Sparhawk said:
I freely admit to being excited when my manuscript was accepted and actually published. I also confess to beleiving that PA would help me market my book once it wa fianlly out there to be purchased. I also admit that I was floored when I saw the price of my book and confess that I wouldn't have paid the $24.95 they were asking for it...I asked PA why the price was so high and never got a statisfactory answer.
This, if nothing else, is a sure sign you are dealing with a scam operation. A reputable publisher would have priced your book competitively, and given you a reason why if they couldn't.
Books prices are based on a variety of factors, but there is no mystery to it.
PA prices their books higher than legitimate publishers do because they know their books won't end up on store shelves, competing against cheaper books. Instead, PA makes their money selling overpriced books to their own authors. They can then offer discounts if you buy them in quantity, and still make a nice profit.
I freely admit that I expected alot more from PA than I received in way of marketing support and have been disappointed in that particuilar venue.
I don't know how much of this thread you have managed to read, but you aren't the first PA author to be disappointed like that; not by any means.
I had to work like a dog to get teh Manager at Barnes and Noble to allow me to participate at their book events.
I don't doubt it, and I know that must have been incredibly frustrating.
Keep in mind, however, the manager's position in all this. Her (assuming it's still a "her" there in B'ham) job is to see to it that the store makes money. Hosting local author events is great, but if a publisher makes it too difficult to either stock an author's books through regular channels, or provides no publicity for the book, then a bookstore is going to be less than enthusiastic about having the author in for a signing. It's too much of a headache, with no guaranteed payoff.
This has nothing to do with the quality of your book, by the way. PA publishes good books as well as bad ones, and the authors still face terrible obstacles in trying to get their books onto bookstore shelves. Unfortunately, PA insists that this is the fault of bookstores, or authors who don't spend enough time promoting their books, which is a lie. PA's way of doing business simply makes it impossible for bookstores to stock their titles and do so profitably.
I gave eth PR flack a free copy of my book to read and review I gave her copies of the reviews submitted by people who read the book (NONE OF THEM ARE PA AUTHORS)
The problem is that reviews only count if they are in newspapers or magazines, or are written by a big-name author whose opinions carry a lot of weight. Multiple reviews, not only from the Bellingham
Herald or the Seattle
P-I, but from magazines as well
, would have helped.
If David Eddings had written a review, that would have been one thing. But reviews written by unknown people who have read the book and happened to like it don't. PR folks look at those and automatically assume you got your friends to write good reviews. Even though that isn't true, it still ends up looking that way.
I never expected to become Stephen King with on POD publication. THis was only the first step on a very large ladder.
The trouble is, it's not. Getting accepted by PA doen't count as a publication credit in your favor. Instead, PA is viewed as a glorified vanity press.
I have finished my second novel 407 pages, and I will confess that I am hesitant to send it back to PA. I would like to see my book in bookstores without me having to promote myself.
Don't send it to PA. You will never see your books promoted and on store shelves if you rely on them to do it--and they won't. You'll end up with another $24.95 paperback with no promotion or distribution that you have to struggle to sell.
Start shopping your second book around to reputable agents. But whatever you do,
don't let PA get its slimy hands on it. It will take a lot longer to get your book into print that way, and you will have to deal with rejection, but that's a normal part of the process.
While you're doing that, write another book. And another, if you have to. And another. Your second novel may not be the one that gets you published, but maybe your third one will. Just keep going.
You've said at the outset that you are a novice writer--that's good that you can think of yourself in that way. Keep learning about writing. Read books you like and pick them apart and see how the authors put them together. Keep writing, and striving to be a better writer. Don't give up.
I work 65 hours a week and have an autistic 3 year old plus two teenagers, my freetime is spent writing. IT is my sanity and my escape.
The last thing you need to be doing then, is spending your free time trying to sell your book because your publisher can't be bothered to do it. Spend that time relaxing with your family and working on another book.
Could they be a little more forthcoming in their contracts and promotions, YES. BUt they gave me a chance so I cannot fault them too harshly.
A reputable business will always let you know exactly what you are getting yourself into, and exactly what they are willing to provide in return. PA hasn't done that. And sadly, they
haven't given you--or your book--a chance. They were willing to print it, and sell it back to you. But that's it. They've pretty much left you and your book to fend for yourselves.
If you want to see a bound copy of your book, with your name on it (which I can completely understand), there are other ways to do that. But if you want to get your books out there in the world where other people can find and read them, PA isn't going to do it.
I do admit to wanting to have a big publisher behind me, that is my goal, I have no qualms about admitting that.
Then go for it. It won't be easy, but keep going.
And welcome--I'm a former Bellinghamster, myself, so it's good to see you here...