Accusations Against PA Irrefutably Validated!

d_racae_lyn · Oct 1, 2010

Hello, this is author Amber Michelle, otherwise known here on Absolute Write as D'racae'lyn, spokeswoman for the mystical and magical land of Ll'ryn-ea. Oh folks, here's the skinny, I have been gathering information on Publish America ever since the evening in mid May of this year when I, out of bored curiosity, went into Publish America's online bookstore to see if their were any other books similar to mine. Imagine my shock and rage to to find my own book posted on, at that time, page 98, in their Fiction section! Oh, the reason for the shock and rage? Oh, nothing much.........other than the fact that I had received notification by physical land mail in a letter dated February 16, 2010, that they had canceled my book as of that day...that they no longer had any in stock...that they would be printing no future copies...that they would no longer be offering it for sale to individuals, wholesalers, or retailers...and most d*****g (modified for the sake of posting) of all......THAT THEY HAD REMOVED IT FROM THEIR WEBSITE THE DAY THAT LETTER WAS DATED FOR! (Which, by the way...here is an interesting note...that letter was dated for Feb. 16, 2010, but I did not receive it till around Feb. 22, 2010! Hey, I know the mail service is slow sometimes, but get real, O'neal!) Well, the long and short of it is, my book is still being posted on their website to this very day of October first, 2010, as the following photos taken with my cam just this very moment will prove irrefutably..........

And here is proof that not only is that book mine, and that I am indeed author Amber Michelle, and that they are posting that book illegally and are guilty of copyright infringement due to the fact that they told me, not once, but twice in that cancellation letter that they were returning my copyrights to me, I am posting the following visual, verifiable evidence....

THE ACTUAL COVER GALLEY THAT THEY SENT ME FOR APPROVAL FOR "MARILLA AND THE MERMAID", WHICH CLEARLY DISPLAYS THE PUBLISH AMERICA LOGO ON THE BACK COVER....

THE ACTUAL PHOTO THAT WAS USED ON THE BACK COVERS OF MY FIRST TWO BOOKS, "WALKING WITH ANGELS" AND "A WALK THROUGH MY SOUL", BOTH OF WHICH WILL BE SHOWN BELOW, FIRST THE FRONT COVER OF EACH BOOK CLEARLY SHOWING THE AUTHOR'S NAME TO BE AMBER MICHELLE, AND BOTH OF WHICH WERE SCANNED DIRECTLY FROM THE AUTHOR'S COPIES THAT WERE SENT TO ME......

THE ACTUAL PHOTO USED FOR THE BACK COVER OF BOTH OF MY FIRST TWO BOOKS........

THE FRONT COVER OF MY FIRST PUBLISHED BOOK, "WALKING WITH ANGELS", CLEARLY SHOWING THE AUTHOR TO BE AMBER MICHELLE....

THE BACK COVER OF THAT SAME BOOK, CLEARLY SHOWING THE PHOTO THAT IS POSTED ON THIS MESSAGE....

THE FRONT COVER OF MY SECOND BOOK, CLEARLY SHOWING THE AUTHOR TO BE AMBER MICHELLE...........

THE BACK COVER OF THAT BOOK CLEARLY SHOWING THE PHOTO SHOWN IN THIS MESSAGE........

AND AS FINAL PROOF THAT IN CONTINUING TO POST THAT BOOK LONG AFTER THE DATE ON THE CANCELLATION LETTER, I AM OFFERING THE FOLLOWING FINAL PIECE OF EVIDENCE THAT WILL PROVE IRREVOCABLY THAT PUBLISH AMERICA IS GUILTY OF COPYRIGHT INFRINGEMENT,

THE SCANNED COPY OF THAT CANCELLATION LETTER..........

YOU WILL PLEASE PAY PARTICULAR ATTENTION TO THE DATE ON THAT LETTER, TO THE FACT THAT THEY TELL ME NOT ONCE, BUT TWICE (IN THE THIRD AND FOURTH PARAGRAPHS) THAT THEY ARE RETURNING THE COPYRIGHTS TO ME, TO THE FACT THAT THEY STATE QUITE CLEARLY IN PARAGRAPHS THREE AND FOUR THAT THEY HAVE NO COPIES IN STOCK-WILL NOT BE PRINTING ANY MORE-WILL NOT BE OFFERING IT FOR SALE TO INDIVIDUALS, WHOLESALERS OR RETAILERS-AND OH DO PLEASE PAY VERY SHARP AND CLOSE NOTICE IN PARAGRAPH FOUR, LINES TWO AND THREE, WHERE THEY TELL ME THEY HAVE REMOVED IT FROM THEIR WEBSITE. I KNOW I AM GETTING OLD AND MY EYES AIN'T QUITE WHAT THEY USED TO BE, BUT...UH, WOULDN'T YOU SAY IT WAS STILL ON THEIR WEBSITE IF I WAS JUST ABLE TO TAKE PHOTOS OF IT ON A PAGE CLEARLY AND BOLDLY DISPLAYING THEIR BANNER?

