The Old Neverending PublishAmerica Thread (Publish America)

Re: More PA woes, straight from a PA author's mouth...

I dunno, the pics been played with (poorly) in photoshop or some other little graphic program. If they can find some schill that looks remotely like Orlando say the pic is actually of him posing in a similar manner to a picture seen of Orlando Bloom, I don't think that anyone would side with Blooms lawyers pver some poor lady who has struggled so hard to get in the publishing world and then the Publishing world sent lawyers after her for using a picture of some that looks like Orlando.

That whole story above is false, of course, It would probably only take someone about a week of searching through 20 million pictures of him on the net for the pic she used (15 minutes if you ask the right teenage girl to do it, she would probably even have a copy of it printed out for her room). But it would not be hard to get someone who looks close enough to Bloom to say the pic was of him for a relatively small amount of money. Even if not, Pa can claim the cover was Author supplied and that it is the authors responsibility to secure usage rights for pictures they send PA.

Pixels are the key here

If it goes to court, it's the pixel codes that will determine whether it's a picture of someone similar or not. Even if there's some distortion, clipping, or other change, enough of those original pixels will survive to prove it's the same if that is indeed the situation.

Re: Pixels are the key here

Kuzminski's right. It's not the likeness, it's the pixels.

Re: Pixels are the key here

The thing with the pixel codes is that if you have someone that looks close enough to Bloom and claim you had that person recreate the pose of Bloom, The photoshopped the image,...

It would be hard for Blooms lawyers to prove beyond reasonable doubt that it was not a picture of a person who lookes like Bloom extensively photoshopped. They could document reproducing the pic on the cover using a the pic of Bloom she started with and then comparing pixel codes but it would not take a very large margin of difference in for it to still be argued it is not him.

The easiest thing for PA to do is to say that the rihts issues should have been worked out by the author and it is through no fault of their own that she did not do such. The book has not sold well, so the mot that would probably happen is that the cover would be changed and the author end up in more trouble than PA.

Bloom's people may even already be aware of it and not worried about it because they know the book is not going to be a moneymaker, Not see any real public and that the blame will end up on the author leaving the actor looking like a spoiled rich person attacking a weak person (her actions being illegal notwithstanding).

If they do go after the copyright infringement they will make the 75 copies or so of the book that are in existance worth more money. PA will put a new cover on the book, a couple thousand people will buy it just to support the poor lady wronged (even though they will only be making PA any money). The copies with his picture on it that have already sold will be sought after by idiots wanting the "unauthorized or illegal" copy of the book.

As it stands now the only people that know of the picture are the 100 people or less that the author knows who will get the book, a couple of watchdog types that want to force PA into becoming a legitimate publisher or go out of business, and they people who frequent threads like this. Why risk bad press for sonething that is never going to be able to come back and hurt you? If the book takes off and becomes a good seller, then they have a case saying it was his pic that got a lot of sales. He may actually be able to get something out of it other than paying lawyers to step on an ordinary womans dream.

Re: Pixels are the key here

The problem goes much deeper than it appears.

First off, Bloom has his image to protect. He has no idea what's in the book and might not like the content or how he's portrayed.

Secondly, if he doesn't take action, he could give others a foot in the door to similarly use his image without permission. That is why many celebrities do not permit others to use their image without permission even though many others do. In this case, there's a commercial interest present and that matters more than a fan site because there's no way of knowing how many copies might be sold regardless of PublishAmerica's background and history. He has a right to profit from his image since it is his alone.

Third, if a photo of his was used, particularly one from the Internet, then a pixel comparison is indeed possible and may provide all the proof needed. Even if it was scanned from a regular photo, there are tools available that can determine what scanner was used and how it would have coded an image. In other words, it would be replicable and any results with a high percentage of matching would be admissible evidence in all likelihood. Besides which, lawyers don't have to prove beyond a reasonable doubt in a civil case.

