The Newer Never-Ending PublishAmerica / America Star Books Thread

Heck, I can do better. Pay me $10 and I'll add your book to my signature line. It will look like this:

Marian Perera strongly recommends Go Into Debt Promoting, Promoting, Promoting, by PA authors who have lost thousands of dollars in failed marketing schemes and buying their own books!

PublishAmerica uses email to
*answer 25,000 new would-be authors per year;
*talk to newspapers, radio and TV 50,000 times;
*respond to 50,000 author questions;

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This is why so many people say they can't get a response from Author Support. PA only responds to 50,000 author questions (per year? per decade?). If you're # 50,001, you're outta luck.

Sheesh, these schemes get wackier by the day.

CaoPaux said:

Problems with the petition would need to be directed to its sponsor: Cat Starr Carrington (of Starr Gazing Magazine and the "Adopt An Author" scheme to raise money for PA authors).

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Personally I have a problem with the poster putting the words "exact your vengeance, and taste their blood" on that page. Violence (even poetically implied) is never the answer, and that strikes me as over the top.

Someone word it nicely for him and send it to Oprah. She loves doing charity shows...and we know she has heard of PA

Hey, Geraldo!...hehe, he just likes to tear things down.

To Gravity,

My apologies, you are quite right - I was particularly extreme in my zealotry. Given that I had a clearer head, I most likely would have delivered that more cordially and courteously, as I normally would. You are correct, and I hope you will understand (and can relate to) the infuriation I feel with not concerning myself, but the hundreds of others PA has hurt. I would be happy to fight (legally, not physically) for my rights back, but I would be even happier to get everyone else what they rightfully deserve (their respective rights and compensation) - even if that means that I alone must wait the seven years to do so.

Nevertheless, Gravity, thank you for pointing out the error of my ways. I will be more cautious in the future, provided that opportunity arises.

To Catslave,

I am working on research as we speak. Currently, I have no leads and dead ends. All roads have brought me here, in the hopes that there was a valid claim in the petition, seeing as I view the many stories of our fellow refugees here as nothing but true. If any of us can find anything that can help to either get all of our rights back (to those who have yet to get them), or to bring down what seems to be a monstrous tyrant, I will be more than happy to help spearhead the movement.


To CaoPaux,

I will look into this name, and get the verification we require. If not, I will do my best to gather what information is necessary to create a new (and more accurate) petition, provided that the members of this forum approve and would be willing to sign.


To sadguy,

Thank you for coming to my defense. Though Gravity is correct, I could have worded that better.

In all honesty, though, do you believe that Ms. Winfrey would hear me out if I requested an audience with her? Before I saw PA for what it is, I was actually considering sending a copy of my work myself to her - for the sole reason that I know she loves to read. I actually find it amusing that this company would stoop so low as to use celebrity names (that said celebrities never gave permission to use) in an attempt to garner profit from their very authors (whom they promised they would not).

If you believe that to be true, though, I will consider finding a means to speak with her (provided I can get everything together.

Thank you all for your feedback. This means so much to me, as I am sure all significant posts here mean for all those involved.


Yours most sincerely,

The Poet Raziel

ctripp said:

I"ve tried to post on the Facebook PA wall and all I get is, this could not be posted. Don't tell me, PA has contacted FB for a block and FB is going along with it????

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I think you can only post if you join the FB group.

There is no chance of speaking to her personally, but a thought-provoking, concise note to her contact address might get someone on the staff to do a little research for a show. That is what they (actually) get paid for. But it will have to stand out from the spam, same as a real novel, if that makes sense.

*respond to 50,000 author questions;
*distribute 10 million sales messages

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Well, this explains a lot. PA is much more interested in SELLING BOOKS TO THEIR AUTHORS than answering their authors questions.

merrihiatt said:

I think you can only post of if you join the FB group.

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I'm a member of the group, but a couple of times when I've tried to start threads on that page, Facebook hasn't let me.

I get an email with 40-50K books and authors attached at the bottom in a big ol' list?



Time to block THAT sender!

