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:04/16/2025

  Type:Sales and Advertising 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 had a contract with Dorrance Publishing since 2018 and in October 2019 my book was released ( LETTERS TO AND FROM AN INNOCENT MAN ). This book is listed on ***************************, Books a Million, ****** and ***** they will not tell me how many books have been sold and I have received no royalties from the sales of my book.

  Business Response

  Date: 05/01/2025

  This matter was actually discussed directly with Ms. ******* on April 15 and 16, right before she filed this complaint. She was informed that six copies of the book have been sold. While she expressed her disappoint in that number, this is the factual information. She has accrued $15.26 in earnings to date, however, per the terms of her contract payment is only issued once a minimum of $25.00 has accumulated. Her sales and earnings are reported to her each January and July, per the terms of our agreement, and she also has access to an online earnings portal where she may view this information at any time. We cannot and do not guarantee that any specific number of books will be sold, and she would not be refunded for lack of sales. We are happy to answer any additional questions.

  Customer Answer

  Date: 05/01/2025

  Better Business Bureau:
  
  I have reviewed the response made by the business in reference to complaint ID ********, and have determined that this does not resolve my complaint.  For your reference, details of the offer I reviewed appear below.
  
  [To assist us in bringing this matter to a close, we would like to know your view on the matter.]
  
  Regards,
  
  ***** *******

• Initial Complaint

  Date:04/02/2025

  Type:Service or Repair 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've been waiting around 4 months now for them to remove a accidentally duplicated section of text. All you guys have to do if its duplicated is highlight it and delete it considering all the factors it should not take this long.

  Business Response

  Date: 04/14/2025

  The text in question has already been removed, and the project has been moved ahead to the next step of page design. Designed, formatted pages will be sent to the author next week for review and approval.

• Initial Complaint

  Date:03/24/2025

  Type:Service or Repair 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 signed a contract in August of 2021 to publish my book, Red Skies. Since then, there have been 7 instances of no communication for 3+ months, 2 instances of my project manager leaving the company and having zero communication from Dorrance, and 3-4 instances of my requested revisions and edits being outright ignored, pertaining to both cover art and book content. Each failure in communication has resulted in me having to reach out to obtain any information, in some instances waiting an additional month or more to hear back.These issues have caused my book to still be in limbo, nearly 4 years later. Despite a multitude of email chains regarding these, and other, problems, I was told by their author services that I am not eligible for a refund because I did not hand-write a letter containing my grievances to their offices.I still have all correspondence between Dorrance Publishing and myself, screenshots will be provided, but feel free to request the full emails!

  Business Response

  Date: 04/08/2025

  We have been working with Mr. ******** to resolve his concerns. While we can longer meet the original timeline (monthly payments for the contract fee were scheduled to be completed September 2023, but final payment was not received until March 2024). We understand that there has been some confusion caused by the switch of his project manager, which resulted from the longer production schedule. His current project manager has been working closely with him to complete the project. We sent materials for his review and approval on March 19th, however, we have not yet received a response from him.

  We have explained that if he is requesting to terminate his contract and receive a refund, he must submit in writing the perceived breach of contract and we will address. To date, he has not done so. It is fully our intention to fulfill the terms of his contract and publish his book. However, we cannot do so without his review and approval of the materials.

  Customer Answer

  Date: 04/08/2025

  Better Business Bureau:
  
  I have reviewed the response made by the business in reference to complaint ID ********, and have determined that this does not resolve my complaint.  For your reference, details of the offer I reviewed appear below.
  
  The companies failures reach far beyond the timeline. I would like to point out that it was Dorrance's failure that led to my payments finishing late, as they were informed of the issue and did nothing to resolve it for several months. Beyond this: my revisions and requested changes have consistently been ignored, several times for multiple months. Beyond the latest approval and one other approval years ago, all delays have been caused by Dorrance. I was told that this company would work with me to get my work published, and so far they have been aloof at best and a liability at worst. A handwritten letter may have been a necessity twenty years ago when things were less reliable, however, I had sent email after email often failing to get a reply for several months at a time. They have no lived up to their side of the contract, and they hide behind a technicality that is two decades out of date. 
  
  Regards,
  
  ***** ********

• Initial Complaint

  Date:03/02/2025

  Type:Service or Repair 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.

  On 3/7/2023 I made a down payment with this buisness with the intention that they would illustrate and publish a children's book that I created. The contract I signed gave a timeline that would have had the book ready for publishing around the beginning of the year 2024. I made my final installment payment in August of 2023. After communication and work-in progress designs I was informed that I would need to pay more for the number of illustrations I was wanting for the book. I paid that amount on 2/4/2024. For the next 4 months I recieved regular contact with my project manager. However it has been several months since I have recieved any contact and my proposed timeline has been exceeded by a year.

  Business Response

  Date: 03/11/2025

  Her Project Manager reached out to her last week to confirm that she has approved her page proofs, and we are finalizing the illustrations. We can send the book to print once we have the author's final approvals on all materials.

• Initial Complaint

  Date:01/14/2025

  Type:Service or Repair 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.

