Victoria Strauss -- Laray Carr Publications, a.k.a. LC Publications, a.k.a. LCP Media
At the beginning of August, I got a question about Laray Carr Publications, a magazine publisher whose ads on Craigslist and elsewhere offered writers a fee of $50 per article for ten articles on subjects to be provided by the publisher. My questioner was concerned because she couldn't find any information on the company, and its answers to her questions were vague and evasive.
(Parenthetical note: I know that tons of people think Craigslist is fab, but I mostly hear about it in connection with scams. Please, writers, treat any writing-related opportunity advertised on Craigslist--or any other free jobs listing--with extra care. If your research doesn't turn up enough information to absolutely satisfy you that the company is for real, move on, no matter how tempting the opportunity seems.)
I looked at LCP's contract and accompanying material, did some additional research, and noted the following issues.
- Apart from the aforementioned Craigslist ads and one or two other job postings (the multiple grammatical and spelling errors in these ads aren't tremendously confidence-inspiring), information on LCP was nonexistent. No website. No press releases. No publications. Not even a street address or phone number.
- LCP's contract (which, like its ads, was punctuated with errors) was exclusive for only one month after first publication, but gave the company unlimited rights to re-use and re-publish articles without further compensation to authors. Publishers re-using articles without compensation has been an item of major contention in the writing world over the past few years, and the subject of legal decisions (such as Tasini vs. the NY Times).
- No word count was specified for the articles. $50 for a capsule review isn't so bad, but for a 1,000-word or longer article, it's pretty poor. (Apparently, LCP is actually paying only $25 for shorter articles--see some of the complaints linked in below--but this was not mentioned anywhere in the materials I saw.)
- Payment was on publication--which in real-life terms means "possibly never," especially where, as in this case, the company hasn't actually published anything yet.
- Did I mention that LCP hadn't published anything yet? Nevertheless, it was planning to launch 35 different magazines--with titles such as Foodie ("focus on good living and fine food"), Shake 'Em ("written for the specialty drink and cocktail consumer"), Satire ("features fashion, beauty, health and entertainment news"), Urban Bride ("a must have for the African American bride to be"), Scope and Barrel ("ultimate sportsman magazine"), and Tricked ("for enthusiast [sic] of the specialty culture of the fixed up rides")--on September 20, 2007.
Say what? 35 different magazines? All at the same time? By September 20? When here it was the beginning of August, and they were short enough of articles to still be advertising for writers??? I've been involved in a magazine startup, so I know a little bit about the enormous amount of time and money it takes to launch just one magazine, and the intense effort that's required to shepherd it through the promotion, publicity, and distribution process after it's published. Even with a successful launch, it can be a long time before the publisher sees a profit--if indeed it ever does. No publisher in its right mind would try to launch 35 magazines simultaneously.
All in all, LCP seemed extremely suspicious to me. Not a scam, maybe, but certainly not a professional endeavor. I suggested that my questioner steer clear.
Fast-forward to September. LCP is still running ads (in addition to writers, it's now calling for sales reps--note the familiar spelling/grammatical/typing errors), but there's still no sign of a website, advertising, or any other publicity for the imminent magazine launch. Nevertheless, LCP's web presence has dramatically increased, due to a burgeoning number of comments from writers who are skeptical about LCP's credentials or are having second thoughts about writing for the company. See, for instance, this post from Matt Finley's A Musing Scribe blog; this thread from the Absolute Write message board; and these two threads at Deborah Ng's Freelance Writing Jobs blog (LCP staffer Hope Hunt shows up in the second thread to defend the company). Another thread posted at the Online Writing Jobs website, in which Roger Owens of LCP appeared to make legal threats against writers who voiced doubts about the company, has been removed.
Summing up writers' concerns:
- LCP's pay rates are not as advertised. Ads say $50 per article, but writers have been told that shorter articles pay only $25.
- LCP's business plan is insane. See above.
- Questions about the company and its magazines yield vague, contradictory responses. LCP staff don't seem to know anything about the company, its finances, its goals and objectives, or its personnel.
- Little hard information about LCP can be found. No website. No street address or phone number--not even on LCP's contract or in its writers' guidelines (I have copies). One writer alleges that the fax number provided by LCP staffer Hope Hunt in her emails traces to a steam cleaning company in Virginia. I've confirmed this. It's actually not so surprising, considering that the cleaner's website is registered to Hope Hunt. (Here's Hope Hunt's own website; note the similarities.)
- Will writers be paid for their work? Many writers have turned in articles. Given the questions about LCP's viability and the fact that payment is on publication, they're concerned about whether they'll ever see a check.
Writer Beware is concerned as well. We advise writers and other job seekers to be extremely cautious with this company.
Names under which LCP has presented itself: Laray Carr Publications, LCP Media, LC Publications.
Staff names associated with LCP to date: Austin Beck, Howard Davis, Hope Hunt, Roger Owens, David Person.
posted by Victoria Strauss @ 10:47 PM
198 comments
links to this post
198 Comments:
I posted an email from Hope Hunt on the Freelance Writer's Board (Deb's Board) where Hope says her husband runs the cleaning company. She never addresses any of the contract concerns.
It's sad such a huge scam can come about and have such staying power due to advertising what many new writers consider a great rate of pay. When $50 can draw us in, maybe we all need to rethink what we will work for.
It looks, walks, and quacks like a scam, but I'm hazy on how the scammer benefits. Sure, it looks like the writers won't get paid for their articles, but how will the scammer make money? Slap a different name on and then sell the articles to a real paying market? What if the articles suck and don't sell? Seems to me they'd make cash faster by running a three card monty game on the sidewalk in front of the dry cleaners.
Fifty magazines in one throw? Good freakin' grief, the people involved have been sniffing the cleaning fumes.
I was told that they're looking for over 900 articles a month. These articles could be resold, slapped up on a website with some advertising to earn money, bundled and sold to webmasters -- there are all kinds of ways to make money from free content. Take a look around the web. These articles don't have to be well-written to bring in some cash.