PA--what in tarnation are you smoking??

Do we call the drug cops to arrest you or a neurosurgeon to put back your brains--which are probably partying on the floor of the PA break room.

Gillhoughly said:

I get an email with 40-50K books and authors attached at the bottom in a big ol' list?

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Who wants to bet this goes the way of the "ads" and it's something to bid for?

Ugh, before someone mentions it, I forgot--the Stooges don't HAVE brains.

Clearly they've been taken over by aliens.

I tried phoning Dr. Who, but his voice mail is full.

Gillhoughly said:

I get an email with 40-50K books and authors attached at the bottom in a big ol' list?



Time to block THAT sender!

PA--what in tarnation are you smoking??

Do we call the drug cops to arrest you or a neurosurgeon to put back your brains--which are probably partying on the floor of the PA break room.

An unidentified Stooge brain makes a break for it!

​

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THAT made me smile! The still is from Fiend Without a Face, an early fifties alien/splatter film. As a kid I luuuurrrved that movie. Thanks Gill!

Whew. One of the regulars has managed to douse my towering rage with cold water, and for that I offer thanks. Thinking much more clearly now. Be calm, be brave, be not vengeful. God is on your side.

Gillhoughly said:

Ugh, before someone mentions it, I forgot--the Stooges don't HAVE brains.

Clearly they've been taken over by aliens.

I tried phoning Dr. Who, but his voice mail is full.

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Have no feer! That wurring noise will sound and he will be here soon to save us ... I hope :S

Sorry for off topic but hasn't this season been awesome?

The Poet Raziel said:

In all honesty, though, do you believe that Ms. Winfrey would hear me out if I requested an audience with her? Before I saw PA for what it is, I was actually considering sending a copy of my work myself to her - for the sole reason that I know she loves to read. I actually find it amusing that this company would stoop so low as to use celebrity names (that said celebrities never gave permission to use) in an attempt to garner profit from their very authors (whom they promised they would not).

If you believe that to be true, though, I will consider finding a means to speak with her (provided I can get everything together.

Yours most sincerely,

The Poet Raziel

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In all honesty, I contacted the Oprah group about certain authors on Amazon attacking readers posting negative reviews about their books. Vicious attacks that hinted at violence against the posters and their families. Group attacks from friends and groupies of the authors.

To no avail. Though Oprah had a huge reader group following, and probably still does, I don't think she and her staff are much bothered by stuff like PA.

Being snookered by that one addict guy, yeah, she was all over that. LOL

Dear Anon76,

It was worth a shot, if nothing else, than at least the consideration. I will still see if I can contact her staff - it couldn't hurt any, and it is at least worth a shot.

If not, do know I have and will continue to search for a means of 1. getting my (and other's, if I can) rights back, and 2. breaking down our behemoth, even if it is just by a little bit.

Thank you for your feedback, Anon - I assure you, it helps quite a bit when it comes to tempering the fires of my passion, which (as you have seen) nearly borders on zealotry when pushed in the wrong direction.

Any other information concerning them would work wonders, especially if it can help me help everyone here. Thank you all for your comments and feedback!

-The Poet Raziel

The Poet Raziel said:

Any other information concerning them would work wonders, especially if it can help me help everyone here. Thank you all for your comments and feedback!

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I would suggest you take the time to read through the NEPAT threads. It'll take quite a bit of time, and you might decided to skip over some of it, but you'll be able to see lots of history on legal actions people have already tried and the outcomes.

For example, (if I understand things correctly, which I might not) the Maryland Attorney General's office views author-PA relationships as business-to-business and therefore won't pursue consumer complaints filed by authors against PA.

The PA contract is legally binding, though full of deceptive language. Almost everything the contract says PA will do is 'at their discretion'. That means they don't have to -- and mostly won't -- do it, and it's not a breach of contract.

From what I can tell, the best chances people have to do anything concrete are these:

1) Keep records on how many copies of your book other people buy, then reconcile these against your royalty statement. If any friends and family members buy your book through the PA store or other online venues, ask them to send you copies of their receipts. Then you have concrete evidence of the books being purchased, and if your royalty statement doesn't match up (allowing for the time lag for sales through online venues that aren't PA), you have an actual complaint.

