The Old Neverending PublishAmerica Thread (Publish America)

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Euan Harvey

Re: Private Posts?

Posting from the private message board seems out of line to me. ... passing along private messages [is] not so okay. ...

Hear, hear. There's more than enough material to dissuade anyone who comes across this site from using PA, without descending to the level of posting private messages.

Cheers,

Euan
 

FM St George

Re: Anyone have any idea....

hey, ProandCon!

let me know how much your PA royalty check is for! I figure mine may be enough to get a can of tuna for my cats...


:D
 

ProandCon

Private PA Posts

"Me have the means? That's not what I stated. Read carefully, oh great ProandCon. I only stated that I've heard some things going on within that private board."

I think you implied you have the means. You set the stage and then wanted to step out of the s*** sandwich you made. Why even bring up that type of a scenario on a message board?

Why would the PA staff post something that could possibly be changed / edited without their consent? Their statements would be out of their control. On the flip side, they don't even talk to the PA authors on the private message about their concerns. The official PA cheerleader (Don't want to say his name. He loves his name mentioned!) posted on the board to beat down the authors asking about the return policy on the private message board. Several authors told him to quit trying to talk down to them. One mysterious poster (who was that?) posted to say be thankful for what you got. Still no official PA reply to the author's concerns and there probably won't be an official PA reply. Maybe that was the official reply! LOL

I'm not Larry. I'm just a jammed up author who like many have to make the decision to fight to get my book out of contract with PA after seeing the hidden weaknesses of PA or continue trying while hoping for the best. Either way the experience is tainted.

My problem with this board is why do the PA author's messages have to be copied and at times taken out of context to satisfy the ego of various posters on here? Why do the PA authors have to be ridiculed? True, some of the PA authors appear to be brainwashed yet maybe they are just trying to make the best of a bad situation. OK, some may be brain dead with no hope for them.

It appears true that some of the PA office staff will leave you down in the dirt, not return your calls and abandon you in a heart beat when you have legitimate concerns. Meiners should fire the deadbeats on his staff. I won't go into the individual author stories about how some of PA's office staff are presently hijacking their attempts to be successful.

If a PA author wants his or her concerns known, let them post the message themselves instead of people here copying and posting snippets of posts that may not show the whole picture. It appears some of the people on here live for the moment to attack PA by dragging an innocent author's post through the mud.

You have of plenty of anti-PA information on many boards for people to now make an educated decision about whether to publish with PA or not. It has now become a cruel sport for some of you to beat down a PA author in your quest to destroy PA.

Leave us out of it unless we come over here and post our story. I'm sure no one here will disagree that there will be PA authors in the future telling their story.

This board serves a good purpose to tell stories such as Molly's disappointing and dreadful experience with PA's inept office staff. The point here is that she wanted her story told to warn others. Someday my story may be told here but in the meantime leave the present authors out of your war with PA until they want to be in the war.
 

vstrauss

Re: Private Posts?

>> Posting from the private message board seems out of line to me.<<

I have to say I agree. I'm curious too, but I don't think that porting messages from the private board over here would be a good idea. I'm with Gran--I think that's where we should draw a line.

- Victoria
 

DaveKuzminski

Private PA Posts

Well, ProandCon, you certainly sounded a lot like Larry.

In the meantime, many of those posts contain information that PA will delete because it's controversial or reveals what's going on at PA. If those aren't copied and posted elsewhere, many other PA writers won't ever see those before PA's censor strikes. Nor will other writers who might be considering PA and who have a right to know just what they're dealing with.

As to some of the remarks made here and elsewhere about some of the authors still with PA, I've noticed that some are responses by former PA authors toward those who opposed them over on the PA board. I don't condone those remarks, but I won't condemn them either seeing how many of them were treated in the PA forum.

As to Meiners firing the deadbeats, he can't because he set the pace for them being deadbeats. That is the apparent corporate policy as evidenced by their remarks to writers.

