The New Never-Ending PublishAmerica Thread (NEPAT)

janetbellinger · Mar 26, 2006

I don't think we should have to rely on our friends, to buy our books. If they do choose to buy them, it should be done freely, not because they feel obligated to do so. I want my readers to buy my book because they think it will be a good read, not because they think they have to. The same goes for fellow authors. Over at PA, authors seem to feel they need to buy each other's work. This is just adding insult to injury, in my opinion. I mean, I would buy one, but only if it met my criteria for a good book, and it would have stiff competition, because I am very particular. I don't want to stiff other authors to buy my book, anymore than I want my friends to feel they are under obligation to do so.

Janet

AC Crispin · Mar 26, 2006

I Left a Message on the Frederick News-Post Blog

I signed on and left a message on the Frederick News-Post comments forum. I hope it may do some good.

The Frederick News-Post Forums - Scam Publish America in the News Post Again!

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

Sheryl Nantus · Mar 26, 2006

janetbellinger said:
I don't think we should have to rely on our friends, to buy our books. If they do choose to buy them, it should be done freely, not because they feel obligated to do so. I want my readers to buy my book because they think it will be a good read, not because they think they have to. The same goes for fellow authors. Over at PA, authors seem to feel they need to buy each other's work. This is just adding insult to injury, in my opinion. I mean, I would buy one, but only if it met my criteria for a good book, and it would have stiff competition, because I am very particular. I don't want to stiff other authors to buy my book, anymore than I want my friends to feel they are under obligation to do so.

Janet

*applauds loudly*

exactly!

it's like getting reviews from friends and family - while it's all nice to have them stacked up like cordwood in your Amazon rating and on your website, they're not going to be *honest* reviews that will truly reflect your novel. Get reviews from people you *don't* know and don't count on sales from your family and friends to make your day. If they buy it, great.

there's nothing worse than a family member or friend pushing their newest product on others - whether it's Avon, Amway or PublishAmerica, it's 'orribly impolite and hard to stay nice in the long run.

surfwordz · Mar 26, 2006

Thanks for the heads up...[/QUOTE]

Word!!!

DeePower · Mar 27, 2006

PR for PA?

Here is a news release from March 24, 2006

http://www.send2press.com/newswire/2006-03-0324-006.shtml

About PublishAmerica:

PublishAmerica is the home of 17,000 talented authors. PublishAmerica is a traditional publishing company whose primary goal is to encourage and promote the works of new, previously undiscovered writers. Like more mainstream publishers, PublishAmerica pays its authors advances and royalties, makes its books available in both the United States and Europe through all bookstores, and never charges any fees for its services. PublishAmerica offers a distinctly personal, supportive alternative to vanity presses and less accessible publishers.
# # #

NEWS SOURCE: Amy Frost

MEDIA CONTACT(S):
[ not for publication or the public ]

Danielle McDonald
Public Relations Department
PublishAmerica:
for Amy Frost
[email protected]
+1-301-695-1707

Wouldn't it be a kick if someone sent Danielle a link to all the unfavorable articles about PA, just so they would be up to speed?

Dee

Gabriele · Mar 27, 2006

DeePower said:
PublishAmerica pays its authors advances and royalties

Well, maybe it's enough for a Happy Meal at the Restaurant of the Golden Double Arc.

Nexusman · Mar 27, 2006

DeePower said:
Here is a news release from March 24, 2006

http://www.send2press.com/newswire/2006-03-0324-006.shtml

Looks like the typical mail-merged PA press release that's been done to death. I'm sure this book will "resonate with an audience."

Admittedly, the author is quite easy on the eyes.

-Nick

Sassenach · Mar 27, 2006

The author '[redacted] is a person with creativity. She has always been curious of life and what living had to offer. She has always seen the way people lived and wondered a lot about why we have been brought in this world. What is the purpose of life?'

That makes me want to grab my credit card and order.

ResearchGuy · Mar 27, 2006

A whole lotta resonatin' goin' on

Painful: http://www.google.com/search?hl=en&lr=&q=%22resonate+with+an+audience%22+PublishAmerica&btnG=Search

Lots of them pertain to Atlanta Nights, but those that don't are just sad.