The other thing that is really fishy to me is that they don't even check a writer's clips or credentials before assigning articles. When I wrote to request more information, the reply I received from Roger Owens (who also uses a gmail address) was to contact Hope for article assignment. No one asked to see clips or a resume, I was just asked how many articles I could complete by Monday.
Thanks for looking into this, Victoria.
In latest news (from this thread from Deborah Ng's Freelance Writing Jobs blog), a woman who identifies herself as a consultant hired by LCP says that the company is owned by a millionaire ex-sports star who has the money to fund the magazines, and that it has hired designers etc., contracted with a printer, bought ad space, and secured distribution. Launch date has been pushed back to October.
We'll see. I will definitely be following this.
P.S. I'm not at all convinced it's a scam. Right now I'm thinking it's more likely a hugely ill-advised vanity project that will end in tears for everyone involved.
I don't believe Craigslit to be the root of all evil. I found so many great jobs there - but I do believe they need to make it more difficult for scammers and no payers to post their offers.
I don't know if Laray Carr is a scam or not. There are several things that don't sit right with me, first and foremost is their reluctance to give out information about themselves. I would never work for a business that not only refuses to list pertinent contact information in the contract, but also evades questions regarding said details.
My other issues have to do with the publishing angle. I worked many years in a publishing house. Starting up one or two magazines in one year is not only expensive, it's risky. For anyone to think he can launch 35 magazines in a month is not only foolish - it's idiotic. I don't care how many millionaire ball players on board.
Also, the desperation in their ads is a red flag - asking for multiple articles to be turned in within a matter of days? How long have they been planning this ventures that they're looking to stock their 35 magazines in only a month? How is this possible?
Also, how can they focus proper attention on promoting and circulating each individual magazine when so many are launched at the same time?
It may not be a scam, but it's certainly a foolish venture, one all writers would be well advised to stay away from.
I know nothing about this company other than what is referenced here, but I thought I might submit the following to suggest why LCP may not be a *scam*, but may be a rather stupidly planned business venture that in essence is not unique in the annals of publishing, but may also be close to a scam for the *practical purposes* of writers. I worked for a company called All American Crafts in 1990-91 (it still exists), and it produced numerous also-ran-type magazines (they were virtually designed to be second- or third-tier), and most (or huge percentages) of the copies of a given issue were returned from newsstands unsold, according to annual U.S. Postal Service statements of ownership. The company was owned by a man (with two partners) who had made money in porn, and he had this crafts-mag company as a sort of "showpiece," as one or more of the sincere-enough editors there admitted it was. The owner actually had been (and perhaps still is) a big wheel in the magazine *distribution* industry; he was a consultant for distribution of big titles such as Muscle and Fitness. This crafts-mag venture may have been a way to "give back" to the public via innocent magazines after he had made $ in porn; it may also have served him well for tax write-offs to counterbalance money made from his other business interests. One of his partners, who died not long ago, was a big porn publisher (of small-name mags), who had originally been a schoolteacher in Canada, I believe. Bottom line: it is not hard to start magazines, including several at a time, if you have the financing and/or connections that allow distribution. The mags could be returned unsold from newsstands at a high percentage, and after a certain number of instances of this, the publisher may fold some or all of the titles. Why would a millionaire do this? In the specific case of LCP, who knows. But it's not completely insane. And for beginning writers, publishing articles in these also-ran mags *may* be a way to accumulate clips, but beware of bad editing, a long lead time to publishing, monkey business with getting paid, etc.
I am very afraid if this is a scam (although I do not think it is). I sent this company my information, as well as signed the contract (which seemed pretty standard?). I just googled the company and found this, as opposed to a site. This is scary. $50 for 1000+ articles IS low, but if it is steady money, I do not mind. At this point, I need a few steady gigs in addition to my creative endeavors. I was contacted after sending my resume/writing samples, and asked what I could contribute by a said deadline. Hope Hunt is who I dealt with, and she was very quick and courteous to get back to me. I do not think a scammer would be so inclined? Who knows. At this time, I sincerely hope I see money out of this, as I do need it and did work "under the gun" to churn out content. Pray for me, folks.
Anonymous, most scammers are quick and courteous; it's profitable for them to be so. This may not be a scam if someone clueless is throwing money around. If so, I hope they throw some towards the writers.
For future reference, whether scam or clueless, it's good to get the finances in writing.
Two things I would worry about is the lack of request for writing credentials and the "last-minute" mentality. It doesn't sound as if they'll be overly picky as to what they publish so, if not a scam, it's doubtful they'll be in business long. This has nothing to do with the writer, who may be submitting excellent articles, but with the publisher.
If they've accepted your pieces, and they do pay when (and if) they publish, you may have some negotiating room to tie down finances. Good luck.
Maybe they should hire an editor, also.
@Gregory Ludwig - I'm very familiar with whom you're speaking of. George Mavety was part owner of All American Crafts and dozens or porn magazines through the Mavety Media Group umbrella.
While Mr.Mavety was known to launch several magazines a year, he also would tell you it's fool hardy to launch about 35 at the same time. Especially if you're unknown in the publishing world.
MMG already had established relationships with printers, distributors and more but when he started his empire it was with one magazine only. Therein lies the difference.
Victoria, thanks for wrapping all of this up so nicely. I've been following bits and pieces here and there. Like you, I don't think there's enough evidence yet to call it a scam, but it's certainly a group of folks I'll avoid working with. I've linked to your post on my blog to warn others, because you summarized it all so well. Thanks for what you do here.
Deb:
Thanks for your info re George Mavety. Glad to hear there is someone else who knows about All American Crafts and associates. You're right, launching 35 mags at once (in LCP's case) seems ridiculous. The only possible sense it could make is, as with so much else regarding the Internet today, the LCP principals feel they can increase their chances of success and reduce risk via creating a widely spread sensation, and drawing a large number of contributors, via the Internet. When I was with AAC in the early 1990s, of course the Internet didn't exist with the public access it has now, but AAC did start several titles when I was there with a tiny staff and tiny pay for us. And the principle for quality of content was middle-of-the-road, almost mediocre; it was trying to make "also-ran" product par excellence, if that makes any sense.
