PA deliberately misleads people with their website's wording and when an author asks questions, they are often led back to the website for answers (I know I was). Unfortunately, the website doesn't address the questions that really matter
Spot on, Merri.
PublishAmerica presents itself as being
exactly the same as houses like Tor, Baen, Penguin, etc.
For those who think one must pay to publish they have the "we want your book, not your money" chant.
When you Google for "book publishers," there they are, number four on the page.
When you click on the link they look friendly, open, and enthusiastic, not at all scary.
In large font near the top is a link, "How to submit your book". VERY easy! Look, people are selling books and getting movies made from them. They're Christian-friendly, they're patriotic!
When I clicked on Random House's link it looks scary and demanding, and the writer's guidelines are not easy to find.
Ditto for the Harper/Collins website.
The other links on the Google page are to vanity sites or other sites that want upfront money from writers.
But PA looks and IS approachable.
It's scary simple and terribly effective.
The vast majority of those who go to PA really don't know the right questions, don't expect a supposedly professional outfit to LIE to them, and PA makes it VERY easy to submit work, unlike those other places.
A triple threat.
All we can keep doing is to continue to warn the newbies here, on our blogs, other forums, Tweets, whatever.
We do that, and we continue to WELCOME in newbies and ex-PA writers.
It is having an impact or Merri and a bunch of others wouldn't be here. Goodness knows how many others we haven't heard from were steered away from PA by their warnings.
Sadly there are those who slip through despite best efforts, and we DO love to organize things into categories.
So my apologies for letting my temper show. It is better aimed at PA, not the writers, but dang it all, I DO get annoyed and frustrated.
If someone still high on the PA Kool-ade informs me they are a Published Author (trust me, you can hear the caps) I am often hard-pressed to act in a civil and professional manner. With practice, I've learned to smile, nod, and move on...usually to the bookstore manager to ask "What the hell were you thinking???"