  The business has not resolved the problem. The initial contact with the parent company for RoseDog Publishing (Dorrance Publishing) as to why my book is appearing on the Amazon site was done in 2019. It is now six years later and the ****** listing is still online without my permission. I got my book published with this company in 2004. I have reordered a number of times without any disruptions. But when I finished my association with this company, I expected to keep all rights to this book since I am the author. It is a copyrighted publication and my permission should have been sought before having it listed with ******. I have provided no permission to ****** to become a partner in the sales of my book but since they have advertised it then I have not received any percentage of they profits on my book.

  Business Response

  Date: 01/15/2025

  The ****** website, as well as the documents Ms. ***** has provided, clearly show that ****** has the book listed as unavailable for sale. As she stated, her contract with us is terminated, and our company no longer sells, distributes, or produces her book. However, we are unable to remove all documentation from the internet that this book did exist. Dorrance would no longer fulfill any orders for this book, but we cannot prevent third parties from listing bibliographic information about it.

• Initial Complaint

  Date:01/03/2025

  Type:Service or Repair 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 was charged $4200 FOR PUBLISHING MY MANUSCRIPT FOR BOOK BY DORRANCE PUBLISHING COMPANY AT ************* AND I TRIED DIALING BUT I DON'T RECEIVE A RETURN CALL BACK

  Business Response

  Date: 01/07/2025

  Mr. ********* account with us is severely past due. He was offered an installment plan, but stopped making payments four years ago; therefore, his project with us has been on hold. We are uncertain at which number he has been trying to reach us, but we have no record of any recent calls from him. We have now reached out to him by phone, but did not reach him. We left a voicemail reminding him of his account balance. We'd be happy to proceed with the publication of his book once his payments are current.

  Customer Answer

  Date: 01/15/2025

  Better Business Bureau:
  
  I have reviewed the response made by the business in reference to complaint ID ********, and have determined that this does not resolve my complaint.  For your reference, details of the offer I reviewed appear below.
  

  From: **** okiyefa <*******************************************************>
  Date: Wed, Jan 15, 2025 at 9:11?AM
  Subject: Re: You have a new message from the BBB serving ******************** regarding complaint #********.
  To: Better Business Bureau <*******************************************************************************

   *****************************************************.     DORRANCE PUBLISHING COMPANY DID NOT CONTACT ME EITHER BY PHONE OR BY EMAIL * SO THEREFORE I' M ASKING THAT REFUND SHOULD BE SENT TO MY ADDRESS ABOVE

  
  Regards,
  
  **** Ayakpo Okiyefa

  Business Response

  Date: 01/16/2025

  It is untrue that we did not reach out to him. Mr. ******* spoke with us by phone on Wednesday January 15th. We informed him that no refund was due to him, that he in fact is substantially past due in payments due to Dorrance. He asked to terminate his agreement with us. We agreed to send the paperwork for this, but emphasized that there would be no refund, in accordance with the terms of the contract. Again, no refund is due because Mr. ******* is in default of the agreement.

• Initial Complaint

  Date:12/02/2024

  Type:Billing 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.

  Dorrance claims I owe $2450. My total costs were $7900, which I knew up front and agreed to.I charged all payments on my AmEx card. All are listed on the card's statements and have been paid by me. Payments: April 9, 2024: $3000. Sept 26: $2450. Nov 7: $2450. Accounting **** claims I did not pay the Nov 7 amount. Their invoice # is INV-******. I sent a screen shot of the AmEx statement showing it was paid.I demand they correctly credit me with the Nov 7 payment, which is the final payment due.

  Business Response

  Date: 12/09/2024

  This has been resolved. Ms. ***** provided confirmation from American Express on 12/3, and our accounting department confirmed with Ms. ***** on December 4th that her account was credited.

  Customer Answer

  Date: 12/09/2024

  [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:11/27/2024

  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.

  see Attached document

  Customer Answer

  Date: 12/02/2024

  Dorrance Publishing Co 585 Alpha Dr. 103 Pittsburgh, PA #103 
  21 November 2024 
  RE: Under ********** ***** 
  Dear Sir/Madam: 
  I submitted my manuscript the better part of a year ago and I admit that I am not confident that you can publish it; entirely too many mistakes have been made. Let me count the ways: 
  1. Your first submission for me to correct omitted chapter 5. 
  2. You apparently wanted to re-title the novel without my permission in this submission 
  3. The book cover and accompanying remarks were so poor as to mis-represent the entire project. 
  4. The print ready (I assume that was what is was) was so riddled with errors that it took three pages of corrections. Things that should not have been made including misspelled words, duplication of one of the pages, failure to realize a change of paragraph, and not realizing a change in focus that I pointed out to you twice. 
  In choosing a publisher, I relied on your long experience to do a competent job. I misjudged your competence. Accordingly, I must terminate our contractural obligation. There remains the $3,000 I sent you in confidence. I feel I should receive some kind of recompense. A corrected hard copy of my novel will be appreciated. 
  If you desire to contact me after December 1, I will have changed my address to: 
  **** ** ********** ***  ****** ** *****  **********  ****** ****** 
  

  
  

  Business Response

  Date: 12/11/2024

  We are more than happy to work with *** ****** to address any concerns, and in fact have already been doing so. However, please be aware that *** ****** is actually past due in his payments to us. We do not believe there are any issues that warrant a refund of money paid or reduction of his payments currently due to us.
  