AND IF YOU NEED FURTHER PROOF OF THEIR DUPLICITOUS NATURE, THEN GO TO MY PERSONAL WEBSITE, A WEBSITE I WENT TO GREAT PERSONAL SACRIFICE TO GET, AT http://www.dracaelynsdreams.com/, AND GO TO THE "WARNING TO WRITERS" AND "SEEING IS BELIEVING" PAGES AND SEE FOR YOURSELF. TAKE A GOOD LOOK AT THE DOCUMENT THAT IS ON THE DOCUMENT READER ON "SEEING IS BELIEVING", THEN AT THE GALLEY THAT I SENT THEM FOR MY STORY AND AT THE MANGLED MESS THEY SENT ME BACK.

THEN TELL ME I AM A CRAZY OLD LADY SITTING ALL ALONE AT HER COMPUTER DAY AFTER DAY WITH NOTHING BETTER TO DO THAN TO "PICK ON POOR DEFENSELESS PUBLISHING COMPANIES THAT WERE JUST TRYING TO HELP AUTHORS REALIZE THEIR DREAMS". AND THAT, BY THE WAY, IS A DIRECT QUOTE OF A RESPONSE I RECEIVED IN RESPONSE TO A VIDEO THAT I PUT ON YOUTUBE.

AND IF THERE ARE ANY OF YOU THAT HAVE A PETITION I CAN SIGN TO PUT THIS CORRUPT, FRAUDULENT, SCAMMING, MISREPRESENTING, FUND MISAPPROPRIATING, COPYRIGHT INFRINGING, LYING, THIEVING PIECE OF "YOU KNOW WHAT" OUT OF BUSINESS, WELL........JUST TELL ME WHERE TO SIGN. I DON'T JUST WANT THEM TO PAY FOR THEIR CRIMES AND SINS........

I WANT THEM PERMANENTLY, TOTALLY AND COMPLETELY PUT OUT OF BUSINESS.

I WANT THEM TO FINALLY FIND OUT WHAT IT FEELS LIKE TO HAVE SOMEONE STOMP ON THEM LIKE THEY STOMP ON OTHERS.

UH...DO YOU KIND OF GET THE FEELING THEY AREN'T EXACTLY MY FAVORITE PEOPLE?

SIGNED, AUTHOR AMBER MICHELLE

PS. IF ANYONE WANTS TO RESPOND PERSONALLY TO THIS, CONTACT ME AT [email protected]

d_racae_lyn · Oct 1, 2010

THIS IS AUTHOR AMBER MICHELLE AGAIN, OCTOBER 1, 2010,

IN REFERENCE TO MY POST OF A FEW MOMENTS AGO, A LITTLE HEADS UP ABOUT THAT MESSAGE IN THE DOCUMENT READER ON THE "SEEING IS BELIEVING" PAGE ON MY WEBSITE, DON'T GO IN THINKING TO "SCAN READ" THAT MESSAGE, IT IS NEARLY TWO HUNDRED AND FORTY PAGES OF INFORMATION. I SYSTEMATICALLY TORE THEIR CONTRACT, THEIR PROMOTIONAL WEBSITE BLOGS, AND THAT CANCELLATION LETTER APART LINE BY LINE, PARAGRAPH BY PARAGRAPH, SO YOU MIGHT WANT TO VIEW IT WHEN YOU CAN ACTUALLY READ IT AND VIEW THE EVIDENCE I PRESENTED. AND MARK MY WORDS, I WAS VERY, VERY CAREFUL TO MAKE CERTAIN THAT I COULD BACK UP EVERY SINGLE ACCUSATION AND ALLEGATION I AM MAKING AGAINST THEM. AND I WAS EVEN SWEET ENOUGH TO GET THE DICTIONARY DEFINITIONS TO THE CHARGES JUST IN CASE ONE OF "THEIR PEOPLE" HAPPENS TO STUMBLE ON IT AND HAS DIFFICULTY COMPREHENDING THE SIMPLE ENGLISH.

AUTHOR AMBER MICHELLE

DeadlyAccurate · Oct 1, 2010

Typing in ALL CAPS is the equivalent of shouting on the Internet. Can you please edit your post? We'd really appreciate it.

DaveKuzminski · Oct 1, 2010

d_racae_lyn said:
THIS IS AUTHOR AMBER MICHELLE AGAIN, OCTOBER 1, 2010,

Please check your User CP (on the menu above) for some private suggestions you might want to use.

JulieB · Oct 1, 2010

Welcome to AW, Amber Michelle.

A couple of questions: Have you sent a notice to PA to remove the book from their site? Have you (or someone you know) tried to order a copy of the book from the PA site?

I know you're upset over this (I would be, too) but the thing to do (IMO) would be to send a letter via US Mail (make 'em sign for it) asking them to remove the book as per the terms of your contract and their rights reversion letter. Keep the tone polite and businesslike and retain copies of all correspondence related to the matter.

By the way, I've had Priority Mail correspondence from commercial publishers take five days to get to me, and I don't exactly live in the boondocks. I remain convinced the mail to my area is transported on an arthritic mule. ;-)

ResearchGuy · Oct 1, 2010

d_racae_lyn said:
. . . returning my copyrights to me,. . .

Publishing rights. They do not own the copyright under the contract.

