To James D MacDonald, i am new to this site and honestly don't know how to use it, please can you help me with my problem. I just signed a contract with pa on Feb 9th this year and i haven't sent them my completed manuscript.
If you signed a contract you are bound by it, until it's terminated.
its a poetry book that wasn't long enough for them to publish so they gave me till April 1st to finish it and send to them.
Whether you send them more poetry is entirely up to you.
You should be aware that there is almost no commercial market for poetry books. Most of your poets self-publish and use non-traditional means of distribution (e.g. selling copies from the back of the hall at poetry readings). You could just use PA as a (very expensive, poor quality, unable-or-unwilling-to-deliver-books-on-time) printer, since virtually all the books you'll sell are ones that you sell yourself (like almost all the other poets in America).
i have sense then found this site and now want out of the contract. the only process we have done is getting my information. what can i do .? please help me. i sent them a letter both via email and snail mail that i was sorry and to terminate my contract because i can not afford to buy my own books. what else can i do...thank you MR. MACDONALD for your time
The news that you're unable to buy copies of your own book may well cause them to release you from the contract. If it doesn't ... just go forward and forget this book for the next seven years. You'll write more and better, and sell them better places.
Check
here for markets for your poetry. Where do you find the poetry that you read? Get those places' guidelines and submit your work in accordance with those guidelines. Consider publishing chapbooks via lulu.com and electronic editions through smashwords. Or, for hard-copy books, rather than POD, you might do better getting short runs made up at a local print shop (check your phone book). Yes, you'll be selling them yourself, just like the PA product, but you'll very likely have a better-looking product, that you can sell for a lower cover price yet still get a better dollar return than buying the equivalent number from PA for resale.