- Joined
- Apr 11, 2005
- Messages
- 2,916
- Reaction score
- 403
The Newer Never-Ending PublishAmerica / America Star Books Thread
- Thread starter James D. Macdonald
- Start date
I suspect they have already been inundated with resumes from ex-PA employees.
LOL! Like a publishing version of Zucchini Night
Woo! Zucchini Night! Do you know there's an e-card for that? haha.
More harmless than PA though. Zucchini only cost two bucks at Aldi's.
Hey everyone, I recently sent off an email asking for the return of my book rights from PA. I thought you all might get a kick out of their response
Last edited:
Big Sam: It is frustrating dealing with a company such as PA, for they have no remorse for their author's difficulties. Their business model is to sell books to authors. And they know the author's experience is local. What you experience with your local bookstore is not likely to be someone else's experience. My PA book ended up on my local Barnes and Noble shelf for at least six months and not to my doing. POD books are shelved at B&N and my local Hastings, usually found in local or State author's shelves. This includes spiral bounded self-published books, cookbooks, personal histories and etc.
Speaking of discounts: I have a friend who runs an independent bookstore in a small town. She tells me that she does get a variety of discounts including 40%, but some smaller, depending on the publisher, wholesaler, etc.
All the PA author has to know is: whether he gets on a reputable bookstore shelf and whether he sells books or not is strictly based on his own initiative. He will get no help from PA because PA doesn't care if the author sells books or not as long as he buys them. All they've ever wanted from you, is for you to buy several hundred dollars worth of books and not bother them with incidental details. They've got more fish to fry.
Speaking of discounts: I have a friend who runs an independent bookstore in a small town. She tells me that she does get a variety of discounts including 40%, but some smaller, depending on the publisher, wholesaler, etc.
All the PA author has to know is: whether he gets on a reputable bookstore shelf and whether he sells books or not is strictly based on his own initiative. He will get no help from PA because PA doesn't care if the author sells books or not as long as he buys them. All they've ever wanted from you, is for you to buy several hundred dollars worth of books and not bother them with incidental details. They've got more fish to fry.
- Joined
- Feb 12, 2006
- Messages
- 5,363
- Reaction score
- 1,761
BigSam--That post was enlightening about their total lack of professionalism and flat out stupidity.
BUT-- you're too detailed in your reply and giving that batshit insane Infomonster reasons to argue with you. She and Larry just love doing that to writers.
Do not argue with them, do not address their points. Pretend you never got that mail.
Send a simple, pared-down certified business letter addressed to Larry Clopper. Make him sign for it. State that your sales of the book are disappointing, you are no longer able to promote it, and since it's not a source of profit to PA that it is in their interest to terminate the contract. And that's ALL.
You don't argue with them, you don't accept that it's their last word on the subject, ignore all mails suggesting if you pay X amount or buy a book they might let you go. Act as though such mails never arrived.
They've been doing this torture game with thousands of other writers before you and they enjoy it. Face it, the Infomonster is NOT firing on all thrusters!
They are never going to be professional about this, but you can.
It may cost you some bucks in certified letters to Clopper, but it will cost less than buying your own books. Be a pain in the arse with certified mails to him and they might let you go just to get rid of the annoyance.
There's so much wrong with their letter to you that I don't have the time to do the autopsy, but again, your most effective course of action is to ignore it and not argue with them.
BUT-- you're too detailed in your reply and giving that batshit insane Infomonster reasons to argue with you. She and Larry just love doing that to writers.
Do not argue with them, do not address their points. Pretend you never got that mail.
Send a simple, pared-down certified business letter addressed to Larry Clopper. Make him sign for it. State that your sales of the book are disappointing, you are no longer able to promote it, and since it's not a source of profit to PA that it is in their interest to terminate the contract. And that's ALL.
You don't argue with them, you don't accept that it's their last word on the subject, ignore all mails suggesting if you pay X amount or buy a book they might let you go. Act as though such mails never arrived.