--Ken

CaoPaux · Oct 1, 2010

Welcome Amber. I've split your posts into their own thread so that you aren't lost in the main thread.

d_racae_lyn · Oct 1, 2010

uh, deadlyaccurate, i would fix it if i only knew how! but i will retain the knowledge that "all caps" is a "internet social faux pas" from this point on, and thank you for being so understanding.

julie b, i did try to contact them, three times, after that night i found the book, and receive their usual response to my attempt to contact them, which is to say none.

and research guy, please to closely examine and read paragraph three, lines three and four, which read, verbatim.........."all rights UNDER THE COPYRIGHT are herewith returned to you". now, would you not take that to mean that "under the copyright" meant the copyright? and if they state, in black and white that they are "returning them to me", then i have an itsy bitsy question for you..............

how would they have them "to return to me" if they had not taken them in the first place? go read the document reader that has the blue file on it, the very first one, on the "seeing is believing" page on my website at http://www.dracaelynsdreams.com/. i have spent nearly every since finding my book on their site that night gathering evidence against them. that file on my website is a compilation of that evidence. i know whereof i speak.

d'racae'lyn/aka/amber michelle

Jill Karg · Oct 1, 2010

Have a couple of quick questions. First off I haven't been able to go out to sight today but will do so later this weekend.

Your contract with PA, was it at the end of term (usually 7 years)?

If it wasn't what prompted them to send you the letter?

a. Did you try to get out early (you know like monoply get out of jail free card, but you are playing gin so doesn't work)
b. Did they feel your book was not saleable and released you (which in PA's case, if you don't buy your book, it is unsaleable)?

PA is known for being a trickster and general nasty and ruthless :e2teeth:

so I do understand your frustration. I have a little over 6 1/2 years left on my contract.

JulieB · Oct 1, 2010

Amber, I suggest you find an attorney who specializes in publishing law to assist you.

The "rights under copyright" bit can be a little confusing. You hold the copyright, but when you sign a contract with a publisher, you are assigning them certain rights for a period of time. The publisher needs those rights in order to produce the book. The letter is returning those rights to you. I think they could word it better. For more information, see this SFWA article on rights and copyright. I think it will help clear up some of the confusion.

By the way, at the bottom of every post you make is an "Edit" button. You can use that to go correct typos, add new information, and so on. In fact, I used that to add this last paragraph to my own post.

d_racae_lyn · Oct 1, 2010

Ms. Jill, in answer to your query pertaining to the reason that Publish America sent me that cancellation letter.......welllllllllllllllllllllll....let's just say that after sending them six emails requesting information on how to keep up with sales and progress of my book and receiving no reply, the, uh, party who sent the seventh letter wasn't really me, it was my evil twin. And take my word for it, she ain't near as sweet or nice as I am! Put quite simply, I told them where they could shove that disreputable, corrupt, and fraudulent excuse for a company, how far they could shove it, (and even suggested that they use a broken glass and razor blade embedded ramrod to accomplish the shoving, all sans the vaseline), what they were full of and then, as the cherry on top of their particular pile of horse manure, I told them what I thought of them and called them everything but human. To say that I was "mildly irritated" at their non response to my queries for information would more than likely be one of the major understatements of the century. I have one rather bad character trait, when people hurt or misuse me, I tend to get very vindictive and hostile. I sent that seventh email on or around the eighth of February, they formed that cancellation letter that was dated the sixteenth of February, but I did not receive that cancellation letter until the twenty second of February. I know the mail can be slow sometimes, but I mean, get real! I suffer an emotional disorder, not a mental one! And as to your remaining time as a prisoner of their duplicity, would you be willing to help me to take them down? Would you be willing to help me find sites that have petitions that we can sign to join other victims? Would you be willing to share your story, and any visual, verifiable documentation that you might have, on my personal website, on the "IN SEARCH OF JUSTICE'' page? I want those sorry, low down, no good, lying, thieving, deceitful, sob's not just taken down, but totally and permanently eradicated, wiped off of the face of this planet! I would welcome any and all who wish for the same to come and share their stories on my website at http://www.dracaelynsdreams.com/. The name of the page is ''IN SEARCH OF JUSTICE''. And while you are on my site, if you should go, stop by ''WARNING TO WRITERS'' and ''SEEING IS BELIEVING'' and see just how serious I am about going after this company. And I may soon be adding two more to that list....author house and xlibris.

Now, Ms. Julie, first I would like to thank you for your response. Second I would like to show you something, which I will be taking directly from that file against Publish America that I have on my website, and once you have viewed, read and thought about what I am about to show you, then try to tell me that they do not take the copyrights!

so, thus we begin....

example one...

example two...

example number three....

example number four....

example number five...

example number six...

example number seven....

example number eight...

ahhh, and now as to the definition of "exclusive"....

ex·clu·sive (

k-skl

s

v)adj.1. Excluding or tending to exclude: exclusive barriers.
2. Not allowing something else; incompatible: mutually exclusive conditions.
3. Not divided or shared with others: exclusive publishing rights.
4. Not accompanied by others; single or sole: your exclusive function.
5. Complete; undivided: gained their exclusive attention.
6. Not including the specified extremes or limits, but only the area between them: 20-25, exclusive; that is, 21, 22, 23 and 24.
7. Excluding some or most, as from membership or participation: an exclusive club.
8. Catering to a wealthy clientele; expensive: exclusive shops.
9. Linguistics Of, relating to, or being a first person plural pronoun that excludes the addressee, such as we in the sentence Chris and I will be in town tomorrow, so we can stop by your office.

