Return of a Man Named PAMB and its Quotes

The reply will not last:

Many reasons why.

"The Help" is
1.stocked in most bookstores around the country
2. has been reviewed by big name reviewers and mentioned in countless newspapers.
3. The Help is priced to sell
4. Has national attention/publicity
5. Is shipped rapidly and is returnable to bookstores who order it



These are just a few of the reasons why. Having your book on internet sites alone doesn't produce massive sales volume, it's all the other factors that take people to the internet to buy it.

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http://bb.publishamerica.com/viewtopic.php?t=33118

The signature of that poor questioner (the one asking about why his sales aren't huge) makes me so damn sad, too. ("This has to be one of the most awsome event in my life. Got my one dollar check.
PA , you are the greatest. Some many of my friends are so excited. I am a real live author...feels so nice")

Yeah, but one word in the last line of his post--"believable"--makes me wonder if he's starting to get that old uneasy feeling...

James D. Macdonald said:

A movie with 100 speaking roles? (A darned good thing that they're offering access to the set; it would be hard to deliver their lines otherwise.)

The opening titles themselves promise to be a thing of wonder.

I don't imagine that Forbes Films offered a lot of money for the rights to the book.

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Well, to be fair, there have been some good indie movies made thanks to numerous small private investments (or outright donations), ending with literally hundreds of "producers" listed in the credits. But the odds aren't great.

100 speaking roles? No problem:

Oh, man.

I looked up the author on FB and found he had "Alan Smithee" as one of his friends. THAT is hilarious.

I wonder if he knows it's not a real person and who is running the Smithee FB page?

I mean pageS!

Alan Smithee One

Two

Three

Four


But dear writer--your book's never going to go anywhere with PA, however many websites you're on. PA made sure of that by slapping a 24.95 price tag on a 94-page book, made it impossible to order from nearly every site except PA's, and not editing the work in the first place.

Write a new and better book and we'll point you toward reputable places to submit it. Promise!

Manuel Royal said:

Well, to be fair, there have been some good indie movies made thanks to numerous small private investments (or outright donations), ending with literally hundreds of "producers" listed in the credits. But the odds aren't great.

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I was going to say, I've seen indie films that have insanely long 'producer credit' lists at the end because they were funded via Kickstarter or other community-funding projects. As an example, Mitsabi's Dream, a live-action indie film prequel to a science-fiction webcomic(!), got funded by readers of the webcomic. This is also true of lots of various web serials, where the production initially relied on donations from viewers/fans to fund the show.

But we're always talking low-budget, indie films -- made by hobbyists or film students -- rather than big studios.

And about six hours after Unimportant's reply, it's STILL still there!

http://bb.publishamerica.com/viewtopic.php?t=33118

...and it's still there....

Good.

.

Still there! Wow!

Isn't the poster of the reply a major league cheerleader?? Maybe his name isn't on the info-gorgon's blacklist.

Unimportant said:

This may not last long, since the thread title is Printing issues since June 2010!:

Counting on fingers....June to November....FIVE MONTHS! Holy crap.

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Someone answers:

did have to wait with my first 2 orders. But it had something to do with a hold in the production department, when my book was first released.
However I just placed another order about 4 1/2 weeks ago, I know that they are making some changes. If it's a children’s book, (which is what mine is also, [title redacted]) that may be the reason for the hold up. They have those printed with this other company. Just keep checking every so often and I am sure they will come in soon. (That’s what I do) When was your book released? ….

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. . . and the original poster says:

Thanks for your reply! My book was released in May 2010, I ordered copies in June & still don't have them, so you can see my frustration-thanks for your positive outlook-my dealings with Publish America have become pretty negative as of late...I hope that turns around soon.

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Pretty negative=par for the course.

After 10 years PA STILL doesn't know how to do basics like filling orders for their savagely overpriced products.

Isn't it funny how Lulu and CreateSpace--also using POD tech--are able to print and ship a book out in a week?

That's how long it took for me to get an order placed with Lulu last month. They confirmed the order and sent notice a couple days later that it was in the mail. It was a good quality product, too. I was impressed with the grade of paper they used.

But then that's the HUGE difference when dealing with real professionals, and the insane clown posse that is PA.


Book prices? Mine have been holding--and selling--steady all year. Used copies are cheaper, of course.

I've a 357-page book selling for 14.99 and a 389-page book selling for 15.00.

Compare those to a 317-page softcover PA book selling for 34.95, same genre.

Hey, PA writers--what do you think of the pricing they slapped on YOUR book? Be honest!


Both of my titles are IN STORES. I didn't have to beg for shelf space from the manager. I got a couple dozen free copies of each from the publishers.

Should I mention the advance money for both? Nah, let's not get embarrassing.


Dear PA writers-- YOU DESERVE BETTER than putting up with PA's boundless incompetence.

Come on and join AW, hang out, let us help you turn pro.

If all you want is a book in hand, we'll help there, too, no need to deal with PA's horse hockey and empty promises.

