Blast from the Past

TwentyFour

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rihannsu

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Man, the reviewers say it all. Brutal, but honest.
 

CaoPaux

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Heh. In small defense, the title doesn't say "Mother's". But the cover designer should still be slapped upside the head for font/color choice that makes it read that way.
 

Marian Perera

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Well, I did say the word "mother" when I read this, though not in the context that PA may have intended.

All it takes is a little bit of encouragement, and the careers of great writers are launched.

No talent or hard work or research into the publishing industry needed.

Just one woman.

Miranda Prather?
 
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CatSlave

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I was looking for vol. one...couldn't find it, thanks. Here's the 200 authors:

http://www.amazon.com/dp/1413786464/?tag=absolutewritedm-20

Book Description
This work holds two hundred authors in one book, each with their own pages and each with their own stories to tell. These are the authors from PublishAmerica, and this is their book. To become a published author is a dream come true, but to share that dream is an even greater ambition. Inevitably, it is you, the reader, who ultimately decides which authors make that pinnacle of all heights-the BESTSELLER! From first being accepted by the publisher to holding those precious author's copies for the first time, each stage of publication is an amazing one. Each and every one of those stages makes the entire experience a reward in itself. For those of you who are pursuing your own dream of becoming a published author, this book will be an inspiration. For everyone, 200 Authors and How They Were Published will be an amazing insight into the lives of some very incredible authors. Although there are many publishers to choose from, all 200 authors featured in this book have chosen PublishAmerica-and with good reason. This publisher is amazingly supportive of new and existing authors, and they treat everyone with the respect they deserve. This book is personal; this book is special; this book is the TWO HUNDRED.

OK, who's going to contact these 200 authors for a follow-up interview in order to write the sequel:
200 Authors in Search of the Maryland Attorney General
 

rihannsu

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OK, who's going to contact these 200 authors for a follow-up interview in order to write the sequel:
200 Authors in Search of the Maryland Attorney General

200 Disgusted PA Authors Can't Be Wrong....
 

CatSlave

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I'd feel horrible contributing a book into the public like this, it is purely a marketing ploy to the families of the 250 authors. Imagine, 250 authors in Mothers of Writing who included 250 mothers in essays and stories. Those 250 authors would want a copy, plus the mothers (still living) and family of those women. Grandkids, aunts, uncles, fathers, mothers, daughters, sons, cousins...the list was endless for a probably 2 page (at the most) of each woman. $20.00*250 authors and 250 mothers...lots of money!

$10,000 for just those people...add to that husbands, sons, grandparents! Ten thousand from just the willing two people who had a book published with PA and those moms who let their story be published in the book. The book is nearly 300 pages in both volumes, that means around 2 pages for each mom.

Not unlike the poetry.com scam...
 

triceretops

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If you're inspired by these stories, do yourself a favor -- google "Publish America" and read some of the stories of the experiences other people have had with the company. Then decide for yourself.

Remember, money should always flow toward the author.


Money should always flow toward the author?

Tri
 

James D. Macdonald

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I love how the positive reviewers are either from PA authors or their friends.


That's because the only people who've ever heard of it are PA authors and their friends. Same as any other PA book, really. And the audience is the same: PA authors and their friends.

If they actually sold 200 copies of this book that would make it a wild success from PA's point of view.
 

spike

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James D. Macdonald

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Spike, the Authors' Mothers anthologies are different from the 200 Authors book. (The latter was two pages per author, advertising their own PA book.)

(Oh -- and 40 sales is still a solid win for PA, well into the profitable range, particularly with the exorbitant S&H they charge.)
 
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CatSlave

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And here's Volume 1:

Note that whacking huge Amazon sales number.
And a summary of the insightful reviews on the Amazon page:

I really didn't like it!
A Kid's Review
My friend's mom had this book. I read some of it, and it wasn't very good. There were spelling mistakes, and they put commas and things in the wrong places! My teacher would give them an F if she saw it. She gave me an F when I wrote like that. :(

Typical garbage from Publish America
I'm not sure why Amazon.com sells books from this publisher. All the ones I have encountered have been awful. This one is no exception. There is just no reason to purchase books from this publisher.

Amateur night
If the author cannot punctuate the title correctly what hope is there for the remainder of the book? And one wonders how this got past the editorial staff of the publisher.
This book will sell only to those listed therein.
 

DaveKuzminski

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While Amazon may have provided the forum for those reviews, the authors of those reviews haven't given away their copyrights so it's not really up to Amazon as to what happens to those reviews. At any rate, I don't think Amazon would really want to go down that slippery slope since it would eventually hit the excerpts they also make available from books. That would ignite an argument they couldn't win.

That said, those brief reviews are being shown here for the purposes of education. That should, in most instances, qualify as fair use expecially since that is one of the functions this forum succeeds in providing. After all, those reviews presumably come from the reading public and go toward showing its response to poorly produced (edited) books.
 

allenparker

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reviews

Amazon.com reviews are also posted on sites that are associates of Amazons. If you have a book with amazon, google yourself and you might find the reviews listed on other sites as teasers for your book.