Nope. He'll slime his way into getting some poor unsuspecting intern to take the wrap. Then distance himself from the whole mess. Sound familiar?
The Newer Never-Ending PublishAmerica / America Star Books Thread
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PublishAmerica Support
I have been published by PublishAmerica. They priced by children's paperback book at $24.95 when the average book at amazon.com is $9.50. Basically my book is doomed to fail. I have E-mailed the support page twice and still have not had PA respond. So going to support will not work. They are a Rip-Off publisher!
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Hueffed,
Take a stroll through the forum here. You'll find a ton of information on PA, as well as stories of former PA authors who have gone on to publish with real commercial presses - both e-presses and in print.
Welcome to the Cooler
Take a stroll through the forum here. You'll find a ton of information on PA, as well as stories of former PA authors who have gone on to publish with real commercial presses - both e-presses and in print.
Welcome to the Cooler
Welcome, Hueffed. I'm sorry you got caught in PA's web, but rest assured that you are not alone. I too fell for their lies. They only want your money, and they have many ingenious ways of trying to scam you out of it. I suggest you forget PA and move on. Just write a newer, better book and find a reputable publisher for it.
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No arguments!
As stated--start working on that NEXT book. PA sucks canal sludge, but you put on your game face and don't let your anger toward them slow down your aim to publish.
Find your next publisher by going into a bookstore and looking inside the front matter of titles like yours to see who is buying similar works.
Likewise, look up authors with similar work and see if they won't recommend a reputable agent.
Keep writing! PA is a speed bump and though they shake you up, you don't stop, but keep rolling forward!
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Welcome, Hueffed! I, too, signed with PA back in 2008 (was able to be rid of them in 2010). I know how you feel. Best advice I've been given: write your next book, and your next, and your next. PA can only hold you back if you allow them to. Good luck.
PublishAmerica Stole My Dream
I am an author of children's stories. I have a book entitled, "Booger Planet," and "Terry and the Pirates Treasure." I signed the second contract before I found out that PublishAmerica wasn't a litigimate publishing house. My children's paperback book was priced at $24.95 which is 62% higher than other children's books that sell for $9.50 on amazon.com. PublishAmerica has doomed my book to failure. They have tied my book up in it's contract for seven years. The two books that I mentioned are two of my best works. They asked me for all the e-mail addresses of my friends and family so that they could send out an announcement to them when the books were published. I provided this before I found out that PA was a rip off outfit. I have e-mailed my friends and relatives and told them not purchase my book.
Exposing PublishAmerica
I read every bit of your web sit about PublishAmerica. Great job, keep up the good fight. I wonder why PublishAmerica is doing business like this. Why don't they do business like any other publishing house. It seems to me that they would make more money if they did.
But which one requires less work, selling an author 10 copies of their own book for $20 each, or convincing 20 people who have never heard of the book to pay $10 each for it?
Selling the book to the author usually means there's no need for editing, advertising (other than emailing the author), distribution or payment of royalties, either. So, even more profit for PA.
PA does business like this because it works for them, and because there are a lot of writers who can be deceived at least once.
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And be positive, Hueffed. I'm sure your two books are your best work -- so far. Keep going. Turn out two books that are even better and start looking. Good luck!
Hueffed said:
It costs a publishing house a lot of money to buy the rights to sell a book. Tens of thousands of dollars. It's risky, so they have to be extremely selective. The process is time-consuming. What PA does is easier and cheaper, especially if you don't have a conscience.
I am afraid not. When done properly, publishing is a complex and not-that-profitable business. A publisher needs to select those manuscripts that are likely to appeal to a large audience, get distribution and marketing lined-up, and have enough (but not too many) copies printed to satisfy demand. And that sort of investment is only worthwhile for books that will sell over a thousand copies, so the publisher is taking a considerable financial risk.
Most PA books, on the other hand, don't get near a hundred copies sold. But because PA doesn't invest much per title, there's very little risk for them. Especially since they can often rely on the author's friends and relatives to buy a copy regardless of the price, so it becomes profitable even when only a few dozen copies sell.
suport@publishAmerica,com
Going to support at PublishAmerica is useless, I've tried. Written two E-mails and they wont answere the question that I put to them, "Why have you priced my children's paperback book 68% above all the other children's books on Amazon.com?"
Going to support at PublishAmerica is useless, I've tried. Written two E-mails and they wont answere the question that I put to them, "Why have you priced my children's paperback book 68% above all the other children's books on Amazon.com?"
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Here is the answer they will not give you: because they know that you (the author) will be the only person to buy it. They are only interested in selling books to the authors themselves, and they know that most will pay any price to buy copies for resale (if the authors can find buyers). That is the nature of a vanity press.
--Ken
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They have no interest in selling books to readers. That's too much work. So they don't care if their pricing, editing, and everything else makes it virtually inevitable that no one other than the author and their friends and family will buy it. They make their money selling copies to the author.
It's an incredibly dishonest business model. And it's easy for those of us who prefer to behave in an honest manner to ask why they don't just choose a more honest business model instead. But the answer is: because this gets them more money for less effort. Sad but true.
They're gambling that for every author who sees through them and gets fed up, there will be two more who sign up before they realize what they're doing. And unfortunately, so far they've been right.
Actually it's nearly 263% higher, not 62% higher -- 62% higher would be $15.39.
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http://www.nanowrimo.org/en/forums/helpful-resources-sites/threads/41142
I remember shortly around the time I joined AW, I'd seen a thread on the NaNo boards about PA. If I'm not mistaken, the author who mentions PA in the above link was the author who'd created the original thread that brought me here to AW.
I remember shortly around the time I joined AW, I'd seen a thread on the NaNo boards about PA. If I'm not mistaken, the author who mentions PA in the above link was the author who'd created the original thread that brought me here to AW.
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Because they expect you to buy it no matter how much it costs. And many people will--they'll pass it out to friends, family, etc, all on their dime.
They are exploiting their writer's work for monetary gain. It's horrendously unethical.
I wonder what percent of PA sales are to their own authors and/or immediate family and friends.
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That is what real publishers do.
The unethical ones like PA and Tate exploit the writers' vanity and gullibility. Hence "vanity press."
--Ken
Almost 100%, I'm sure. PA has had my book for 4 1/2 years, and has managed to sell a mere two copies because I won't buy it or let my friends and family members buy it. (And I'm not sure PA didn't make a mistake on those two copies and give me credit for someone else's sales.) Until recently, my little 200-page paperback book, with no illustrations, cost $24.95. Who in their right mind would pay that for a paperback book by an author you never heard of?
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Words fail me on this "Author of the Year" announcement:
Words. Fail. Me. And then there are these offers: http://www.publishamerica.net/service
Words. Fail. Me. And then there are these offers: http://www.publishamerica.net/service
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A $9.95 "administrative fee" plus shipping option? Dear god, these people are shameless.
And may I just point out, they don't specify Christmas of what year...
And may I just point out, they don't specify Christmas of what year...