The Old Neverending PublishAmerica Thread (Publish America)

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SimonSays

Re: Jim's statement

Quote:

"What I'm trying to do is reject the position that how well you write today is how well you'll ever write -- that it's an inborn gift and can't be improved."


We can all improve at pretty much anything with practice and education. But the level an individual is capable of improving to is limited by their level of innate talent. We each have our own individual cap, and we will never rise above that cap.

Each year thousands of kids enroll at FIT, Parsons, Otis etc. They all take the same classes, many have an equal level of desire, ambition and drive - but only a small handful will ever become professional designers. Why? because all the training in the world, cannot teach you to have the vision necessary to design. The great designers, would not be great without the education, but the greatness is something they were born with, not taught.

It is no different with writing or storytelling. Most cannot improve their writing to a point where they can be published legitimately.
 

wurdwise

I strongly disagree

Yes, talent is born, I believe that, but I strongly disagree that someone who studies hard and learns the craft of writing will be unable to have their work traditional published. That's horse pucky.:hat
 

DaveKuzminski

Re: Communism and Capitalism

Without practice and education, there is no way to reach the level that the individual is capable of attaining.
 

James D Macdonald

Re: Social Groups

This is getting rather far afield from PA, so let me try to bring it back to topic:

What I'm specifically rejecting is the idea that PA is a good thing (or at least not a bad thing) because it's the best that its authors can do, the poor dears.
 

D James

Re: Independence Books numbers

"Some restrictions will apply, including order volume minimums and maximums, a pre-payment requirement, and no refunds after 90 days."

I think the additional "orders must be placed through PA was a revelation of infocentre's Logo. I could be wrong on that point.

Anyway, returnability is different with every publisher. Some pay for shipping, some leave it to us. Some ask that we wait until we have a quota of returns before doing so, some do not. Some demand that we request first, some do not. Terms always improve as the length of the relationship between publisher/bookstore grows.

However, the three nonstandard clauses are:
(1) minimums and maximums on returns. This is usually on a discount scale, not on the products returnability.
(2) No refunds after 90 days. Normally returns are done within 3 months to a year. Again, each publisher is different. But most request that we *keep* the book at least 3 months before returning it.
(3) Prepayment. There are exceptions in this case, such as when you are dealing with a new publisher whom you've never dealt with before, an academic press, an overseas publisher, or a self-published/vanity title. However, once a relationship is formed between the publisher/bookstore there is a customary 30 day payment deferred option. If not, publishers usually give better terms for paying early.

D James
 

SimonSays

Re: Communism and Capitalism

I agree with you Dave that both study and practice are necessary to reach potential (I pointed that out in my post). The thing is that study and practice will not change the amount of potential any individual is born with.

98% of all submissions are rejected - even making adjustments on that number to account for talented writers who's work just doesn't click or the ms is too similar to others or whatever, and making additional adjustments for those who have yet to reach their potential - that still leaves a huge number who are simply not talented enough.

Fiction writing in particular requires a talent that is truly rare.
 

D James

Upcoming Articles ... Which Way Will the Wind Blow?

I think it will be a repeat of the PW article. I'm not expecting much.

D James
 

bikrpreacher

Independence Program

It doesn't look to me like the Independence program helped these writers sell books at all. Not only that, why so few titles in a program that is still talked about to PA's authors?
PA still suggests to it' s authors that if they buy 500 books, they can be reviewed and possibly be accepted into this program. Infocenter even suggested on the board once that it would help them get into bookstores if they would buy those 500 books from Amazon. I saw this in a yahoo publishamerica group that I quit, as recently as 2 weeks ago.
(The fact that they are still offering this, not the buy from amazon deal).
 

Undergroundauthor

Miranda Prather's explanation of advances

She says:

With regard to the $100 advance, I will research the matter further and discuss with the company owners. We have and will continue to offer higher advances or negotiate higher advances with authors who we feel have a book that will earn back that advance. One of the main reasons we offered a $1.00 advance was out of consideration of our authors. You have to remember that an advance is money paid against future earnings. Simply put that means that the advance amount is deducted from royalties earned until the amount is paid back. Some companies will even require that an author repay any amount that is not earned back in royalties. We did not want authors to do the latter and did not wish for them to wait a long time before beginning to earn royalty payments.
 

AC Crispin

H.B. Marcus's post

It's funny the H.B. Marcus is crowing that he's put us all out of business, and even implying that we're being sued for libel. I wonder how he "explains" Writer Beware?

Too bad he'll never know that it was Writer Beware that put the AP reporter in touch with him, in the interest of fair play.

I do not agree that the AP reporter's article will be a replay of the PW article. I spoke to the AP reporter at least 10 times as he checked and re-checked various facts and allegations.

It's my impression that the AP reporter was very conscientious about digging and fact-finding.

I agree with Dee. I believe that both sides will be heard from, both the "happy PA family" folks and those who are unhappy with PA. What's different this time is that this reporter contacted industry experts and professionals, in addition to happy or unhappy PA authors.

-Ann C. Crispin
 

James D Macdonald

Re: Independence Books numbers

I think the additional "orders must be placed through PA was a revelation of infocentre's Logo. I could be wrong on that point.

It was buried in the text of the letter, James: (emphasis mine)

<BLOCKQUOTE>The first major bookstore chain that Independence Books will accept returned books from is the nation's largest chain, Waldenbooks, when they place their orders directly with us.</BLOCKQUOTE>

If I recall correctly the Logo has been inconsistent on whether books you buy yourself count toward the 500. In any case, it's been nearly a year since any book has been chosen for this "experiment."

