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:05/28/2024

  Type:Order 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.

  Better Business Bureau:
  
  I have reviewed the response made by the business in reference to complaint ID# ********, and have determined that my complaint has NOT been resolved.

   I would like to try one more time for a refund. There were two big problems; the staff at KA Anderson told me my book was not worth writing and directed me to write a different book and the writer assigned wrote about herself, family, and her philosophy. It was very difficult to get changes made as she said no to many changes I wanted. While I was able to get the worst of her ideas out, there still is the flavor of her philosophy. The third problem is the ** decided to not finish their suggested book, and said I could write the last chapter as my voice. So now the original book is not complete, and I told KA again and again I did not want to have two halves of two different books. I was told no, we had to move on. I went along because I had no choice, it was either approve or stop the project.  I am left with the two halves of the book which are not cohesive and how can one present a book such as that.I would be embarrassed to have a book reviewer read something like that.
  The best I could do was move on with chapters that were somewhat better, but not really what I wanted to say. I was hoping that in the end the book could be revised to something **** to the original book which I signed the contract for. Now I have nothing, just some writing that doesnt make sense.
  Why would a ghost-writing company tell a customer not to write their dream book and suggest a different topic? Why assign a writer whose writing was about themselves and what they believe and not write what the customer wants? Yes, the last chapter is my voice, but now we have two different books. I followed KA directives which led to a disaster with their suggestion for a different book and the tremendous difficulty with the original writer, getting her to change her writings to align with my ideas, not hers. Neither half of the book makes sense to put them together. I was hoping that at the end we could try to make it cohesive but all of a sudden, we are at the end, and I dont have a book to present.
  I paid $36,000 to have a book written. Following the directives of KA Anderson, it didnt work out at all to write the book they directed me to write. I would like a refund as the product I signed the contract for was not produced. 

   

   

  In order for the BBB to appropriately process your response, you MUST answer the question above.

  
  Sincerely,
  
  **** *****
  
  
  
  
   
  e chapter of a book, which did not match the original book was very unsatisfactory to me. Once again, I kept asking why I cannot write the book that I signed up for. I called and left messages with Kevin Anderson who signed my contract, but he never returned a call or email. In fact, my calls to the New York office were blocked.I feel that I deserve a refund because I followed all the directives of Kevin Anderson and Associates employees, but I have no book that could be published. I asked for a refund. *** said he would get back to me, but he never did get back to me and did not answer any more phone calls or e-mails. It is now realized that I ended up with is nothing I could ever promote or be proud of. It was pieced together by Kevin Anderson and Associates employees.I spent a tremendous amount of time and money on this project and I have nothing. It was extremely difficult because at every juncture the answer was no to the book I wanted to have written.

  Business Response

  Date: 06/10/2024

  
  Thank you for sharing your concerns with us and we sincerely hope we can resolve this issue to satisfaction quickly. 
  
  As we wrote in our email to you (sent May 23, 2024), we would like to extend our sincerest apologies for the dissatisfaction you experienced with the service we provided. We value your feedback and take your concerns very seriously, and we are committed to addressing this issue.
  
  While we completed the services in good faith and in line with how the service is described on our website and in our contract agreement with you, we fully realize and understand that they did not meet your expectations, nor were they satisfactory to you.
  
  We have tried multiple times to satisfy your requests and have gone above and beyond the service described in our contract to make every effort to ensure your satisfaction.
  