n.1. A news item initially released to only one publication or broadcaster.
2. An exclusive right or privilege, as to market a product.

ex·clu

sive·ly adv.
ex·clu

sive·ness, ex

clu·siv

i·ty (

k

skl

-s

v

-t

) n.
The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition copyright ©2000 by Houghton Mifflin Company. Updated in 2009. Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
exclusive [ɪkˈskluːsɪv]adj1. excluding all else; rejecting other considerations, possibilities, events, etc. an exclusive preoccupation with money
2. belonging to a particular individual or group and to no other; not shared exclusive rights an exclusive story
3. belonging to or catering for a privileged minority, esp a fashionable clique an exclusive restaurant
4. (postpositive; foll by to) limited (to); found only (in) this model is exclusive to Harrods
5. single; unique; only the exclusive means of transport on the island was the bicycle
6. separate and incompatible mutually exclusive principles
7. (immediately postpositive) not including the numbers, dates, letters, etc., mentioned 1980-84 exclusive
8. (postpositive; foll by of) except (for); not taking account (of) exclusive of bonus payments, you will earn this amount
9. (Business / Commerce) Commerce (of a contract, agreement, etc.) binding the parties to do business only with each other with respect to a class of goods or services
10. (Philosophy / Logic) Logic (of a disjunction) true if only one rather than both of its component propositions is true Compare inclusive [5]

n (Communication Arts / Journalism & Publishing) an exclusive story; a story reported in only one newspaperexclusively adv
exclusivity [ˌɛkskluːˈsɪvɪtɪ], exclusiveness n

Collins English Dictionary – Complete and Unabridged © HarperCollins Publishers 1991, 1994, 1998, 2000, 2003

ThesaurusLegend: Synonyms Related Words Antonyms
Noun1.exclusive - a news report that is reported first by one news organization; "he got a scoop on the bribery of city officials"scoop
news report, write up, account, report, story - a short account of the news; "the report of his speech"; "the story was on the 11 o'clock news"; "the account of his speech that was given on the evening news made the governor furious"
Adj.1.exclusive - not divided or shared with others; "they have exclusive use of the machine"; "sole rights of publication"sole
unshared - not shared

2.exclusive - excluding much or all; especially all but a particular group or minority; "exclusive clubs"; "an exclusive restaurants and shops"inclusive - including much or everything; and especially including stated limits; "an inclusive art form"; "an inclusive fee"; "his concept of history is modern and inclusive"; "from Monday to Friday inclusive"

3.

exclusive - not divided among or brought to bear on more than one object or objective; "judging a contest with a single eye"; "a single devotion to duty"; "undivided affection"; "gained their exclusive attention"undivided, single
concentrated - gathered together or made less diffuse; "their concentrated efforts"; "his concentrated attention"; "concentrated study"; "a narrow thread of concentrated ore"
exclusiveadjective1. select, fashionable, stylish, private, limited, choice, narrow, closed, restricted, elegant, posh (informal, chiefly Brit.), chic, selfish, classy (slang), restrictive, aristocratic, high-class, swish (informal, chiefly Brit.), up-market, snobbish, top-drawer, ritzy (slang), high-toned, clannish, discriminative, cliquish He is a member of Britain's most exclusive club.
select open, public, common, popular, communal, unrestricted
2. sole, only, full, whole, single, private, complete, total, entire, unique, absolute, undivided, unshared We have exclusive use of a 60-foot boat.
sole shared, partial, inclusive, nonexclusive
3. entire, full, whole, complete, total, absolute, undivided She wants her father's exclusive attention.
4. limited, unique, restricted, confined, peculiar Infatuations are not exclusive to the very young.exclusive of except for, excepting, excluding, ruling out, not including, omitting, not counting, leaving aside, debarring All charges are exclusive of value added tax.

Collins Thesaurus of the English Language – Complete and Unabridged 2nd Edition. 2002 © HarperCollins Publishers 1995, 2002

(please do pay particular notice of the bold, underlined and in some cases, in red, items) Now, read the parts in the panels that I took from that file on my website that pertain to copyrights, both for the book itself and for all non book rights, then pay very close attention to where and when Publish America used the term "exclusive". Then tell me they only get the right to publish the book and not the copyrights themselves. For are not the copyrights the very things that you are signing away if you sign their deceptive piece of c**p contract? Do not the copyrights include the rights to the book and to being able to offer the book to possible movie, tv or other markets?

Now, did I misinterpret the line when they told me in that cancellation letter that they were returning my copyrights back to me? And if they returned those copyrights back to me, then that legally makes me the full owner of that book and that makes them guilty of not only copyright infringement, but also of theft, for they are not the originator, author or copyright holder of that book. And that is a major crime, if I am not mistaken.

And re the matter of getting a lawyer..................

That is a little hard when you are living on two hundred and seventy five dollars a month, half of which goes to pay to keep a computer so you can keep up with the other two publishers who have your books and who are shafting you also.

I welcome any responses. But i really would suggest whoever reads any of my posts on here go in first and read, view and really, really think about what i have on the "seeing is believing" page on my site.

i suffer an emotional illness...........

not a mental one.....................

and i don't take it lightly when people try shafting me..............

you might say my "evil twin" drops in for a visit.

d'racae'lyn

JulieB · Oct 1, 2010

Amber, please step away from the dictionary. Slowly. One of your definitions is Canadian. It's possible you may live in Canada, but your contract is with a US publisher.