They've been doing this torture game with thousands of other writers before you and they enjoy it. Face it, the Infomonster is NOT firing on all thrusters!
They are never going to be professional about this, but you can.
It may cost you some bucks in certified letters to Clopper, but it will cost less than buying your own books. Be a pain in the arse with certified mails to him and they might let you go just to get rid of the annoyance.
There's so much wrong with their letter to you that I don't have the time to do the autopsy, but again, your most effective course of action is to ignore it and not argue with them.
- Joined
- Nov 5, 2008
- Messages
- 4,001
- Reaction score
- 477
- Location
- Pacific Northwest, Washington
- Website
- merrihiatt.com
So, PA is calling you a liar because your friends and family have stated they won't purchase your overpriced book. Well, I guess my friends and family are liars, too, then because they won't buy mine, either. It says more about their need to keep $25 (or more!) in their pocket, rather than purchasing an unedited, pages-falling-out, PA printed book. I know I keep saying this, but if I can buy a Nora Roberts book for $7, why in the world would I ever spend $25 to purchase a book by an unknown author of the same genre? I wouldn't. Why would anyone else? That's not a lie and it doesn't speak to their character, as PA implies.
Gill:
Yeah I know my reply wont achieve any desirable results- but what can I say? I have been in a deadlock with them since jan. 2008 and I thought it would be fun to spit back for once as all of my other letters were nice. I like your advice about the certified letter though. Mostly I had my reply up just for kicks and giggles- oh well. The book they have is only my first, super crude attempt at a novel anyway. I have better projects on my table now so I will probably spend most of my time on them.
Yeah I know my reply wont achieve any desirable results- but what can I say? I have been in a deadlock with them since jan. 2008 and I thought it would be fun to spit back for once as all of my other letters were nice. I like your advice about the certified letter though. Mostly I had my reply up just for kicks and giggles- oh well. The book they have is only my first, super crude attempt at a novel anyway. I have better projects on my table now so I will probably spend most of my time on them.
- Joined
- Feb 12, 2006
- Messages
- 5,363
- Reaction score
- 1,761
And what *I* call hopeless incompetence and laziness on the part of the "publisher."
Oh, look--a new executive portrait of at least one of the Stooges!
Maybe a letter to the editor of the Frederick newspaper might help especially if you point out how PA responded to you?
Couldn't a PA author who could provide some reasonable proof that PA hasn't calculated their royalties properly go to the IRS and say 'hey I think this company has an accounting problem because I'm owed more than what they paid me'? Could that possibly trigger them to investigate PA? I mean if they're not paying authors the royalties they're owed what else aren't they paying? (Just a note, I don't live in the US so I have no idea how the IRS works)
- Joined
- Nov 5, 2008
- Messages
- 4,001
- Reaction score
- 477
- Location
- Pacific Northwest, Washington
- Website
- merrihiatt.com
If the PA author has proof that the books have been ordered and paid for. I had to wait a year to get paid for books sold in October/November of 2008. I didn't see the royalties for the books sold until the August 2009 royalty payment cycle. The only reason I knew the books had been purchased was because I knew the people who ordered them and where they ordered them from. If I hadn't been aware of who purchased the books (and had the proof, since they gave me copies of their book order confirmations), I wouldn't have had a leg to stand on. There's no way to prove that you haven't received royalties unless you know who bought your books and from what source. And, time has to be allowed for Amazon or B&N to pay PA so they can, in turn, pay their authors.
Yeah that makes sense (and bear with me, I'm just looking at this from different angles. I'm not trying to be argumentative or anything ). You can't jump the gun, so to speak. But let's use an example I saw on the PA boards. People bought books in January. The author knows this because they know the people who bought the books, say from Amazon just to have a name. February obviously would be too late to see those royalties, but let's say when the July/August royalty payment rolls around and that person still doesn't see any royalties or doesn't see the right amount. Now I'm pretty sure Amazon can take up to 90 days to pay, so there's no reason why royalties wouldn't show up on that statement, and this is a scenario I've seen a couple times which is the only reason why I ask. Would those authors have a reasonable case to take to the IRS?
