The Best of Lori Prokop

I love Lori Prokop. My favorite online huckster never quits. She has re-invented herself yet again and is offering you the benefit of her enlightenment…and another chance to get rich!

But before I share her amazing new self and her astonishing new business venture with you later today, I thought we should celebrate all the great things Lori Prokop has done for humanity before. So now, after the jump, I offer a look back at The Best of Lori Prokop.

(Note: she has since gone back and removed many of the links I reference in the posts…and who can blame her?)

August 18, 2006

Lori Prokop, online huckster and the originator of the Book Millionaire scam, posts this claim on her website:

“I’ve never seen anything like your four hour book signing at Barnes and Noble in Las Vegas. More than 1,174 people gladly stood in line for hours to meet you, buy your book and have them autographed. The line wove through the aisles of the store. Barnes and Noble removed floor displays to make room for your book buyers. The Las Vegas NBC affiliate covered the event and said they had never seen anything like it. That’s amazing in Las Vegas, the city of excitement and entertainment.” — Tali Mauai, Co-Author of the audio book From Zero to Hero

I thought it was pretty amazing too. So, in the spirit of fairness and accuracy, I checked into Lori Prokop’s claim (made through Tali Mauai) with friends in Las Vegas and my book industry sources and, as far I can tell, there was never any such booksigning event for her at a B&N there in the last five years nor the corresponding booksales that she implies she made. Perhaps she would be kind enough to provide the exact date of the event and specific store where it took place so we can corroborate her claim?

Oddly enough, Lori uses the same claim from Tali, slightly reworded, to push her "Chiropractic Best Seller Book Program," a scheme to convince chiropractors that it would be a good idea to pay her vanity press to publish their articles and books. Note the significant differences (which I’ve italicized) between the two versions of the claim:

"I’ve never seen anything like our four hour book signing at Barnes and Noble in Las Vegas. More than 1,100 people gladly stood in line for hours to meet us, buy our book and have them autographed. The line wove through the aisles of the store. Barnes and Noble removed floor displays to make room for our book buyers. I felt like a local celebrity and my life has never been the same. I love it. The Las Vegas NBC affiliate covered the event and said they had never seen anything like it. That’s amazing in Las Vegas, the city of excitement and entertainment.” Tali Mauai, bestselling co-author, Zero to Hero

There is yet a THIRD version (again, with the differences in italic) of the quote, this time pushing her seminars that will allow you to  "discover your powers to heal yourself, achieve abundance and create what you want in your life."

“Lori, I’ve never seen anything like your four-hour book signing at Barnes & Noble in Las Vegas. More than 1,100 people stood in line for hours to meet your authors, buy their books and have them autographed. Barnes & Noble removed floor displays to make room for your book buyers. National media covered the event and said they had never seen anything like it.” Tari Mauai, Bestselling Author, from Zero to Hero.

I wonder which quote is "the truth."  Again, perhaps Lori would be kind enough to clarify for us exactly when which author, selling what book,  had this mobbed Las Vegas booksigning that made members of the local (or it was it national? Perhaps even GLOBAL) press corps faint with astonishment.

March 31, 2006

My brother Tod beat me to the news that Lori Prokop‘s Book Millionaire scam is back… a "reality show" that promises to grant the winner the "lifestyle of being a successfully published author" and  "additional prizes to help achieve the goal of Best Selling and Celebrity Status."

In other words, Lori will publish the winner through her vanity press ("Bestseller Publishing") and they will get a stack of Lori’s self-published books. Wow. Where can I sign up? And as I predicted, back in April 2005 when this scam was first announced, "Book Millionaire" won’t be on any television network…it’s going to be on the web. Videos of the suckers, excuse me, aspiring contestants are up on her site. At least one of them is mortified and wrote to me about it:

I fell for it hook, line and sinker…so of course I sent an email to all my friends to sign up on the site and watch for my audition tape and my really smart lawyer friend found your site and now I want to cry!