2) When someone (author or reader) orders books and their credit card is charged, and then they don't receive the order, they need to file a dispute with the credit card company. A merchant is obliged to ship goods within a certain time once they've charged your card, and this is where PA is really screwing up. We're continually reading about customers who go months without receiving books they've paid for, and not doing anything about it. If credit card companies get enough complaints about items being paid for and never received, they'll cut off that merchant. If the major credit card companies cut off PA, they'll seriously be hosed.

Good luck!

To The Poet Raziel and sadguy:

Did either of you research PA before choosing to go with them? If so, why did you decide to ignore the warnings?

By the by, most posters to the PA threads are not ex-PA authors.

~brianm~

This is very embarrassing; will my shame never end? I compiled a list of agents and publishers interested in my genre ages ago, and there wasn't much if any negative stuff about PA at the time as they were pretty new and I was not very internet savvy. For many reasons, I was not able to follow up for a long time. When I did finally decide it was time to publish, they were the only ones who were either still in biz or didn't reject. My bad in a big way, but I still get rankled by the misrepresentation.

sadguy said:

This is very embarrassing; will my shame never end? I compiled a list of agents and publishers interested in my genre ages ago, and there wasn't much if any negative stuff about PA at the time as they were pretty new and I was not very internet savvy. For many reasons, I was not able to follow up for a long time. When I did finally decide it was time to publish, they were the only ones who were either still in biz or didn't reject. My bad in a big way, but I still get rankled by the misrepresentation.

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No, no, no. Don't be embarrassed. Even some people very savvy about the publishing industry have been fooled. Those guys are great deceivers. There's no shame that you were taken in, too.

Thanks. You guys here have really been super helpful and supportive. I plan to spend a lot of time with you. Someday we will slay the demon, but only together.

The Poet Raziel said:

Dear Anon76,

It was worth a shot, if nothing else, than at least the consideration. I will still see if I can contact her staff - it couldn't hurt any, and it is at least worth a shot.

Thank you for your feedback, Anon - I assure you, it helps quite a bit when it comes to tempering the fires of my passion, which (as you have seen) nearly borders on zealotry when pushed in the wrong direction.

-The Poet Raziel

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You are more than welcome. I totally understand that passion, as do others here. It really chaps my butt to be ripped off or see someone else ripped off. More so with PA because they rip off thousands upon thousands of people with no actual avenue of recourse we can find at this time.

Never lose your passion for righting that wrong, but do read some of the back posts on this board. There's a lot of "been there, done that" coupled with advice on how to keep the PA shrew from putting you on the shit list. Once you are on that list, the ability to get your rights back drops exponentially. Since their contract is legal and binding (shady as it may be) the only one who gets hurt is you, the PA author.

Bestest,
Anon76

sadguy said:

This is very embarrassing; will my shame never end? I compiled a list of agents and publishers interested in my genre ages ago, and there wasn't much if any negative stuff about PA at the time as they were pretty new and I was not very internet savvy. For many reasons, I was not able to follow up for a long time. When I did finally decide it was time to publish, they were the only ones who were either still in biz or didn't reject. My bad in a big way, but I still get rankled by the misrepresentation.

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Never, ever, be ashamed. You were taken by one of the best cons in the business. Why do you think they are still around? Cuz they know how to suck the unsuspecting in.

That's why PA and non-PA authors continually post on this board and elsewhere. We are SHOUTING out so that when someone does a Google search or the like, we pop up early in the listings. Beware, Beware, Beware!!! Hopefully, with more people becoming internet savvy, this will have some impact on PA's bottom line and eventually put them out of biz. I know, wishful thinking. Le Sigh.

Until then, know that even non-PA authors care. We are authors who will attack any shady goings on no matter the publisher. Yes, like myself, sometimes we don't disclose our true names or pen names, but the message is the same none-the-less.