oracle's odyssey

oracle

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I received a rapid reply from the Attorney General's Office of Pa. yesterday. The agent investigating PA sent an inquiry to a PA and one of their nimrods, a Jessica Lewis, responded. Judging from lack of writing ability, it is a wonder why she is allowed to represent her company. Of course, she denied my allegations of fraud and reiterated the usual mantra relating to PA's impeccable reputation. She also injected her share of outright lies and attacks on my reputation. What a company!
Anyhow, the A.G's agent requested I respond within fifteen days to Lewis' refutation of my allegations. Even though I have examples of PA's fraud and disreputable practices, I need to bombard the A.G's office with overwhelming proof of how PA operates. Therefore, I am seeking any and all stories from disgruntled PA authors describing how PA dealt with you. If any authors believe they were defrauded by PA or induced to sign a contract based on their misrepresnetations and false assertions, please forward your tales to me. This is an opportunity to voice your opinions and hopefully, provide the A.G's office with the necessary information to hold PA responsible for unethical and fraudulent business practices. If anyone is interested in forwarding ammunition to me, please respond to [email protected]. Your stories should be terse yet infomative. Any tales of unprofessional behavior, such as having the police show up at your door, or direct practices of fraud should provide interesting fodder for the AG to digest. I thank all of you in advance for your help. Nothing may come of this but the more the world realizes the true nature of PA, the better it will be for all legitimate authors. Hope to hear from you.
Oracle
 

Aconite

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Oracle, isn't the usual way of thing for people to send material to the AG directly, rather than to you? I'm sure you can understand why people might be hesitant to send such material to an anonymous person, considering that's a tactic scammers often use to find out what evidence the other side has, or to tempt them into saying something actionable.
 

oracle

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yep

Hey,

Never thought about your point. I can see where individuals might be hesitant to correspond with a stranger. I was just trying to expedite the collection of compalints authors have concerning PA. I can go through all the threads and choose which comments to highlight but I was looking for a shortcut. By the way, the AG does not want to be bombarded with scores of compalints unless they relate directly to an investigation. I probably have enough exibits to respond to PA's claims but thought individuals might like to express their opinions in a forum where they might have an effect. Anyhow, thanks for your imput.
Oracle
 

oracle

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To Aconite and others,

I may not have stated my case as succintly as I should have when I requested individuals to share theri horror stories with me so I could include them in my response to PA's denial of my claim against them. I have compiled a litany of stories from disgruntled PA authors. It is hard choosing individual ones from the numerous threads. When I tried to print an anecdote from one author, my printer spewed out fifteen pages. From my posting, I believe most readers would conclude I am attempting to merely inform all who are interested, including the press and investigative agencies, of PA's fraudulent practices. I certainly am no stooge for them.

My demand for arbitration with the AAA clearly spells out what I precieve to be outright fraund perpetrated by PA. I initiallly was only going to forward a copy of said demand to the AG since it stands by itself as a meritorous attack on the disreputable company. Adding revelations of fraud alleged by other authors would only have substantiated my allegations.

From what I have ascertained, my complaint with the Pennsylvania's Attorney General Office is the first time such an agency has inititated an investigation against PA. Maryland's AG would not even respond to my message. I hope also to be the second author to prevail in arbitration against them. I thought by soliciting feedback from PA authors, it would add feul to the fire I am attempting to light for the benefit of agencies who have serious doubts about PA's claim of respectibility. It would also provide a forum for former PA authors to vent theri frustrations.

I thank the more than fifteen individuals who have shared their stories with me. I truly believe my state's AG will carefully evaluate my allegations and hopefully react punitively against PA. This may be the best opportunity to air PA's dirty laundry.

I thank all for their imput and will provide updates as warranted.
 

James D. Macdonald

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If you want to sit down and do some reading, you might just look through the two NEPATs.

(While you're at it, look at Mindsight.)

You'll find horror-stories aplenty.

Also, send the PA attorney general a copy of Ten Percent of Nothing.
 

JennaGlatzer

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Oracle, if you don't mind, I'm going to copy your first couple of posts here, too, so people remember who you are and what you're doing.