Lori Prokop’s scam is so transparent, how could anyone possibly fall for it? So that’s what I asked the lady who sent me the email, and she sent me a lengthy reply. Here are some excerpts:

I was a huge Survivor and Apprentice nut — always wanted to do one of those shows but did not want to eat bugs or work for Donald Trump.  I was new in self-publishing at the time I sent in my tape….my passion for this business has become my mission.

I have a circle of amazing friends who are always in the spot light–I thought it would make great television so thus I believed the concept. I have a friend on the American Inventor Show,  a friend who was the first person voted off of Survivor and a friend that was on the Today Show…

I have read some best sellers that I felt where only best sellers because they were marketed correctly and I have read some awesome books that will never be on the best seller because they don’t understand marketing.  So I believed in the concept. Thinking back I was amazed she was also from Wisconsin.

Wisconsin? What difference does that make? Clearly, this aspiring writer wanted to be a celebrity so badly, and was so jealous of her friends who got on TV, that she jumped blindly into this ridiculous scam without bothering to notice that, even if she won, she would get none of the things she was dreaming of. Lori Prokop can’t give anyone  "the lifestyle of a bestselling author" or "celebrity status"…all she can do is offer contestants some of her self-published "get-rich-quick" books, a cheaper rate on leased cars, and tickets to one of her motivational speeches at a Unitarian church.

I have no sympathy whatsoever for the suckers who fell for her scam… they deserve the humiliation and disappointment they are in for. They didn’t think about what they were being offered ("the lifestyle of a bestselling author??"). They didn’t do any research into Lori Prokop or Bestseller Publishing (ten minutes on Google would have been enough). Instead, they gladly deluded themselves because they wanted Lori’s empty promises and outrageous claims to be true…they wanted a short-cut to their dream of being published authors. They have no one to blame but themselves. It’s hucksters like Lori Prokop, who profit on the desperation of aspiring writers, that infuriate me.

UPDATE 4-2-06:  My brother Tod and I aren’t the only bloggers outraged  by huckster Lori Prokop’s Book Millionaire scam. Journalist Richard Cobbett writes:

Is it wrong to hope that people like Lori Prokop wake up one day to find their intestines crawling with tapeworms?

March 22, 2006

Lori Prokop, the self-described "selfless supporter of families, children and animals," is apparently tired of blogs like this one mischaracterizing her as a get-rich-quick huckster. In fact, "her life goal is to advance the well-being and enlightenment of humanity" when she isn’t selflessly striving to help the downtrodden "achieve the goal of Best Selling and Celebrity Status"  and showing "people how to choose most any car off the showroom floor and drive it free while our company makes your payments."

So Lori Prokop, who "lives in and creates from the upper energy levels of life  (Anyone can choose to live and create in these powerful upper levels as detailed in Lori Prokop’s Life Guidance System)," is tackling the problem as only she, Lori Prokop, can:

Blogs are a powerful force for good in the hands of those people living in their upper level energies/emotions and less-than-good in the hands of those living in their lower level energies/emotions. (Continue reading to learn about the Energy Mastery System.)

Lori Prokop has an upcoming work being release called, “Launching from Good to Great Online,” which is a definitive work on blogs where she interviews leaders and experts in blogs and human psychology.

I, for one, am looking forward to this definitive work which, no doubt, will be published by Bestseller Publishing, the vanity press run by future Nobel Prize winner Lori Prokop, who describes herself in her fascinating and definitive mass mailings as "Leading Expert, Author and Creator of books, CDs,DVDs, Online Videos, workshops, television shows, speaking and more!"

To learn more about this selfless individual, who has  profound "respect and humanistic regard for all species," (She is, afterall, the visionary who asked the burning question: "Where are the best sellers by Doctors of     Chiropractic?”) just read her previous definitive books, like "Awaken Your Million-Dollar Intuition," "77 Streams of Super Lucrative Income for Authors, Experts and Speakers," and Employee No More: How to Stay Home and Still Make Money."

