Authors Criticize
Publish America's
Prices and Policies

An article by Publishers Weekly November 16 revealed a number of author complaints against Publish America, which many consider to be a vanity house under the guise of a traditional publisher.

Read the article at
http://www.authorlink.com/news/news.asp?id=537

Dee

http://www.BrianHillAndDeePower.com

_________________
Co-author of "The Making of a Bestseller: Success Stories from Authors and the Agents, Editors and Booksellers Behind Them,"
http://www.BrianHillAndDeePower.com

I'm sure authors Hill and Powers have been wronged by Publish America, but this story is beginning to sound like a witch hunt to me, and now, everyone is piling on. The articles in Publishers Weekly and Authorlink are good examples.
They state that PA requires its authors to do their own marketing. Unless your name is Clinton or Grisham, you will be doing most of your own marketing. The part about the list authors are "required" to provide, and to which PA "markets heavily" is an exaggeration. When I signed with them, they suggested that I provide a list of up to 100 names. When my book was released, they sent these people an announcement of my book, along with an order form. This is hardly heavy marketing.
Am I 100% satisfied as an author? No, but I know authors with traditional publishers who are not particluarly satisfied, either. Let's face it. Most of us who signed with PA were unsuccessful in landing a big publisher. For some of us, this will be the break we need.
I will continue to follow this story with an open mind.

Silvio Cadenasso
www.cadenasso.com

"Unless your name is Clinton or Grisham, you will be doing most of your own marketing."

This is fallacious reasoning. The lowest level of promotion by a real publisher buries anything you can do on your own. Of curse with a POD there's nothing that can be done to save it.

Silvio defending publishamerica is the first offense of the newly taken. Later almost all come around to reality. You'll get there at some point. Or so we hope.

_________________
Always report the truth

Silvio defending publishamerica is the first offense of the newly taken. Later almost all come around to reality. You'll get there at some point. Or so we hope.

_________________
Always report the truth

I know I am going to get bashed for saying what I am about to say, it seems to be the way here on this board if you say anything other then a negative toward PA or anything in general about whatever is posted on these boards.
But I can take it!
So have at it!!!
:lol:
I agree that a witch hunt seems to be the criteria here when it comes to PA.

In saying that, I must say,
so what if you have to do your own marketing......................
When you go with any POD you are going to do your own marketing.
So would you rather go with a POD that charges you x-amount of dollars, plus do your own marketing? Or, would you rather go with one that dose not?

An what is it with certain groups of writers that puts down other writers that go the POD route? It seems that the problem is not so much about PA, as it is about attacking anyone that is not published by a so called "traditional publisher." :x

I have been watching these boards for a few months now and rarely say anything, because anyone that does gets their heads chewed off.
Which only makes for a one sided discussion.

Are not these boards suppose to be about allowing all to speak freely without fear of being attacked, because they don't agree with everything the majority says? :?:
I mean heck, its one thing to report things to make others aware of it and its another to attack someone that says, "Hey, I've had experience with PA or other and have had no issue's."
and then it is on!!!!.....because then attackers come out of the cracks in the floor boards and the walls!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!........................
like angry hornets............................. :!: :shock:

_________________
Writer's & Poet's
http://quilterofwords.bravehost.com/
Shades Of Gray
http://localbizalliance.com/bkflorea/shadesofgray.html
Bonnie's Column
http://localbizalliance.com/bizgraphics/ofinterest.html

Well, I've been on the board since it began and while debates may get heated, "chewing someone's head off" is rather subjective in that anyone who doesn't like to hear another person's opinion that does not support his/her own could say that.

As for the board not supporting self-published authors..well, that's certainly not the case. The board is owned and operated by Booklocker.

Cathi

:lol:
You can go all through these messages on this board and find a lot of attacking going on. So if you have been here since this place began, you could not have missed it.
I honestly could careless what a handful of people on a message board thinks of how, or how not, I am published and with who. :lol:
I was defending those who are mistreated for disagreeing with the "elite"!
for lack of a better word...............................

There is a lot of good things with having a board such as this,
where writers can come together and share information.
I'm not talking about that,
because that is not the point of my post.
If anyone reading my post has over looked, or missed the point of it,
I'd be glad to elaborate further.

quote:BookCoverDesigner
"chewing someone's head off" is rather subjective in that anyone who doesn't like to hear another person's opinion that does not support his/her own could say that.

I agree with this. For that is what I was referring to myself.

_________________
Writer's & Poet's
http://quilterofwords.bravehost.com/
Shades Of Gray
http://localbizalliance.com/bkflorea/shadesofgray.html
Bonnie's Column
http://localbizalliance.com/bizgraphics/ofinterest.html

What "elite" are you talking about?? Most of the regular posters are either freelance journalists or self-published authors. I don't think anyone would disagree that getting a fat advance from Random House would be a good thing, but since this entire board is operated by a self-publishing company, I don't understand why you think so many people here are against self-publishing. The Writers.net board is a little more against self-publishing at times, as are most of the comments on nielsenhayden.com's Making Light, but very few are posted here.

Cathi

Can I stick my head in here; I have been following on the stuff ,not just here but on every board about Pa. I am a newly published author by PA. Am I happy with my book, yes am I happy with PA. However it is too early to tell.

I did not give them a list of 100 names as most of my family has passed away. I gave PA a small list and yes they did send out the usual letter, but I have not heard any word from my family of PA hounding them.

I also know of someone published at the same time I was from PA and PA has only ever sent me one notification about Tony book.

