Action Request: PA (New person to write to... quick!)

Folks, use this URL instead: http://www.bartlett.house.gov/

I just came from that site. I couldn't find his email address, but he does have a fax number listed along with his mailing address. Looks like one of those will have to suffice unless someone finds his email address.

PA and what everyone should have known

Didn't anyone figure out that PA would publish anyone? My gosh, it was pretty obvious from the beginning that this was a scam. No editioral review, everone gets published, the feel good party should have been enough to clue you in that something was wrong. Surely each of you went the traditional route with its rejection and all. Then along comes Publish America on a white charger and they take you on. Surely after every editor in the world said NO, there must have been some clue that this was not totally legitimate--surely. I have little sympathy for those who are so gullable. Didn't your momma tell you there was a Big Bad Wolf? If she did, you didn't listen.

Methinks I smell a troll, but what the hey.

Bod, old sock, I'll give you a point for partial credit. Yes, there's a lot--NOW--on the web about PA; anyone who Googles the name will see that. But a lot of folks signed with them when they first appeared on the scene, back in 2000-2001, before there was a whole lot of solid info on them.

Is PA run by professional con men? Yep, sure is. Problem is, a lot of folks didn't know it then; that's the "con" in con men. So perhaps, just perhaps, mind, if might serve you to be a bit less snotty and supercilious in your attitude; that'll go yards in helping folks here take a shine to you.

Or not. Your choice.

Ain't America grand?

John

Mine is written and will be faxed in the morn.

A couple of addendums

A couple of things to note for people who are writing to Congressman Bartlett.

1. If you are not in the US, Writer Beware's attorney says concentrate on writing to the authorities in your own country, and forget writing to Congressman Bartlett's office. Write to whatever equivalent you have of the Attorney General and the Federal Trade Commission and tell them you've been scammed by an American company, and ask that they aid you in getting out of your contract, etc.

2. If you write to Congressman Bartlett's Office and they write back and say you shouldn't be writing because you are not a consitutent, write back and remind them that Publish America is located in his district, and that the people running it are his constitutents. Ask that he check out this scam that's being perpetrated in his own district.

3. If you write to Congressman Bartlett, you might want to tell his office you were referred by Ben Abrams, a staffer from Congressman Steny Hoyer's office. This is the truth. Ben Abrams is the person who suggested that PA authors and Author Advocates write to Congressman Bartlett. I have his email to that effect right in my files.

I'm going to try and get a better email address for Bartlett's office today.

I'll post it when I can.

Best,

-Ann C. Crispin
Writer Beware
www.writerbeware.com

Kind of strange the congressman doesn't have a working email addy on his website. Oh well, got mine faxed. Hope it helps.

John

Here's the best I can do for email for Rep. Bartlett: http://www.bartlett.house.gov/emailissues.asp

James D. Macdonald said:

Here's the best I can do for email for Rep. Bartlett: http://www.bartlett.house.gov/emailissues.asp

Click to expand...

If you try to put your real address in, it will refuse your email if the zip code doesn't match those within his district. Looks like you either have to lie about the zip code or send him correspondence through fax or regular mail.

More Info on Writing to Bartlett

Hi, Folks.

Here is some info about contacting Congressman Roscoe Bartlett, the Representative for Maryland's Sixth Congressional District, which includes Frederick, MD.

1. The Congressman's snail address is:

Congressman Roscoe Bartlett
2412 Rayburn House Office Building
Washington, DC 20515

If you send your letter priority mail, it may reach the Congressman sooner than just first class, but some extra days are added these days when smail mailing any member of Congress due to security screening procedures. There's just no way around that.

The best way to reach the Congressman is probably by faxing.

2. The Congressman's fax number is:

(212) 225-2193

3. Jim Macdonald posted an email address that may work. If you try going through the one on the Congressman's site, and they ask you for a ZIP code, one ZIP code for Frederick MD is 21701.

4. The Congressman's office number (voice) is:

(212) 225-2721

Remember, you are writing at the suggestion of Staffer Ben Abrams from Rep. Steny Hoyer's office.

Hope this helps.