You, too, can feel her humanistic regard, especially for those species who possess a Visa or Mastercard.

February 10, 2006

Remember Lori Prokop, the shameless get-rich-quick huckster behind the BOOK MILLIONAIRE  debacle? Well, she’s baaaack with an all-new schtick (gee, Lori, whatever happened to "Book Millionaire?") Now she’s pitching a series of seminars and books called "How to Launch from Good To Great." 

I was being interviewed as an expert for a book on success. The author asked, "Lori Prokop, how do great leaders handle success?"

I replied, "Great leaders are not as devastated by failure or as elated by successes. They take both in stride knowing they will continue to experience both as they move forward. They are more excited by the insights and knowledge they master as a result of both success and failure."

Apparently, either all of Lori Prokop’s friends talk to her like the alien from STARMAN…or she’s written so much junk-mail, she can’t stop writing in the <insert-recipient-name here> format.

I recommend the words of a great mentor of mine, Ted Nicholas, when he advised me, "Lori Prokop, say these incredibly powerful words, ‘I forgive myself and others for mistakes of the past.’"

I also suggest to you what another great teacher said, "Lori Prokop, you cannot look rationally at the equation or steps which lead to any outcome until you have healed the negative or hurtful emotions attached."

The point of her newsletter is to steer you to her latest laundry-list of get-rich-quick schemes and seminars ("Podcasting for Fun and Profit!," "How I Developed My Child’s Genius –And How You Can Do It Too!," "Develop Self-Confidence and Lose Your Fears!" etc) A friend of mine said to me, "Lee Goldberg, how could anyone slog through Lori Prokop’s endless list of self-improvement and get-rich-quick seminars and not see right through her?" and  I replied, "I have no idea."

May 5, 2005

Get-rich-quick huckster Lori Prokop is "saddened" that aspiring writers,  whose desperation for publication makes them easy prey, aren’t falling for her transparent BookMillionare Reality Show scam. She writes:

We are building both a television show, television viewing audience and online community to highlight the writing community. To see this slammed by members of the writing community is a sad situation.

It certainly is for her…and probably a real shocker, too.  She was counting on the proven gullibility of aspiring writers.  But I had no idea that all Lori, whose personal email address is Cash@megabestseller.com, really wanted to do was help the community of writers and promote world peace. I feel so guilty.

This type of slamming saddens me as I can see people who write and communicate in this manner are hurt, frustrated and need help healing past wounds. My heart goes out to them but I also request they refrain from further slams and instead speak directly to me to receive the facts.

Translation:  "Stop talking about my scam in public, you’re scaring away all the suckers!"

May 3, 2005

This month’s "Scam of the Month" is, oddly enough, the same as last month’s… that’s right, Lori Prokop’s Book Millionaire. She sent me an email and posted a comment here about what I called a  get-rich-quick infomercial scam.  All you really need to know about Lori is best summarized by the email address she used to write me:

cash@megabestseller.com

Kind of says it all about who she is, her motives, and her so-called publishing company, doesn’t it? And what she doesn’t say, in her comment to my original post, tells you the rest:

Instead of bashing the show or myself, how about using your talents to help? I’d be very happy to hear your comments or ways you would like to participate.

How about instead of rants and bashing that we work together to make this a fun experience that really helps writers?

Why would I want to help you? Why would I want to participate, or encourage others to participate, in what is an obvious "get rich quick" scam to swindle aspiring authors out of their money?  It’s a real tempting offer, Lori.  I’ll help you on your show as soon as I finish my volunteer work for the American Nazi Party.

Ofcourse, she doesn’t bother to refute any of my charges, because she can’t.  All she says is that her show isn’t an infomercial.

Uh-huh.

So if your show isn’t an infomercial, Lori, how about telling us which network has commissioned it? Or if it’s syndicated, what stations will be airing it and under what terms? As I said before, I believe we’ll be seeing your show, if it ever airs at all, as "Paid Programming" or on public access cable.