As to PA, the odds are in favor of them being responsible. They furnish the covers for the great majority of the books they "publish." If they did not create the cover in question, they should have a policy stating that authors who provide covers are responsible for securing permission for instances involving images whose rights do not belong to the author or are clearly not in the public domain. If not, then they could be equally culpable when it comes to a court decision or any out of court settlement. In other words, they should have asked when it was submitted for use even if that was mentioned in their contract. In other words, you don't truly cover yourself by making a policy and then never enforcing it by looking the other way such as they've claimed before in stating that they never conducted any smear campaigns.

As to making the cover wanted by collectors, the profits still would likely accrue to Bloom. Whether some people buy it merely to support the poor accused lady or not, their money probably will not go to her.

As to whether some watchdog sites are trying to make PA behave like a real publisher or go out of business, I can speak only for myself. I just want to see them treat writers fairly and honestly.

Re: Pixels are the key here

As to whether some watchdog sites are trying to make PA behave like a real publisher or go out of business, I can speak only for myself. I just want to see them treat writers fairly and honestly.

Click to expand...

Which was my point in mentioning it, actually. Although the word is that the author did design the cover, the fact that PA used it would seem to indicate that (at best) they haven't a clue or, at worst, they have no regard for the welfare of their authors since the use creates legal risk.

Re: Pixels are the key here

While legally "reasonable doubt" is a poor choice of terms. They must still provide a convincing enough argument with the pixels that it is what happeed not just what could have happened.

All of that is mute though because what would happen is that it would be pushed right back onto the author who apparently supplied the cover. PA would be able to claim that they in good faith took the author's submission to be the author's property, or that the author had in fact taken the steps to secure permissions. If Pa is found culpable then Lightning source would also then be found responsible for printing materials that infringe on Bloom's rights.

As I stated before. In Bloom's position at the moment, an insignificant number of people even know of the existance of it. He would easily be able to get production of that cover halted until the mess was sorted out and it would in the end be found to be his pic I don't doubt.

But he would still get the press of going after an ordinary person defense of his reputation aside. The majority of the public will see a rich young actor who has money to burn picking on a woman who in reality would not have sold enough books to make any damage to his reputation. Legal protection of his rights and protecting the image the pulic sees of him differ greatly.

This is all also speculation as he may have actually given permission to use the picture for all I have looked into the specific incident. I do seriously doubt that though

Re: Pixels are the key here

He also might not own all the rights to the use of his image. That could be leased or off limits for the term of a contract in which case a corporation might have something to say about whether they want to let someone muscle in regardless of their economic position in life. If one reads the news often enough, it will become apparent that there are numerous corporations and individuals who do not care if you're poor. All that matters is that they protect themselves because celebrity doesn't last forever in most instances.

Re: Pixels are the key here

I agree,

But there are circumstances where not pursuing or delaying pursuit of the nfringment would be to their benefit. I can't remember ho to check how many copies of the book have sold through Amazon but it's ranking of around 1,100,000 in sales leads me to believe that there has not been enough interest in the thing to where enough people are aware of it's existance to warrant paying a lawyer to file the claim. The lawyers are already on retainer but it may be a case of money better spent having the lawyer work on something else instead. New Line would probably be who has the rights anyhow as the pic looks like it was ripped off of a fan site for the LOTR movies. The fact that 'Elven' is in the title seems to support that notion. By not immediately pouncing on the issue does not open the door for others to misuse his picture as they can always file the claim for that one at the same time as one that appears more damaging surfaces, or at such time as it seems to become a more widespread practice on the part of PA to allow them to happen.

It would be interesting to contact Mr. Bloom's publicist and see what their response is.

If you are a PublishAmerica author

If you are a PublishAmerica author and you have had problems with placing your PA books in bookstores, such as Barnes and Nobles, Borders, BooksAMillion or independent bookstores. Would you please email me a brief description of what happened.

