PAMB and its quotes

Well, naturally. InfoGestapo has got to keep the Stepford Scribes in line, lest they gain a brain cell and figure out that everything in Fedrick is sewage under the bridge.

Ever see the Time Machine, with Rod Taylor? Sometimes the PA authors remind me of the gentle Eloi, when the Moorlocks sound the dinner horn. They just keep on marching, with that glazed look in their eyes, spouting, "But this is the way it's always been--we give them something and they provide all of this for us."

AW is Rod Taylor, lighting matches, fighting back, defending the weak, and ultimately trying to burn down that Moorlock city.

Tri

SouthernWriter1978 said:

One author is told her book is not discounted and the store has tried ordering, only to be told they will end up paying full price or so...



Infocenter argues back with...


Everyone but PA is wrong, don't they realize this yet???

She answered back with the usual answer...

Click to expand...

I wonder how long it will take for the said author to get banned from PA's boards because she (horror of horrors!) asked her publisher some honest questions?

SouthernWriter1978 said:

She is still there and she is on other boards as a cheerleader for PA. Her books are still being published by PA and she has now paid money for other novels to be published. Her idea of paying for books is "how publishing is done". If I told you her name, you'd recognize her immediately.

Click to expand...

How long has she been with PA? I haven't been over there in almost two years, and I don't recognize a lot of the writers over there, unless they make their way over here.

Also, when I was banned from the PAMB, it was under similar circumstances to what this lady is going through. I asked questions, and before long my password did not work anymore.

Of course, I was no longer a PA cheerleader at the time, but what I'm saying is, the circumstances were very similar.

EGADS!

Ian D. Mecantie said:

How long has she been with PA? I haven't been over there in almost two years, and I don't recognize a lot of the writers over there, unless they make their way over here.

Click to expand...

The quoted post was from 2005. So you might well recognize the name.

She appears to only have one book through PA. All the rest (including the sequel to her PA book) are through iUniverse. So she did bail out. Didn't jump too far ... but hey, her overall costs are lower for the same number of books sold when she goes with iU.

Looks like she just didn't want to waste the time and effort that it would take to get her first book out of the seven-year contract.

I think she's sticking with the PAMB just as a way to stay in touch with her friends. It is a community.

James D. Macdonald said:

The quoted post was from 2005. So you might well recognize the name.

She appears to only have one book through PA. All the rest (including the sequel to her PA book) are through iUniverse. So she did bail out. Didn't jump too far ... but hey, her overall costs are lower for the same number of books sold when she goes with iU.

Looks like she just didn't want to waste the time and effort that it would take to get her first book out of the seven-year contract.

Click to expand...

I don't frankly blame her for not trying to get out of the contract. For me, that process was extremely stressful, and I would not wish the agony on anyone.

SouthernWriter1978 said:

I've read her PA cheers, she still sits tight with them across the fence.

Click to expand...

That's mighty sad, but I think Uncle Jim might be partially right. I think too that a lot of her staying with PA is probably more for the sake of community. That sense of belonging is hard to find just anywhere.

I do hope, however, she finds out the truth and is able to become a legitimately published author. The fact she keeps writing and does not give up, would be seen as more an inspiration, if she were more well-known by readers.

This was in reply to a poor, unsuspecting newbie to PA:

1. Don't be anticipating a huge check and don't be discouraged by its size.

2. On your second royalty check, you might find a deduction due to the return policy. I had a small deduction on my second check.

Click to expand...

Better she finds out now.

stormie said:

This was in reply to a poor, unsuspecting newbie to PA:



Better she finds out now.

Click to expand...

My only gripe here is she didn't find out before signing the contract. I hope she does well.

One guy posts about how he can't figure out why bookstores can't order his book.

The Reply:

Before anyone thinks I am putting down Publish America, I want to say how greatful I am to them for giving me the chance of a lifetime in having my books published. But I had the same problem trying to get my books into Hastings in Warrensburg, MO.

I had called and set up a date to have a booksigning. Everything was okay until I called the week before I was to have the booksigning. When I called the person told me that they were unable to get the books because Ingram didn't have them in stock. So I called Ingram. Ingram said they did have it in stock and stores could order them. So I called the bookstore back. I believe it is a lie when the stores say they can't get them. Here is the reason why: I kept pressuring the young lady I talked to until she finally told me they were not allowed to order books from Publish America.

I think that's the whole thing in a nutshell. I can't get bookstores in Kansas City to order my books as soon as they find out it's a book published by Publish America.

Again, please don't think I'm putting down Publish America because they were the only publishing company that would give my books a chance. I really appreciate them for doing that.

After that:
People will say what they have to if they think it will get you off their back. Sad to say but it is true. You'll find that they will give all kinds of excuses rather than just saying they aren't interested in supporting you.

No, they aren't interested in supporting PA.

Onto another thread:
One brand new poster asks the average newbie question.
2) What are the average sales for a first time writer?

3) Which promotional material(i.e. bookmarks, fliers, etc.) did you find most helpful?

4) Did you purchase copies of your books to sell yourself? Example: have a box in you trunk, as the promotional guide suggested

Answer to question 2 in a reply: I read somewhere that a first time author can expect to sell around 500 books. PA makes their money by the quantity of books that are sold and first time authors generally do not sell that many books.
Okay, then.
Same reply post, this time to #4:
I believe that every author should have books on hand as you will find that many people prefer to buy "autographed" books so they can brag the know the author. I carry my books everywhere I go and display them. I cannot begin to count how many books I have sold in resturants by simply placing the book next to me on the table. The waitress will notice the book and it gives me the opportunity to show the book. Without exception I have always sold books.
That's... something.