I'll be glad to send you the letter I sent to my AG, too.

---

POST 1 from oracle:

Hello to everyone with my first official post. I hope I am in the right place. I have a new story regarding those lovely folks at PA and will try to be as terse as possible.

Being older than dirt and possessing advanced degrees, one would think that I would be impervious to the fraud that is being perpetrated by PA. But no, I have to admit I am a moron.

Three days after signing the restrictive contract with you know who, my teenage son apprised me of this fantastic forum. Aprrised me too late but so be it. After perusing the numerous comments by those affected by the disreputable company, I read every post I could locate. Read and read while becoming more and more depressed. After realizing I had been duped by an organization more devious than my criminal defendants, I attempted to rectify the situation. I contacted PA, requesting they agree to a recission of the contract. I cited facts and figures alluding to their practice of fraudulently inducing naive authors to sign with their company. I recieved a sarcastic reply within a week that must have been five or six pages long. I really didn't want to hear that Jamie Farr was a PA author or that many attorneys were in the PA camp. I never liked Farr on MASH anyway. The reply went on and on including a few tidbits relating to my intelligence. The author of the missive did not speak to my complaints or concerns but presented a bias analysis of the character of PA. The final sentence stated "the contract remains legal and binding. Have a nice day."

The person who wrote did not even have the cajones to sign his or her name. Such professional behavior.
I then began the task of regaining the rights to my novel, a mystery which has attracted the interest of two mainstream publishers. They may or may not wish to publish the same but the point is moot as long as I am under contract with the most disreputable orgnaization with which I have had the displeasure of interacting. I have complained and corresponded with all of the alphabet agencies, even received two replies. I then spoke with one of the most knowledgeable attorneys I have ever met. He was nice enough to spend over an hour on the phone with me, apprising me of the arcane field of arbitration law. Since my field of expertise, if you will, was criminal law, my knowledge in this area is limited. The gist of the matter is I acquired more than a modicum of knowledge and feel comfortable in arbitrating the issues when I arbitrate the case.

I have informed sixty of my associates and family (whose names PA requested) of their reputation and they have agreed to return any correspondence they might receive and to alert their friends of my dealings with them. My sons are corresponding with the journalism departments of a slew of universities and forwarding concerns about the company. I have written to several newspapers delineating my plight and plan to correspond with as many editors as possible.

If I still am solvent, I hope to place several ads in major newspapers alerting the public to what many consider to be a gigantic fraud. Since I plan on only speaking the truth, I feel immune to any defamation charges their attorney, Victor Cretella, may levy. Truth is an absolute defense to actions in libel or slander.

I better close or I wlll never be allowed acces again. The filing fee to arbitrate my case is $750.00 but it will be money well spent if I have my day in court. If allowed, I will keep the forum apprised of future events. If anyone wishes to share horror stories, feel free to contact me at my private e-mail, [email protected]

Thanks for listening.
 

JennaGlatzer

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Post 2 from oracle:

Hello to all,

I continue to find it remarkable that in my semi-regular visits to this forum, I still find horror stories concerning PA. How this company has remained operational for seven years is beyond me. For those of you able to sit through a small novella (Pithy is not in my vocabulary) I would like to offer my opinion regarding PA's contract and an update on my wars with those dastardly scalawags. Here goes. Please be advised I am not giving legal advice.

How does one rescind a contract with PA? When I began my research, I had doubts they would release me. Due to the insightful comments by Ms. Strauss and Mr. MacDonald, two individuals who write as intelligently as most lawyers with whom I have done battle, and the ocntributions from the knowledgeable participants at the cooler, I gained more than a modicum of knowledge about that disreputabel company. Ever since I began my quest, I believe I have read every comment written about PA. I have conversed with disgruntled PA authors and others who have experienced the anguish of dealing with them. My condolences to all.

I should pay my thanks to PHil Dolan for his invaluable advice and attorney Charles Petit for the time he spent discussing my claim. I am indebted to both.