Now let's look at the Mille Club:

Isn't this paragraph a masterpiece of clarity?

<BLOCKQUOTE>In ancient Rome, the word "mille" came to mean the number 1000 in Latin. Originally it referred to the distance a Roman soldier typically covered in 1000 paces. Later, this distance was standardized, and came to be known as one mile. Today the word is still used to mean 1000 in many languages, including English.</BLOCKQUOTE>

So, show of hands: How many members does the Mille Club have? What kind of bennies does a Mille Club member get? Do they still have this program, or is this something else, like the Independence Books program and the New York Times ad, that's been forgotten about?
 

Undergroundauthor

What PA says about marketing for their authors

In an email dated December 20, 2004, Miranda Prather, the executive director of PublishAmerica, says:

Actually, your contract does not state, nor does any PublishAmerica author's contract state, that you will solely be responsible for marketing and promotion. It does state that you will agree to take an active interest and that promotion and marketing will be at our election and discretion. In reality, there is much marketing that we do provide behind the scenes. In addition, we are always looking for new ways to boost that marketing. To that end, we added press releases on a more regular basis this year. Now, every book receives at least one press release. Many receive more, so authors should feel free to send us any newsworthy item that might occur.
 

StephanieCordray

re: independence books

So, show of hands: How many members does the Mille Club have? What kind of bennies does a Mille Club member get? Do they still have this program, or is this something else, like the Independence Books program and the New York Times ad, that's been forgotten about?
Click to expand...

I'd say this is fairly new and absolutely 0 members. This may be a new hook for getting authors to buy their own books just before royalty statments while not offering any extra discounts or to pay royalties on the books they buy themselves. It may not be the only hook they use but I'd say it's the first.
 

D James

Independence Program

I knew it was in their somewhere.

Here's the catch then: You have only *one* chain that has the possibility of returns *if* they order your title directly through PA.

For ease of direct ordering (I actually shudder when I think of having to place an order with them), see my post a few pages above.

D James
 

Undergroundauthor

About non returnable PublishAmerica books.

When asked: You see, I heard that PA books do become returnable, after the title has sold X amount of copies.

Miranda Prather of PA responded in an email dated December 22, 2004

What you are thinking of is Independence Books. Independence Books is an imprint of ours that was founded on July 4th of 2003. We founded it to highlight our best selling and highest quality books. Books under the Independence Books imprint will be re-edited, have a new cover designed to show of any blurbs obtained, and enjoy returnability.

A book that sells 500 copies will become eligible for review for Independence Books. Not every book that sells 500 copies will be picked for the imprint. We have many books that have sold well over 500 copies, but did not pass the review process for inclusion. Currently, there are 6 titles under the imprint.

Miranda
 

James D Macdonald

Mille Club

The Mille Club apparently dates from August, 2002.

I can think of three authors who qualify (Frank Weaver, Jason Fodeman, and Nancy Mehl). There may be more. But the question is -- is this program still around?

<HR>

Remember how at least one PA apologist claimed that Writer's Digest had given PA's contract a "clean bill of health"?

Here's the announcement from PA when it happened (emphasis theirs):

<BLOCKQUOTE>Writer's Digest magazine - Attention New Writers

We are pleased to announce PublishAmerica's solidarity with the editors of Writer's Digest magazine!

Writer's Digest, in its quest to identify and explore the implications of new technology trends in the publishing industry, highlights two key topics in its April issue: restrictive publishing contracts and digital printing technologies.

We are especially pleased to see that PublishAmerica's contract contains none of the restrictive clauses that the magazine warns against, and that we are the only listed publisher that does not charge to publish authors.

Especially in light of this article, we are confident that PublishAmerica provides excellent terms to its authors. Reading the article gave us the feeling that our publishing contracts must certainly be the most author friendly in the industry.

Also, we're not sure why Writer's Digest chose to identify PublishAmerica as a "POD" publisher (POD here means "print", not "publish" On Demand). We use two types of printing: old fashioned offset printing for longer runs, and the digital printing technology that is increasingly being used by all major publishing houses. This new digital printing allows PublishAmerica many advantages, including better control over the quality of shorter book runs. </BLOCKQUOTE>
 

publishorperish

Re: About non returnable PublishAmerica books.

In other words, we may only act like a real publisher after you purchase 500 of your own books and provided that your book isn't absolute crap. However, most of your books are absolute crap, so don't get your hopes up, kiddos. I love how they continuously, if subtly, put down their authors.

Mr. Marcus is a great attention whore. I'm glad he's getting the attention he so yearns for.
 

afanofthetruth

Re: Mille Club

I haven't heard of the Mille Club since 2002 and I've never heard anyone mention being selected for the Mille Club.
 

vstrauss

Re: Mille Club

>>I can think of three authors who qualify (Frank Weaver, Jason Fodeman, and Nancy Mehl). There may be more. But the question is -- is this program still around?<<

I know of one other, who reached the requisite sales numbers by buying her own book. I think the Mille Club has been allowed to fade into obscurity, along with hardcovers and Independence Books.

>>Remember how at least one PA apologist claimed that Writer's Digest had given PA's contract a "clean bill of health"?<<

The Writer's Digest magazine article covered undesirable contract clauses from POD-based publishers, and was written by Ann and me in 2002. PA was one of two publishers that refused to participate in the questionnaire we sent out (the article mentions this). At the time we did the survey, PA's contract contained five of the seven undesirable clauses we identified.

Under those circumstances, we found PA's self-congratulatory announcement rather irritating.

- Victoria
 
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