The Newer Never-Ending PublishAmerica / America Star Books Thread

Cyia

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It seems to me that PA would best be served by providing a couple of free copies, especially if they expect authors to buy their own books, and they do. I don't think many authors would want to make a large purchase without first getting a look at the finished product. But PA is not known for making logical choices and has acquired a long-time reputation for adding errors to galleys that the author has taken pains to correct. An error (among others) of adding a word in the upper-left margin on page 13 of my book galls me to this day.

They have too many authors whose sole purpose was to "hold their book in their hands" or get something published for great-granny Smith who wanted her life story published before she died. Those people never intend to mass sell the book, but if they don't get free copies, they will buy those couple for themselves and their families. The free copies ate the profit margin.
 

Arkie

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They have too many authors whose sole purpose was to "hold their book in their hands" or get something published for great-granny Smith who wanted her life story published before she died. Those people never intend to mass sell the book, but if they don't get free copies, they will buy those couple for themselves and their families. The free copies ate the profit margin.

I suppose that's true, but it's hard to imagine an organization calling themselves a legitimate book publisher that can't provide two free author copies. However, I do remember back when they were only claiming 10,000 published authors. they claimed on their website 1000 of those never bought nor sold a book. I thought then that if 10% of their authors took their two free copies and went home that didn't bode well for the future of the organization, but that was four years ago and they're still here.
 

Gillhoughly

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Arkie said, "I suppose that's true, but it's hard to imagine an organization calling themselves a legitimate book publisher that can't provide two free author copies."
Well, that's just it, PA is not a legit publisher; they came up with the idea of calling themselves a "traditional" publisher.

Such an evocative, safe-sounding word: "traditional" -- which has nothing to do with commercial publishing.


Dear PA Lurkers,


Check any commercial advance-paying publisher and you will NOT find a "testimonials" page on their websites.

No vanity press will be without one, though.

Years ago, when the 'Net was newer, I Googled for "publishers" and up popped PA. I opened the page. It looked good--until I spotted testimonials in their menu, a dead giveaway that it was a vanity printer with the costs and the "catch" well-hidden. I navigated away. Back then PA didn't have the trail of complaints it has now, but I knew better than to contact them.

Any site with testimonials on it is going to cost you money.

But hey, PA wants your book, not your money. Right?

Which is different from legit publishers who want to pay you money for your book.

PA is the only "traditional publisher" in this hemisphere that has THIS much negative wordage aimed specifically at them. Have you noticed that yet?

I challenge any PA lurker to check out the names of legit commercial houses like Baen, Tor, St. Martins, Random House, and Penguin and see if THEY have similar forums devoted to warning people about their shoddy business practices and crap contracts.

You might find an isolated complaint or a few blog entries here and there, but you will not find a board like AW with its staggering number of facts, stories from PA victims, and complaints.

Ask yourself, "Why is that?"

If everyone on AW is a failed PA writer and jealous, then how come so many of us have books placed with those commercial houses? Books that are IN the stores? Books that are actually selling to the public at large?

If PA is such a cracking great idea, such a revolution in publishing, and so brilliantly successful--why are the writers here who are striving for professional publication, fame, and fortune avoiding PA like a case of herpes? You'd think they'd want to take advantage of what PA offers!

Or maybe they know something you don't.

But see for yourself, PA lurker. Google is your very good friend. Just put in PA's name + "scam" for hours of instructive reading.

We'll be here when you're done, and you will be welcomed as friends.

.
 

Marian Perera

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By the way, Gill...

You know how you sometimes respond to suggestions or ideas about sending one's book to Oprah?

Future plans:

send copies to
Oprah
Kelly Rippa
J.K Rowlings publisher to request a review from her

(It's an old quote, but I was so taken aback to read this)
 

Gillhoughly

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WHY, on God's green earth would J.K. Rowling do an unknown writer any favors? Even if her name is spelled right? This looks like an incorrect idea about how to get a cover quote.

Note to PA neos:
It is the publisher's job to get cover quotes--usually from other writers in the house. Of course, since PA writers are not even remotely famous or selling well, it's not something the Stooges would bother with. They know their best buyer for your book is YOU.


