The Old Neverending PublishAmerica Thread (Publish America)

The email offer for Ad

The email from PA states "All sales will be counted, since publishers don't distinguish between bookstores and individuals buying their books. Even books bought by the authors count!" So they are suggesting that a publisher doesn't distinguish whether a bookstore or the author buy the book? Even a Vanity press counts the percentages and (or if) royalties are involved differently between those two.

Does any other publisher *give* royalties to authors on the purchase of their own books? That is like getting back dividends on life insurance - a refund on a bit of the premium to sweeten the cost of the insurance in the buyer's eyes.

Re: "us vs. them"

Thanks, Jim, for proving me right by drawing the line in the sand between "us" and "them".

Nice to know you still consider me "them".

D. James

Re: "us vs. them"

You're only a "them" if you want to be, Cananda.

Re: The PA authors aren't the fools

OK, someone posted an IP address for Mr. Book a few days ago. These threads move too fast for me. Would someone repost it or point me to it, please? I need to compare it to another IP address.

Oh, and you want to talk about a "them?" He's a "them."

To anyone who's coming here from PA thinking that we're in any way affiliated with Mr. Book and/or the Amazon Slammer-- we're not. We think he's idiotic, too.

Times Tombstone

This "deal" with the NY Times sounds suspiciously like the same thing that Vantage Press has done for years: take out a tombstone ad in the Times each month listing their recent books. Just another thing PA has in common with a vanity press.

It has long been suggested that the term "tombstone" is very appropriate in describing the sales effect of this sort of ad.

Mr. Book I.P. address

A friend of mine tracked it down Jenna. This is what they found.

oh-lakeside-cadent1-bdg13-15a1-238.clvhoh.adelphia.net

It's coming from 3300 Lakeside Ave E, Cleveland, OH 44114, Bldg 13. I have the phone number to if anybody wants it.

Kevin

Re: The email offer for Ad

>>Does any other publisher *give* royalties to authors on the purchase of their own books?<<

The large houses (I'm not so sure about independents--I suspect it varies) pay royalties on authors' purchase of their own books at discount. But the author is specifically prohibited from re-selling those books--they're supposed to be for personal use only.

- Victoria

Re: The email offer for Ad

I don't get royalties on promotional copies sent to me.

Any beyond the number (usually ten or twenty) of free copies specified in the contract have their wholesale cost deducted from my royalties.

Like anything else, this is negotiable.

PA to the rescue

Check out this thread.

www.publishamerica.com/cg.../10646.htm

I see the infamous cb, aka infocenter, stepped in to save the day. They have to make people think their partnership with the Times is a good thing you know.

Man, we keep hijacking their threads over here, no wonder they are setting up a private board.

Kevin

PR Firm

I just talked to a PA author who has spent $16,000.00 on a PR firm. They have been trying to get 100 copies of her book for two months now and PA will not even respond to their request. She called PA and was told that it was just bad business for this PR firm to request so many copies. PA would only send 3 or 4 at the most. She was told the only way they would send 100 books was if she bought them herself and it would take 4-6 weeks to ship them. Her press release is slated to go out tomorrow.

Needless to say, she is devastated. :cry >:

Re: PR Firm

A press release for a book that comes without a copy of the book itself is worthless.

Re: and I'd like to buy a clue for $200, Alex...

*shakes head*

so where are HB and all the PA defenders now that this poor woman's been scammed?

oh, right... too busy mortgaging their homes for the NYT "deal"...

PR Firm

<blockquote><strong><em>Quote:</em></strong><hr>She called PA and was told that it was just bad business for this PR firm to request so many copies.<hr></blockquote>
I'm unsure whether the PR firm was willing to purchase 100 copies or wanted PA front them. If they wanted to have these copies fronted, I have to agree with PA to some degree. We, too, would have declined, but would have definitely offered them a discount.

Re: PR Firm

I'm unsure whether the PR firm was willing to purchase 100 copies or wanted PA front them.

Click to expand...

I believe they were asking for a discount on the same level that most bookstores would receive.