One additional point I thought of after posting my longer comment above is that a launch of several magazines at once by a company that seems like borderline sleaze exemplifies publishing in its crudest, most reptilian form--it's about distribution and seeing what sales you get back from throwing a bunch of product out there, and secondary to this is attracting talent to provide the product's content.
If the person has a free ISP like yahoo or hotmail, I go, "Whoa babies." Flags all over the place! Anyone who "risk shares" with this guy is nuts, in my humble. Did someone really say $50 for 1000 articles was OK since it was steady? This is on OUR planet?
I just received an email from Hope Hunt from Laray Carr Publications looking to buy photography from me. I am a professional photographer with a lot of golf type imagery, this is what Hope Hunt was saying she need ASAP for their publication coming out ASAP. Thank you for posting on this page as a heads up for other people she is comtacting. This really helps - thanks.
Isn't this just another case of "if it sounds too good to be true, it isn't"?
The $50.00 seems terribly low to me. Over a decade ago I made that for one time rights (reprint)for a 500-750 word article PAC. I know a lot of print markets have dried up, but has it gotten that bad? I didn't even bother with POP publications unless they were local newspapers.
I believe this is a scam and "Hope" is the ring leader.
Intelius Report for Laray Carr Publications Business Address:
Current Resident:
Thelma Smith
201 CRENSHAW ST
TERRELL, TX 75160
Confirmed Current Address
Whois Output for: epoh.com
Domain Name Owner:
Huckaby, Hope
709 Edgestone Pl #157
Arlington, TX 76006
US
Administrative Contact:
Huckaby, Hope
709 Edgestone Pl #157
Arlington, TX 76006, US
Phone: 469-358-2724
Email: hope_e_huckaby@hotmail.com
Whois Output for: steamingcleaning.net
Domain Name Owner:
Hunt, Hope
885 Cascade Dr.
Newport News, VA 23608
US
Administrative Contact:
Hunt, Hope
885 Cascade Dr.
Newport News, VA 23608, US
Phone: 757-576-0019
Email: hope_e_hunt@hotmail.com
I have connections with USPS and they have never received any mail at the Terrell, Texas address with the name Laray Carr or Roger Owens.
Also, my connection at UPS says a package has never been through their system with the name Laray Carr. No packages sent or received, ever!
LCP's profile id on guru.com is
832156.
They owe $1760 to someone for graphic design, unpaid. $1,200 is an uppaid invoice from 8/10.
Never paid anyone, but posted several jobs.
This post has been removed by the author.
Anonymous 5:45--
If you look at the Whois domain registration info for www.epoh.com (Hope Hunt's Virtual Assistant website), you'll see it was registered to Hope Huckaby in Texas in 2002. The Whois info for the steam cleaner's website (whose fax number is the same as the one Hope Hunt provides in her LCP emails) shows it was registered to Hope Hunt in Virginia in 2005.
One very simple explanation for the name and location change would be that Hope got married and moved to Virginia. This is strongly suggested by the info on archived versions of her website, which are very different from the current version. It's a little bit of a tangled web, but not a mystery.
I've no idea what the Terrell, TX connection is, or who Thelma Smith is. Nor can I confirm that info, since I'm not willing to pay $14.95 to Intelius.
Anonymous 5:55--
Unless I'm doing something wrong, your info doesn't check out. That profile ID on Guru.com leads to a resume posting for an administrative assistant in Utah.
Hi, Hope. Thanks for your comments. You posted just as I was putting my comments online.
I appreciate your willingness to answer questions. I do have a few.
- What's your exact job title with Laray Carr Publications?
- Who owns Laray Carr Publications? If it's a division of a larger company, what's the company's name?
- Where is LCP's funding coming from?
- It's been said that LCP has designers, printers, advertising, and distribution already in place. Can you provide any details? For instance, who will be distributing the magazines? Where will ads appear?
- It's been said that websites for the magazines have been created and are ready to go. Can you give us an idea of when they will go live?
- Is the company still planning to launch 35 magazines at once?
- What's the current launch date for the magazines?
- Could you clear up the questions about the Terrell, Texas address?
Thanks very much for helping to shed some light on a murky situation.
This post has been removed by the author.
Interesting.
Shouldn't the director of communications for ANY company be able to answer such simple, direct questions about the functioning of sed business?
How is it that Ms.Hunt was given such an important role in this company then left dangling without any pertinent information?
Surely the director of communications (this would indicate a PR role) would be well versed in such information and would be able to readily answer these questions. They are, after all, straight forward, and should certainly be no mystery to the company's head PR/Communications person. It sounds as though this lady really doesn't have any answers at all.
And, I'm very sorry, but to leave such pointed, simple questions unanswered with a "you'll have to go to the source" line??? If Ms. Hunt had no intention of actually answering questions, why bother?
I also find it uncommonly "convenient" that the site is not up and running. It leads the skeptic in me to assume that the page that the info leads to is just a dummy set up to hold off further questions until the person/persons involved in this bizarre fantasy can come up with a few pages of half-way believable tripe.
Again, this is the skeptic in me speaking. I hope that this is not the case.
Ms. Hunt, surely it wouldn't be too much of an inconvenience to answer the following questions:
Who owns Laray Carr Publications? If it's a division of a larger company, what's the company's name?
Where is LCP's funding coming from?
And, for anyone unfamiliar with common business practice, if this company is legitimate all of this information will be a matter of public record, therefore: Ms.Hunt shouldn't have any "legal" issues about answering these questions.
I'm assuming it was Ms. Hunt's posts that she herself removed. If she removed rather than answer, Anonymous 4:28, back away slowly. IMO, send a registered notice that you're yanking back your articles and try to resell.