While we're at it, consider this. Why doesn't the PA staff post explanations or defend their contract elsewhere? I'll tell you this much. It's not because someone else might change their words. It's because... ready for this? It's because someone else might not change their words and that would create evidence they have no control over or any way of deleting. That's why they communicate so little with their authors. That's why they use a number of stock phrases so frequently even when those don't apply. They don't dare say anything new because they know it can be used against them to prove their previous lies are lies.
 

XThe NavigatorX

Re: That's the way I've always heard it should be

People have been wondering how many employees PA has. According to PA, they have "over 60"

Our staff is not small; presently we have more than 60 fulltime employees, which makes us one of the biggest non-government employers in Frederick County, and certainly the fastest growing. The Text editing department alone counts a staff of 32. Next month, we are scheduled to double our office space, which will allow us to grow our staff to more than 100 employees.

from: www.mindsightseries.com/d...1093974932
 

ncq13

And so it begins...

I haven't checked to see if I am banned yet, but here is what happened...

Someone posted the following statement:
The owner knows all about POD and supports the " non vanity " approach .
When I mentioned Barnes & Nobles , he was very impressed by Publish America .

I replied with several links to vanity publishers that have books with B&N, and guess what? My post is GONE. Not the thread, just my post.
I don't think provided information that can be found on a Google search should be taboo, do you?
:head :gone
 

Risseybug

Re: Anyone have any idea....

Ah, but if it's posted on a PA board for other PA authors to see, then they might start to think for themselves. We can't have THAT now, can we.

Nothing against the PA authors, but that seems to be PA's mentality. It seems as if they want their authors to live in a cocoon, blissfully unaware of the real world.
 

vstrauss

PA and the Attorney General's Office

A little while back, there was some discussion of dissatisfied PA authors contacting the Maryland Attorney General's Office to complain. The other half of Writer Beware, Ann Crispin, just checked with the folks at the AG's Office and they say they now have 10 complaints on file.

Ann asked what would be required to spark an investigation, and was told that an additional 20-30 complaints received over a short period of time (2 months or so) would definitely get attention.

So if anyone is thinking of complaining, the time to do it is now. Write to:

Office of the Attorney General
Attn: Mr. Larry E. Munson
139 E. Antietam St.
Hagerstown, MD 21740

- Victoria
 

tavonreiman

Get a life!!!

First of all why is it that all of you supposed writers having so much time to sit around and bash PA? Do you not have anything better to do than to challenge a group of writers because of who they have published with? What type of personal vendetta to you have with this publisher. Yes I am published by PA, I am not the owner nor am I there lawyer. I am satisfied with the job they have done for me for my own reasons. Enough said, they are my publisher and I have entered into a business deal with them. Why is this so offensive to all of you? Why do you care how many of my books sell or don't? You’re not getting paid off my royalties. The bottom line is we are all writers and if this is a writer's board I would think that our time could be better spent discussing marketing, writing resources and review boards. As far as PA authors not lurking around sitting on ready to reply to every childish challenge and comment you want to make maybe they are busy writing, selling and promoting. But I will buy into your kindergarten game one time. My name is T.A. Von Reiman, PA was one of five publishers I sent my book to. I got responses from Double Day, Penguin and Publish America. I chose Publish America because they offered to get my book out in one year rather than from 3-5. I also chose them because they are a young publishing company and I felt I could grow with them. I took in all the negative comments I had seen on places like this and the positive comments I had seen on other boards. I made my business decision based on my needs and feel I made the right choice. If I find I did not then I will make the needed changes on my next book, but for now I have two books with PA. I have pre-release sales of over 500 books at this time and I do not even have a release date yet. My web-site brings in 200 people a day and generates sales for the books that are featured there. My promotion campaign is moving along as expected and I have had no problem getting book signing dates and have 12 libraries in my area alone that have agreed to purchase my book. Have I met obstacles being published by PA, yes thanks to gossip from boards like this one, yes I have. Do other authors who publish with other publishers face obstacles, yes they do. So now I am leaving this board and you can post your little cutting comments and talk about how I haven't responded to you because I'm soooo afraid. But I will be busy doing what I love to do which is write and promote. I don't have time for your little petty arguments. Because I'm on my way to the NYT Bestseller list and then we'll see who has egg on their face.