). You can't jump the gun, so to speak. But let's use an example I saw on the PA boards. People bought books in January. The author knows this because they know the people who bought the books, say from Amazon just to have a name. February obviously would be too late to see those royalties, but let's say when the July/August royalty payment rolls around and that person still doesn't see any royalties or doesn't see the right amount. Now I'm pretty sure Amazon can take up to 90 days to pay, so there's no reason why royalties wouldn't show up on that statement, and this is a scenario I've seen a couple times which is the only reason why I ask. Would those authors have a reasonable case to take to the IRS?
I think PA authors should really pay close attention to the statements, especially their first one. PA can't be trusted to pay correctly. My own first royalty statement showed that PA sold the books at a 55% discount, yet my receipts and that book announcement/order form, that went out to family and friends, offered only a 10% discount. Every statement after that showed that sales were at a 40% discount. Without receipts showing someone bought a PA book at less than that percentage, there isn't any way to prove it. All the online sites where I know my book was listed never had more than a 10% discount offered and the PA website would sometimes go as high as 15%, but I never saw where it had a markdown of 40%. Now, PA keeps changing the prices of their books, so an author would really have no idea at what discount, if any, a book sold, unless they had copies of every receipt.
- Joined
- Nov 5, 2008
- Messages
- 4,001
- Reaction score
- 477
- Location
- Pacific Northwest, Washington
- Website
- merrihiatt.com
Yeah that makes sense (and bear with me, I'm just looking at this from different angles. I'm not trying to be argumentative or anything
I would think so. They may get the runaround until the next royalty cycle, but that would be the latest I can see PA putting them off. If they have the proof, then I think they would have a good case. You are definitely not being argumentative!
- Joined
- Sep 10, 2009
- Messages
- 11,051
- Reaction score
- 2,639
This is the kind of thing where it would be interesting to set it up personally and see. Or heck, even the sending it to a local store thing. Someone mentioned a bit ago about how the FBI wouldn't do a sting thing, but wouldn't it be possible to do this sort of thing oneself? For instance, go to the local target and talk to the manager, explain what you're doing, and then do a deal on your own. You'd find out whether or not the books were ever received, and if not that's fraud, isn't it? Makes you wish you could ask someone like Stephen King whether or not they'd received any, doesn't it lol?
But anyway, couldn't you do the same sort of thing with royalty statements? I know it would cost money and that's the sucky part, but like if you had a couple of people order a couple of books, kept the receipts, and then wait to see if the statement accounts for it. If not, and if you had the receipts and everything showing that the book was ordered, in theory couldn't you go to the IRS or someone with that? I wonder how many people calling an IRS tipline in general saying, "We suspect they're not accounting properly" would be required for an audit.
But anyway, couldn't you do the same sort of thing with royalty statements? I know it would cost money and that's the sucky part, but like if you had a couple of people order a couple of books, kept the receipts, and then wait to see if the statement accounts for it. If not, and if you had the receipts and everything showing that the book was ordered, in theory couldn't you go to the IRS or someone with that? I wonder how many people calling an IRS tipline in general saying, "We suspect they're not accounting properly" would be required for an audit.
Hum... I do not know much about the IRS. I would assume it would. It atleast shows shady book keeping which may get the IRS to look into it. They just hate to be out money there owed..
Some good points here. PA comes across as having such a low opinion of their authors intelligence that they figure they can cook the books and the author won't pay attention or won't care since they're so happy to have a book they can hold in their hands. All my books sold for 40% discount except two that sold for 15% discount. All PA sales are discounted so that royalties are based on the discounted price. A lot of PA authors, when I was on their board, erroneously thought their 8% royalty was based on the listed price, not the discounted price.