Next thread - talkin' about royalties:
My first book "Dust on the Saddle" has been #1 best selling western from PA for the past 7 months so I'm hoping to get at least $25 or $30 in the royalty check this cycle.
Oh dear Lord.

emsuniverse said:

Answer to question 2 in a reply: I read somewhere that a first time author can expect to sell around 500 books. PA makes their money by the quantity of books that are sold and first time authors generally do not sell that many books.
Okay, then.

Click to expand...

Where that 500 copies nonsense comes from, and my commentary on it, is here:

http://www.absolutewrite.com/forums/showthread.php?t=47082

A first time author with a decent publisher in the USA can expect to sell one heck of a lot more than 500 copies.

Let's figure out what a commonly expected sales number for a first-time novelist is. $2,000 is a very common first-timer advance. The advance is set to approximately equal the expected sales for the book.

A $2,000 advance would be the equivalent of 3,129 mass market copies, or 1,338 trade paperback copies, or 833 trade cloth copies. Or some combination of the three formats that adds up the same. For example, 500 each of each of the three formats comes to $2,267.10 in royalties. Which is within spitting distance of the Bookscan 500 copies per ISBN number. (Bookscan doesn't track titles -- it tracks ISBNs, and each format that a particular title is in gets its own ISBN.)

That's 1,500 copies sold, which is something on the order of 20 times more than PA sells per title (counting the books the author buys that are still in the trunk of his car a year later).

Same reply post, this time to #4:
I believe that every author should have books on hand as you will find that many people prefer to buy "autographed" books so they can brag the know the author. I carry my books everywhere I go and display them. I cannot begin to count how many books I have sold in resturants by simply placing the book next to me on the table. The waitress will notice the book and it gives me the opportunity to show the book. Without exception I have always sold books.
That's... something.

Click to expand...

I have never in my life done anything like this.

I hang with a lot of authors. None of them, to the best of my knowledge, have done anything like this.

Next thread - talkin' about royalties:
My first book "Dust on the Saddle" has been #1 best selling western from PA for the past 7 months so I'm hoping to get at least $25 or $30 in the royalty check this cycle.
Oh dear Lord.

Click to expand...

The #1 best selling Western from PA has an Amazon sales rank of 1.2 million.

The author's expected royalties are ... $0.72.

Yeah, and I noticed the first post in that 'how many books' thread disappeared. The posted said he heard that the average PA title sells 50 copies or something. It was non -confrontational and didn't say anything harsh. Just a question.

Infomonster deleted it. Can't have the truth out there, can we?

James D. Macdonald said:

Same reply post, this time to #4:
I believe that every author should have books on hand as you will find that many people prefer to buy "autographed" books so they can brag the know the author. I carry my books everywhere I go and display them. I cannot begin to count how many books I have sold in resturants by simply placing the book next to me on the table. The waitress will notice the book and it gives me the opportunity to show the book. Without exception I have always sold books.

Click to expand...

I have never in my life done anything like this.

I hang with a lot of authors. None of them, to the best of my knowledge, have done anything like this.

Click to expand...

I know some who have done "drive-by book signings". they zip through a Borders and sign all the books that are in stock.

Yep, some people do that. But traveling around with a case of books in the trunk of your car? Putting a copy beside your plate in a restaurant in hopes of selling one to the waitress? That's ... odd.

Same with sticking flyers under the windshield wipers of all the cars in the parking lot at the mall, or putting your book's cover on a tee-shirt then strolling around bookstores (in hopes that someone will be so inspired that they'll step over to the Special Order desk).

From a thread that sounds like a bunch of people trying to convince themselves of something...

My point exactly. I had made a post on MSN groups the other day asking when was a good time to start getting ready for my first book signing and someone replied that the publisher is supposed to do all that promotional stuff for the author and then he or she mention how PA was a scam. I got mad about that and had something to say. I said it although it was quite a large paragraph. You basically summed it up...shouldn't judge by the publisher but by the author. Readers sure don't so why should anyone else? It doesn't matter is Scholastic publishes you or PA does it. What matters is you (you in general) are published.

Click to expand...

Bolding mine. Is she kidding???

Oh god. I am no better than a PA published author therefore. Man I need chocolate!

It doesn't matter is Scholastic publishes you or PA does it. What matters is you (you in general) are published.

Click to expand...

Well then, crap, I could go and take one paragraph and put it up on Lulu.com and then what does it matter? I'm published right? That kind of thinking is totally insane! All they are trying to do is just justify themselves some how.

Just makes me tired...

another disappointed PA author posted today

It has taken almost 10 months to see my novel published. Everything went great including the cover. I received my two copies of my novel and sat down and began reading. Talk about falling into the depths.... I choose Option#3 and woked like a mad dog with corrections.....twice. Now I sit here reading my novel and I come upon errors that I know were on my list. I'm concerned at what people will think when they read it. I know that nothing is perfect but this is "not good".

This post will soon disappear, I am sure.

PA should keep their hands off of something they know nothing about. They don't read the manuscripts in the first place. How can they possibly know the proper spelling for uniquie terms used in a manuscript? Spell Check can be used to destroy a manuscript just as easily as it can help. There have been tons of comments about PA introducing scads of errors AFTER the last galleys have been proofed by the author. The trick is, to take that option one, or never let PA have the last edit.

Heh, the trick really is, is to not let these monkeys have your manuscript in the first place.

Tri

CatSlave said:

It has taken almost 10 months to see my novel published. Everything went great including the cover. I received my two copies of my novel and sat down and began reading. Talk about falling into the depths.... I choose Option#3 and woked like a mad dog with corrections.....twice. Now I sit here reading my novel and I come upon errors that I know were on my list. I'm concerned at what people will think when they read it. I know that nothing is perfect but this is "not good".

This post will soon disappear, I am sure.

Click to expand...

Or it could be 'corrected' by Infocenter, in which they will call the author a liar... and then demand an apology.