April 14, 2005 "Book Millionaire"

It’s been a while since I’ve had a scam-of-the-month, so maybe I should call this Scam of the Quarter?

Anyway,  a whole bunch of folks have emailed me today about the insipid "Book Millionaire" scam. Seems there’s this get-rich-quick marketeer named Lori Prokop who is the host, executive producer, and co-creator (with her sister) of a new reality show called "Book Millionaire" ( she’s "extremely excited to be executive producer and co-creator" of the show.  And let me just say that I’m extremely excited to be writing this post on this blog).

Lori is, of course, the author of Awaken Your Million-Dollar Intuition, Enlightened Intelligence ,I Could Have Quit $10 million Ago,  and Jesus Teenager: How To Be The Coolest Kid Around and other books you’ve never heard of. But who else could possibilty more qualified to host this show? Oh yes, the show.  I was so swept up in awe with Lori and her amazing accomplishments, I almost forgot all about it. Here’s the pitch (Italicized comments are mine):

Eight people with dreams of seeing their book ideas become published and being the next author launched to best selling and celebrity status will meet Book Millionaire’s Publishing Committee during July 2005 to start filming of Book Millionaire Reality TV Show.

Here’s your chance to finally become America’s next Best Selling Author and Reality Show TV Celebrity!  We are scouting for the next group of candidates [The next group? There hasn’t been a first group yet]  for America’s hottest new reality show [How can it be America’s hottest reality show if it hasn’t even aired yet?]. Act now. We launch people to best selling and celebrity status. [They do? Who??] Picture yourself featured on national television where millions of potential viewers listen to you about your story, writings, book or book-to-be and you have the chance to prove you have what it takes to be America’s next published Best Selling Author and Book Millionaire.

In the first season, the Candidate Authors will be split into multiple teams. They will compete in real-world book promotion assignments. Prominent companies  and currently published books [Lori’s books, of course!] will also be part of the tasks . Viewers will watch the drama unfold as the tests reveal Candidate Authors personalities, marketing skills, creativity, result-producing talents and abilities for working on a team with others they may or may not get along with.

Viewers will feel the excitement of intense tasks and growing stakes as the doors to publishing success open. The Candidates’ goal is to be  The One [Not to be confused with The Jesus Teenager] who is headed to press . Each week one Candidate Author will hear the dreaded words, “The doors to publishing have closed.”[What refreshing originality, Lori] With the show climaxing in the final episode when one Candidate Author will hear, “You’re Published!” [By Best Seller Publishing, no doubt, but more on that later]

The winner of Book Millionaire will be granted the ultimate dream — to enjoy the lifestyle of being a successfully published author. And they will receive additional prizes to help achieve the goal of Best Selling and Celebrity Status [You won’t actually be a bestseller or a celebrity, but you’ll get a nifty certificate redeemable for status] and becoming America’s next Book Millionaire [Though you won’t actually get a million dollars].

Book Millionaire is being aired on cable nationwide Fall 2005.

Imagine achieving the "lifestyle of a successfully published author." Let me give you a taste of what you can hope for:  I had El Pollo Loco for lunch today, picked up my daughter at school, and got a haircut. Will they get to do that? I think not. I’ve earned those perks the hard way, pal. They’ll also get additional prizes to help towards the goal  of Celebrity Status, something I bet Lori knows a lot about. I know I wake up every day and ask myself  "Gosh, what can I do today to achieve my goal of Celebrity Status? I think I’ll say something nasty about fanfic."

What Lori hopes you’ll do, of course, is go to one of her get-rich-quick seminars, get-rich-quick books, get-rich-quick tapes, hire her for qet-rich-quick consulting or  pay her to publish your book through her get-rich-quick vanity press, Best Seller Publishing. 

Look for "Book Millionaire" to show up as Paid Programming on a local cable channel near you, sometime around 2 a.m. between the infomercial for the The Meat Syringe and Ron Jeremy interviewing porn stars who use  Y-Bron, "the natural viagra."