I have sent an e-mail to Hope asking for when the magazines would be launched and recieved no response. I have also sent an invoice for the articles I wrote for them. No response on that either.
Luckily, I have comments in this blog set to go to my email address, so even though Hope has removed her comments here, I still have both her posts.
In her first post, Hope admitted that her husband runs the steam cleaning business in Newport News, VA, where the Laray Carr faxes go.
In her second post, Hope stated that her title with Laray Carr is Director of Publishing Communication. She said she wasn't involved in advertising or distribution, so couldn't answer those questions--but they'd be addressed once the Laray Carr website went live. That was set to happen yesterday, but problems "problems with the backend" had arisen, so the website was currently just a place holder. (I just checked; the place holder is still there.) Hope also said that the individual magazine websites would go live just after the main Laray Carr website did, and that the magazines' launch had been pushed from September 20, 2007, to the first week in October.
The Whois information for Laray Carr's URL reveals that it was created on August 30, 2007. When was the last time you heard of a business waiting till a month before launch to register its domain name?
The address given for Laray Carr is 151 Meadowview CT 605, Terrell, Texas 75160. The Internet isn't totally reliable for stuff like this, but here's what turns up when you run a search on that address: a business called Mecum Technologies Corp. (the phone numbers are different, though). Meadowview Court appears to be a community of townhomes.
The administrative/technical contact for Laray Carr is Quincy Carr. Again acknowledging the Internet's limitations for people searching, several Quincy Carrs can be found online--including this one, a comedian born in Texas but based in Chesapeake, VA, which is in the same area code region as Newport News, VA, where Hope Hunt's husband's steam cleaning business is.
Curiouser and curiouser.
Okay, it now seems that there's surely enough information to suggest that this is a scam. As I too have written an article for them I'm curious on how to proceed. How do I go about sending a registered notice if I want the article back? Is there any way to insure that they don't resell it? I imagine not. While I'm horrified that people would engage in this kind of article scamming I don't desperately need the money right now - should I just write this off as a good learning experience?
I deleted my posts trying to help clear things up when someone called my husband's business and yelled at his secretaries and threatened my family.
My husband's business has nothing to do with this nor do I personally as I am doing a job just like all the writers who have chosen to write. Laray Carr has not violated any agreements with anyone as EVERYONE was told they would not be paid until the launch.
I used his fax machine because it was easier for me, not because it has anything else to do with the Laray Carr company. Please stop harassing my family. At this point, just stop and wait to see what happens, all the "rumors" are not going to change the outcome, in fact, all they are doing is hurting a great opportunity for many people who need/want to work and many people are working very hard to get these magazines launched.
Info given by LCP:
Based in Forth Worth, Texas, Laray Carr Print is a subsidiary of a North Texas Diversified Investment Company.
Company lists several "corporate officers" being named. All corporations are required by law to file their articles of incorporation.
Texas corporation search link:
http://ecpa.cpa.state.tx.us/coa/Index.html
Company Information: NORTH TEXAS DIVERSIFIED INVESTMENTS INC
5633 WESTCREEK DR %BENJAMIN K BANKS
FORT WORTH, TX 76133-2248
Status: NOT IN GOOD STANDING
Registered Agent: BENJAMIN K BANKS
5633 WESTCREEK
FT. WORTH, TX 76133
Registered Agent Resignation Date:
State of Incorporation: TX
File Number: 0104917100
Charter/COA Date: December 9, 1987
Charter/COA Type: Charter
Taxpayer Number: 30010805999
All investment companies are also required to register. I have spoken on the phone with the Texas office of public accounts and have turned up nothing registered as Laray Carr. An old company with the name Texas Diversified Investments. None of the named "corporate officers" were found in the search.
PS: The website is not running because they wouldn't pay the designers, who won't release the work.
PSS: If I had the distinguished title of Director of Communications, I would fork out $9.99 a month to set up an online fax service to make my "company presence" appear to be more professional.
Interesting information, Anonymous. However, I'm compelled to point out that "a subsidiary of a North Texas Diversified Investment Company" is not necessarily the same as "North Texas Diversified Investments Inc."
How do you know the designers haven't been paid? I've seen/received no complaints about that.
Hi V,
To be clearer, I don't think the two Investment companies are the same. Merely, I wanted to point out that LCP has not obtained proper licensure required by the state of Texas to operate a business, or in their case, a corporation. Articles of incorporation are filed with the states to put on record financial/ownership of a company. Perhaps this is an oversight of LCP. Although the Articles could be filed with another state, the DBA “Laray Carr” would be required to be filed with Texas if indeed that is their principal location of operation. Texas also requires that any resident named as an officer of a corporation file with the state of Texas regardless of their location of operation or state the Articles have been filed.
Yes, I have knowledge of web designers who have not been paid. They have been watching. Perhaps they will post.
Those individuals stating they are “officers” within the company have knowledge of this blog. I find it curious they do not respond to any of the questions. Hope responds with her limited knowledge. The “officers” have threatened “legal” action for posting on this site. LMAO.
So, prove me wrong LCP. Post your Articles of Incorporation! I think your business is a SCAM!
Hope: The only backend problem with the web is the designers who took it in the @!! and didn’t get paid.
Just to let you know I did put a link to your blog on my blog. I beleive you have a great deal of information that needs to be seen. My blog is http://www.articlescsmmers.blogspot.com
I am curious as to what kind of rights LCP Media has listed in the contracts the writers are signing.
Here are the relevant clauses from the Laray Carr contract I saw at the beginning of August (complete with spelling and other errors):
Services to be Provided by Writer. Writer agrees to submit, on his or her sole initiative, written articles to the Laray Carr Publications on the following subjects, Displayed Above (the "Articles"). The manner and method of producing these Articles is solely at the discretion of Writer; Laray Carr Publications has no right of control over Writers manner or method of performance under this Agreement. Writer will submit Articles in accordance with the schedule of copy deadlines being used by the Laray Carr Publications.