Let's make Congressman Bartlett's staff (and possibly him!) aware that something is rotten in the town of Frederick, MD!

-Ann C. Crispin
Writer Beware
www.writerbeware.com

AC Crispin said:

Let's make Congressman Bartlett's staff (and possibly him!) aware that something is rotten in the town of Frederick, MD!

Click to expand...

Should we send him a copy of a PA book? That might get his attention.

I've also

cc'd to my reps and congressmen.
Mike Dewine
George Voinovich
John Boehner

Point, maybe they will pressure, or ask Congressman Bartlett about it.

A company in his district is bilking their constituents.

For anyone hesitating to join any of the letter-writing campaigns because they don't know the correct forms of address:

for a state senator
The Honorable (Name)
State Senate
State House
Address
Dear Senator ________:


for a United States senator
The Honorable (Name)
United States Senate
Washington, DC 20510
Dear Senator ________:


for a state representative
The Honorable (Name)
House of Representatives
State House
Address
Dear Mr. ________:
or
Dear Representative ________:


for a United States representative
The Honorable (Name)
U.S. House of Representatives
Washington, DC 20515
Dear Congressman or Congresswoman ________:


for a governor
The Honorable (Name)
Governor of (State)
State House
Address
Dear Governor ________:

A response

I'll have to fax my letter evidently to have it read.

Mr. Bartlett's office responds.

As you may know, I receive many e-mail messages every day. Due to the
high volume of e-mail, I can only respond to residents in the 6th
Congressional District of Maryland.

It might not hurt to mention the recent media articles about PA and mention that more are coming out that are equally unfavorable to PA.

Sigh...there are times I wish I was American. Companies like PA burn me up just thinking about them. I know Ann said to write to the authorities in our own country, but who would that be? Also, has PA ripped off Canadians too?

I filled out Roscoe Bartlett's "Issue Email Form" on 12 June. I hadn't read this thread, so I puzzled over the problem of the Maryland address... especially since I'm not even in the USA. In the end, I inserted PublishAmerica's address in the City and Postcode fields, and my own UK address in the 3 address lines (and in the letter). Then I explained what I'd done and why:

Dear Rep. Roscoe Bartlett,

I apologise for using the address of PublishAmerica in the form section that asks for City and Zip. The fact is that my letter is about PublishAmerica, which operates in Maryland.

I am hoping that, in your capacity as Congressman representing the state of Maryland, you will be able to redress the dishonest business practice carried out by PublishAmerica.

This company has misled thousands of writers through false advertising; it has crushed the hopes of many aspiring authors in the USA and, lately, also in the UK and other countries.

I will briefly submit to you my experience with PublishAmerica and its UK subsidiary, PublishBritannica.

Etc. etc.

Click to expand...

I got an automated answer saying: "I receive many e-mail messages every day. Due to the high volume of e-mail, I can only respond to residents in the 6th Congressional District of Maryland."

My question is: should I try again? Should I try faxing?

Even though he won't answer me, he should have received my letter. That is, unless his secretary discards all correspondence not from Maryland before passing it on to him. I also didn't mention Staffer Ben Abrams (because I hadn't seen this thread).

Any News

I miss the other message board and have been watching AW. No one is posting any thing. Is there any news? Has anyone gone ahead and contacted the Frederick County State's Attorney Scott Rolle. I don't think Mr. Bartlett will be much help.

bodacious said:

Didn't anyone figure out that PA would publish anyone?...

Click to expand...

Yesterday I read a PAMB post from someone whose unfinished (apparently barely begun) fiction manuscript was accepted by PA. The poster was concerned about copyright, and did not even realize that one cannot copyright what does not yet exist in tangible form. A few folks responded informatively, but unevenly. With all due respect to the folks who are endeavoring to write (a novel or whatever), it is a high hill to climb when they do not realize that real publishers do not accept proposed manuscripts from unknown, unpublished writers. Who knows ... the writer in question might, when the manuscript is completed, actually have something that could (perhaps with further work) interest a real agent or publisher, but the writer will never know, having been unaware of even the most basic, most rudimentary rules and practices of publishing. Yet the writer was apparently very pleased to have had the nonexistent manuscript "accepted" for "publication" by a "traditional publisher." (I personally know others like that.) Such folks, however naive, are unwitting spokespersons for PA and, in my opinion, probably tend to counter the facts presented by those who do know the score. The dispute can be viewed as a matter of opinion, where views differ and no one has a lock on the truth; hence politicians and bureaucrats have another basis on which to sidestep the issues (another besides the business-to-business argument).