There are two methods one can pursue to sever relationships with THEM. You can send a pretty please e-mail begging them to release you and promising them you will never, ever say a bad word about their wonderful company. If you take this approach, you must be on your knees and bow respectfully in the direction of Frederick, Maryland. If they deign to accept your obseqious plea, they will require you to sign a release whereby you promise to forego making any disparaging comments about them for as long as you live. You may also have to promise them possession of your first born son.

The second approach allows you to retain your dignity and hoepfully cast a financial arrow into their hearts. This is by initiating arbitration proceedings with the American Arbitration Association, (AAA) a process which I have undertaken. Has anyone ever wondered why only one ex-author has won an arbitration case against PA? Possible it is because Phil Dolan may be the only one who has intitiated proceedings. I do not know this for a fact but suspect other authors with legitimate claims simply have not taken this step. In my analysis of PA, I believe they are vulnerable to a strong legal attack.

The basis of my claim is that PA, through their web site, e-mails and other propaganda, fraudulently induced me to sign with them and that by relying on said fraudulent inducements, I incurred financial and emotional detriment, i.e. damages. These specific terms are familiar in breach of contract cases.

As little as two months ago, PA's web site (they have since made some changes) promised that I would be one of an exclusive, limited number of authors that PA accepted into their family. "Over 80% of submissions are rejected," they proclaimed. In my Demand for Arbitration, I attached over 130 Exhibits, some of which exposed the above declaration to ridicule. PA will accept just about anything from anyone on any subject. I relied on this statement, among others, when I signed the contract.

PA's books are in all the major bookstores was another claim which enticed me to hand over a portion of my soul. Not according to the officers at the major bookstores was my reply. I personally checked out my local B&N and could not find one, count it, one book by a PA author. The store's manager informed me that they will only order a PA book if a customer requests such.

PA"s books are fully returnable. Maybe in Bejing but not in the fruited plains. This is the major reason bookstores refuse to stock PA's books.

PA's authors are invited to do book signings every day is a really laughable claim that is touted on PA's new web site. Really? Just applying logic, why would a bookstore, unless it is owned by a PA author, pay homage to a company that has an industry-wide reputation for unprofessionalism?

PA is not, in any sense of the word, a POD publisher. Ask any knowledgeable insider of the publishing industry and you will receive a refutation of that claim. PA is simply a modern day version of a vanity publisher attired in fraudulent clothes.

My next allegation concerns paragraph four of their contract. It reads, "Copyright shall be taken out in the name of Author in the USA, and in foreign countries." What would a reasonable person infer from that statement? That PA will do what it takes to copyright your manuscript is my interpretation. But all they do is provide the forms for the author to fill in and send to the copyright agency with a check for $30.00. In my opinion, this paragraph is an outright lie and could provide the basis for recission by itself.

Paragraph 17 states that sales promotion, advertising and publicity shall be at the Publisher's election and discretion.... What if the PUblsiher elects, in his diecretion, not to promote the book? This clause is very close to what I would consider to be a contract of adhesion, wherein one party assumes no duty at all but gains a contractual advantage.

I did not even bother to dissect the other paragraphs of the contract. Victoris Strauss' analysis is as good as I could produce. My point is there are several avenes wherby an individual could allege breach of contract or fraudulently inducement and obtain a favorable verdict.

If the above analysis is accurate, then why has only one individual been abel to prevail? Money is the only reason I could imagine. I expect to expend, not counting fees for expert witnesses, close to $2000 for the right to present my case. In my prayer for damages, I am requesting almost $9000 in actual damages and $60,000 in punitive damages. These are damages that some courts award to punish an especially egregious defendant and also act as a warning to other potential defendants. I do not know if the AAA will entertain such a request but believe it does have some merit. Here is how I arrived at this contention.

In every contract, there is an implied warranty of good faith, that each party will do nothing to retard the execution of said contract, that the parties will, in my words, act as professionals. My contention, one whcih I will strongly urge the arbitration panel to adopt, is that PA's inprofessional behavior, coupled with their misleading, fraudulent and false inducements, justifies the awarding of punitive damages.

