Yikes. C’mon, Amazon–at least get rid of the bio for the real SK.
Naaman Brown
8 years ago
When other authors discover there are already established authors with the same name, they have the grace and common sense to pick unused pen names to avoid confusion and the appearance of ripoff.
Oh, no, Naaman. Sorry, but they don’t. You’d be amazed at how many books are out there that are deliberately trying to confuse the reader and acquire sales that way. I would betcha that this writer gets a BOATLOAD of sales. May also get a lot of returns…but who knows how many sales he’ll make and keep?
I’ve seen covers that are positively GOT ripoffs, down to the throne, the whole schmear, and the author has 2 initials, etc.
Whoever said that imitation is the sincerest form of flattery was ages ahead of his/her time. Amazon’s bookshelves are as flattering as all get out.
And, here’s how Amazon is dealing with this–they have this statement on the eBook’s sales page:
Please Note:
Amazon offers books by various authors named Stephen King. If you are looking for Stephen King, bestselling author of The Shining and The Stand, please visit his Amazon.com Author Page.
BUT: they do have this booked linked to the Dark Lord’s Author page (the original Stephen King). I’ll bet he’s thrilled.
The really sad part? While there are a number of reviewers, warning others that “this isn’t the Stephen King you are looking for,” there are a lot of reviews talking about how much they love this author, and this book. {sigh}.
A few things strike me as sad when looking through this.
1. Many people were taken in by this scam even though there are warnings all through the reviews.
2. Many people gave this really high scores even though they said they hated it just because they thought it was Stephen King and he warrants many stars.
3. This guy has been doing this since February 7, 2014 and hasn’t been stopped yet.
4. People are willing to spend $4 on each of the 5 parts of this, which would be long enough to make a full book if they were all combined.
HOW could they NOT see the gigantic pile of reviews, all titled “THIS IS NOT STEPHEN KING!!”? Seriously?
I’m gobsmacked.
Let me ‘fess up, now: Probably 20+ years ago, I grabbed up a paperback novel in a supermarket aisle (I forget the title now), by “Alistair McLean.” It wasn’t; it was a head-fake, by “Alistair MacNeil.” Done by the actual publisher, you understand, after McLean’s death. In fact, it was this book: http://www.amazon.com/Rendezvous-Alastair-MacNeill/dp/0006476236 But was it Alistair McLean, even at the bottom of his form? NYET, baby. It wasn’t even close. Therefore, you don’t have to be stupid to make the error, but I’m pretty sure that if I’d seen dozens of reviews, SCREAMING at me, I’d have noticed.
I’m with you, Waffs–what’s even sadder are the GLOWING reviews. I’m like…uhr????
I hope S. King #2 can afford to fight civil tort cases from S. King #1 — who’s rich enough to pay lawyers and pursue lawsuits for the next 20 years. 🙂
And I wonder what Amazon may do when they discover the blatent ripoff ruse that’s now involving them.
I won’t hold my breath waiting for Amazon to act. Amazon has left up Anthony Giangregorio’s unauthorized sequel to “Dawn of the Dead”, removed under the title “Dead Reckoning” but still up with a different cover and title (“Kingdom of the Dead”) plus a novel by him as both “Dead Rage” and “The Rage Plague” and one reviewer confessed to buying it under both titles. Amazon still lists David Byron Boyer’s “Souls in Question” when the opening chapter is blatantly stolen from another author.
An author who I admire made a point of checking her name in searches, found an author already established by that name, and used her own childhood nickname as pen name to be unique and avoid confusion.
It is not to difficult for me to conclude that the reason to use the same name as an established author is to scam the unwary.
![cover[1]](https://lousybookcovers.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/12/cover1-6.jpg)
Yikes. C’mon, Amazon–at least get rid of the bio for the real SK.
When other authors discover there are already established authors with the same name, they have the grace and common sense to pick unused pen names to avoid confusion and the appearance of ripoff.
Oh, no, Naaman. Sorry, but they don’t. You’d be amazed at how many books are out there that are deliberately trying to confuse the reader and acquire sales that way. I would betcha that this writer gets a BOATLOAD of sales. May also get a lot of returns…but who knows how many sales he’ll make and keep?
I’ve seen covers that are positively GOT ripoffs, down to the throne, the whole schmear, and the author has 2 initials, etc.
Whoever said that imitation is the sincerest form of flattery was ages ahead of his/her time. Amazon’s bookshelves are as flattering as all get out.
And, here’s how Amazon is dealing with this–they have this statement on the eBook’s sales page:
Please Note:
Amazon offers books by various authors named Stephen King. If you are looking for Stephen King, bestselling author of The Shining and The Stand, please visit his Amazon.com Author Page.
BUT: they do have this booked linked to the Dark Lord’s Author page (the original Stephen King). I’ll bet he’s thrilled.
The really sad part? While there are a number of reviewers, warning others that “this isn’t the Stephen King you are looking for,” there are a lot of reviews talking about how much they love this author, and this book. {sigh}.
A few things strike me as sad when looking through this.
1. Many people were taken in by this scam even though there are warnings all through the reviews.
2. Many people gave this really high scores even though they said they hated it just because they thought it was Stephen King and he warrants many stars.
3. This guy has been doing this since February 7, 2014 and hasn’t been stopped yet.
4. People are willing to spend $4 on each of the 5 parts of this, which would be long enough to make a full book if they were all combined.
I know, Waffs, right?
HOW could they NOT see the gigantic pile of reviews, all titled “THIS IS NOT STEPHEN KING!!”? Seriously?
I’m gobsmacked.
Let me ‘fess up, now: Probably 20+ years ago, I grabbed up a paperback novel in a supermarket aisle (I forget the title now), by “Alistair McLean.” It wasn’t; it was a head-fake, by “Alistair MacNeil.” Done by the actual publisher, you understand, after McLean’s death. In fact, it was this book: http://www.amazon.com/Rendezvous-Alastair-MacNeill/dp/0006476236 But was it Alistair McLean, even at the bottom of his form? NYET, baby. It wasn’t even close. Therefore, you don’t have to be stupid to make the error, but I’m pretty sure that if I’d seen dozens of reviews, SCREAMING at me, I’d have noticed.
I’m with you, Waffs–what’s even sadder are the GLOWING reviews. I’m like…uhr????
Oh, to have fans so obsessed with you that they would buy a book, give you 5 stars, and not even read the thing.
One can dream.
I hope S. King #2 can afford to fight civil tort cases from S. King #1 — who’s rich enough to pay lawyers and pursue lawsuits for the next 20 years. 🙂
And I wonder what Amazon may do when they discover the blatent ripoff ruse that’s now involving them.
I’d be pissed if I were either party.
I won’t hold my breath waiting for Amazon to act. Amazon has left up Anthony Giangregorio’s unauthorized sequel to “Dawn of the Dead”, removed under the title “Dead Reckoning” but still up with a different cover and title (“Kingdom of the Dead”) plus a novel by him as both “Dead Rage” and “The Rage Plague” and one reviewer confessed to buying it under both titles. Amazon still lists David Byron Boyer’s “Souls in Question” when the opening chapter is blatantly stolen from another author.
An author who I admire made a point of checking her name in searches, found an author already established by that name, and used her own childhood nickname as pen name to be unique and avoid confusion.
It is not to difficult for me to conclude that the reason to use the same name as an established author is to scam the unwary.
Wow. And here I was really hoping that nobody would mind that my Double-Secret-Probation-Name is actually Dan Brown. No? No?
:-0
No! No! I mentioned no names! Shhh!