To think they should be paying me.

[Fuckitbucket13]

I sent a book I'd written to a publisher & have just received a contract with this letter, the thing is they want £2500 to publish the book.
I have no idea if I'm being conned or if my book is actually quite good.
Do you think they send letters like this to all wannabe publishers?

To pay or run for the hills?

You want a service they provide, you pay. Unsure why you think they pay you....

That's not normal (I'm a publisher).

Georgia huh?? If she was self publishing the book then she would expect to pay to do so; publishing with a publisher means they pay to create the book and pay the author a royalty based on sales.

No, that's a scam.

It seems like a vanity press, eg if you want to publish a book you pay them to do it

Total scam. Genuine publishers pay you for the rights to your book!

This doesn't mean your book isn't good - just that you should hold out for a genuine publisher and not hand over your money to charlatans.

@Fuckitbucket13

How much research did you do on this publisher? There are a lot of "pay to publish" places around - sometimes it works out but often, you'll get one print run and will have to do all the marketing yourself etc. I worked in a bookshop for 5 years, and we never bought from those types of publishers.

I know nothing about publishing but that letter reads like a total scam rather than one from an organisation that has anything to do with good writing and writers

And a lot of reputable publishers won't accept unsolicited work.

You want to get yourself a literary agent first. You don't need to send off the full book; you can send the synopsis, first chapter and sample chapter if you want to save on postage.

Is your book fiction?

It's not a scam; they're a vanity publishing company.

Basically- you're paying for the privilege of saying you're a published author.

Have you sent your book to any "real" publishers?

Have you considered publishing on Kindle? You can set the price, earn money and not have any outlay? (Or very minimal outlay anyway less than £10).

It's a vanity publisher not a scam.
Don't pay them. Create an e-book and sell it online or contact an agent.

The word scam is used far too much now, but that reads like one to me. A vanity publisher will give you the costs and leave the rest to you, there's no hard sell. That letter is implying that they're doing you a favour, you're going to achieve great things, when in reality they're just after your money. It's the equivalent of the "model agencies" that charge you for a portfolio with no intention of finding you work.

@sunbeam18, No. I was really poorly a few years ago which left me a bit battered emotionally & physically. I started to write down everything that was happening from hospital stay to eventual recovery to help me cope, which eventually turned into a very long diary then a book.

@saucyjack, I thought these were 'real' but no I haven't.

I googled & came across this publishing company. I'll send a sample to a literary agent I think.

I skipped around the house all excited as well! Oh well.

@annieOH1 I woud love to do that but feel the book needs a lot of work with grammar (not my strong point as you may have noticed)& other things. My friend said it's really good but a bit a bit all over the place.

Total scam. You should never, never pay a publisher - they should pay you.

Also, this will be something they offer to everyone not just ‘risky’ debut authors. Look at Author Beware for the red flags you need to look out for.

It’s not a scam. They’re a vanity project

No reputable publisher or agent will ask you to pay them. This is either a vanity publisher or a scam. You can publish on Kindle more or less for free, very easily.