And on the other hand if you are a PublishAMerica author and you do have your books in more than one bookstore and not on consignment I'd like to hear about it as well.

Please feel free to forward this message to others or to post on any discussion boards.

Please email the information to mailto:[email protected]

I will not use your name unless you give me permission, but I would like your real name on the email so I can verify that you are a real person and not just a PA basher or PA shill.

Dee
www.BrianHillAndDeePower.com

The incredible PA

Is this any way for a reputable company to operate?

"Subj: Fw: Claudia Vanlydegraf: contacting PublishAmerica
Date: 5/25/04 9:57:01 AM Pacific Daylight Time
From: [email protected]
To: [email protected]
Sent from the Internet (Details)



Again, please do not address us in such a tone. The tone of your letter is
way out of place. Soon we will sell our one millionth book! Neither your
fax nor your registered letter reached the intended recipient. Please use
[email protected] as your sole point of contact. Future paper
letters from you will be discarded unread.

There is no "cease and desist" applicable at all with a contract such as
ours. And again, our contract has never, throughout our history, even been
so much as questioned by any credible source. Numerous attorneys over the
years have inspected this contract and deemed it without problem, including
dozens of them who have signed it themselves, an AFL/CIO affiliate, and
other industry pundits. It's a very standard, complete, and fine product.

Please consult an attorney prior to making such wild statements. He/she
will tell you that your contract remains fully in force, and enforceable.
Also, and as per your signature, on your contract, contract enforcement
issues take place at our venue, and not in Nevada. Also, any accounting
that we do will be as per the contract, and certainly not within "one week".

Your "personal knowledge" and "credible sources" appear to be less than
credible. You may be referring to one or two isolated incidents wherein we
invoked a clause requiring authors to purchase remaining stock. That was
several years ago, but we believe that it was only two or three times that
this was done, since at that time we were keeping more stock. We have no
copies of your book in stock. If we did, however, and we chose to invoke
that clause with you, we would be well within our contractual rights.

Our convention in Frederick was, by any standard, a raging success! We had
more than 300 people coming from all over the country, and even from places
as far away as Canada and Britain. They had a great time together!

We ran seven different seminars during the convention, led by PA authors,
some with standing room only, and others were so packed that we had to
break out walls to accommodate everyone. Sound recordings of each seminar
are available on CD-ROM, which include the moderator's presentation and the
audience Q&A. They are very, very good and pleasantly instructive.

We're still getting messages thanking us for having the convention.
Everything went smoothly, and so many authors came that we broke a record
from the Guinness Book of World Records!

For now, your contract termination request is denied, and your contract
remains fully in effect. In order to give your book the proper chance to
recoup our investments in marketing, advertising, design, and book
production, we will keep your book under contract for a period of six
months from now.

We agree to terminate your contract at that point, on November 30, and we
will send you the requisite paperwork in October.

Thank You,
Author Support Team
[email protected]"

Another rude email from PA

You have to wonder about PA. First they demand that their authors only communicate by email and then they don't care whether you receive the email. BTW, there is no policy of using email only. They just make it up. PA a truly professional company - NOT.


Dear Ms. Power,

No, as stated below, that was our second message to you, the fact that you may not have received it notwithstanding. And again, no, we will take no
such action, nor will we contact you by mail. You were well aware of our policy of using email very early on in the process, and we will make no exception for you.

Thank You,
Author Support Team
[email protected]

******************************

Dee
www.BrianHillAndDeePower.com

Re: Another rude email from PA

"Support@publishamerica" <---a new oxymoron enters the lexicon

Why PublishAmerica doesn't want book orders from stores

Why doesn't PublishAmerica want book orders from stores like a traditional publisher? Why has PA set up their discount and no return policies so that it discourages sales? Why doesn't PA offer a discount to amazon.com so those books are discounted by the expected 30%? Why does PublishAmerica focus its efforts on recruiting new authors and having those new authors sell 50 to 300 copies, rather than taking a few authors and selling 1,000 to 5,000 copies to retail outlets?