Thanks so much for the entertainment, T.A. Von Reiman
 

DaveKuzminski

Re: Get a life!!! Damage control from PA?

Would the part about "I got responses from Double Day, Penguin and Publish America" mean that two of the three were rejections since you didn't state what their responses were? Or should I ask some friends in those publishing houses whether they offered you an acceptance?

Your remarks about gossip from this board creating obstacles only shows how little you know about publishing and PA. Otherwise, you'd understand just how your publisher created those obstacles that you've encountered. Then again, you're only about to get your first two books published, so it's obvious that you don't know enough.

Beyond that, I seriously doubt that you will make the NYT bestseller list. You might make the PA bestseller ad in the NYT, but that's about it.

By the way, I find it curious that you felt the need to state that "I am not the owner nor am I there [sic] lawyer".
 

lastr

PA srikes close to home

I just got off the phone with my mother and I am feeling very uncharitable toward PA. My mother got an email from her best friend asking for a check to buy copies of a book being published by a "traditional publisher" that was written by her older brother. The email goes on and on gushing about the great opportunity he has been offered, because "no other publisher is willing to give new authors a chance" and after he sells 500 books they are going to make his returnable and feature it in bookstores, ad nauseum. We are talking senior set here, people on fixed incomes, and no disposable money to buy as many copies as he is planning on doing.

My mother went on to tell me she had been asked to have all of us help by buying this book and how many copies could she put me down for! I cannot believe they are having my mother shill for them. What kind of publisher has the unmitigated gall to convince elderly people that the dream of their lifetime has come true, all they have to do is recruit all their friends and family into buying their book and it will be a best seller? This book is not even out yet but they have convinced the author he must do pre-sales and send them all the money so they can expedite the publication of his 18.95 masterpiece. Afterall he is close to 80 years old, and there is no time to waste.

I thought watching PA wreck the dreams of a good friend was hard, but now they have gotten personal - they are infiltrating my extended family. I refuse to be the one to burst his bubble, but neither am I going to stand idly by as they try and milk my mother's generation of their hard-earned money. I am at a loss as to what to do - any suggestions please?
 

DaveKuzminski

Re: PA srikes close to home

Report them to the Social Security Administration for perpetrating a fraud on retired seniors?
 

lastr

Re: Anyone have any idea....

Report them to the Social Security Administration for perpetrating a fraud on retired seniors?

Now that is a good idea! Bad enough to take dreams away, but to prey on the elderly takes the cake! Where would he get the idea of selling 500 books except from them? I got to explain the facts of PA to my mother tonight and she has "nominated" me to call him and talk with him. I'll do that tomorrow and try to convince him not to buy loads of copies of his book. I'm going to see if I can get him to understand that is not the way the book business works without setting him on edge, or making him defensive.
 

Molly Brent

protecting senior citizens

The AARP can advise you on agencies in each state established to protect the elderly from scams.

The FTC also has a division to protect seniors........for information call them at 1 877 382 4357

I'm not certain of this, but I think the attorney general also has a division to protect seniors

This is really sad.

Molly
 

AC Crispin

Correction on Address for MD Attorney General

Hi, folks:

I should have been clearer with Victoria about the address of the Maryland Attorney General's Office, but I've been down for the count with medical problems for a week or so now, and am only feeling a bit better as of tonight.

Anyhow, the address Victoria posted is not the correct one, and that's my fault. The address she posted is an adjunct office that has been keeping tabs on Publish America, but the office PA Authors who wish to register a complaint should write to the AG's main office, and that's located in Baltimore.

Write your letter, in hardcopy, to:

Office of the Attorney General
200 Saint Paul Place
Baltimore, MD 21202

The fact that there are a lot more formal complaints about PA and its practices than there were this time last year is encouraging.