  
  Per the terms of his contract, following his downpayment, subsequent payments were due when he was provided with the edited manuscript and when he was provided with the first set of page proofs. Both of these instances have already occurred.
  
  Regarding his specific questions:
  Chapter five was not included in the original manuscript we were provided. It skipped from Chapter IV to Chapter VI. Once *** ****** provided the text in question, it was added.
  
  When he was provided with the edited manuscript, he was given the opportunity to review and provide feedback at that time. Once it was approved to move to the page design stage, the text should have been set. Despite this, we do allow the opportunity to make any additional needed text changes at this stage. *** ****** submitted these changes, which we are currently working on incorporating. While there were a few typographical errors to be addressed, a number of his requests (such as recognizing when a chapter break was warranted) fall outside the scope of our "mechanical editing" which is meant to only address objective errors of spelling and grammar. We are happy to incorporate any subjective changes at the author's specific direction. We would never go to print until the author provides their final approval of all materials.
  
  The creation of an original design for the cover is a process which often requires some back and forth before arriving on a final design. We are happy to discuss *** ******** revisions and suggestions.
  
  In conclusion, all of his concerns are easily addressed, and in fact we have already been working with him to do so, despite the past-due status of his account.
  
  

• Initial Complaint

  Date:11/26/2024

  Type:Service or Repair 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.

  Dorrance is just the worst. They have been telling me that the layout of my book needs to be approved by me so they can release it. They told me a month and a half ago it would be ready in a week. Needless to say I STILL haven't seen no page ********* book is a Christmas story. When I told them it was important that this book gets released during the holiday season, they told me it doesn't matter when it gets released - that the book will sell regardless. Only 34 pages. They want to sell the book for $35. A price I did not agree on.The worst part is the waiting. They were supposed to have had this book ready for Christmas last year and they blamed the illustrator for taking his time. Now the illustrator was done this year in June and the page design was done and approved way earlier last year but the layout of the whole thing has to be sent to me for approval so they can release it and they still haven't sent it. Christmas is practically here. Holiday shopping starts this Friday the 29th.I avoided writing this complaint for so long because I didn't want to jeopardize the release of my book in any way. But at this point, I'm beginning not to care. Dorrance has SOURED my whole dream and experience of being an author and I don't know what else to do but to write a complaint about it here.

  Business Response

  Date: 12/09/2024

  Just prior to receiving this complaint, we had already sent Mr. ****** his latest materials for review. He reviewed and approved them that same day (11/27/24) and we acknowledged that approval and notified him that his project was moving forward to the printing stage. We could not move the project to print until receiving his final approval. We're sorry to hear that he's disappointed in the retail price set for the book. Per our contract, the price is set by Dorrance and does not require author approval. We do understand his concerns, but we set the price based on several factors that include the production costs for producing the specific of book. As his book is hardbound with a color interior it is expensive to produce, and the retail price must reflect that. We use the same formula to price all of our books, and our experience has shown that books do sell with this pricing. We are looking forward to seeing Mr. ******** book in print, and he is welcome to reach out to us with any further questions.
  

  Customer Answer

  Date: 12/24/2024

  Better Business Bureau:
  
  I have reviewed the response made by the business in reference to complaint ID ********, and have determined that this does not resolve my complaint.  For your reference, details of the offer I reviewed appear below.
  
  My complaint with Dorrance publishing is that they keep delaying the release of my first book. As in the contract, the book should've been released 320 business days after the contract was signed. But it's really been more like over 500 business days since the contract has been signed and they still haven't released the book. The worst part is the waiting. They were supposed to have had this book ready for Christmas last year and they blamed the illustrator for taking his time. Now the illustrator was done this year in June and the page design was done and approved way earlier last year. Christmas is practically here. Holiday shopping started Friday the 29th on November. Dorrance has SOURED my whole dream and experience of being an author and I don't know what else to do but to write a complaint about it here.

  
  Regards,
  
  ******* ****** **

• Initial Complaint

  Date:11/22/2024

  Type:Service or Repair 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 wrote and had Rosedog Books publish, "Collection of Short Stories", Paperback July 26, 2010, it say. I was told that the book is not selling so I had to end contracts with them; yet I ****** my name 3 months ago and up to today I find that my book is for sale on ******, yet not on other site.

  Business Response

  Date: 11/22/2024

  Our contract for the publication of her book "Collection of Short Stories" was terminated at her request in October 2022. At that time, we ceased producing, distributing, and selling the book. We not would fulfill any orders for the book from that date forward. We cannot, and have no obligation to, erase all evidence that the book was published and existed. The Amazon listing shows that the book is unavailable for sale, which is correct. We're happy to answer any questions Ms. ****** may have.