The Old Neverending PublishAmerica Thread (Publish America)

Re: To PA authors....

My guess is, since you signed with PA, that you were like me. We just didn't know any better. There is a lot to learn - but it can be learned, XXXXX, if you just won't give up. I'll help you. And, if you're interested, hook up with AbsoluteWrite.com and let the authors there know that you want to learn more about the business. After you tell me what you write, I can recommend some good books that will help you.

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Nancy, this is some wonderful advice you've given this person. I hope that he or she takes it in the generous spirit in which it was intended. I just wish there had been someone like you to tell me this stuff before I signed the stupid PA contract.

Sherry

Re: My New PA emails

As always read from bottom to top to get whats going on:

Here was my latest reply:

I read this same email verbatim that you sent to more than one PA author.

Yes, here are my concerns.

When I considered signing up with PA the website read that the books were STOCKED in bookstores (I have the screenshot if you'd like to refute it) and now you are saying NO NO we meant available through orders. If I had known that you weren't going to put a CIP number on the book to make it available to libraries or STOCK them in the stores, or at least have a catalog like the smallest traditional publisher has, I would never have signed up. You see from the signature that I'm
recently signed with a real traditional publisher that believes in CIP numbers, catalogs, and actual shelf space.

I await your retraction of my contract,

Tina Samuels

~~~~~~~~
A Georgia Native Plant Guide, by Tina Samuels
Coming Fall 2005, Mercer University Press
~~~~~~~~
Georgia's Covered Bridges, by Tina Samuels
Coming Fall 2006, Mercer University Press
~~~~~~~~




----Original Message Follows----
From: PublishAmerica Author Support <[email protected]>
To: "Tina Samuels"
Subject: Tina Samuels: PA Makes National News!
Date: Tue, 01 Feb 2005 16:46:45 -0500

Dear Ms. Samuels,

In response to your comments below, we would simply point out that the number of authors interested in joining PublishAmerica has taken a very sharp rise as a result of the AP story. The Washington Post article has been widely refuted and is far less influential.

Thank you for asking about the wave of national news headlines that PublishAmerica has made! We are very happy that our story is being told all across the nation. We are now selling more books than ever before in our history.

When you revolutionize an industry, you are bound to make headlines. As a PublishAmerica author you are contributing to changing the publishing industry, and the lives of tens of thousands, in a very meaningful way.

All change breeds resistance. All pioneers have their detractors. Fortunately, PublishAmerica has not had much in the way of detractors, and they have not had any effect on us at all. In fact, since the articles have come out, we've seen an increase in interest in PublishAmerica, and a flood of positive messages.

We encourage you to read our public reaction the Associated Press story, plus a link to the story itself, at www.publishamerica.com/NationalNews.

To see what other authors are saying about us, visit:

www.publishamerica.com/cg...s/2796.htm
www.publishamerica.com/cg...l/1195.htm

As we continue our spectacular growth and impact on the publishing industry, PublishAmerica will certainly continue to make many more headlines.

If you have other reasons for your request, please state them, and we will reconsider our decision.

Thank you.

PublishAmerica Author Support

----- Original Message -----
> >From: "Tina Samuels"
> >To: [email protected]
> >Subject: RE: Tina Samuels: Regular Mail Request
> >D ate: Fri, 28 Jan 2005 12:58:22 -0500
> >
> >The AP says
> >www.post-gazette.com/pg/05022/446283.stm
> >
> >"He (Clopper) said more than 1,000 PublishAmerica titles have not a sold
a
> >copy; PublishAmerica released those books at a loss.
> >
> >In the Publishers Weekly article Miranda said:
> >
> >"She also said that the house was open to renegotiating contracts..."
> >
> >
> >I beg of you to be "open to renegotiating" my contract by letting me out
> >of it. I'll sign a gag order or whatever. I will not be promoting the
book
> >if my request isn't granted. I will not do a single signing and will
> >request friends and family not purchase it.
> >
> >
> >Tina M Samuels
> >A Non-Southerners Guide to Southern Food
> >
> >
> >
> >~~~~~~~~
> >A Georgia Native Plant Guide, by Tina Samuels
> >Coming Fall 2005, Mercer University Press
> >~~~~~~~~
> >Georgia's Covered Bridges, by Tina Samuels
> >Coming Fall 2006, Mercer University Press
> >~~~~~~~~
> >
> >----Original Message Follows----
> >From: Author Support Team <[email protected]>
> >To: [email protected]
> >Subject: Tina Samuels: Regular Mail Request
> >D ate: Fri, 28 Jan 2005 12:19:13 -0500
> >
> >D ear Ms. Samuels:
> >
> >Please direct all correspondence to: [email protected].
> >
> >Thank you,
> >Author Support Team
> >[email protected]

Re: My New PA emails