The first cover PA made for me was down right ugly, it was not what I wanted at all. I designed how I wanted my cover to look and sent it to them and they matched it.

I have asked a few questions and they have been quick to answer for me.

Do I have to market my own book yes and I can’t say I mind much. In honesty the sales have been pretty good and I have not even had my first book signing.

What will the outcome be I guess I’ll have to wait and see? Maybe everything I have read about other unhappy authors will be me also.

Maybe I’ll be one of those pleased , however at this time I am happy with Pa , they did change the design to please me , they did fix my spelling mistakes*laugh*.

I also wonder how you all feel.

I know on some boards they say anyone who has gone with PA is a bad poet as they publish anyone. Well I know a couple writers PA rejected.

So if I go with PA does it mean the quality of my work is of lesser quality? I really would much rather be looked at for the quality and emotion I put into my poetry than who published it.

Anyway , I hope that everyone will keep an open mind to those happy with PA just as we understand and believe me I do those unhappy.


Rose DesRochers

Hey QOW, nice to see you here and trust me I'm with Cathi about writers.net. They are also against those who provide content for free to websites.

So if I go with PA does it mean the quality of my work is of lesser quality?

No. But it does mean that the quality of your work hasn't been tested in the marketplace, since PA's editorial screening is so limited. So publication with PA doesn't prove you're a bad writer--any more than self-publishing or using a vanity publisher proves you're a bad writer--but it also doesn't provide any validation that you're a good one.

Poetry collections are tough to sell, so for a poet who knows what she's getting into, PA can be a reasonable choice (though you'd have gotten a better contract, a lower cover price, and a better royalty if you'd gone with a service like Booklocker).

I know these discussions can sometimes get pretty personal, but those of us who give warnings about PA don't have anything against PA authors. What pisses us off, and what we'd like to change, is PA's deceptive presentation of itself as a "traditional" publisher (a term, by the way, which has no meaning in the industry, and was coined by PA and companies like it in order to distance themselves from the POD-based self-publishing companies--whose business model, except for the upfront fee, PA basically duplicates).

- Victoria

_________________
Website: http://www.victoriastrauss.com/
Writer Beware: http://www.writerbeware.org/

I would never have signed their contract. I believed them when they said on their website that they were a small press, not a Publish On Demand publisher.

In September of 2003 when our PA book was released. I honestly thought if I worked hard on the publicity - we hired a PR firm for three months - and personally invited bookstores to stock our book in the three cities where it took place, and got good reviews. It would work. I had no idea that there were corporate policies at the chains which effectively prohibited stocking PA or other POD books. I didn't know that newspapers, as a matter of course, don't review PA or POD books. We sent out over 60 copies for reviews. I couldn't even get our hometown newspaper to review our book. And the setting for our book was in our hometown.

Borders had agreed to a book signing. We ordered the books ourselves from PA to make sure they arrived in time. We sent a copy of our book to the Borders regional manager and she cancelled the book signing the day before it was to take place. Why? Because the book was published by PA and they didn't do signings for POD books.

No matter what I did, it made no difference.

I have had two books published by a major house. When my first book came out I went down to my local Barnes and Noble and there it was on the shelf. I did not have to do anything to get that book in a bookstore, the publisher did it. And the same with my second book. I expected and was led to believe by PublishAmerica that my book would be in bookstores.

I also have not received a royalty statement from PublishAmerica from this last royalty period and I have documentation that 85 copies were sold and paid for within the period. PA won't even acknowledge or respond to requests for an explanation.

As far as a witch hunt, no I'm not after PA authors. I wish every author success. And I'm not out to bring down Publish America. I, and a number of other PA authors, have simply told the media about our experiences with PA and how we felt we had been deceived. Hopefully as a result of stories slated to appear in the Washington Post and the Associated Press as well as the recent story in Publishers Weekly, PublishAmerica will see fit to:

Agree to reverse the rights to any author's book that the author
requests, no questions asked, no strings attached.

Make it clear on the Publish AMerica website what their true
business model is. They are a Publish On Demand Publisher

Agree to have an audit of royalties for any author who requests it.


Dee Power
www.BrianHillAndDeePower.com

_________________
Co-author of "The Making of a Bestseller: Success Stories from Authors and the Agents, Editors and Booksellers Behind Them,"
http://www.BrianHillAndDeePower.com

Thank you , Like I said I take into consideration all that you have said. Just on another website some state that because I was published with PA that my writing was crap lol.

Oh well I guess my poetry will speak for itself. I'll have to wait and see what the outcome with PA is.

I've been attacked by PA and some of its sockpuppets on numerous occasions. My crime? I gave an honest opinion of PA's contract and stated that I didn't recommend that publisher because its contract was poor. For that, I've been called a plagiarist, a pornographer, and several other choice terms. In addition, even some authors and artists who worked with me on some projects were also attacked.

I've never submitted any of my work to PA so it's not a case of sour grapes. I reviewed that contract because I was asked to by a writer considering PA's acceptance and subsequent publishing offer.

Now, is that the kind of publisher you want to be associated with?

DaveKuzminski , again I have a book with them it is selling and I have to learn on my own right ?

I am sorry for what happen to you.

My book is in memory of my mother and daughter.

Right now in honestly unlike everyone who likely post on here . I am just happy to have something I can leave to my children in memory of my mom and baby girl.

Might sound dumb , you might say I'm blind , whatever.

Call it what you will. However it is my spotlight and I'm going to enjoy it for what it is.

Maybe my next book will be with someone with a better rep . Like I said I will wait and see.

Thanks for letting me know your experience.

I just ask not to be judge based on who published me.