Please read the link I posted before. It's very informative and will help clear up some of your confusion. Your rights are part of your copyright. You only have one copyright to a novel. That copyright is your package of rights. You may dole those rights out in any way you wish. You may grant a publisher rights in North America, and another rights in other countries. You may grant audio or movie or toy rights to entities other than the publisher. That's all under the umbrella of your copyright.

You did NOT sign your copyright away. You signed the rights away. Those rights have now been reverted to you. So yes, if they are still selling the book they could very well be in breach of contract.

Now, did I misinterpret the line when they told me in that cancellation letter that they were returning my copyrights back to me?

Yes, you did. Let's look at two lines from that letter:

Upon discontinuation of the Work, the author's rights to publish the Work, which are granted to Publisher herein shall revert to the Author.

The first paragraph of the letter states they are discontinuing the work. The second presumably quotes your contract. When they discontinue the work, they revert the rights to publish it back to you.

All rights under the copyright are herewith returned to you.

Look at the contract you posted on your site. On the first page: "1. Rights Granted:" They're asking for rights under your copyright. The letter they sent, as I said before, could have been worded better. However, the copyright has been YOURS all along.

Think of your copyright as a big umbrella, which covers your individual rights. You may send some of those rights off for a period of time, but the umbrella is still yours. You should NEVER sell the umbrella unless you've signed a work-for-hire agreement. (You didn't.)

As for an attorney, please check out Volunteer Lawyers for the Arts. (Here's a better list for you.) They might be able to help you.

P.S. I have a relative with an emotional disability. It's tough, I know. I wish you the best.

Marie Pacha · Oct 1, 2010

http://www.publishamerica.net/sc/productsearch.cgi?storeid=*246f25c8a4d9e3318335c441fbaf7811634e6063

Obviously, it is still listed on their website. That does not mean that an order would (or could) actually be processed, or that it would or could be sold.

It does mean they didn't do (in part) what they said they would in the letter they sent to you, but that letter is not the contract both you and PA signed.

Gillhoughly · Oct 1, 2010

Amber, take a deep breath and be a professional.

PA is used to dealing with angry writers and they tend to ignore them until they calm down.

We know you're angry, but that energy is working against you here with people who are only trying to help.

The writers here are your allies, many of them are published pros, and we are familiar with many of the points you've posted. So let's drop that, let's focus on the immediate topic.

The basic problem is PA still have your books up for sale on the website and you want them removed.

Write PA, send them a page link to the titles you want removed and let them know that they need to delete the book from their data base.

Keep it simple and to the point. Don't bother telling them how PO'd you are, they don't care. You're not the only angry writer they've dealt with and you won't be the last. Assume they don't give a rat's patoot about your feelings, because they do not and never will.

Rinse, repeat, in a calm manner until someone responds.

We know you're angry and want instant action, but steady persistence wins this race.

Assume they will be closed for the weekend and nothing will get noticed until Monday.

You may want to channel all that angry energy into some awesome writing this weekend.

Good luck.

thothguard51 · Oct 1, 2010

Amber,

Just a few observations.

1...You went public with this too soon. PA is known to search the AW forums and other writer sites for information on who is saying what about them. As has been shown in the past, PA really does not care what their authors are saying about them because for every bad comment they get a week, they get ten new authors signing with them.

2...In a court of law, you are going to have to prove damages. If PA has not sold a single copy of your book since the date of the letter, they can claim it was just an oversight and the judge will tell them to remove it. You should have ordered the book and seen if they would deliver it. Then you have proof that they are liable for copyright infringement. That is big bucks. Oversight ain't worth squat...

3...Petitions on line do not work against PA. Going to the Better Business Bureau does not work. Only taking PA to court would get Miranda and Cloppers attention.

4...You no longer have to go to arbitration since they released you from your contract with them. Court is the answer. But if you have a case, (and you are going to need a good literary lawyer to tell you yes or no), you might consider enacting a class action lawsuit against PA. In doing this, you could get other PA authors to join you with the evidence they have. If you can show a pattern of deception and abuse by PA, you might have a better chance than going it alone.

But I warn you... Larry and Miranda will more than like just close shop and open with a new name as an LLC before you get to court.

5...While I understand your frustration with PA, you have to think of the future. What do you hope to accomplish? You could take out full page adds warning writers about PA in every major newspaper in the country and PA will still have people signing with them because these authors want to believe in the fact that someone is going to publish their rubbish. (Not saying all PA authors are rubbish but the sad truth is the majority of PA books I have skimmed are no where near ready for commercial publication. Period.)

My suggestion, send PA a cease and desist letter from a lawyer and then move on. Worry about your next book and who is going to publish it. Worry about your good name and not tying it up in litigation for the next several years. Please take no offense, but PA did exactly no more than they had to do for you. Remember, in their contract, everything is at the publishers discretion. This is why authors should research everything, agents, editors and publishers.

In life...you get what you pay for...more or less.

I wish you the best...

Frye · Oct 1, 2010

I can't believe Publish America is even still around! Jilted authors have been exposing them (to my knowledge) since 2004. I was fortunate enough to read about them before I entered a contract. Barely - the query was already in a self-addressed, stamped envelope!

thothguard51 · Oct 1, 2010

Frye said:
I can't believe Publish America is even still around! Jilted authors have been exposing them (to my knowledge) since 2004. I was fortunate enough to read about them before I entered a contract. Barely - the query was already in a self-addressed, stamped envelope!