I have to admire that writer's ambition and energy, but I would never ever ask my readers to sub reviews to various sites. They bought the book and that's plenty of effort; I'm grateful and will thank them for it.

Of course, I get paid a royalty when they buy the book, so I've gotten my applause and promotion. The book is in stores.

Considering PA's sloppy accounting practices, it is doubtful--no, utterly ridiculous!--to think they can keep the accounting straight and up-to-date for 40,000+ titles. I'd hate to be one of their minimum wage accountants.

PA writers--DO write them as often as they write you to make sure your royalties are all counted.

But don't count the books you buy yourself. No royalty on those. PA sort of doesn't mention that catch unless it's in the really fine print.
 

wanda45451964

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Or they are having one of those scams that they run every once in awhile where they say even you get paid royalties from buying your own books. which is about every 6 months. about due for one.
 

DaveKuzminski

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And all PA is really doing when it claims to pay a royalty on author-purchased books is shaving off some of the discount that PA could have really provided, but by paying it out later as a royalty PA gets to claim they pay out more than zero amount royalty checks (which helps to calm the authors while giving them the feeling of being a real published author) and gives PA a chance to earn some interest on the funds until it comes time to actually pay the royalties.
 

Don Davidson

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And all PA is really doing when it claims to pay a royalty on author-purchased books is shaving off some of the discount that PA could have really provided, but by paying it out later as a royalty PA gets to claim they pay out more than zero amount royalty checks (which helps to calm the authors while giving them the feeling of being a real published author) and gives PA a chance to earn some interest on the funds until it comes time to actually pay the royalties.

It's very much like the car dealer who gives you a great deal on the price of the new car, but makes up for it by cheating you on your trade-in.
 

tlblack

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Maybe with all the moving they lost a few files? Or maybe, just maybe people are finally paying attention to all of the negativity. The latter would be the best option for all writer's even considering giving their work and their wallet to PA.
 

merrihiatt

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Yes, and wasn't it about October that we started seeing posts about no royalties being paid out until they reached a $49 royalty amount and having to pay $99 to fix errors or change the back cover page? Maybe with the addition of fees, PA's motto of "we don't charge a fee, EVER!" has lost some of its meaning.
 

Don Davidson

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PA's motto

Maybe with the addition of fees, PA's motto of "we don't charge a fee, EVER!" has lost some of its meaning.

That motto has about as much truth in it as their other motto, "We want your book, not your money." Nada, nothing, zilch, zero. Truth is not their strong suit.
 

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THe PA Comedy Order Continues (merged with NEPAT)

Got this today from PA but i have highlited the most interesting and funny part....

Dear Author:

PublishAmerica will donate your book to where you work!

We have lowered most retail prices. We have slashed our shipping fees. We have donated thousands of books to hundreds of bookstores, and given books to churches all over the fruited plain.

Now PublishAmerica stands ready to donate your book to your employer. As many copies as you determine! Your boss may do with the books whatever he/she wants, or whatever it is that you want them to do with them. Maybe your office, your company, your organization wants to reward employees by giving them a copy of your book. Maybe your book makes for a wonderful Christmas gift at the office. Maybe it's an excellent gift for customers, suppliers, or visitors. Or perhaps HR or the boss simply love to highlight you as your job's very special resident author.
And see below: we're allowing you to polish the text if you want.


Here's how we do it:

If you want to have books on hand, you may now order any number of books
you need, and PublishAmerica will match the order. We will donate the
exact same number of books to your employer. In fact, we won't even charge
them for the shipping!
And you receive a 40 pct discount!

Example: you order 20 copies, we print 40. We ship your 20 copies to you, and the same day we ship an additional 20 books to your employer, for FREE.


Go to www.publishamerica.net, find your book, click on it, then add to cart, indicate quantity, and use this coupon: Work40. Then click Recalculate and finish the transaction. Minimum volume is 12 copies.
Want fewer books? Then use this coupon: Work30. No minimum volume requirement here. This will give you a discount of 30 pct, and we'll still donate as many books to your job as you order for yourself.