I believe I have the answer. And it is money, but probably not what you think.

Just as a little background I have a Master's in Business Administration and have worked in the finance department of a major corporation, as well as a consultant in business planning for my own consulting company. I am very familiar with budgets, forecasting, cash flow and income statements.

If PA sells say 100 copies of a $19.95 title, (and let's just round that up to $20.00 so I can do the math in my head) to the author, or from the PA website and they discount the title 20%, they have sales of $1800.00 and they probably pay Lightning Source (LS) their printer $3.00 per book, but let's be conservative and say they pay $5.00 per book. They earn $1800.00 and pay LS $500.00 so the PA net profit is $1300.00

If a bookstore would order 1000 copies and want a 50% discount (55% is standard but again we'll say 50% so I can figure out the math without a calculator) PA would receive $10,000 and have to pay LS $5,000 so they would have a net profit of $5,000.00

Would you rather have $1300.00 or $5,000? PublishAmerica would rather have the $1300.00 and here's why.

The $1300.00 is immediate cash (actually they get $1800.00 immediately) because PA doesn't tell LS to print the books until PA has been paid in full by credit card by the author (or a customer from the PA website). Credit cards settle within 48 hours.

If PA fills a bookstore order they have to pay LS $5,000.00 to print the 1000 copies now, when the copies are ordered. BUT they don't get the payment from the bookstore for 60 to 90 days. If the books are ordered by the bookstore through Ingram, and that's how most bookstores order, PublishAmerica has to wait 90 days to get paid by Ingram. That's Ingram's standard term. It's a double hit, they have to pay out-of-pocket expenses of $5,000.00 immediately and they don't receive the $10,000 for 90 days.

PA does not want to tie up $5,000 for 90 days and have to wait 90 days to receive their profit.

If PA was a traditional publisher as they claim, and had orders for 1000 copies of just say 50 titles out of the 3000+ titles they have already released, well they have to have some significant cash on hand to fund the orders.

And now they have 8000 authors, if 3,000 have already been published that means that 5000 will be published within the next 12 months per the PA contract. PublishAmerica not only doesn't want to sell to bookstores like a traditional publisher, it's my opinion they can't.

Dee
www.BrianHillAndDeePower.com

Re: Another rude email from PA

Interesting figures, but it was not hard to figure out that they want to make their money off of the author's friends and family with the lack of any type of a payment up front. The total lack of marketing on their part is also another good clue. The thing that the numbers bear out in my mind is the lack of a credibly seasoned editing department to scream "Hey here is one we can turn into a bestseller". If they had done that to even one or two of the submissions they received and had actually even just focused on marketing those books in a more traditonal manner (create another label to run those under or something) then they would have had more of a defense against the watchdog groups while they continued to bilk the rest of the unsuspecting writers out there.
They would have had their own versioin of a hit like 'Chicken soup for the soul' under their label and had a more convincing carrot to hold in front of the eyes of the masses. They dcould have had two or three 'ordinary people' who 'hit is big' with PA. There would have been no reason to for them to market everyones in that manner to set-up a better facade than they have now, only have an actual editorial department to see books with potential for shuffling over to an elite program that all the authors would ahve aspired to reach. Upon the manuscript being placed back in the slush pile. They could have then offered the underhanded contract that is the current one but with a couple of books on the bestseller list groups like P&E and Writer Beware would have a less convincing argument against them.
So while the short term business numbers bear out using their current model, It would have been easier to have had a larger profit margin and a harder image to tarnish with a slight modification to their model. With 8000 authors, they should be able to market say five books out of 8000 submissions in a more traditional manner and get one of the five onto a best-seller list which would be a stronger hook than all of the testimonial verbage they have on their web page currently.