For every author who complains / exposes PA, ten new authors sign with them. PA knows this and counts on this fact.

Qbynewbie · Oct 1, 2010

I just went to the Publish America website. I was able to add Marilla and the Mermaid to my cart. I didn't check out and actually purchase the book but it most certainly seemed that I could have had I wanted to.

thothguard51 · Oct 1, 2010

Unless you receive the book, it still means nothing. PA can claim its an oversight or flaw...

d_racae_lyn · Oct 1, 2010

Okay, first response goes to Sir Gillhoughly, I am going to, much against my better judgment and definitely one hundred percent against every single ticked off vindictive little bone in my fifty two year old body, back down, calm down, and attempt, (and you will please notice that I said "attempt") to behave like a human lady with some form of decorum and not like the lady dragon who would like to go in and incinerate a certain publishing company. My two regrets are that I do not have a bank card and that I do not have the financial werewithall to order just one of those blinkety blanking books so that i would have irrefutable proof of their sins. But, alas, being as I have neither, I have to tuck my tail between my legs like a beaten cur and crawl up and act all nicey nice to get them to remove that book. And that does not sit well with me at all, not given the fact that I have had to do the very self same thing for my entire life, bending down to those that took advantage of me and used and abused me. But if needs must, then needs must. I will even close both of the pages on my website pertaining to them. But it kills me to do it. I am so d**n sick and tired of being the victim and being too poor to do anything about it. And do you know something, it is like so ironic that you should advise me to "channel that energy into writing", for that is precisely what happened shortly after finding the book still posted on their site. I was going through some of the posts that I reached by typing that lying sack of s***s name into google search, and the more I read, the madder I got. Well, I was right in the middle of reading one of the complaints when words started running through my head. As always occurs when that happens, I dropped what I was working on, and simply "let my fingers do the walking"...

this was the result....