Compensation. Laray Carr Publications agrees to pay Writer per Article published by Laray Carr Publications. Under no circumstances will Writer be paid on an hourly, daily or other basis that is a function of time. Writer acknowledges and agrees that Laray Carr Publications will only pay writer for Articles that are published and Laray Carr Publications has the sole and exclusive authority to determine whether or not to publish any and all Articles submitted by Writer. Laray Carr Publications agrees to pay Writer per photograph published in conjunction with an Article; however, Writer understands and agrees that Laray Carr Publications may publish, at its sole discretion, any number of photographs less than or equal to those submitted by Writer with the Article.
Taxes. As an Independent Contractor, Writer shall be responsible for the reporting, deposit and payment of any and all federal, state, and local taxes, including but not limited to income taxes, FICA taxes, and unemployment taxes incidental to the performance of, or payment under this Agreement.
Assignment and Ownership of Intellectual Property. Writer hereby understands and agrees that all Articles submitted to, and published by, Laray Carr Publications under this Agreement shall be considered works for hire, and further, to the extend any intellectual property right does not pass pursuant to a work for hire, Writer hereby assigns to Laray Carr Publications all rights to publish the Article, and all previously submitted articles of Writer, in any tangible medium of expression, now known or later developed, from which it can be perceived, reproduced, or otherwise communicated, either directly or with the aid of a machine or device, including without limitation the rights to archive, republish, edit, repackage or revise any Article in any manner as Laray Carr Publications sees fit. The rights conferred upon Laray Carr Publications by this agreement shall be exclusive to Laray Carr Publications for a period of 1 months after the first date Laray Carr Publications initially publishes the Article.
Reading this originally, I assumed that Laray Carr had confused "work for hire" with "independent contractor," but reading it again now, I'm not so sure. From Nolo's definition of works made for hire: "With a work for hire, the author and copyright owner of a work is the person who pays for it, not the person who creates it."
On the other hand, if LCP publishes an article, its claim on rights becomes non-exclusive one month after publication--which usually means that authors can then sell their articles elsewhere as reprints. This contradicts the work for hire language, under which LCP would simply own the articles outright.
So this is actually even murkier than I initially thought.
Victoria:
Re your Sept. 7 8:44 p.m. comment: The contract is messier than you're suggesting. Three things are confused: work for hire; "independent contractor" (which normally would call for freelance-type pay, no taxes taken out by employer, and 1099-MISC at end of year); and the fact that the writing is paid for in *piecework* style. I.e., $50 an article, or whatever it is. If these are paid for in piecework style, then that is not "independent contractor" work, which normally involves some calculation of pay based on time. Thus, if a writer is paid piecemeal for articles, this would fall under "other income" on federal Form 1040 and would not be subject to state unemployment or other such state tax (but would only fall under "other income" for state income tax where applicable).
I say this as a layperson who has worked under payroll, or independent contractor, or non-independent contractor freelance pay arrangements over a number of years.
I'm curious to know how someone would stop a contract like this after signing. Is something available for that?
Again quoting the contract I saw at the beginning of August:
Contract Period. This agreement will begin on the date set forth below and shall continue until terminated as provided by either party. If either party violates a term of this Agreement, then the other party (the "Non-breaching Party") may terminate this Agreement, effective immediately upon delivery of written notice of termination by the Non-breaching Party. Not withstanding the foregoing, either party may terminate this Agreement at any time for any or no reason, effective upon thirty (30) days written notice.
The last sentence would appear to make it possible to terminate the agreement simply by writing to LCP. Since the street address is in doubt, my suggestion would be to send your termination notice to the email address of whoever was your contact with the company.
Terminating will sever your relationship with the company, but if you've already submitted articles, LCP would still retain rights to them.
WHOA.
That's all I got to say...
I really needed that money *broken heart*
I know what the facts are pointing 2. I have been following these blogs. Thanks a lot, Hope Hunt and Roger Owens--if you do exist! Whoever you are...
Haha. Also...DAVID PERSON the contract says. I bet they thought that was tooo cute!
I am suinggggg. I almost hope I don't get paid!!
I'm happy to say that Hope emailed me back and recieved my invoice. She said the checks will be mailed out before the beginning of October as the launch had changed to October. So it seems that's why writers were not notified because the checks will still be sent out close to Sept. 20th.
I just want to make sure I'm putting in that I DID recieve response since I said I had not gotten one yet.
Just like most of you I am very curious as to the outcome of this. At this point I feel I just have to wait until I should get paid and hope for the best.
I was contracted to do Marketing for Laray Carr. I cannot see any advantage this company would have to scam me.
I was provided with very detailed stuff and have done a reasonable amount of work for them. If its a scam, its pretty in depth.
I asked my contact just a couple of days ago if I would still get paid by the end of September as my contract said. I was told that I would probably get paid before then.
I am still getting responses to all of my questions and there has been talk of extending my contract. (Obviously I wouldn't do this until I have been paid for the first stuff.)
Anyway, I just thought I would share another point of view. I'm very intrigued and concerns, but trying to be cautiously optimistic.
The Terrel Texas townhome address is Quincy Carr's grandmothers address. From all the imformation ive gathered so far he is not the person I have thought he was for the last 8 years. So yes becareful.
I also found this http://www.glowhost.com/hall-of-shame/
Adding a link to the anonymous comment above: http://www.glowhost.com/hall-of-shame It's definitely worth a look.
If anyone is interested, Laray Carrs website is up, go have a look.
www.laraycarr.net
Well, it's up, but as of right now it's a shell--none of the links go anywhere.
I notice that "Penny" said:
I was contracted to do Marketing for Laray Carr.
And:
I was provided with very detailed stuff and have done a reasonable amount of work for them.
But, oddly enough, she didn't offer any answers to the simple questions of corporate identity that have been posed here. I've worked in various areas of business for many years & have yet to come across a "marketing agent" that wasn't completely well versed in the company's history, ties and business plan. This is vital info for a marketing person to have.