Why PublishAmerica doesn't want book orders from stores

About a year ago PublishAmerica announced their Independent Books Imprint, which would accept returns from bookstores, and theoretically act more like a traditional publisher. The catch was that an author's book had to have sold at least 500 copies to be considered for the imprint. And while PA said they would accept returns, all orders had to be prepaid.

I can only find four books that have been re-issued under the Independent Books Imprint.

PA does not market these books to the bookstores, it is still up to the author to contact and convince the bookstore to buy and stock their book, as you can see by reading the posts at www.publishamerica.com/cg.../9828.htm.

I don't believe PA has the cash flow to support even one midlist title with a print run of 5000, much less a bestseller.

Which leads me to the title of our new book
"The Making of a Bestseller: Success Stories From Top Authors and the Editors, Agents and Booksellers Behind Them" March 2005, Dearborn Trade

Dee
www.BrianHillAndDeePower.com

Re: Why PublishAmerica doesn't want book orders from stores

...as you can see by reading the posts at www.publishamerica.com/cg.../9828.htm.

I hope you saved that thread, Dee, because it's gone now.

Speaking of vanished threads, did you get this one?

> Dreamer
>
>
>
> 5/15/2004
> 15:38:21
> Subject: Has anyone else heard this excuse?
>
>
> Message:
> I was anxiously waiting to hear from Waldenbooks at our local mall. She
> was thrilled that I was a local author, and said if I gave her an
> advance copy and all the info, she would order my book in and let me do
> a signing. I gave her the book and all my info last week. However, I
> gave her a follow up call this morning and rec'd disappointing news. She
> ordered just one book she said was in her warehouse. But, refused to
> order any more copies or schedule a signing because my 176 page book,
> LOVE FOR ANGELA is selling for $19.95. She said even if it was $14.95,
> it would be pricy. She's not the first to mention the cost of the books
> being high. Has anyone else been getting comments like this? Donna Marie
> www.donnamarie.us
>
> LBS
>
> 5/15/2004
> 15:48:48
>
> RE: Has anyone else heard this excuse?
>
>
> Message:
> Don't feel too bad...mine is 41 pages color illustrated and retails for
> $19.95!
> I think the gal at Borders is STILL laughing! Wish I was!
>
> Shannon
>




That was http://www.publishamerica.com/cgi- bin/pamessageboard/data/main/9921.htm

It didn't last long. PA is aware that their books are incredibly overpriced. They delete any mention of it from their boards as quickly as they can, because the fiction that their books are reasonably priced and available in stores is the smoke part of the smoke-and-mirrors that they use to lure in new and unsuspecting authors.

Deejay, some of your info is wrong

Your info is wrong.

It's quite expensive to print a book at LS. I had the breakdown, but I really don't have the time to look it up. You can check out their website if you wish.

Also, no PA doesn't wait the 90 days for a bookstore to pay. They charge up front. And no, they don't have to wait for Ingram to pay either (technically) as Ingram pays LS upfront and LS pays PA. PA does not deal directly with any distributor, it's all done through LS.

(the other) DJ

PS- I have no books on consignment, on the shelves of more than one bookstore, am a member of a prestigious Children's author's organization, and am doing quite well.
I'd go into more detail but, well, I'd rather not get bashed. I may have to speak up for myself and that (apparently) will get me banned.

they cost too much

Just advanced search their top ten selling books on Amazon to see they are overpriced. Why would I take a chance on a PA book That I may or may not like when I can get two or three traditionally published books that I may or may not like for the same amount.

That leaves aside any of PA's lack of editing and everything else. If I was looking on a shelf in an actual bookstore (we'll leave that issue out of the scenario too and assume that they have them on the shelf) and saw a line of books none of which were recommended to me and I had not ever heard of any of the authors. I would leave a paperback priced at $25 bucks a copy on the shelf when I can get three similar paperbacks for the same price.

