Publish America's Carousel of Magically Rotating Email Offers

Wrider

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Today's email...

Dear author:

Few people realize that PublishAmerica is mostly run by women. Men account for less than one-fourth of our overwhelmingly female-operated organization. Women hold almost all managerial and supervisory positions. From our executive director to the printing operations manager.

At PublishAmerica, women are in charge of all editorial production and all art work. They also supervise human resources, our author support team, our bookstore, and the vital department that we call pre-production, where we work with the author to get everything ready for a book's production, fast. They manage the printing of hundreds of thousands of our books.

Girls rule and run PublishAmerica.


They are therefore also in charge of the shopping cart on our website (and the entire website, period): www.publishamerica.net. If you go there today and look at your own book, you will see a Latest News message. Can't miss it. A billboard spot designed, of course, by women. It shows up everywhere in our online bookstore, competing with every book we sell. See with your own eyes, look up any other book.

You can reserve that Latest News spot for your own message, to advertise your book or yourself. Anyone who comes in to buy any of our tens of thousands of book products cannot escape your message. Talk to them!


Here's how you do it: find your book (PAperbacks are excluded), use this discount coupon: Billboard50. Your order of 7 or more books automatically buys you the exclusive spot for two full days! It's like having your own commercial reaching thousands of real-time PublishAmerica book readers, people who actually buy books! Before they buy someone else's book, you can now tell them about yours! Tip: include your email address and ask them to contact you!

In the Ordering Instructions box write your message; limited to 150 characters. If you want us to contact you and help you with your message, say "Contact me". Your ad will appear on a first come, first serve basis but appear it will. PAperbacks orders under this coupon will not be processed, so you'll be wasting your money if you try.
Oh, and for the record: most PublishAmerica authors are female, too. Their average age is slightly over 40. They are less likely to be unemployed, increasingly they earn more than men, they control dispensable income, and they have a decisive say in almost all food, vacation, and car purchases. They also talk more: 7,000 words per day as opposed to 2,000 words uttered by the average man.
It's a women's world, and what's not to love about that!

I find it rather amusing that a male cheerleader on the PAMB made reference to this email. So if the male authors are getting these emails too then... what's the point? Wait... don't answer that.
 

Bartholomew

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Book Products. Excellent.

Is that anything like cheese product?
 

merrihiatt

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Your order of 7 or more books automatically buys you the exclusive spot for two full days! It's like having your own commercial reaching thousands of real-time PublishAmerica book readers, people who actually buy books!

Two full days of no one seeing your advertisement (especially when PA isn't even going to tell you when it will be posted) for the price of buying seven of your own books! Oh, and by "book readers" they mean PA authors.

PA, stop giving women a bad name!
 

AudioGenius

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I notice that there is no discount for this offer. Given that the cheapest softcover I've seen was $19.95 and the most expensive one was that crazy $34.95 book, that's anywhere from $167.58 to a whopping $272.58 for a two day advertising spot on PA's site. Do you have any idea the amount of quality internet advertisement that I could buy for that?
 

TheTinCat

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Girls rule and run PublishAmerica.

Oh, and for the record: most PublishAmerica authors are female, too. Their average age is slightly over 40. They are less likely to be unemployed, increasingly they earn more than men, they control dispensable income, and they have a decisive say in almost all food, vacation, and car purchases.

Oh good, PA-feminism. I see it's just as far from actual feminism as their publishing practices are from commercial publishing.
 

Wrider

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I notice that there is no discount for this offer. Given that the cheapest softcover I've seen was $19.95 and the most expensive one was that crazy $34.95 book, that's anywhere from $167.58 to a whopping $272.58 for a two day advertising spot on PA's site. Do you have any idea the amount of quality internet advertisement that I could buy for that?

The code they give is for a 50% discount, even though they don't mention it. (Not that it matters - still costs an arm and a leg.) Makes me wonder if one of these days there really WON'T be a discount attached to a gimmick offer, but authors will order blindly, thinking there is, according to the number portion of the code.
 

CatSlave

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Girls rule and run PublishAmerica.
No, they don't.
Larry Clopper -who is a feminist's nightmare- and Miranda Prather -who is no one's idea of a girl- rule and run PublishAmerica.

The rest of the employees are barely more than indentured servants.
Being male or female has nothing to do with their job descriptions.

Maybe "girls" are more subservient and easier to bully on the job, and more tenacious to stick with a job that sucks when they have kids to feed.
 

CatSlave

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Dear PAperback writer:

PublishAmerica has reserved space at the world's biggest book event: the Frankfurt Book Fair in Germany, now only ten weeks away. The best and the brightest of the world's bestselling authors, foreign publishers, Hollywood producers, booksellers, and thousands of media are expected to attend.
Dear PAYperback writer:

Your books are not available to the reading public in the US, and now they will not be available to readers in Europe either.

Send us your money.
 
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CatSlave

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Our booth at the upcoming Frankfurt Book Show

EVH1012.jpg

We are reserving a special shelf to display your PAYperbacks.
(Hint: It's usually called the toilet paper shelf.)

Send us your money.
 

Wrider

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So if the women-power email was sent to men too, does that mean they forgot to add a sentence?
(If you're a man, orders under this coupon will not be processed, so you'll be wasting your money if you try.)
 

merrihiatt

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So if the women-power email was sent to men too, does that mean they forgot to add a sentence?
(If you're a man, orders under this coupon will not be processed, so you'll be wasting your money if you try.)

