Authors paid hundreds to publish their books, but allege 'crap' service and AI art

Kerry Stewart regrets the day she signed with Patrick White Publishing.

The author from Mudgee in New South Wales had been submitting her dark fantasy manuscript to traditional publishing houses when she stumbled upon a Facebook advertisement for Patrick White Publishing.

The company, which also goes by PW Publishing House, offers services including editing, illustration, marketing and assistance to publish online and in print through platforms such as Amazon.

Ms Stewart filled out a form and spoke with the company over the phone.

"I'd had a look at reviews and things like that, and I told them that I wasn't going to go with them because of the reviews," she said.

But she said the company representative convinced her to sign on.

Her experience went downhill.

"All they'd done was like grammar and things like that, they hadn't done anything else to enhance the book."

Ms Stewart found it odd that the staff often called from the same mobile number.

She also said they inserted mistakes, and after she would edit the manuscript and return it to them, they would then edit an old version.

She told them she was not happy.

"They told me that they would fix everything and they would give me a completely professional editing team this time, and I wouldn't have any more worries," she said.

"And I had the same issues over and over again."

Ms Stewart had paid the company $500 so far, and she wanted it back. The website states there is a "100% satisfaction & money-back guarantee".

But she said the company told her "they don't give refunds out to people who simply changed their mind".

Ms Stewart made a post on Facebook in a writer's group, warning others about the company.

She said a company representative got in touch requesting she remove the post, and that they would refund her money if she did so. Ms Stewart wanted the refund first, but she said the company refused.

The ABC has seen an email where Patrick White Publishing asked a different author to remove a negative review, saying they would continue with the work on the book after that was done.

For Ms Stewart, the worst part was she crowdsourced the money for her book.

"So it's not even my money, I wasted other people's money," she said.

Author accuses company of high pressure sales tactics

Tulin Salis, who lives in Melbourne, exchanged messages with a representative from Patrick White Publishing about working on her children's book.

"I asked for the price and they said there was a special and that I should jump on," she said.

She asked if the $400 they quoted would be followed by other fees.

"No, there won't be any other payment required after $400 for your book publishing process on 10 major platforms," the company told her, in messages seen by the ABC.

But after she sent through her manuscript and paid the money, Patrick White Publishing sent an email containing details for a "5-Star Ghostwriting Bundle" for $1899.

That included $999 for a "ghostwriting and manuscript expansion" and $900 for "custom-designed illustrations".

The company wanted to expand her book from 27 pages to 100–150, but Ms Salis said it was intended to be a short book for children.

A company representative told her, in an email seen by the ABC, he would not argue with her "over every dollar or every sentence of an email".

"That's what we have a leagal [sic] department for. They do this all day," he said.

"But I will not accept being accused of scamming or misleading you when I have been transparent about the work and the options from the beginning.

"Maybe you weren't aware of these costs earlier, but you also told our front-end team that your manuscript was completed, when in fact, it was not."

Ms Salis said she asked for a refund, but had not received one.

Storefront images on Google Maps generated by AI

The invoices sent to multiple authors list Patrick White Publishing's address as 118 Liverpool St, Hobart.

A Google Maps listing also places the company at that address, and contains an image of the storefront.

But an OpenAI tool shows the storefront image contains an imperceptible watermark generated by its software — meaning it is an AI image.

The real building at 118 Liverpool St contains a food company, its head office, and an accountancy firm — none of which appear to be related to the company.

Google Maps also shows a Melbourne address for Patrick White Publishing, with a different storefront image. That image is also AI-generated.

And it is not the only way Patrick White Publishing uses AI.

AI book illustrations

Patrick White Publishing offers authors "custom illustrations" for their books.

But some book covers highlighted on the company's website return positive results for watermarks from OpenAI and Google Gemini.

Agreements reviewed by the ABC between the company and multiple authors do not mention the use of AI to create illustrations.

Brisbane-based author Sheena Avison was looking at publishing her children's book with Patrick White Publishing and told a company representative she wanted to use her own AI-generated images.

"He came back and he said, 'We can't use your pictures, you have to use an illustrator — we can get an illustrator,'" she said.

"He said, 'Amazon will not accept pictures by ChatGPT or AI.'"

That is despite Patrick White Publishing using AI to create images, and Amazon's Kindle Direct Publishing service only requiring authors to declare AI-generated content.

Unhappy with Patrick White Publishing, Ms Avison lodged a dispute with PayPal and was refunded the $400 she had paid.

Ms Avison made the allegation, amongst others, in a Trustpilot review, which the company responded to.

"We take concerns of this nature very seriously and have carefully reviewed the matter internally," Patrick White Publishing wrote.

"While we respectfully disagree with several of the claims made, we value all client feedback and remain committed to transparency, professional communication, and continually improving our client experience."

Author says she's happy with company's services

Not everyone has had a bad experience with Patrick White Publishing.

Pauline Gill, based in Woodstock in New South Wales, said she paid the company $17,000 to redevelop her website, edit her manuscript, market the book, and publish it in print, as an ebook, and as an audiobook.

She was happy with the end product.

OpenAI's tool shows the illustration on the front cover of the book is AI generated, but Ms Gill does not mind.

She said Patrick White Publishing used the real photos she provided as references to create the illustration.

"So what? That's the world that we're in now," she said.

There are also other positive online reviews of Patrick White Publishing.

ABN taken from another business

Corporate record searches of the Australian Business Number (ABN) Patrick White Publishing uses on its website and author invoices reveal an unrelated company that also uses the initials P and W.

An office holder for that company told the ABC he had never heard of Patrick White Publishing and it was not affiliated with his company.

"This is really concerning," he said.

He said he reported Patrick White Publishing to the Australian Taxation Office and Scamwatch.

Using someone else's ABN is illegal and can carry a two-year prison term.

Estate condemns use of Patrick White's name

Patrick White Publishing shares a name with celebrated author Patrick White, who died in 1990 and is Australia's only Nobel Prize in Literature winner.

The publishing company's website does not claim the late Patrick White is or has been involved in its operation.

But Jane Novak, a literary agent and the literary executor of the Patrick White estate, does not believe it is a coincidence.

Ms Novak said she had written to the publishing company several times asking it to stop using Patrick White's name, but never heard back.

She believes the company is using Patrick White's name to lend legitimacy to its operation, and said aspiring writers were vulnerable to being taken advantage of.

"Writing is a difficult pursuit, being published is even harder, and we're in a particularly difficult moment in the publishing industry," she said.

"It just feels like a particularly cruel thing to do at this particular moment in time."

Patrick White Publishing did not respond to the ABC's requests for comment.