Complaints

The complaint text that is displayed might not represent all complaints filed with BBB. Some consumers may elect to not publish the details of their complaints, some complaints may not meet BBB's standards for publication, or BBB may display a portion of complaints when a high volume is received for a particular business.

• Initial Complaint

  Date:02/06/2025

  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.

  I am writing to formally file a complaint against Newman Springs Publishing Company regarding their inadequate services, unprofessional conduct, and the considerable negative impact their actions have had on my goals. I contracted Newman Springs Publishing under the belief that they are a full-service publishing house, as they advertise. I have paid the full sum of $4,000 toward their services for the publication of my book, which is intended to aid parents in preventing and addressing ******** addiction in their teenage or young adult children. Unfortunately, my experience has been far from what was *********** begin with, Newman Springs has exhibited extremely poor communication throughout this process. The responses I have received, when I receive any at all, have offered little to no clarity about the timeline or status of my books publication. On several occasions, the company has displayed a dismissive and unprofessional attitude, lacking the transparency and diligence I would expect from a reputable publishing house. Adding insult to injury, they have improperly shifted blame onto me, the author, for their inability to finalize the publication.Compounding these frustrations, I have made multiple attempts to contact the company's director of publishing to resolve my concerns directly. Regrettably, my calls have not been returned, leaving me without any avenue for meaningful resolution. This has further reinforced my perception that Newman Springs Publishing fails to meet the standards of a trustworthy and professional business.The consequences of their shortcomings have been profoundly damaging. My book, which was created to serve as a vital resource for families grappling with the ******** epidemic, has been stalled indefinitely. This has derailed my plans to release an important work, one that could have made a real difference in helping parents and young people combat addiction.Sincerely,

  Business Response

  Date: 02/10/2025

  Hello ******,
  We are sorry to hear this complaint regarding your project. The revisions you submitted to your previously published book are currently awaiting your approval. Once approved, we will be able to re-submit your book for printing and well be happy to expedite the remaining steps to update the book with retailers. 
  
  Our initial publication process does include our authors review and input, we want to ensure that the finished product matches the original authors intent and vision. Thus, each stage is submitted for your review and approval. This is the best course of action to prevent post-publication delays that occur from revising a book after it has already been distributed to retailers. We are happy to accommodate changes after the publication process, but unfortunately it does cause delays.
  We do understand that this is an important book for you and your audience and will absolutely do our best to make certain that it meets your criteria for publication. Please feel free to reach out to your personal publication director if you have any additional questions, or if you would like to discuss with a senior account manager, please let me know.
  
  Regards, 

• Initial Complaint

  Date:06/19/2024

  Type:Service or Repair Issues
  Status:

  ResolvedMore 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.

  My name is ****** ******* my husband filed a complaint on Friday. This is a detailed account of the issues. Roughly a year ago I was working with Cliff to publish my book. I signed the contract and paid the down payment and first installment. Shortly after we agreed to put my account on hold until further payments could be made. He assured me no more payments would be required until I gave consent and the work was continued. Then Friday the 14th at 6:52 am I recieved the first of 12 emails ranging from saying I owed them money to I was 30 days overdue. (Both within the same half hour) I called them nine times that Friday trying to see if it was a system error, nobody was able to help me or even assure it wouldn’t go to collections. I called again on Monday with no help, 3 times on Tuesday when I left a message for the supervisor of the financial department who I was assured would call me back (never did). I called him again today and he refused to even speak with me. I am very upset for obvious reasons and appalled at the service I have received. The only person who was helpful to me was Leigh in finance. My questions still were never answered leaving me in anxiety.

  Business Response

  Date: 06/20/2024

  Ms. ********
  
  That is simply untrue that “no one has spoken to you or helped you”. James and Leigh both shared with that as the BBB is involved, that does need to be resolved at this point before we can continue any work or moving forward. Additionally, our finance department has spoken to you (numerous times). 
  
  Here is the information we previously sent to your husband and will send again.  We are happy to honor any true documentation in regard to cancellation, but we have no record of that. Per your agreement, there was a 3 day grace period which is highlighted in the attached document. Early termination is not permitted under the current contract outside of that. At this point, your agreement was for $3885 and you have paid $395. You are currently delinquent as there is a $3490 balance. When projects are not current, they are placed on a credit hold status and work stops. In order to continue on your project, you do need to follow thru with your financial obligation of paying the $3490. Please let us know when you are ready to do so.
  
  

  Customer Answer

  Date: 06/24/2024

  [A default letter is provided here which indicates your acceptance of the business's response.  If you wish, you may update it before sending it.]
  
  
  
  Better Business Bureau:
  
  
  
  I have reviewed the response made by the business in reference to complaint ID ********* and find that this resolution is satisfactory to me.
  
  
  
  
  Regards,
  
  
  
  ****** *******

• Initial Complaint

  Date:09/24/2023

  Type:Product 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.

  I agreed to $888.00 as a 1st segment of a book I wrote. I immediately canceled the same day. The company allowed 3 days to cancel. I have called four times to get that money back. They keep saying they are sending it but its been a month and a half and no $888.

  Business Response

  Date: 09/25/2023

  Once **************** decided to cancel her agreement with us, that was honored, however, she told us that she charged back her credit card with her credit card company. We waited of notification of this, which can take a few days. When we did not get it, we tried to follow up with the author via telephone. She did not answer, nor called us back. We did need confirmation from the author about the status of the project and wished to speak to her about the refund. We did finally hear from the author on ****. We authorized the refund and our finance department required an investigation with our accounts to be sure we hadn't already refunded her. Once that was completed, we did refund her credit card (this can take 3-5 days depending on the credit card company). Please give our finance department a call if that is not the case. Again, on our end, everything does look as it should.

• Initial Complaint

  Date:08/08/2023

  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.

  Newman Springs Publishing collected $4485 from me to print and distribute my book. The contract stated I would have a dashboard to track sales. There is no way for me to track sales, but my book is available online at ******* *********************** and many online book outlets. I am getting five star reviews online, but Newman Springs is denying royalties, stating not enough sales. They want me to provide proof of sales to retailers, which is information they should have. They are not paying royalties to me.

  Business Response

  Date: 08/14/2023

  We are saddened to receive this complaint after ********************** originally shared a positive review of her experience with Newman Springs Publishing. All our authors are provided an online portal to view sales reports at any time. The sales reports are updated on a quarterly basis as stated in our signed agreement. The sales reports provide book sales data directly from our book distributor, which is the standard in the publishing industry. Newman Springs Publishing has not withheld any royalties to **********************. In accordance with our agreement, she was already paid on her first quarter book sales and future royalties will be paid on a quarterly basis in accordance with our agreement.
  
  In Ms. ********** complaint, she references our request for proof of sales. This request was made in response to her stating that she had documentation of sales that were not reported to Newman Springs Publishing by our book distributor. We would be happy to address her concerns with the book distributor, but to do so we need the documentation that she stated was in her possession. Without this documentation, Newman Springs Publishing has no way of making a case with the book distributor that Ms. ********** sales report is inaccurate.