All change breeds resistance. All pioneers have their detractors. Fortunately, PublishAmerica has not had much in the way of detractors, and they have not had any effect on us at all. In fact, since the articles have come out, we've seen an increase in interest in PublishAmerica, and a flood of positive messages.

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Good grief, Tina! You'd think such a dynamic publishing powerhouse, staffed by a dynamic crew of original thinkers, could come up with something more than the same old form letters. That "all change breeds resistance" comment is getting OLD. Puh-leeze. Keep after 'em, girlie.

Sherry

Re: Dear PublishAmerica

Oh I do and I will. They hear from me at least twice a week.

As someone told me, be a burr in their side cause they always want to get rid of the burrs.

Tina

Tim....

Thank you for your kind words. We will miss you. Hope you get back to us soon - and that your project goes very well.

Thank you, Sherry. I know that many of us are being contacted by writers wanting the scoop on PA due to the efforts of a lot of different people, but in particular, my thanks to the "big eight" and their cronies. Things are getting better - the word is getting out.

Nancy
www.nancymehlbooks.com

Re: PRWEB

I'd like to hope that someone read one of the four posts I made about the PRWEB press release before it was pulled and I was banned. I'd like to think that someone did and was prodded to do some looking around.

It's almost like watching a cult....

Think about it. An author emails PA wanting their rights back. PA has no real investment cost in the book, and probably the author has sold the 50-75 copies PA was hoping for. On top of that, PA knows that the author is not going to continue to be actively promoting the book.

The smart thing to do would be - Release the author from their contract, bid them a fond farewell, and everyone parts on amicable terms.

What PA actually does - Hold the author to the agreement, thereby ruining the professional relationship and adding even more people to the list of people that want to see PA go down.

Sort of like taking your own fist and ramming yourself in the face with it......

Re: Re: Marketing Department

I think that they won't let many out because there are way more than we could even guess asking for their book rights back. That is the only thing I can think of why they wouldn't give it. What if there are hundreds of authors trying but we just don't know. When you look at all of the fact that are on this thread, it's so obvious what's going on, that it is a scam. What if there are thousands? They pride themselves on numbers...I wish there was a way to find out, I wonder if it would be possible to find a bunch of email addresses of older PA people who haven't been on the boards...hmmm, gives me an idea. It has to be numbers, large numbers, to us it seems as if they are hurting themselves by not giving us ours back, but maybe there are so many that they HAVE to use form emails! Excuse me, half is thinking out loud, I think we are on to something. Just keep talking!
Chris

So true

In every business model I've ever seen, the name of the game is "keep the customer satisfied." If the PA board states they have "11,000" happy authors in the fold, and further, only a small percentage of "whiners" is causing the problems, then wouldn't it logically follow that solving that problem should be paramount? I mean, why hang on to people who (like myself) have categorically stated that as far as they are concerned, they're no longer promoting their works? It's beyond weird, beyond bizzare, it's..well, I don't know exactly what it is. But it ain't smart business.

correction

of course, the word is "bizarre", not...well, the way I spelled it. :eek

Re: PA

and you have me on the extreme side of actively NONpromoting. I am telling everyone even vaguely interested in my cookbook not to buy it. Hell I have a pdf of it to anyone that wants it, I'll email it on to you, lol...

PA just has rubbed me the wrong way and my claws and teeth are out...


tina

Re: It's almost like watching a cult....

What PA actually does - Hold the author to the agreement, thereby ruining the professional relationship and adding even more people to the list of people that want to see PA go down.

Click to expand...

Yeah, you'd think that smart business people would get that. Speaking of holding onto authors, I know of one case in which the book is actually being "held hostage." If the author recants recent statements to the press, PA will think about releasing the contract. I'm not kidding.

Sherry

Re: So true

In every business model I've ever seen, the name of the game is "keep the customer satisfied." If the PA board states they have "11,000" happy authors in the fold, and further, only a small percentage of "whiners" is causing the problems, then wouldn't it logically follow that solving that problem should be paramount? I mean, why hang on to people who (like myself) have categorically stated that as far as they are concerned, they're no longer promoting their works? It's beyond weird, beyond bizzare, it's..well, I don't know exactly what it is. But it ain't smart business.

Click to expand...