So, Penny, how did you happen to be hired for this position? Do you have any relevant experience in marketing? If LCP has given you such detailed info, and you are obviously aware of the questions listed in this particular blog, why didn't you provide these simple answers?
You seem to be a very "perky" sort who is in high spirits and fully anticipates being "paid" on time because you supposedly got a prompt response from "Hope".
I also notice that your blogger i.d. is no longer available for viewing.
Granted most blogger info is usually pretty annonymous anyway since it is created voluntarily by the blogger. I just can't help but wonder if "someone" (such as Ms.Hunt) might have created the "Perky Penny" blogger to try to allay some of the doubts this obvious scam has raised in so many people.
If you are a real person, Ms. Penny, I hope that you can find a real job working for a legitimate company very soon. It doesn't sound as though you have any experience in marketing, tho'. If you knew the first thing about such work you'd have realized that marketing people are all about the "info". They're the life blood of any legitimate company. They know not only the company's products, but the company itself. In fact, marketing provides the "human element" for a company. You & the sales staff are the face of the company. No self-respecting marketing person OR salesperson would have stepped into this blog without defending the company via providing all of the answers to those very troubling questions.
Come on Ms. Hunt, or Mr. Carr, or whoever you are - don't take us all for schmucks.
Hi V,
Just checking back to see if the truth has been exposed yet.
Personal opinion: LCP has been creating work to create a "company presence" to gain investors who will be ripped off. I don't think they are planning to resell articles. They have a bigger scheme in the works.
Why create a website? Why hire graphic designers to make "pretend covers"? I am afraid my friends we were used to create work that will be used to scam others into investing. It is Quincy Carr's MO. Over and over. Use job boards to create work, never paying for it. Use work to get investors. I hope his rep on the Internet ruins his plans.
Anyway, I expect Hope will be emailing after the "magazine launch" that she didn't get paid.
Better luck to all, we deserved better. Maybe you can resell your articles after you don’t get paid and they breach the terms of the contract. I am glad there are blogs like this to warn others. I learned my lesson, thanks Quincy!
V, keep up the good work.
Has anyone ever spoke to the famous Hope? Is it possible that Quincy is the ring leader and Hope is one of his many names?
This post has been removed by a blog administrator.
Writers are still being contacted to write articles. I'm wondering what the pay off is if this is truly a scam. It seems that by now if they were a scam they would have hitailed it out of here but instead they are still responding to e-mail and requesting work.
I doubt very much that "Hope" has received threatening letters from writers. Granted, it is possible, but doubtful.
Personally, I believe that she used that excuse to pull her info off of this blog so that she could say that she was being "bullied" and, perhaps, for that reason was too frightened to bother to come back and provide actual answers to the questions which have been raised here.
IF (and that's a big IF) she is just a hired peon with no info, and IF she, like everyone else, is just waiting to be paid, then she's quite the fool to front for this Carr guy and take all of his flack.
The way the info is stacked, I am assuming that she is just as big a con as the Carr guy (if she is a real person and not just some other persona he or his con cohorts dreamed up).
I agree with annonymous that all of the other cons attached to this scam are probably an elaborate ruse to dupe investors. Hopefully, if this happens, the Feds will get involved.
Wow. I thought twice about posting on this board and I now regret my decision. I didn’t think twice because I’m lying or have anything to hide, but because I’m not a blogger. I don’t get into any message boards and never have, so it is a bit odd for me to post.
I think it is ridiculous to have to defend myself on here. If you want to believe it is a scam, go for it. I’m not convinced it’s a scam, but I’m also not convinced its legit either. There are many things that do not add up for me, but I also can’t quite figure out what the scam is. As I said before, I am doing marketing work for them and I don’t know what value they could get out of scamming me. But I may just be naïve.
As for myself. I have a full-time marketing job for a bank. I have an MBA concentrated in marketing. I am a marketing professional. I took on this work for a couple of reasons. One, I like my day job, but banking isn’t the most exciting thing for me and I like to keep my skills fresh by working in other industries. It builds a good resume and may one day lead to another job. I live in a mid-sized town with limited marketing opportunities. Thus far, I have chosen to stay here, near my family and friends, and take a job below my potential. One day I may look to a bigger city for better work, but for now I do marketing on the side through the internet.
Second, I recently purchased a house and plan to get married soon. As most of you know this is an expensive time in life (well let’s be honest, what part of life isn’t expensive). Not that my financial situation is any of your concern, but I have student loans to pay off and I enjoy travel. I am a hard-worker so I enjoy both the challenge and extra income that contract work provides me.
I found the job through guru.com. As I said before, I am not a writer and am fairly new to doing contract work, but I find guru to be a legit site.
By no means was I defending Laray Carr in my original post. Just offering additional insight from a different point of view. It seems like it has been a lot of the same. Until I get paid, I cannot vouch for the company’s legitimacy. But until I don’t get paid, I cannot say it is a scam.
I don’t know a lot about the company background, and clearly you think that makes me a bad marketer. Maybe it does, glad you’re not my boss. I have been given MORE than enough information to do the assignments that were asked of me. Mostly research, media kits, content, and editing. Given the large amount of questions on this board, I probably should have asked more questions. Live and learn.
Anyway, as I said I’m just being cautiously optimistic. I don’t really have anything to lose except for the time wasted if this is a scam. If it is legit, I will have some extra money and hopefully an opportunity to continue working in an industry that appeals to me, but that I cannot work with in my hometown.
Now, as for my profile. I have no clue when it was created. I must have looked at something on here at some point in the past because when I tried to post a comment from my home computer it already said ‘from penny’. I am at work now, so I’m not sure if it will say my name or not.
Yes, I am a perky up beat person. I will not apologize if that is offensive. I think it is sad that you read my post and thought the worst. I do my best to think the best of people. Maybe one day I will be as distrusting as you, but I certainly hope not.