I WROTE A BOOK NOT TOO LONG AGO
A SIMPLE LITTLE TALE AND SENT IT OUT INTO THE WORLD
NOT KNOWING I SOON WOULD WAIL.
AFTER MONTHS OF SEARCHING FOR A PUBLISHER
I FOUND ONE THAT SOUNDED SWELL
I SIGNED AWAY MY DREAM NOT KNOWING THAT
I WAS DEALING WITH A COMPANY STRAIGHT FROM HELL.
THEIR AD SAID THEY COULD PUBLISH MY BOOK
AND IT WOULDN'T COST ME A CENT SO BLISSFULLY UNAWARE THEIR CONTRACT I SIGNED AND OFF TO THEM MY STORY WENT. JUST LIKE A POLITICIAN THEIR FALSE PROMISES THEY DO NOT KEEP AND IF YOU SIGN THEIR CONTRACT I GUARANTEE YOUR ARE GOING TO WEEP! I SENT A DECENT MANUSCRIPT TO THEM BUT IMAGINE MY SHOCK AND SURPRISE WHEN I GOT THAT PROOFING GALLEY BACK THE WRECK THAT MET MY DISBELIEVING EYES. THEY TOOK MY LITTLE STORY AND MADE IT QUITE A MESS AND WHEN I ASKED THEM TO FIX IT THAT IT WOULD COST ME THEY DID CONFESS. WHENEVER I TRIED TO CONTACT THEM NO RESPONSE DID I EVER RECEIVE THAT SUCH A COMPANY COULD EXIST I REALLY COULDN'T BELIEVE. THEY HAD NO PHONE NUMBER I COULD CALL I GUESS MY MESSAGES WENT UNREAD THIS WENT ON FOR QUITE SOME TIME TILL THINGS FINALLY CAME TO A HEAD. SIX MESSAGES I SENT TO THEM ASKING THEM HOW TO TRACK THE PROGRESS OF MY BOOK I REALLY, TRULY DON'T BELIEVE THEY EVEN GAVE THOSE MESSAGES A LOOK! THE SEVENTH MESSAGE I'M AFRAID TORE A STRIP CLEAR OFF OF THEIR HIDE I LET THEM KNOW IN NO UNCERTAIN TERMS THE ANGER BUILDING UP INSIDE. THAT MESSAGE WAS SENT ON A WEDNESDAY THE FOLLOWING MONDAY A LETTER I DID RECEIVE AND WHEN I HAD OPENED THAT LETTER MY EYES I SIMPLY COULD NOT BELIEVE. THEY TOLD ME THEY WERE CANCELING MY BOOK THAT THEY HAD NO MORE IN STOCK THE THEY WERE PULLING IT FROM THEIR SITE THAT DAY WHICH I FOUND OUT LATER WAS A GREAT BIG CROCK! I CURSED AND CRIED AND PULLED AT MY HAIR BUT LAWYERS COST LOTS OF DOUGH AND BEING VERY POOR I COULDN'T AFFORD ONE SO I HAD TO LET THE MATTER GO. THAT IS UNTIL THE DAY, SEVERAL MONTHS LATER WHEN I WAS JUST SURFING THROUGH THEIR ONLINE BOOKSTORE A SHOCKING SIGHT MET MY DISBELIEVING EYES THAT SPARKED THE ANGER WITHIN ONCE MORE. THERE BETWEEN PAGES NINETY AND ONE HUNDRED IN THE FICTION SECTION MY BOOK WAS POSTED AS BIG AS DAY WHICH WAS ODD SINCE IT HAD BEEN CANCELED IN FEBRUARY AND I WAS NOW SEEING IT BOLD AS BRASS IN MAY! THAT VERY NIGHT I BEGAN TO GATHER ALL OF THE EVIDENCE THAT I FIND YES I DETERMINED ON THAT NIGHT I WOULD GET JUSTICE IF FATE WERE KIND. I HAD SAVED THAT LETTER THEY SENT ME AND ALL OF THEIR ''INCENTIVE'' EMAILS TOO I COULD NOT FIGHT THEM WITH MONEY BUT WITH WORDS...? NOW THAT I COULD DO! I GATHERED ALL OF MY OWN INFORMATION AND PUT IT INTO A SPECIAL FILE FOR THEIR EVENTUAL DOWNFALL I WAS PLOTTING ALL THE WHILE. AND AS I WAS GATHERING INFORMATION ONE DAY I WAS INSPIRED TO TYPE ''PUBLISH AMERICA'' INTO GOOGLE SEARCH AND FOUND ALL THE PROOF I COULD HAVE DESIRED. PAGE AFTER PAGE OF COMPLAINTS THIS CORRUPT COMPANY HAD BEEN MADE UPON BY AUTHORS WHO HAD FALLEN TO PUBLISH AMERICA'S LIES AND TO THEM THE AUTHOR'S STORIES HAD GONE. THERE WERE TALES OF UNANSWERED MESSAGES AND OF ROYALTIES THAT HAD BEEN UNPAID AND OF AUTHORS WHO HAD BEEN THREATENED FOR SPEAKING OUT OH QUITE A VALID CASE IT ALL MADE. SO I BEGAN TO MAKE A RECORD OF THOSE SITES AND IN WITH MY FILE THAT RECORD DID GO ONE WAY OR THE OTHER I WAS DETERMINED THE TRUTH OF THIS COMPANY TO WRITERS TO SHOW. I CREATED A LITTLE VIDEO TO POST ON THE INTERNET TO SEE IF THERE WERE ANY OTHERS LIKE ME WHOSE HELP I MIGHT SOMEHOW GET. ''TOGETHER WE STAND, DIVIDED WE FALL'' THIS SAYING IS ALL TO TRUE ONLY BY BANDING TOGETHER AS ONE CAN WE AGAINST THEM WIN THROUGH. THOSE WHO DO NOT BELIEVE ME SOLID, VERIFIABLE EVIDENCE I CAN PROVIDE THAT SHINES THE LIGHT OF TRUTH UPON THE TRUE NATURE PUBLISH AMERICA TRIES TO HIDE. IF YOU SHOULD WISH TO CONTACT ME THAT EVIDENCE I WILL GLADLY SHARE I AM NOT SIMPLY DOING THIS JUST FOR ME BUT FOR ALL WRITERS AND HOPE TO BE AUTHORS OUT THERE. I CAN BACK UP EVERY SINGLE ACCUSATION I CAN VALIDATE EACH AND EVERY CHARGE NO WRITER OR HOPE TO BE AUTHOR IS SAFE WHILE THEY ARE AT LARGE. SO LET THIS VERSE STAND AS A WARNING FROM EVERY SITE I CAN POST ON I WILL SHOUT ''BEWARE OF PUBLISH AMERICA!'' THIS IS AUTHOR AMBER MICHELLE SIGNING OUT!

Ain't it weird sometimes what inspires us?

Now, as to you Sir Thothguard, with your absolutely wickedly bad a** dragon avatar (which, by the way, where were you when I was trying to find a design to base D'ryth'nae, one of the main characters in my last book, on, hmmmm! Your avatar is D'ryth'nae to a "t"! Gold and with lots of attitude!) But, anyway, back to my response to you....you and the other gentlemen are right, much as it kills my very vindictive and ticked off little soul to admit it. And re the "keeping on writing", my question is this..

why?

why even try anymore? i am living in a house with next to no groceries, trying to exist on about two hundred and seventy five dollars a month, half of which goes to pay for this computer so that i can try to keep the other two companies that have my other three books from screwing me too. and so far it looks like i am going to face the same thing with them that i did with publish america, with one difference, i paid to have those three books published, and nearly starved for five months because of it. But I had a dream, and now that dream is nothing but ashes, for all four books. So again I say why? Why try anymore? Even if I wrote the worlds next best seller I couldn't get it published, I don't have the money. Have you ever tried to live on about fifty dollars a week? It is hard. i am weeping as i sit and write this post. I even wrote enough story line based on marilla and the mermaid to make about six twenty minute little animation episodes. it is called ''secrets of the sea''. it actually turned out pretty good. but that too was a shattered dream. so i am left with nothing, money gone, chance at a hopefully brighter future gone, hope gone. nothing matters anymore. i guess i just wasn't meant to have any happiness or fairness in this life.

anyhow, thank you for your time and your advice. at least when i think of you and the other gentlemen, i'll be comforted in knowing that at least someone got a fair shake in this rotten excuse for a life.

d'racae'lyn

but you want to know what breaks my heart the most? that i don't have the money to give to the gentleman that actually added that book to his cart so that he could have gotten it and sent it to me. i would have even broken my one biggest cardinal rule when dealing with anyone on the internet, i would have given him my address to send it. but alas, that too is a failed possibility due to my financial status.