Someone asked at one time what problems an unhappy PA author could formally complain about. I can think of several:

1. The PA website, and their repeated claims that Publish America is a "traditonal" publisher, no different than Random House. This is deliberately misleading advertising, designed to ensnare new authors who are unfamiliar with the way the real publishing world works.

2. The deliberately misleading claim that PA books are carried in all bookstores -- leading authors to believe their books will be on the SHELVES in bookstores, when they almost never are.

3. PA's refusal to accept mail from their authors, even from attorneys representing their authors. This is highly unprofessional.

4. The PA term of contract, seven years, which is non-standard. Most publishers will revert non-active titles in far less time than Publish America.

So...let's find out. Are there 20 or 30 disillusioned Publish America authors out there who feel strongly enough to write? I'll call the Attorney General's Office back before Christmas, and we'll see how many complaints they've received by that time.

Feel free to copy this post to all writer boards where Publish America is under discussion.

Best,

-Ann C. Crispin
Writer Beware
www.writerbeware.com
 

dgkgoldberg

i seldom post here

that said, i lurk a lot. i just googled T A Van Reiman and read her web page. I have no need to insult her or put her down, but men tekel ufarsin is clearly on the wall. And, I am aware that she said she would not be back, but I felt (as a long term lurker) confident in saying that she might just be lurking also, and that she might have need of some support here and even though one or two voices say otherwise this seems like a nice comfortable place for people who have unpleasant experiances with PA to come to and I hope she understands that --- I believe she'll have need of support in a few months.
 

Gravity

Correction on address

Hi Ann. I for one will be sending them a letter. Since my PA debacle I've published my subsequent works with a large traditional house. The differences between the two staggers the imagination. I, too, sent PA several emails regarding terminating my contract (and I've one of the old contracts that runs for the life of the copyright). Those emails were ignored. Perhaps PA won't ignore an investigation from the AG. To paraphrase the ever-eloquent Bugs Bunny, "What a buncha maroons..."
 

FM St George

Re: That's the way I've always heard it should be

I'll wait until T.A. gets her first royalty check - she'll be back, but to join the ever-growing ranks of PA authors who have seen the light.

it usually doesn't happen until the first or second royalty check, so give her time.

of course, the fact that she feels the need to come over here and rant does say a lot about how she feels somehow threatened by this site's mere existence. And the blatant lies she's believing about how PA is "just like" Penguin and Random House.

but, hey... it's a nice delusion while it lasts. Six months, she'll be back.
 

James D Macdonald

Re: Get a life!!!

Hi, Terri --

You know, sometimes I ask myself why I spend so much time on PublishAmerica. They aren't my publisher, and there isn't a chance in heck that they will be. So why do I do it?

Answer: I care about writers, especially new, naive ones. I hope that I can say this without offending you, but you're new and dreadfully naive. I'm sorry that the warnings didn't dissuade you from going with PublishAmerica.

The obstacles you've met aren't caused by gossip on boards like this one; the gossip is caused by the obstacles.

The specific obstacles that you'll have to overcome include:

Bookstores:

a) Very high cover prices
b) Lack of returnability
c) Non-standard discount through distributors

Distribution:

a) Lack of a catalog
b) Lack of a salesforce

Libraries:

a) No CIP data
b) No major reviews

Personal sales:

a) Very high cover prices
b) Slow fulfillment

All of those obstacles are directly caused by PA's business model, a business model that they share with no traditional publishers, but that they share with all vanity presses.

Why does PA offend me so much? Because they lie to authors. What am I doing here? Telling the truth to counteract the lies.

In the months to come, you will find out which of us is right. I hope you'll consider coming back to tell your story a year after your books are published. Reality trumps any amount of hypothesizing.

The door is open, the welcome mat is out, and we'll leave a light on for you.
 

Arden19

Re: Get a life!!!

Just wanted to also address tavonreiman in the "Get a life" post.

I am a PA author, and I've got a life. I have a full time day job, in addition to being a weekend mommy to my 4-yr-old stepdaughter. Why I don't spend more time on my writing isn't your business, but it's because I'm disheartened right now, as well as being uninspired.