All in my humble opinion.

--Ken

ResearchGuy said:

Frankly, in my opinion, you are wasting your time writing to politicians. At best you will get a computer-generated response focused on keyword(s) identified in the letter. It may bear no relation to the meaning of the letter -- on pretty much any topic. A seemingly meaningful response is simply the result of a lucky reading by the computer. (I am a credentialed political scientist who has worked in government and politics--mostly government--since the Nixon administration. I know these things.)

--Ken

Click to expand...

Ken, a short time ago I would've agreed with you, but a few months back, I e-mailed my own state Senator about an issue coming up for vote in Illinois and explaining my concerns about it and why I wanted him to vote against it. Much to my surprise, the next business day the Senator called me back personally to confirm which bill I was referring to because he was having trouble locating information about it and wanted to perform his own research on what I had indicated so he could make an informed decision.

If the people talk, they will listen.

Birol said:

Ken, a short time ago I would've agreed with you, but a few months back, I e-mailed my own state Senator about an issue coming up for vote in Illinois and explaining my concerns about it and why I wanted him to vote against it. Much to my surprise, the next business day the Senator called me back personally to confirm which bill I was referring to because he was having trouble locating information about it and wanted to perform his own research on what I had indicated so he could make an informed decision.

If the people talk, they will listen.

Click to expand...

It sounds as though your state Senator is a on the ball and you wrote well and about a meaningful issue. It is good to hear of such a case. But I have seen too many cases where letters drew only form-letter responses--sometimes completely off point--to have confidence that effective communication is the rule.

Nearly 40 years ago I spent a summer as a congressional intern, among other duties answering mail (drafting responses for the congressman to sign). Even then, primitive mechanical devices were used to generate form responses to some mail. The volume of mail to Congress has to have skyrocketed since those days, and the capacity for computer-generated responses has grown enormously, making personal attention extraordinarily rare now. The odds may be better at more local levels, in smaller jurisdictions.

BTW, I revised and then deleted the msg. to which you replied. I decided it was too far off point.

--Ken

In 1998 I spent a year working in a Congressional Representative's office.

We read, classified, and responded to every piece of mail--sometimes with a standard letter, true, but if it was an issue we didn't have a letter for, someone would research the issue, draft an answer, and have the answer approved.

That said, the e-mail system may have been different then, and I don't know what kind of automatic filtering Congressman Bartlett has in place. It would really be best for someone in his district to write and reference all the other letters.

changling said:

I've also

cc'd to my reps and congressmen.
Mike Dewine
George Voinovich
John Boehner

Point, maybe they will pressure, or ask Congressman Bartlett about it.

A company in his district is bilking their constituents.

Click to expand...

A response from my congressman


Dear Ken:

Thank you for contacting me regarding your grievance
toward PublishAmerica. It is good to hear from you.

Please be aware that as a Congressman, I can only write
and vote for legislation, not enforce laws. If you believe you have
been illegally wronged, I respectfully suggest contacting the
appropriate law enforcement authority. Because this happened
across state lines, the FBI might be able to assist you. In the
meantime, you may wish to report this business to the Better
Business Bureau.

Thank you again for contacting me regarding this important
issue. Please continue to keep me informed of your concerns.

Sincerely,



John A. Boehner

I don't think Bartlett is going to take action against a hometown business with international ties. He is not ready to committ political suicide yet. He has books printed by local Pennsylvania publishers, although not PA. I bet Meiners and Cloppers have been in his district office a time or two having coffee with the staff assistant discussing ways PA can assist in his next election. Bartlett gets thirty percent or better of his campaign financing funds from printers and publishers.