Cyia · Oct 1, 2010

Hi!

I'm sorry your introduction to the board isn't under better circumstances, but I want to address something you said:

d_racae_lyn said:
keep up with the other two publishers who have your books and who are shafting you also.

If you're dealing with 2 other vanity presses besides PA, then you need to seriously look at how you're going about getting published. You seem to make the same mistakes over and over, which is leading you to the same results.

Wander around this site for a while and see how publishing really works. Let go of the books caught up with PA and the other 2 as they're not going to be viable for first publication. Write another, better book. You've evidently written at least 3, so you can write another one.

Edit it until you feel like it's finished, then get a beta reader and edit it again. The query AGENTS, not publishers. You'll be far less likely to land with a vanity pub that way, but still CHECK OUT ANYONE YOU QUERY BEFORE YOU SEND THE LETTER.

Marian Perera · Oct 1, 2010

d_racae_lyn said:
Why try anymore? Even if I wrote the worlds next best seller I couldn't get it published, I don't have the money.

I don't have much money either, but I didn't spend a dime to get my novel published - instead, it's earning me royalties. I'm a firm believer in writing for love but publishing for profit.

So I second Cyia's advice to you. Forget about the books that were printed by PA and the other vanity presses. Those were learning experiences. Write another book, research agents, send it out. These days, that can usually be done electronically, meaning you won't even be out the cost of a stamp. While you're waiting for replies, write another book. Repeat until acceptance.

JulieB · Oct 1, 2010

Even if I wrote the worlds next best seller I couldn't get it published, I don't have the money.

If your book is publishable, you don't need money. Publishers should pay YOU.

You read that right. Let's frame it:

Publishers should pay YOU.

Even if you end up with a micropress that pays royalties on sales only (no advance) you're still far better off than with PA or your other vanity publishers. I'd go so far as to say if you published yourself through Lulu or Createspace that you'd STILL be better off because you don't pay a dime.

Don't get mad - get even. How do you get even? Write a good book. Polish it until it gleams. Send it out to beta readers (We have a Share Your Work crit area right here or you can try a site like critters.org). Polish it again. Send it out. Keep polishing. Start in on your next book. Keep sending the first one out. When you sell to a commercial publisher, you'll get more than even, you'll be ahead!

Please see Cya's advice above. AW is chock full of helpful people and useful advice. And it's all FREE. We WANT to see you succeed.

Please do not give up.

P.S. You should hear the rejection stories from some of the writers who hang out here. I personally know at least one who was as dejected and demoralized as you are right now. The story has a happy ending, though. I've lost count of the number of books she's sold - all to solid commercial publishers. So hang in there.

Gillhoughly · Oct 1, 2010

Amber--what JulieB said.

Send emails to PA telling them to remove your book from the website.

We know you are angry and frustrated, but it's not going to improve the situation. You'll deal with things on Monday.

In the meantime:

Move forward with a new and better book.

Getting published is NOT supposed to cost you any money.

http://www.sfwa.org/2005/01/excuse-me-how-much-did-it-cost-you/

You get paid, you don't ever pay:

http://www.brendahiatt.com/id2.html

The trick is writing something that is worth buying.

You can achieve that by checking out the forums here, hone your craft, and back off the ALL CAPS.

The shouting is very off-putting. There are pros here trying to help you. Present yourself as a pro and you'll get the same respect.

Here is a free online copy of Elements of Style. All writers have that book and use it daily.

Unimportant · Oct 1, 2010

drl, I'll echo what the others here have said:

1. Paying money to publishers is an exercise in futility. They should be paying you, not the other way around. You said you write fantasy -- do you have any short stories, or novel excerpts that can stand alone? If so, go to www.duotrope.com or www.ralan.com and take a look at the hundreds of markets you can send your stories to -- often by email, so no postage costs -- and if they accept your story they will pay you money. Those sites also list book publishers. Take a look at each press's guidelines -- and their pay rates.

2. People here want to help you. They're more likely to bend over backwards to help you if you act like a professional. That means no shouting with all caps, no huge fonts, no railing against the universe.

3. Writers, like the gods, help those who help themselves. Do some research on publishing. Learn as much as you can. Workshop your stories and get feedback from other writers. Use Strunk & White etc to hone your craft.

4. See if you can find a way to spend less than the ~$150 per month you've said you spend to have a computer. Is it feasible to go to the public library a few times a week and use one of their computers so you don't have to have your own internet access? Can you downgrade your connection so that it's cheaper, or change ISPs?

No, it's not easy to get published. If you were to do a survey, you'd probably find that of the professionally published authors here who have novels with The Big Publishers, most of them will have spent five to ten years learning their craft, and most of them will have written five or six complete novels before they wrote one good enough to sell. And you'd probably also find that most of the writers here on AW have collected hundreds of rejections before they made their first sale. That's the reality of writing fiction -- for every book that gets published by a paying press, a thousand other books get rejected. The competition is very stiff. And that's why it's key to hone your craft, to behave like a professional, and to learn as much as you can about the publishing industry.

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