The Newer Never-Ending PublishAmerica / America Star Books Thread

Queen of Swords said:

Yes, it's certain that your books will be priced high enough to dissuade most readers from buying them. If, to you, that is worth PA's speed of printing and PA's shifting of fees to the back end, then I wish you the best of luck.

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That speed of printing is becoming less and less of a plus as people's wait time drags into months longer than they expected. Someone mentioned on one of the PA threads that it was upto a year in some cases now, so there's not much advantage there. And for those who have changes that need to be made, it's adding more MONTHS onto the wait -- when it should be a simple matter to adjust the text in a saved file. Even those paying for expedited publishing aren't getting their books on time.

Cyia said:

That speed of printing is becoming less and less of a plus as people's wait time drags into months longer than they expected.

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Probably what PA's hoping for.

PA is taking their time. Seems they've discovered yet another way to make money off of their authors- by moving their work to the head of the line (jumping everyone else) if they would like to pay them a one time fee of $49.00!

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Still, at least that's not paying for the printing upfront.

Don,
There are authors on this very board who have been sent on book tours by their publisher. Not a lot, but some. I'm just letting you know that.

I think that's the problem with the industry. I never know how many of my books have actually sold.

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That's NOT a problem with the industry. I know EXACTLY how many books of mine have sold, because I trust my publishers to tell me. I get detailed statements from both, outlining how many and through what outlet, either every month or quarterly, depending on the publisher.

It's a problem with PA, NOT the industry.

Don, PA will milk you for all your worth. You're not paying up front to have your work published, you're just no getting "published".

Welcome, Kenneth K.

PA may have gotten you down, but pick yourself up, dust yourself off, and keep writing.

kaitie said:

Are there special rules involved with a business donating to charity? Like, do they have to make it known when they do something like this which charity and how much was donated, etc? Or show receipts of it?

I'm with you, M.R.J. I highly doubt that they're actually following through with any of it, and I think it falls into the category of outright fraud.

I'd just hope that the authors see this and instead of falling for it, realize that the people suffering in Haiti would be a lot better off if the author donated the $300 they would have spent on books to a reputable charity themselves.

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If the author donates the money directly to a charity benefiting Haiti, then the author can deduct it on his or her tax return as an itemized deduction. If the author buys books from PA and trusts PA to donate the money, the author gets no deduction.

And yes, if PA does not donate the money as advertised, it is fraud. It is similar to what sent Jim Bakker to prison years ago. He was collecting donations for a specific purpose and then using that money (or most of it) for overhead and operating expenes. That is fraud.

Someone want to give me a brief rundown on why the Maryland AG hasn't done anything yet? Is it just because everything they're doing (up until recently) has been technically legal? I get why most authors don't sue, but I'm trying to get a better idea of why the AG can't step in. I'm seriously going to put together a letter.

Straight from an email reply I received to my complaint:

Publish America provides services to writers/authors who wish to publish and market their works. Therefore, the transaction is a commercial one, and does not fall under the Consumer Protection Act which covers consumer transactions defined as for personal or household use. Therefore, we have no jurisdiction to assist you in resolving a complaint against Publish America.

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Also from that same email:

Transactions between Publish America and an author are considered business to business ones. Our office handles the purchase of goods or services for personal, family or agricultural use.

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It was recommended I contact the BBB or hire an attorney to file a case in small claims court.

K, thanks.

kaitie said:

Someone want to give me a brief rundown on why the Maryland AG hasn't done anything yet? Is it just because everything they're doing (up until recently) has been technically legal?

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As was clearly stated in the AG's letter and has been stated in PA threads many times, the relationship between a PA author and PA is a business to business relationship. There's no gray area here. It is what it is.

I get why most authors don't sue, but I'm trying to get a better idea of why the AG can't step in. I'm seriously going to put together a letter.

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I understand why everyone is up in arms over this most recent email offer and I am just as disgusted. However, sending out letters telling the AG or reporters you think, believe or suspect PA will not turn over the collected funds to charity (based on their history of being schmucks, scammers, whatever word you choose to use) isn't going to get anyone's attention. (Just my humble opinion.)

The FTC oversees charity fraud and they are up to their eyeballs in it now because of the numerous fake charity companies that came out of the woodwork seconds after the earthquake hit Haiti.

You'll need proof, imo, to get anyone's attention and getting that proof will be more difficult than getting PA to furnish one of their authors with an accurate accounting of copies sold.

~brianm~

brianm said:

You'll need proof, imo, to get anyone's attention and getting that proof will be more difficult than getting PA to furnish one of their authors with an accurate accounting of copies sold.

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In point of fact, proving a negative is impossible. Sure, if it ever got near a courtroom, a judge could make them prove they did. But for an outside observerto gather proof that they didn't, with the intent of trying to get a prosecutor to take the case....it's just not possible.

brianm said:

The FTC oversees charity fraud and they are up to their eyeballs in it now because of the numerous fake charity companies that came out of the woodwork seconds after the earthquake hit Haiti.

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Well, heck, PA just made themselves eligible for investigation under that category.

James D. Macdonald said:

Someone on the inside could blow the whistle.

That's just about the only way they'll go down.

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I suspect that's closer to happening than PA realizes.

I don't like Lulu and I don't like paying for the printing of my book up front.