Digression: After I sent my third e-mail requesting recission of the contract, I received a sarcastic and possible libelous response from a writer who did not have the courage to sign her, his or its name. The writer castigated me for my scurrilous behavior as a mother would chastise her child for misbehaving. (the big adjectives are mine not PA's. I doubt few employees know their meanig) It suggested I should apologize to PA for my unprofessional behavior. Talk about the pot calling the kettle black! Now have any of you heard of a company or organization who communicates with clients in such a manner? I do not and I have been around since Taft was president.

This e-mail provides the basis for my request for punitives. It may be a stretch in defamatory actions but it affected me mentally and offended the individuals who read it, especially my two teenage sons. PA is an unprofessional company who specializes in browbeating and intimidating its clients. It defames individuals who dare stand up to it. It misleads hopeful authors who rely on its fraudulent inducements. It is a pimple on the world's derrier.

I hope that the above, opinion not advice, will help those in untenable positions with respect to PA. After I conlude my arbitrtion hearing, I will formulate some type of template which others may use if they file for arbitration. PA"s attoney, Victor Cartella, should have his copy of my Demand for Arbitration by Monday. Assuming he doesn't send the cops to my house as he did to another individual who was only expressing his First Amendment rights, I expect his reply within the seek. Even if he decides to release me from my contract, I still may decide to pursue my remedies. This company must be exposed so that others are not damaged. If I do not pervail, I hope those that follow will have more success. I will keep the cooler apprised of future developments. The best to you all.

Oracle signing off
 

Kevin Yarbrough

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Oracle, you can use my story if you want. I'll post it here for all to see.
September of 2002 I signed a contract with PublishAmerica thinking they were a commercial publisher that accepted books on their merit, edited them, and got them into bookstores. All of this information I gained from their website and on their contract. I couldn't have been more wrong.
In June/July of 2004 I decided to check the validity of one of PublishAmerica's claims, the claim that they reject 80% of the submissions they recieve. I took thirty pages of a work in progress and copied it over and over until it was book length and sent it to them. They accepted it. When I went online to reveal the truth that PublishAmerica accepts anything, that they don't even read the submissions, the contract was rescinded.
September 22, 2004 a letter was sent to the FBI, my local law enforcement, and to me by PublishAmerica's lawyer, Victor Cretella, stating that what I did was fraud and since it was done over the internet it was wire fraud as well. That night my local police showed up and told me to "fix things" with PublishAmerica or they would arrest me for deceptive practice. I tried to call and email PublishAmerica as well as their attorney about how this could be fraud, but I never received a reply back from either of them. My local police never returned as well.
What I did is not considered fraud and PublishAmerica and Victor Cretella knew this, but yet they sent the letter anyway in an attempt to harass me for revealing the truth. This was harassment since a few weeks after what I did a group of authors sent in the worst book that has ever been written and a month later another PublishAmerica author sent in a "sting" manuscript and neither the group or this other author were sent letters stating fraud or had the police come to their house and threaten to have them arrested.
PublishAmerica's fraudulent information on their website induced me to sign their contract. Their lies invoked me to verify the validity of their statements which is what led to the situation I mentioned above. This is an unproffesional company that uses lies and fraudulent misinformation to get people to sign with them. They then use bullying tactics, verbal abusive emails, and threats of being incarcerated to keep their authors in line.
 

oracle

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Hello to All,

Havn't had too much free time to visit the forum what with my ongoing dispute with PA and my research for my second novel. I wish to thank all who offered advice and communicated their horror stories re: the wingnuts at PA. I am pleased to announce that after five months of dealing with the scam artists and numerous hours spent constructing a case against them, I finally received me outright release a week ago. No gag order, no restrictions whatsoever. Just a four sentence letter agreeing to my request for termination. To say I am pleased would be a gross understatement.
For all who continue to fight the good fight, I offer one word of advice-perservere. If they released me, others certainly have a shot. Again, thanks to all and the best to authors everywhere.
 

TwentyFour

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Oracle, are you aware Jessica left PA and Prather took her place, I believe. Maybe it had to do with all this trouble?