  
  In April 2022, the first 16k words were approved by you. In May and then July 2022, the next two chapters were also approved by you. Within this timeframe, the Project Manager checked in multiple times to confirm you were happy with the overall work, to which your responses (All fine, no problems, Apr. 21, 2002 and Everything is going okay, July 22, 2022) indicated you were happy with the project. In May 2023, the next 20k-word milestone was approved by you after several revisions. Per the contract with ***, that means that the content is approved and we move on to the next milestone.
  In May 2023, you asked to restaff the project due to dissatisfaction with the writer. We did as you asked, restaffing with both a new writer and a new editor, free of charge on August 2, 2023. During your meeting with your new team, you expressed dissatisfaction with the previously approved material. Our team worked with you to address your concerns and to strategize a path forward.
  After several meetings with the new writer, the final milestone was shared for your approval on October 31, 2023.  In a November 12, 2023 email, you indicated that the material was overall, very good and began the revision process with the writer. During a November 20, 2023 follow-up meeting, you agreed that the best course of action was to do what weve said all along: Get this part done, and then move on to the integration phase, which is where we figure out how to make all of this a book. 
  In December 2023, you then expressed dissatisfaction with the previously approved material. Thus, after meeting with you again in December 2023, *** outlined a plan, which you approved. Our plan was to (1) revise the Outline, free of charge, to further match your viewpoint, (2) write the remaining manuscript in alignment with your stated goals and, (3) upon your approval of this material, return to the earlier approved chapters and revise that material to match the tone and content of the new material, thus creating a cohesive manuscript that matched your outlook. While the contract clearly states that any such services would be at an extra cost, we completed all of these for you in good faith and free of charge.
  *** does not move forward without client approval, nor does *** force a client to approve any work. As we explained, per the Agreement that you signed, previously approved material cannot be completely rewritten or extensively revised without incurring additional compensation. We made an exception to ensure you would be satisfied with the services provided, by offering to revise the previously approved material at no additional cost. 
  We assumed that our services were aligned with and meeting your expectations when you approved the revision plan and final milestone on January 11, 2024. We then presented you with the full, revised and complete manuscript on March 4, 2024. However, despite these efforts, and subsequent efforts and approvals, you rejected the complete manuscript on Apr. 30, 2024.
  
  On May 2, 2024, you asked for further options to continue the project. *** has provided three writers, two editors, and all allowable revisions to the written material as stated in the Agreement that you signed. We are now offering two options, both of which are above and beyond the signed Agreement, which are to finish the manuscript to completion or to complete the book using our book coaching services, both of which we are happy to do. Unfortunately, we are unable to hire a fourth writer to write an entirely new manuscript unless you wish to incur the additional cost.
  We sincerely hope were able to find a solution that meets your approval and leads to a great book that youre proud of.
  
  

  Business Response

  Date: 09/27/2024

  Thank you for sharing your response. We look forward to working out an amenable solution. 
  
  In our email to you on May 23, we offered two choices: 1. To finish the manuscript to completion or; 2. To provide the assistance of the Senior Editor as a book coach so that you could rewrite the book personally. We did not receive a response other than a complaint filed with the BBB.
  
  Then, on June 25, you emailed KAA with a request to complete the project, which we then honored. On July 7, you shared your final revisions to the manuscript and we confirmed those changes via email the next day. After confirming on July 10 that you had no further changes, the manuscript then went to a Final Editor for a copyedit. Meanwhile, on July 25, we shared the pitch materials for your review and revision. We received your suggested changes on August 11 and landed on your new title for the book on August 24. After confirming on August 26 that you had no further changes, the pitch materials were also copyedited. The complete, copyedited manuscript and pitch materials were shared with you on September 20, 2024, thus completing the project per your request on June 25.
  
  KAA has fulfilled the terms of the contract and has provided a written manuscript with pitch materials. Since the terms of the contract have been fulfilled and the manuscript has been completed per your request. However, in an effort to reach a satisfactory conclusion, we would like to invite you to a call with the Better Business Bureau and members of our team, to, together, discuss this issue and reach a resolution that feels fair and equitable to all parties. We've put a considerable amount of work and effort into this project over many many months, and have only proceeded when you approved materials, so we're eager to find a resolution for all. thank you!
  

