Writer’s anger at book ‘left full of mistakes’

A MILITARY veteran from Yorkshire claims he paid a publishing house £14,000 to bring out his book – which they printed full of mistakes.

Grandfather Joseph Hentosz, 79, of Bridlington, says AuthorHouse promised his novel would get the “Hollywood treatment” and global promotion.

He had spent nine years writing his autobiographical story, From the Brink of Death and the Gates of Hell.

It tells the incredible story of how in 1947 his mother met a Polish soldier in Blackpool and took her two young sons to live with him in Poland – but was forced to live in a cellar.

Mr Hentosz, inset, said he paid the publishers £14,000 over three years. They said the money was for scriptwriting services, promotion and exhibits.

But when the book came out, Joseph says they had published his rough manuscript, which was full of incorrect dates and spelling and grammatical errors.

The book generated only £63 in sales and Mr Hentosz claims the publishers told him it was too small an amount to pay him.

The Royal Air Force veteran says he has been left in debt and with a stress-related illness as a result.

The grandfather of 20 said: “I'm hurt, I feel terrible. I can't believe what I've had to go through just trying to write a book.” AuthorHouse said: "We have helped nearly 100,000 authors in the UK and US bring their books to market and are always delighted when authors can impact the lives of others with their books. "Because we are a selfpublishing services provider, the author maintains control, ownership and approval of all content.

"We did offer Joseph our editorial assessment service where we evaluate a portion of the manuscript and make recommendations as to what editing might be needed. Joseph chose to bypass the service, which is his option.”

Mr Hentosz has now found a new publisher.