Don, you ARE paying up front to get your book printed by PA. The only difference would be that it could be possibliy cheaper to use Lulu, the print quality is better and they have no rights to your work or to any money you make from the book.
Lulu, a much better deal when you want to go the self publishing route.

The FBI has established a hotline specifically for Haiti donation fraud. Perhaps someone who received the email could ankle over to their website?

Terie said:

In point of fact, proving a negative is impossible. . . . .

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Well, not necessarily. However, for some assertions, the evidence required for the proof might be difficult to obtain. For example, complete accounting records of a firm would be necessary to prove that the firm never paid Company X for twelve cases of Fenortner rods. For some, it is simple. I assert that Abraham Lincoln never posted on Facebook. Proof: Lincoln died in 1865 (abundantly attested fact) nearly a century and a half before the initiation of Facebook (2004: likewise abundantly attested). Negative proven.

Likewise, I assert that PublishAmerica has never published a book that has appeared on any major best-seller list (NYTimes, Publisher's Weekly, USA Today, LATimes). Proof is to examine those lists since PA was founded.

One could make the negative assertion that PA has never published a worthwhile book (readable, of literary merit). That is easily disproven by reference to Dhow of the Monsoon, which PA published (to the author's quick regret) and which I know to be a book of literary merit.

--Ken

ResearchGuy said:

Well, not necessarily. However, for some assertions, the evidence required for the proof might be difficult to obtain. For example, complete accounting records of a firm would be necessary to prove that the firm never paid Company X for twelve cases of Fenortner rods. For some, it is simple. I assert that Abraham Lincoln never posted on Facebook. Proof: Lincoln died in 1865 (abundantly attested fact) nearly a century and a half before the initiation of Facebook (2004: likewise abundantly attested). Negative proven.

Likewise, I assert that PublishAmerica has never published a book that has appeared on any major best-seller list (NYTimes, Publisher's Weekly, USA Today, LATimes). Proof is to examine those lists since PA was founded.

One could make the negative assertion that PA has never published a worthwhile book (readable, of literary merit). That is easily disproven by reference to Dhow of the Monsoon, which PA published (to the author's quick regret) and which I know to be a book of literary merit.

--Ken

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Uh, yeah. Which is why I said (emphasis added this time around)

Terie said:

In point of fact, proving a negative is impossible. Sure, if it ever got near a courtroom, a judge could make them prove they did. But for an outside observer to gather proof that they didn't, with the intent of trying to get a prosecutor to take the case....it's just not possible.

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I personally could no more prove that someone here did not make a charitable donation than any of us could prove that PA did not. Access to 'complete accounting records' isn't something an outside observer, such as one of us, has. Absent proof, I believe that it would be almost impossible to find someone to prosecute the case. Though I'd love to be proven wrong! I think, as James said, that if it happens, it'll come from inside whistle-blowing, not from an outside observer.

What you can prove is that - at the very least - the books being delivered to Wal-mart/bookstores aren't being shelved there. It's been removed from the PAMB, but one of the first authors who took them up on their offer was called by the manager of the store she had her books sent to and told to come pick them up.

The manager didn't have to do that, and most of them probably don't. All they have to do is either return them to PA or toss them in the garbage.

Someone on the inside could blow the whistle.

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Let's hope it isn't the InfoMonster.

She doesn't have the best rep when it comes to telling the truth in legal situations.

Maybe the other two Stooges would turn to keep their arse out of jail.

Or much better, someone else in the company. Recently fired. For no reason. There should be dozens of them in Frederick.

Hint-hint.

Hmmm, shouldn't there be three stooges? PA looks a bit short in that department now.

Would authors make royalties on donated books?

That's what I thought. So authors are hoping to get their books into a store, and even if a Borders did put it out and actually sold a few the author still wouldn't get anything from it.

This is more than sad.

kaitie said:

Would authors make royalties on donated books?

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No. They don't get an royalty on any of the various author discounts, and this one involves both a discount to the author and then the other books are "free."

The author will be paying ((cover price * .60) + $4.00 S&H), all times 15, and supposedly this results in fifteen books going to the author and fifteen going to Wal-mart, etc. So the supposed price per book is only 30% of the cover price, and not eligible for a royalty. For a book priced at $25, the cost to the author would be $285.

Cynics would point out that $4.00 is enough to print a 238 page book at Lightning Source, and that they must be doing it for less than that on their own machine, and that actual shipping and handling for two shipments of fifteen books each would be more like five bucks, not $60. So even if they are shipping the unwanted books, the cost to them is probably on the order of $120 plus ten bucks for shipping, leaving them with something like $155 profit out of the deal.

We need an insider!

James D. Macdonald said:

Someone on the inside could blow the whistle.

That's just about the only way they'll go down.

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I think you are right. No arm of government is going to investigate PA for charity fraud just based on someone's suspicion, hunch, belief, or intuition. Those investigative resources are too valuable to waste, and anyway, how would it look if the press got hold of that kind of story. It would be a great story of government fraud, waste, and abuse, which was a very touchy subject when I was in government service.

The press could also investigate, but again they are going to want something solid to go on before they dedicate resources. An insider--someone who works at PA, or who used to work there--could provide that.

The only way I could see an outsider getting anywhere would be through a private investigator and/or a court/arbitration case. In the latter, you would potentially have subpoena power and/or discovery procedures. But of course, a PI or a legal proceeding requires lots of money. That lets me out.