  Customer Answer

  Date: 09/27/2024

  Better Business Bureau:
  
  I have reviewed the response made by the business in reference to complaint ID# ********, and have determined that my complaint has NOT been resolved because:

  Kevin Anderson and Associates did NOT allow me to write my dream book "Your right to be happy" because the staff at ** did not believe it was a book worth writing. It is not controversial, it was to be about mental health, I book so needed.  So I had to pick a different topic. I signed a contract for the book which I wanted to write which is in the contract. I am finishing the ** book that their staff believed should be written not my book. I had no other choice. I requested a refund because I paid $36,000 and was told my dream book should not be written. Also there was the tremendous difficulty and time wasted, trying to get the original writer to write what I wanted not about her friends and family. Although I was given a different writer, the original writer's stuff is still in there as so much of what was written was her opinions. I changed the worst parts but not all of her stuff was deleted, I would have had to get rid of most of what she wrote. I was trying to fit in to what the ** staff wanted. They are determined that I not write my book and outline. After changing writers and editors, I was told by the new editor that the last chapter could be "my voice." This takes the book in a completely different direction, so now I have two halves of two different books. The original book is not complete.

  So one option is to write the book myself, I did not pay $36,000 to write a book myself. It caused a cascade of problems to not be able to have ** write the book that is in the contract. So I am stuck with finishing the book that ** and staff wanted, otherwise I have nothing. What a waste of $36,000. I hope they do not do this to anyone else.

  Most importantly, they do not care, just so I have "a book." 

  I believe I should receive a refund because I was not allowed to write my book which is in the contract. Although I have "a book" it is not something I would recommend anyone read. I am not excited about it at all as it is what the staff at ** wanted not me.

  Sincerely,

  **** *****

   

  In order for the BBB to appropriately process your response, you MUST answer the question above.

  
  
  
  
  
  
   
  

• Initial Complaint

  Date:10/19/2023

  Type:Product 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.

  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 and the matter has been resolved.
  
  Sincerely,
  
  ***********************************
  
  
  
   
  
  ith health challenges. Now, to try to get ahead of my second complaint they have threatened me with late delivery of substandard services just to confuse the issue of whether or not they ever intended to deliver anything. At this moment, I do not have the pomised query letter promised in February, the subject of the first complaint. They haven't delivered the list of requirements I gave them for the second set of work, or anything having to do with the second version of "The Mourning Mail." Thye've made it clear they intend to see to it I get nothing of value back from them as punishment for filing these BBB complaints, that they will not refund my $26,500.00, and that they, not me as a customer, will dictate what I will (or will not) receive in exchange for all the monies i had to pay up front. For example, their latest excuse for not delivering the query and literary agent owed from February is that they arbitrarily decided to combine the two books together - without telling me.

  Business Response

  Date: 10/23/2023

  Hello *****,
  
  
  Thank you for sharing your concerns with us.
  
  
  As we wrote in our email to you (sent October 19th), we would like to extend our sincerest apologies for the dissatisfaction you experienced with the service we provided. We value your feedback and take your concerns very seriously, and we are committed to addressing this issue promptly. 
  
  
  While we completed the services in good faith and, in our estimation, in line with how the service is described on our website, we fully realize and understand that they did not meet your expectations, nor were they satisfactory to you. 
  
  
  As we greatly value the satisfaction of our clients with our services, we issued a full refund on October 19th 2023 for $26,500 the total sum for the services you purchased with us. This was sent by check by mail, as you requested (we emailed you with a tracking number).
  
  
  Again, were so sorry you werent completely satisfied with the service provided as we did try to adjust accordingly. You expressed dissatisfaction immediately with the first service we delivered (upon which we provided a second round of review by a second editor free of charge on Aug 24th), though we assumed that you were happy with this deliverable when you responded *** reviewed the work. *********************** CRA met my immediate needs and expectations and I appreciate his efforts, though they have raised some other questions. It has, however, resolved the issue as to the quality concerns I addressed in my earlier e-mail and letter. We assumed that our services were aligned with and meeting your expectations when you continued with ordering and paying for two additional services thereafter on Sept 5th.
  
  
  Obviously, these efforts,and subsequent efforts, were not up to your expectations, and we apologize for any inconvenience or frustration this may have caused. 
  
  
  We truly wish the best for you and your book manuscripts and hope that you find a service that meets and exceeds your expectations. 
  
  
  Thank you