You're right, Gravity -- it makes no sense at all. If I ran a business and I had some unhappy customers gunning for me, I'd either address the complaints and try to solve them or drop the unhappy campers like hot potatoes. What on earth is the sense of forcing people who don't want to be with you to stay with you? Smart, it definitely ain't.

Sherry

Re: contracts

Right now I'd dance naked in Times Square to get out of my contract...


(Oh stop it y'all, it wouldn't be THAT frightening )

tina

Re: Atlanta Nights, Still

I have personally had 6 different PA authors in the last week email me about getting their rights back. I wouldn't even want to guess what someone like Dave is getting. I think a whole lot of people are asking for their rights back, if that is not the case, why has PA developed a form letter to answer them with? Hmmmm?

:b

Re: contracts

Right now I'd dance naked in Times Square to get out of my contract...

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I don't know, Tina -- they might like that. You could invite them to kiss your butt at noon tomorrow on Church Street in Frederick... Nah, they'd probably like that idea, too. Shoot, I'm fresh out of ideas.:\

Sherry

Re:Frederick

I'd half to sell tickets to that event, lol...
but they'd just put some kind of spin on it where it was great PR for them....

Re: Nancy Mehl

Nancy, you are a gem. My hat's off to you for reaching out in such a gentle and sympathetic manner.

Achem

*koff* www.publishamerica.com/cg...l/2032.htm

-----
Matshona
1/31/2005
19:45:02

Message:
How much does P.A charge to fix each error after the book has already been published?
-----
kas
1/31/2005
20:01:05

Message:
I don't know dear, Contact author support.
-----
Saundra Julian
1/31/2005
20:55:30

Message:
PA accepts no money from authors, for any reason, as stated in their rebuttal of recent press coverage...
-----
jae3471
2/01/2005
14:32:28

Message:
This is spelled out in your contract.

Joyce Ann
-----

So, which is it? Per the contract, or per the propaganda?

computer searches

Okay all. I emailed over 100 authors that I could find that published from PA...I could only find a little over 120...anyone have any idea of a FASTER way to figure out who all published with them?

Chris

Re: Some comments

I'm sure Dave, Ed, Dee or some other more knowledge writer here will steer you into an easier more efficient way of doing it.

I'd make sure you shared your findings with Ann Crispin, maybe we can finally start blowing some holes in their 11,000 happy family number.

tina

Mother's of Writers

Mother's of Writers-interesting, anyone heard of this book published, and I guess written by publishamerica, consists of over 250 authors...talking about how their mothers inspired them to write, reminds me of john's 200 author proposal, no ranking on B&N for this book, but you know they sold at least 250 copies, and probably another 250 for parents...nothing wrong with this, I'm just saying...

Re: bikr

I remember that 200 authors spiel on the PA boards. I declined gently after a MASSIVE push to get me to join up.

I don't remember this book, but remember, I don't remember ANY Pa book....I only vaguely remember mine :lol

tina

Re: computer searches

To find older PA authors ... go to Google, and put this exact string into the search box:

2002 siteublishamerica.com "Author Message Board"


Hit "Search" and you'll get a bunch of the older posts. You'll find people's names that way.

Or ... go to Amazon. Go to "Books" then "Search." In the "Publisher" box, put PublishAmerica. In the Publication date box, select "Before the Year" and type in 2004. Sort by publication date. Hit the "Search Now" button and see what you get.

Take the authors' names and book titles, and Google on them. See if the authors have web pages, and if so, if they have contact information.

See who's still around. Outreach is good.

<HR>

On the subject of the Amazon Slimer (recently revived). It's obvious that the Slimer a) never read the books, b) has a poor command of English, and c) hates PublishAmerica writers. Now who could that describe? The Author <s>Insult</s> Support Team? Someone higher in the food chain?

Re: It's almost like watching a cult....

>>Speaking of holding onto authors, I know of one case in which the book is actually being "held hostage." If the author recants<<

This isn't the first time PA has used this tactic to silence a critic.

>>If I ran a business and I had some unhappy customers gunning for me, I'd either address the complaints and try to solve them or drop the unhappy campers like hot potatoes. What on earth is the sense of forcing people who don't want to be with you to stay with you?<<

This has nothing to do with business; it's the personality of the company's owner expressing itself through the business, and it has been manifest from the very first. Right from the very earliest days of this company, dissenters and critics have been treated exactly as they are being treated now--belittled, threatened, and harassed. This is a personal thing for Meiners and Clopper. The difference now is that due to PA's greed, there are vastly more "customers", and dissatisfaction has achieved a kind of critical mass.

IMO, PA is following the same trajectory followed by the Deerings, Edit Ink, Commonwealth Publications, etc.--they got greedy, they got careless, they pissed off too many people, and they fell apart.

- Victoria