I plan to file with the Attorney General of Maryland, because I don't appreciate being lied to. Yes, I should have done my homework and I've admitted that. PA said I'd be in bookstores, I'm not. Now, I never thought I'd be the next Anne Rice, but a little bit of a cult following would have been nice. With PA, I'll never get that, because the only people who buy the book are my friends and family.

Oh, and as for the claim of having "around 60 employees" I'd like to know where. I live in Frederick, and I've seen their office many times. They couldn't fit 60 people in there. Unless they do shift work or something.
 

DeePower

copyrights and posts on PublishAmerica board

PublishAMerica does not recognize that the person who posts on their boards owns the copyright to their posts. REad from the bottom up.

My response of May 19 to their response

This is a childish,insulting and condescending reply.

The copyright belongs to the owner of the work, unless
expressly transferred to another party. Your disclaimer
has no bearing on the copyright ownership issue. Your
disclaimer says you have permission. I am withdrawing
the permission. Your disclaimer does not say by posting
I am giving up ownership i.e. the copyright. Provide
documentation in writing that I transfered the ownership
of my writing/posts to PublishAmerica. Otherwise remove
those posts as you have the other posts of my mine. Do
this immediately.

(removed my address and phone number)

And this is the first time, anyone from PublishAmerica
has responded.

Dee Power

PublishAmerica response of to my original email below
Jessica wrote:

> Dear Ms. Power,
>
> We answered you before on this issue. Here is the same response again:
>
> No, what you are saying is not true, and we will take no such action. Do
> not address us in such a tone.
>
> Even if it were not for our prominently displayed message at the top of
> each message board page: "Disclaimer: Posting on this message board
> indicates agreement to allow PublishAmerica to use the posted text for
> marketing purposes," what you are saying still would not be true.
>
> Please email all queries to [email protected], and consider that
> your sole point of contact. If warranted, the Author Support Team will
> forward your email message to the appropriate department. Messages sent to
> all other addresses and through the mail will be discarded unread.
>
> Thank You,
> Jessica
> Author Support Team
> [email protected]
>
>
>>> From: "Dee Power" <[email protected]>
>>> To: <[email protected]>
>>> Sent: Monday, May 17, 2004 5:35 PM
>>> Subject: PublishAmerica is in violation of copyright law
>>>
>>>
>>>
>>>> Immediately remove all my comments on the PublishAmerica bulletin
>>>> boards. I own the copyright to whatever I posted, whether
>
>
> specifically
>
>>>> designated as such or not. You are in violation of copyright law
>
>
> remove
>
>>>> all comments by Dee Power immediately.
>>>> --
>>>> www.BrianHillAndDeePower.com
>>>> Dee Power (Ms.) is co-author with Brian Hill of
>>>> "Making of a Bestseller: Success Stories from Top Authors
>>>> and the Editors, Agents, and Booksellers Behind Them"
>>>> Spring 2005, Dearborn Trade,
>>>> "Overtime," a novel, September 2003
>>>> "Attracting Capital From Angels" 2002,
>>>> "Inside Secrets To Venture Capital" 2001
 

AnneMarble

Re: Get a life!!!

The bottom line is we are all writers and if this is a writer's board I would think that our time could be better spent discussing marketing, writing resources and review boards.

T. A., have you seen the rest of the boards? This is only one board out of more than 30 boards connected with Absolute Write. There boards for fiction writing, boards where people post information on paying markets, boards for genre ficition writing, etc. You can check them out here. (It will open in a new window, unless I did this wrong.)

The reason people are talking about PublishAmerica on this thread is because it's the PublishAmerica thread on the Bewards board. The reason there is a Bewares board is because they are concerned for other writers. They could just ignore the bad publishers -- after all, like you said, it's not their publisher. But like me, they don't want to see other writers get hurt. It's just like professional organizations that protect their members from bad bosses or from getting a job with a company that has a bad reputation. Only nobody has to pay to join. Writers are cool people in that way. :hug

Feel free to check out the other boards. You'll find that there is a lot more to this place than just discussions about PA.
 
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