PA is definitely an equal opportunity taker of money. Come on in boys, the water's fine.
 

darkprincealain

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Oh good, PA-feminism. I see it's just as far from actual feminism as their publishing practices are from commercial publishing.

Exactly. Here is the problem. By many accounts most sensitive communications are handled by Miranda. They don't trust the women who work in other capacities. They truly don't. And as far as offers go, this is just another way to get authors to buy their own books. No need to be of any particular gender for that.

About the other offer: By PA's logic, since I work across the street from Blue Bunny, I could offer to run across the street and pick up ice cream for people? The world doesn't work quite that way.
 

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The code they give is for a 50% discount, even though they don't mention it. (Not that it matters - still costs an arm and a leg.) Makes me wonder if one of these days there really WON'T be a discount attached to a gimmick offer, but authors will order blindly, thinking there is, according to the number portion of the code.

Ah, thanks for that clarification, Wrider.
 

Wrider

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And I thought the books being sent to Spielburg's studio was good for a laugh...
today's 2nd email from PA said:
Dear PAperback writer:

We will send your book to actor/governor Arnold Schwarzenegger for his consideration as a movie script. Arnold is term limited as California's governor. After November's elections he is expected to return to Hollywood, where he is a more powerful voice now than ever before.

Arnold Schwarzenegger remains one of the most successful movie actors since the 1980s even as he interrupted his career to run for governor in 2003. He has been known to regularly read books for their potential as a movie script, as most top actors do. He wrote several books himself.

Let's send Arnold a copy of your PAperback, together with a ringing endorsement from PublishAmerica.

Here's how we do it:
Go to www.publishamerica.net, find your book, use this discount coupon: Arnold. Minimum purchase volume is only 5 copies, one of which we will submit to Arnold Schwarzenegger's office while we'll ship the others to you. For orders of 9 or more copies, use the Arnold20 discount coupon, and we will actually submit two copies to Arnold.

We will immediately contact you as soon as Arnold Schwarzenegger or his office indicate his interest in your book!

Thank you,
--PublishAmerica Bookstore

:ROFL::crazy::Headbang:
 

Jill Karg

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ok just got this email..promotion. I love how all their post on their website that ask about Barnes and Noble they give the answer it will come, the distributor needs time to get the books out ....well look at this email...figures don't it.

Dear author:

Barnes and Noble just called in this morning to stock multiple copies of multiple book titles.

If you want your book considered for stocking by Barnes and Noble, we will let those responsible for the purchase order know.

Softcovers only.

Go to www.publishamerica.net, find your softcover, use this discount coupon: B&N55, which gives you a discount that our industry typically reserves for bookstores only: 55 pct. Must order at least 4 copies. Use the coupon on your softcover only. All non-softcover orders under this coupon will not be processed, so you'd be wasting your money if you tried.
Your use of the B&N55 coupon will automatically cause your book to be recommended for stocking.
Thank you!
--PublishAmerica Bookstore

I laughed and then shook my head. I guess I am lucky in one respect Borders and Amazon have book listed but me thinks Barnes and Nobel might never have it.


 

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ok just got this email..promotion. I love how all their post on their website that ask about Barnes and Noble they give the answer it will come, the distributor needs time to get the books out ....well look at this email...figures don't it.

Dear author:

Barnes and Noble just called in this morning to stock multiple copies of multiple book titles.

If you want your book considered for stocking by Barnes and Noble, we will let those responsible for the purchase order know.

Softcovers only.

Go to www.publishamerica.net, find your softcover, use this discount coupon: B&N55, which gives you a discount that our industry typically reserves for bookstores only: 55 pct. Must order at least 4 copies. Use the coupon on your softcover only. All non-softcover orders under this coupon will not be processed, so you'd be wasting your money if you tried.
Your use of the B&N55 coupon will automatically cause your book to be recommended for stocking.
Thank you!
--PublishAmerica Bookstore

I laughed and then shook my head. I guess I am lucky in one respect Borders and Amazon have book listed but me thinks Barnes and Nobel might never have it.



"Recommended for stocking"? What does this mean? (Don't answer, it's rhetorical). This recommendation is the only outcome of the author purchasing four or more softcovers. I can recommend anything to anyone; that by itself means nothing.

ETA: I no longer get email offers from PA. Thanks to those who are keeping this thread going.
 

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Isn't that what a sales team is for? Since the sale of books to Barnes and Noble benefits PA much more than it does their authors, shouldn't PA's sales team be making some recommendations to begin with and not rely upon having the authors bribe PA with self-purchases?

Oh? They don't have a sales team? Gosh, how do they ever make any sales to readers? After all, authors need to be paid first before they can afford to support anyone.
 

Wrider

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DaveKuzminski said:
They don't have a sales team?
Aren't those the people that are going to send books to Schwarzenegger? Oh wait, sorry, no, that's the OGT (Ongoing Gimmick Team). My bad.
 

thothguard51

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I would really-really want to see that email by B&N that states they want to stock PA books...

I wonder if anyone at B&N has read this, or seen this post. My local B&N Manager told me flat out...we will not stock or sell PA books. The only exception is if the author makes arrangements through the B&N Community Representative and they approve the book. They then have to provide the books on a consignment basis for about 30 days. They get 45-55% commission on list price. I don't see how a PA author could afford that type of discount?