In the Ordering Instructions field, be sure to indicate the name and address
of your employer, and/or the department you want it shipped to. We will ship your
books there the same day we ship your order to you. By using the coupon
you are authorizing us to match your order and donate the books. You may also
request that we ship the FREE books to you instead.

NOTE: do you want to make minor changes to the book before we ship them to your place of employment? We'll work with you and do it for FREE. Just add to the Ordering Instructions, in caps, "NEEDS CHANGES"; we will automatically contact you to coordinate production. Nature and quantity of the changes must be limited (spelling, grammar, no major overhaul). First come, first served.

U.S. addresses only. Full-color and hardcovers excluded. Offer expires this weekend.

Thank you,
PublishAmerica Author Support Team

PS: You can still instruct us to donate books to your local bookstore!
The coupons Bookstore40 (min. 12 copies) and Bookstore30 are still valid.
Shipping to the bookstore is free! We'll even make corrections if you want
us to; just add "NEEDS CHANGES" to Ordering Instructions.



What is this desperation???? Now they are willing to post edit . Could Pa be getting a small conscience or may be the crisis has taken its toll for them to get a bit desperate to reform.
 

DaveKuzminski

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I can just imagine the looks on the faces of co-workers and the boss upon receiving those at your place of employment when your book is received where you work (especially if you work at a school) if a) your book has seriously mature material in it or b) your book has PA ads that you're unaware of for really mature books in it. You can then look forward to being the first in line when the layoffs occur.
 

Unimportant

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This actually seems like a pretty good deal. You order 20 books at 40% off. They throw in another 20 books. You can have all 40 shipped to your own address, if you want. And for a book with a cover price of $19.95, you get those 40 copies for $6.48, including the cost of shipping. It probably works out cheaper than Lulu, really.
 

Cyia

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given books to churches all over the fruited plain.

Good Lord... (no pun intended)

Why do I get the image of a 97 1/2 year old nun getting a plain brown package on the church steps and opening it to find cliched, and grammatically questionable erotica?
 

merrihiatt

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This actually seems like a pretty good deal. You order 20 books at 40% off. They throw in another 20 books. You can have all 40 shipped to your own address, if you want. And for a book with a cover price of $19.95, you get those 40 copies for $6.48, including the cost of shipping. It probably works out cheaper than Lulu, really.

Except the author has to pay for the shipping for the books they order for themselves. The only copies that PA will pay the shipping on are the FREE copies that are sent. As I recall, the latest going rate PA charged for shipping and handling was $3.99 per book. For a 20 book order, that would be close to $80 in shipping and handling fees. The other 20 FREE books would be shipped free of charge.

I can tell you right now, my boss has no desire to read my romance novel or give it to any of his friends as a Christmas gift (or any other kind of gift) and I would never be so presumptuous as to assume that he would! "Nonsense!"
 
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Marian Perera

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As I recall, the latest going rate PA charged for shipping and handling was $3.99 per book.

Assuming you order 20 books, that's $79.80 in s&h fees.

Let's say the book is $19.95. At 40% off, that's $11.87 per book. If you order 20, the cost is $239.40 for the books. Total cost with shipping is $319.20.

Still, divide that by 40 and you get $7.98 per book, which is actually not bad by PA standards (though of course PA is still profiting). Authors might even clear a small profit after they factor in the cost of promotion. Of course, that's assuming they sell all the books rather than giving them as gifts around the office, as the PA email suggests.
 

LostInWonderland

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You can have all 40 shipped to your own address, if you want.

Where does it give this option? I admit I only skim their emails these days, but after the one about donating to bookstores, I wondered why they weren't just offering authors a buy 1, get 1 free deal instead. I assumed they had a motive behind these "donations", such as them being tax write-offs.

This new offer makes even less sense than the first one, and I didn't think that was possible. What the heck would any employer do with a box of books written by an employee? Unless you are exceptionally close to your boss, I would think it would cause more trouble for the author than it would benefit them. I think I'd be embarrassed to show my face around the office after a stunt like this. Maybe that's PA's motive, getting people to quit or lose their jobs so they have more time to market their own books :rolleyes: