like a strained situation with the writer. You're both feeling a little wounded or even betrayed. I would encourage you to get her on a video chat or phone call, where its harder to be unkind to someone. Compliment her on what she's doing well. Take responsibility for your parteven if its perfectionism or unclear expectations. Then revisit what you both understood the expectations and deliverables to be, and ask if theres a way to move forward in a way that benefits both of you.

  I reached out to Jennifer respectfully to begin getting back into alignment with the agreed upon process I took responsibility for my part, expecting Jennifer to take responsibility for hers and to start where we needed to by having Jennifer submit the chapters to nail the tone and style.

  Rather than that, she defended her manuscript, blamed me for her sending a full manuscript and dismissed our agreements. She has attempted to justify this by claiming that I had either changed my expectations or waived my rights by expressing initial appreciation. This is both factually and legally incorrect. Expressing gratitude is not equivalent to contract fulfillment or approval. I was acting in good faith, providing constructive feedback while also acknowledging the work Jennifer had put in.
  
  In her complaint, Jennifer accuses me of acting fraudulently, maliciously, and deceptively. These statements are not only false but dangerously inflammatory. Fraud is a serious legal allegation requiring evidence of intentional deceitnone of which exists here. My actions are well documented and reflect a sincere effort to resolve a contractual dispute professionally. Its worth noting that reckless use of the word fraud carries consequences. If Jennifer continues to make such accusations publicly or without evidence, it may expose her to potential liability for defamation. More importantly, it reflects an unwillingness to take accountability for unmet obligations.  I have retained all correspondence, including emails, the original proposal, and notes from my writing coach, which consistently demonstrate my collaborative and respectful approach.
  
  My complaint is based on these facts:
  The early chapter review process was skipped, despite being explicitly stated in Jennifers proposal.
  The final manuscript did not reflect the clearly communicated tone, style, or purpose agreed upon.
  The three rounds of revisions included in the contract were not delivered.
  My reasonable attempts to initiate those revisions were rejected.

  
  I am requesting a partial refund for the work that was not completed according to the agreed-upon process and scope.

  
  Let me be clear: I am not trying to weaponize a mistake or harm Jennifers reputation. I entered into this agreement in good faith, and I have communicated with honesty, vulnerability, and professionalism throughout. I am simply asking to be treated with the same level of integrity and accountability.

  
  I remain committed to a reasonable resolution. 
  
  Sincerely,
  
  ******** ******