Re: PR Firm

A conventional publishing house would most likely be doing the publicity itself, at no charge to the author. If it's a very small house with no publicist of its own, or if an author wants to lay on additional PR resources, the PR firm they hired would start by getting in touch with the publishing house so they could coordinate efforts.

Taking two months to get back to your author's publicist is ... not professional. Among the many things that could be said of it.

I don't think her hired publicists were asking for a discount. I think they were asking to be given 100 copies to send out with a press release. That's not an automatic "yes" from a publisher, but there's nothing unreasonable about the request.

The only way it can be "bad business" to send out so many PR copies, as PublishAmerica claims, is if the business they're in doesn't involve selling books to the general public.

Re: PR Firm

<blockquote><strong><em>Quote:</em></strong><hr>I believe they were asking for a discount on the same level that most bookstores would receive.<hr></blockquote>
Yes, we would provide that, provided an author had a publicist. But, since we have our own marketing dept. the point is probably moot since I think our authors would be perfectly satisified to let us foot the bill for their publicity.

<blockquote><strong><em>Quote:</em></strong><hr>there's nothing unreasonable about the request.<hr></blockquote>
I quite agree, Hapi. To imply that it's bad business is, well, strange. As I stated above, there is no way we'd fork over 100 free copies anyone other than our marketing director, but there's nothing wrong in a PR firm asking. Have to start from somewhere, right?

Re: PA and NYT

I will not be purchasing any more of my books. Yay for PA (sarcasm). They're placing an ad with the NYT. Yet they're sticking it to the authors to pay for that ad and everything else.

Bah. They got enough of my money.

NO, no, no they've got it backwards

www.publishamerica.com/cg...e/5500.htm

Subject: A little "ad space" is an excellent start!

Message:
PA I congratulations! You've taken that first step in promoting authors that actually "sell books” for you! That's a good start and I hope it continues well past the three months. Reinvest a little $$$ in the talent you already have and watch want compotation does.

Incentive goes a long way not to mention it’s a good business investment.

Amo!
***************************8

Wrong, wrong wrong. I don't sell books for my publisher, my publisher sells my books.

PS What's compotation? I couldn't find it in the dictionary.
Dee
www.BrianHillAndDeePower.com

Re: NO, no, no they've got it backwards

Competition?

- Victoria

Re: Mr. Book I.P. address

The act of spreading compost on the authors?

PA and The NYT

How can this can possibly go over 3 months unless the top ten are always new authors?

It has nothing to do with the quality of the book.....only who can buy the most of their own books.

This is not a best seller list......it's the biggest buyer list.

Authors aren't selling books......they are buying books........some will max out their credit cards and have a garage full of books that they can't sell.

The top ten will be delighted the first month.......the others will try again........more books in the garage and their credit cards over loaded......

Ten will be delighted the 2nd month and the 3rd month, only the newbies can buy books.......the only ones laughing will be PA.

But then, we are "nuts" to think that PA isn't the greatest.

Molly

Re: The email offer for Ad

just wait and see... I think by the end of three months there may be a lot MORE upset authors than PA thinks. If they get a clue after maxing out their cards, they'll realise that sales aren't going to go anywhere if you can't GET your book to start with...

wonder how HB is going to justify maxing out his credit card to da missus...

Re: NO, no, no they've got it backwards

<PS What's compotation? I couldn't find it in the dictionary.>


LOL, Dee. You'll find lots of words "over there" that aren't in any dictionary. Did Amo write that message? Isn't he supposed to be their resident editorial expert?

Re: NO, no, no they've got it backwards

If it was compostition that would be competition of seeing who can stack the tallest pile of poop, PA or their booblehead authors.

Re: The email offer for Ad

<I think by the end of three months there may be a lot MORE upset authors than PA thinks. If they get a clue after maxing out their cards, they'll realise that sales aren't going to go anywhere if you can't GET your book to start with...
wonder how HB is going to justify maxing out his credit card to da missus...>


Either that, or they'll be running around applying for new credit cards to finance the next get-rich-quick scheme. As for HB, he doesn't strike me as one who'd be overly concerned about what the missus thinks.