The reason you don't see them in stores

Just do an advanced search their top ten selling books on Amazon to see they are overpriced. Why would I take a chance on a PA book That I may or may not like when I can get two or three traditionally published books that I may or may not like for the same amount.

That leaves aside any of PA's lack of editing or any other shortcomings I perceive with them as a publisher. If I was looking on a shelf in an actual bookstore (we'll leave that issue out of the scenario too and assume that they have them on the shelf) and saw a line of books none of which were recommended to me and I had not ever heard of any of the authors. I would leave a paperback priced at $25 bucks a copy on the shelf when I can get three similar paperbacks for the same price.

Re: Deejay, some of your info is right

Actually, Deejay is very close to correct. I consulted with an editor whose publishing house uses Lightning Source. There is a $100 setup fee and print cost is per page. A 300-page book will cost right at $5.00 to print.

Now let's do a little math. If a book is priced at $20.00, then the publisher will have to sell 8 copies to reach the breakeven point. In fact, that point occurs within the eighth copy so there's actually a $13 net to the publisher if the publisher is paying $1 in royalties for each copy sold. After this point is reached, the publisher is making $14 per copy sold. If the publisher reaches what many have touted to be an average of 75 sales, then the net to the publisher will be $1,019. This, of course, does not take into account salaries for the people working at the publisher. That would presumably reduce the net figure before the actual profit can be determined. However, without knowing precisely how many people work for the publisher and what they're paid, we really can't determine what the true profit is since it's bound to be lower.

Of course, since some publishers are charging more than the average price for books produced by Lightning Source, that means that their profit margin is clearly higher than those of other publishers while their costs remain the same. This also means that a certain publisher is making a killing on books that are less than 300 pages in length because that reduces the printing expense and increases the net.

Edited to note that dollars are US based.

Re: Deejay, some of your info is right

PA doesn't have the costs that other publishers do (editing, copyediting, bookstore catalog, promotions, distribution, returns), and does everything else as cheaply and half-assedly as possible. Their profit per-book is much higher than other publishers who do those things (who are selling books to the general public rather than to the authors).

When authors make large bulk purchases, as they are encouraged to do, I'm certain that the books are printed on offset presses by a short-run printer rather than by LSI, bringing the unit cost of the book down farther.

The reason PA doesn't send advance review copies to legitimate reviewers is because that's a cost that's only made up with bookstore sales to the general public. Since bookstore sales to the general public aren't part of PA's business plan, they can skip that step, and its associated costs.

Dodgem, your definition of doing well is???

"I have no books on consignment, on the shelves of more than one bookstore, am a member of a prestigious Children's author's organization, and am doing quite well."

Per the Amazon info on your PA book...

Paperback: 204 pages ; Dimensions (in inches): 0.54 x 9.14 x 6.06
Publisher: PublishAmerica; (September 8, 2003)
ISBN: 1592866816

Average Customer Review: Based on 1 review. Write a review.

There is no sales ranking. Why do you keep defending PA, can you honestly say that they have helped you get your book out to the masses?

Re: Dodgem, your definition of doing well is???

Canada James has special circumstances that allow him to get bookstore shelving in a limited area. Few other PA authors have that same advantage.

Since he advertises his book on his webpage with a direct link to PA rather than to Amazon, a nil Amazon number isn't surprising.

Interesting email I received

Gee, I received an email asking me to be gentler on PublishAmerica. Upon reading the woman's claim that her book has sold only a few copies, it occurred to me that I haven't asked about PublishAmerica's claim of selling one million books. Consequently, I'm adding another question for their authors to answer. In particular, this one gives them an opportunity to brag on how well their publisher is doing for them. Here's what I'm posting soon:

If you were published by PublishAmerica, how many copies of your book were sold through PublishAmerica's bookstore and other bookstores? Please include the book title and do not count copies you purchased using your author discount

The total reported for More than 1000 is: 0
More than 100 is: 0
and for Less than 100 is: 0