As I have said over and over, but to be certain my point is heard: I was doing NOTHING but offering ANOTHER point of view. I thought that was what the forum was for. If I had any answers that would ease all of the worried minds, I would give them, but I don’t. I have just completed the tasks asked of me and hoped for the money. I DO NOT KNOW if Laray Carr is a scam or if it is legit. I am still being cautiously optimistic. It is a waiting game now. Until my contracted pay date, there is nothing I can do but hope.
Penny, I appreciate your comments. I welcome all points of view, and I'm glad to have your perspective.
In my opinion, it's too early to be crying "scam". Despite the stuff that doesn't add up, my sense is still that Laray Carr is simply a spectacularly ill-advised and poorly-planned business venture--not to mention, insufficiently professional. Count the errors on the Laray Carr Company Information page.
I recently contacted "Hope Hunt" who is supposed to be "Director of Communications" and inquired about the background of the company, a website, anything that proved the identity of Laray Carr and received an antagonistic reponse that "She did not have time to deal with questions, as her role was limited." Then why are you posting jobs? Later a gentleman by the name of "Dean" whom is also in Corporate Communications and sounded very unintelligent contacted me, but yet...did not provide any information. The company is "scheduled" to put out 37 publications next month. Holding my breath with my thumb up my ass.
Shit Floats, Not Hope.
In the "Deeper Meanings" department, the LCP Web page labeled "Mission Statement" is blank, according to my browser. Does this mean that, in terms of their dealings with unsuspecting writers, they are taking a missionary position?
I'm just getting started freelance writing and have been hearing back from a few places. Unfortunately, LCP was one of the first places I sent materials off to, and the experience has left me pretty paranoid. Are there any things I should look for to insure that I don't (possibly) get ripped off again? I feel like I probably can't expect every place I write to to post their articles of incorporation as someone suggested. Is a website enough? Should I ask for some print copy of the materials? I don't want to sound pushy, but at the same time, I really don't want this sort of thing to happen again.
I thought that you might be interested in this little tid-bit. I was perusing the LCP website (most of which is down for maintenance or "under construction" and found this page:
Circulation Overview
Circulation and Distribution are the legs that keep our publications running out to consumers. Wonderful magazines can go completely unread because of poor circulation and distribution planning.
Our circulation for each magazine title is controlled to provide a more effective exposure to readers who enjoy our publications.
PUBLICATION READERSHIP CIRCULATION
[Note that the first number listed after each title is supposed to represent the "readership" & the second number is supposed to represent the "circulation" of each title. Pretty amazing numbers for magazines that don't actually exist, don't you think?]
AMATEUR GOLFER 600,000 75,000
AMERICAN FAMILY 3.3 MM 110,000
AMERICAN WOMAN 4.5 MM 150,000
CAST & REEL 700,000 50,000
CENTERSTAGE 1.4 MM 100,000
CERTIFIED 950,000 75,000
CLAWS & PAWS 1.1 MM 85,000
COLOR SPLASH 2.9 MM 75,000
CONSUMER INSIGHT 3 MM 85,000
CHILD FITNESS 5.5 MM 100,000
CUTLERY 650,000 75,000
DELICISO 1 MM 85,000
ESPECIA 2 MM 115,000
FOODIE 2.5 MM 155.000
GAME ON 1.7 MM 95,000
INSHAPE 500,000 95,000
MEN'S AVENUE 750,000 100,000
MOMMY & ME 800,000 105,000
ORGANIC LIVING 945,000 125,000
POPULAR TRAVEL 600,000 85,000
SATIRE 1.2 MM 85,000
SCOPE & BARREL 550,000 70,000
SHAKE'EM 450,000 75,000
SHOWSTOPPER 2.2 MM 90,000
SIMPLE ENTERTAINING 2.7 MM 100,000
SIMPLE HOUSEHOLD LIVING 2 MM 100,000
SMALL BUSINESS ILLUSTRATED 5 MM 105,000
SMALL BUSINESS ILLUSTRATED BUDGET & SAVE 3.5 MM 75,000
SPORTS DIGEST 3.2 MM 100,000
SPREE 1.4 MM 102,000
STYLE + GRACE 1.2 MM 105,000
TEXAN 850,000 100,000
TRICKED 745,000 110,000
TWENTY SOMETHING 2.6 MM 125,000
URGE 900,000 100.000
URBAN BRIDE 1.3 MM 105,000
URBAN FLAIR 2 MM 105,000
URBAN WEDDINGS 950,000 85,000
WEBPRENEUR 2.5 MM 115,000
WINE DIGEST 4.5 MM 130,000
[This is in the section of the website geared toward investors & advertisers. It boggles the mind to think that there MIGHT actually be any such creatures out there who would willingly dole out money to any of these "Publications" without first investigating to find out whether or not any of them actually exist. Personally, I just don't see it happening from an 'investor' side, but there may be plenty of small-time entrepreneurs out there looking for venues to advertise their product/service who might get snookered by a page like this that shows falsified stats for non-existent publications.]
Actually, some of these titles sound vaguely familiar. I think they've either made minor adjustments to actual magazine titles and called them their own, OR they've swiped some of this info from legitimate publications so that when someone looks to invest or advertise with them they'll come across an actual website for the real magazine & mistake these clowns for the owners.
These are other excerpts from the website that give the illusion that the business is not only up and running, but that it has been for some time:
Marketing success at Laray Carr is a direct result of our innovative approach to relating with our customers.
[How can you declare "SUCCESS" for something that hasn't even happened????]
We research our distribution network on top of our distribution partners to ensure our magazines reach readers in the areas where readership is at it’s highest.
[Where would that be??? In some alternate universe where the publications already exist, perhaps????]
We offer distribution services to small market publications. Through our extensive distribution network we can place small publications just starting out into retail locations otherwise not assessable. We also provide marketing programs to better aid in advertising generation, readership development, and circulation management.