"The FinalMulti deal"

I have recently had problems finding my book at PA's bookstore. I am trying to take advantage of the FinalMulti deal

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PA's been having "final, last chance, never again, closing call, place yer orders now!" deals for a while now.

that is good through this thursday but I am unable to order books because there is a problem with the site at this time. I also found out that they didnt categorize my book to a certain genre. I attempt to search for my book in the search engine to purchase and all I get is a message stating that there in no book found by that name. Is anyone else having this problem? I was told when I called that numerous authors were having the same problem. I need to purchase books for an upcomming book signing

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Not surprising that the author would need to buy these. On Amazon the book is priced at $30 for 186 pages (and listed as a paperback, though it's probably a softcover rather than a PAYperback).

and now am running into problems. I also had some people that wanted to possibly purchase the book online say they couldnt find it.

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Not surprising either. Lurkers, remember that PA's business model is based on selling you your book, not selling your book to other people.

So, hopefully I didnt lose their business. I hope that PA will honor the deal for the FinalMulti discount if the problem persists past Thursday. I was told they could try. When I asked to talk to someone that could make that decision I was told that there was no one there that could do that, so I post and hope for a response that way. Any insight into this matter would be greatly appreciated.

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And another author posted,

Help....

My book has been out for quite awhile. It is at Amazon.com with no picture and out of stock; it's been like that for a long time.

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What's sad is that her book is a guide to grooming dogs, so she could probably have done much better by self-publishing and marketing it on her own. Instead the book is chained to the PA millstone.

I got an e-mail telling me if I order some books using a certain coupon, that Amazon could keep them in stock. I can't afford to buy books all the time, I am a single mom, no child support, and I thought that once my book was on the internet, I would be making some extra money. My check was for .80 cents. It's almost like a slap in the face to me. I'm doing my best at promoting it, but I don't have any money to advertise. If my book was "in stock", I know they would sell, when someone is shopping, and they see something out of stock, they just go to the next one that isn't!

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Exactly!

Another PA author posted on her website that "out of stock" or "not available" reflects the fact that her book is POD. Which doesn't, unfortunately, address the real issue - if the average casual browser sees something that's out of stock, how are they supposed to know they should ask for it anyway?

We would all be making more money if the books were available to buy!!!!!!!

I need some help to know what I need to do to get my books available, and more ideas on how to promote

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Oh lord, that last bit...

I really hope she doesn't get a reply from the "promote, promote, promote" cheerleader who tells everyone to make doorhangers. It would just be a waste of money and effort.

James D. Macdonald said:

... Note the price. 256 pages, $15.99 (discounted to $14.39). Note that it isn't listed as "out of stock" or "not available."

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Even my own POD books are priced at $15.00 ($15.95 for one that is a fundraiser for local Sisters in Crime chapter). And they are readily available. AND I have copies on hand for local sales (although I think I'll remainder those and use them for charitable fundraising purposes).

--Ken

One of PA's veterans responded to the thread about books not being available even through PA's bookstore.

I've had the same problem with the website. All four of my books have disappeared from the website...I called, and was told that PA is having problems with the website. Try again tomorrow, I will too. If it doesn't work, I will call again.
Good Luck

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I thought that once my book was on the internet, I would be making some extra money... If my book was "in stock", I know they would sell

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I hate to be the bearer of bad news, but that's not how things work.

There's lots of ways to make extra money, but putting your book for sale on the internet is, in the vast majority of cases, not one of them. Sadly, PA pushes the opposite idea.

And I thought if I had a garage sale in the middle of Death Valley that I could make extra money--especially after pricing all my stuff at double what it would be at Walmart.

stormie said:

http://bb.publishamerica.com/viewtopic.php?t=33118

...and it's still there.....

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Gone.

But there's a new thread from someone who joined the PAMB in Feb 2009, and the title is "I am REALLY upset with PA!!"

I had people try to order my books from Amazon and they are no longer available. So I gave them PA's link and told them to order them from on here directly and when I tried to look up my three books to give them the link, my books are gone. They aren't even listed. They only came out in the past 1 o 2 years. Whats up with that? If you don't order books from them, do they quit listing your books? I still get emails every day offering discounts for ordering. This really makes me mad that people cannot find my books. Has anyone else had this problem? I sent an email to support and am waiting to hear what the problem is. VERY Frustrated.

I have another book that I am ready to have published, but it looks like I won't be using PA as they don't seem to care about selling books

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So it looks like PA has dropped even the pretence of selling books to readers... and at least a few of the authors have noticed.

Queen of Swords said:

Gone.

But there's a new thread from someone who joined the PAMB in Feb 2009, and the title is "I am REALLY upset with PA!!"

So it looks like PA has dropped even the pretence of selling books to readers... and at least a few of the authors have noticed.

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It wouldn't surprise me if PA doesn't soon offer a special for authors who buy XX number of books to get their books listed back on the PA website.