Saultite offered book contract for worst poems ever written
By Pete Vere
SooToday.com
Wednesday, May 23, 2007
This is not publishable quality," said James D. Macdonald, a well-known science fiction author and recognized expert on the publishing industry.
"I cannot imagine a market for this book other than the guys in your bowling league," Macdonald said.
So mortifying was the manuscript, that I had submitted it under the pseudonym of Giovanni "Hummertime" Verri, a fictional ultra-Libertarian ideologue I'd concocted for the amusement of readers of SooToday.com's editorial forums.
PublishAmerica nonetheless offered me a book contract.
"Dear Giovanni Pietro Verri," stated the letter from Tim Ratliff on behalf of PublishAmerica's acquisitions department. "Enclosed you will find two copies of our publishing contract."
"Welcome onboard, and congratulations on what must be a dream coming true!" the letter stated.
PublishAmerica is a controversial Maryland-based company that claims to be "a traditional advance and royalty-paying book publisher," launching authors "in the best tradition of old-fashioned quality publishing."
"We receive more queries from new authors than any other book publisher in the nation," the firm claims.
"Its founders decided that a well-written book is worth publication if the author can convince a publishing company that there are at least the seeds of a market out there, and that the author's talent holds a promise for the future,” the company states on its webpage.
How hard was it to convince PublishAmerica that Hummertime’s Painful Poetry by Alphabet, a potpourri of putrid poems, was a well-written work by an author who showed promise?
Well Sault Ste. Marie is a union town, so let's get started with Hummertime's thoughts on the working class:
[continue reading by clicking here: http://sootoday.com/content/news/full_story.asp?StoryNumber=24537]
By Pete Vere
SooToday.com
Wednesday, May 23, 2007
This is not publishable quality," said James D. Macdonald, a well-known science fiction author and recognized expert on the publishing industry.
"I cannot imagine a market for this book other than the guys in your bowling league," Macdonald said.
So mortifying was the manuscript, that I had submitted it under the pseudonym of Giovanni "Hummertime" Verri, a fictional ultra-Libertarian ideologue I'd concocted for the amusement of readers of SooToday.com's editorial forums.
PublishAmerica nonetheless offered me a book contract.
"Dear Giovanni Pietro Verri," stated the letter from Tim Ratliff on behalf of PublishAmerica's acquisitions department. "Enclosed you will find two copies of our publishing contract."
"Welcome onboard, and congratulations on what must be a dream coming true!" the letter stated.
PublishAmerica is a controversial Maryland-based company that claims to be "a traditional advance and royalty-paying book publisher," launching authors "in the best tradition of old-fashioned quality publishing."
"We receive more queries from new authors than any other book publisher in the nation," the firm claims.
"Its founders decided that a well-written book is worth publication if the author can convince a publishing company that there are at least the seeds of a market out there, and that the author's talent holds a promise for the future,” the company states on its webpage.
How hard was it to convince PublishAmerica that Hummertime’s Painful Poetry by Alphabet, a potpourri of putrid poems, was a well-written work by an author who showed promise?
Well Sault Ste. Marie is a union town, so let's get started with Hummertime's thoughts on the working class:
[continue reading by clicking here: http://sootoday.com/content/news/full_story.asp?StoryNumber=24537]
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