[AH HA!!! Trying to con new start-ups into using your non-existent "services."]
For more information about how our distribution services can aid in your publication development contact us.
[There is no glorious Distribution system. They don't even have any publications to distribute!!!]
We hold high standards for editorial quality. With over 40 subscription magazines we do just that. From popular titles Foodie, American Family, Webprenuer, Urban Bride, American Woman, and Child Fitness, and many more
[Popular titles???? How can a non-existent magazine already be a "popular title"????]
Because we strive to understand our readers as much as possible, advertising with Laray Carr is not a shot in the dark. We intimately understand every niche audience we serve and we actively seek feedback to help us continuously improve our content to make sure we’re hitting our readers’ sweet spots.
[You strive to understand your "readers"??? What readers????]
Our You 365 Program, is an industry-leading integrated marketing program.
[Industry-leading????]
Now for the first time advertisers can login to the network, check future issues, reserve spots for special issues, purchase advertising space, check invoices, pay bills, and even subscribe to publications.
[For the first time???? Really???]
For more information on our advertising services to maximize your business exposure to over 50 million diversified readership base and over 100 million consumer’s nationwide please contact us.
[What readership???? You haven't even published anything yet??????]
Okay ... nevermind the whole writers aspect of this scam. I'm sorry, Victoria, but when a so-called business posts falsified information to mis-represent their very existence ... I'm going with BIG, FAT SCAM.
Maybe it wasn't writers they were trying to dupe. Maybe the whole investor, advertiser, new start-up magazine won't you please allow us to take your money and provide you with NOTHING in return as we suddenly disappear into the night service - was the real angle.
But, yyyeeesh this "company" is a real piece of work.
And, the typos, poor grammar and outright misspellings (hey, it's okay for me, I'm just blogging) on a "Publishing" business's website ... come on.
Regarding the circulation figures noted immediately above: It is not implausible that this is a business trying to launch, and not a simple scam. The distribution side of things may be that deals are in the works with one or more magazine distributors (like Kable News, and/or whoever is around today). As I noted above in one of my entries, a magazine publisher can be primarily about lining up distribution deals, if the money and other business prerequisites are there, but the actual magazine content can be an afterthought, or intentionally banal just to have also-ran mags on the stands (for whatever purpose). Also, the magazine publisher I worked for in 1990-91 was not above falsifying some circulation figures for advertisers. In fact, a different publisher, in Long Island (who I think was a member of the Audit Bureau of Circulation, which I think initiated legal action here), got in trouble for falsifying circulation figures some years ago (the pub'r was charged with fraud, or something like that). And the readership versus actual circulation is not atypical of marketing approaches to promoting magazines to advertisers. In this particular case, there might be a little too much wishful thinking, if not marketing woolly-headedness, in the marketing plan. Bottom line: I am not trying to dignify this venture--but I don't think it is necessarily a scam but, as evidence suggests so far, a not very smart business plan.
The website is down!
Anyway, who would invest in a company that uses "realations" to attract financial backing. Please tell me a publication house uses spell check (yes Quincy, your sham website contains lots of spelling errors).
Alc pointed out they were using a U 365 marketing program. They “borrowed” the 360 marketing term from Meredith.
http://www.meredith.com/marketing_solutions/360.
(Hey Quincy, Hope Meredith goes after you!)
I still maintain Quincy Carr is a FRAUD!!
I am not a writer, but it seems really odd that a magazine would be willing to take a hodgepodge assortment of articles. No topic direction whatsoever.
Also, if they are going to press again in October, wouldn't they be requesting more articles for next month. (**Okay Quincy, now's it’s time to send out emails as "Roger" asking for new articles. It makes your company look legit.**)
I find it funny that Quincy spends time reading this blog and then “adjusting” the website to cover his mistakes. I hope he goes to the slammer.
P.S.
I contacted the registered agent for LarayCarr.com and they said they would sell the domain for $450. What company would register a .net when they could buy the .com site? A big NO NO in the marketing world.
Anonymous 9/12/07 6:00 PM wrote:
Are there any things I should look for to insure that I don't (possibly) get ripped off again?
There's a great post on spotting scammers at Deborah Ng's Freelance Writing Jobs website that offers suggestions about this.
For a brief period, when the Laray Carr website was visible (as of this writing, it's down for maintenance again), there was an animation on its opening page that cycled through the magazine covers.
I have to admit, they looked pretty professional, with feature articles covering actual celebrities such as Teri Hatcher. I imagine that people could have been commissioned some time ago to create a real lead article, with photos, for each magazine (which might explain why one of the magazines featured has-been celeb Lindsay Lohan)--and the scramble that started in August was to find filler to bulk up the rest of the pages. I don't know what printers' lead times are, but soliciting articles in August for an October launch seems like cutting it pretty close. Not to mention the issue of quality, which is likely take a beating (to say the least) in the desperation for filler.
Scam or not, the more we find out about this thing, the more outlandish it gets.
Hi V,
Your assuming the 'covers' in the website were real. They were not. Just look alikes created for advertising measures. Not to be used for print. LCP did not own the rights to the photots.
OOPS!
Update: the LCP website is still "down for maintenance," but most of it is still accessible via the sitemap. All you need to do to realize this isn't a professional operation is to look at the bad writing, not to mention the spelling errors and typos that litter the text.
The conversation continues at Deborah Ng's website. See especially this interesting comment from a graphic artist, which supports the anonymous comment above about the magazine covers being bogus.
Putting Quincy Carr's apparent previous dubious activities together with the emphasis on investor relations at the LCP website (including the extremely fake-looking magazine circulation figures), I'm starting to think that the LCP website may be investor bait, and that the articles the company has been soliciting are solely for the purpose of adding verisimilitude to the website.
Hi V,
I think you have it right.
I don't think they will ever go to print. And never intended to. They have been pushing back the launch date since June. Depending on the contract with each person, it might mean they don't owe anyone money (at launch was stated for payment date in most contracts).