PublishAmerica expressed confidence today that Ms. Cassella-Young's book will quickly resonate with an audience.

Ms. McMaster Conroy’s book will quickly resonate with an audience.

Mr. Williams' book will quickly resonate with an audience. ...

He contacted a publishing house named PublishAmerica who felt Harm's book would quickly resonate with an audience. They purchased the publishing rights in ...

PublishAmerica expressed confidence today that Ms. Kidwell's book will quickly resonate with an audience. The company believes that The Year I Lost My ...

Publish America announces their acquisition rights for Susan Richmond's second ... today that Ms. Richmond’s book will quickly resonate with an audience. ...

. . . Etc. Etc. Etc. . . .

Mr. Chavez's book will quickly resonate with an audience

"Softly do the Spirit Animals Speak" is a well written and crafted work of contemporary fiction...that...will quickly resonate with an audience."

Ms. Frost's book will quickly resonate with an audience. ...

"Burns is an accomplished talent" and her books should "quickly resonate with an audience." ...

Ms. Tyler-Vaughn’s book will quickly resonate with an audience.

Walker’s book will quickly resonate with an audience. ...

Gibson’s book will quickly resonate with an audience. ...

Mr. Stumpo's book will quickly resonate with an audience. ...

confidence that Marsh's book will quickly resonate with an audience. ...

. . . Etc. Etc. Etc. . . .

Those are just the ones that made onto Google-indexed Web pages, not the thousands of others that went into trash cans From Sea to Shining Sea.

--Ken

icerose · Mar 27, 2006

Shudders on the "resonate with an audience." I can't tell you how many times I heard that. They seem to find a select few words and use them over and over again.

How many people heard "nonsensical" in their tone letters? Raise your hand. It makes me wonder if they even know what it means or if only one person does and they just copy and paste because it looks good.

"frivolous grievances" is another one.

We should write a fictional depiction of life with PA. Sacrifical ceremonies (banning from message board then bad mouthed with no chance of defense) and rights of passage such as failed book signings, the looking down of store clerks, or pity, that's the worst, and whip out your credit card sales pitches.

It would have greed, suspense, lies, deception, conspiracy, danger (cops coming to the house), thrills and chills (author copies and discovery of the truth), and deflated egos.

Sound like fun?

Sara

ResearchGuy · Mar 27, 2006

icerose said:
...We should write a fictional depiction of life with PA. ...
Sound like fun?

Sara

Sure. Throw in some vampires, free-form poets, plagiarists, and self-taught cosmologists who have solved the mysteries of the universe, and we are there.

--Ken

PVish · Mar 27, 2006

"'Curiosity of Life: Poetry to Wander About' is a well written and crafted work of contemporary fiction that fits our specialty like a glove," said Prather. "PublishAmerica primarily publishes works by, for or about people who face a challenge in life, and who overcome it by turning stumbling blocks into stepping stones."
"We believe that Ms. Frost is a promising talent in this field."

Poetry as "contemporary fiction"? Is that in a similar genre to the "fiction novel"?

And while I'm being picky: Shouldn't it be "people who face challenges in life"? Are they all facing the same challenge?

Oh, wait—the challenge they face is publishing (and I use the term loosely) with PA. Almost forgot that for a sec.

orraloon · Mar 27, 2006

A whole lotta resonatin' goin' on

Also came across this one - http://www.andersbruce.com/scampublisher/catalog.html

He's learning fast!

AnneMarble · Mar 27, 2006

PVish said:
Poetry as "contemporary fiction"? Is that in a similar genre to the "fiction novel"?

I actually have seen novels written in the form of poetry. (It's fairly common in the YA section, for some reason.) However, I think it looks like the PA employee stuck with doing press releases filled out the "Mad Libs" incorrectly. Poor author.

The words PA uses -- whether in its press releases or on its web site -- remind me of those experiments where a class is told to access the accuracy of a personalized horoscope. Everyone thinks the horoscope describes them perfectly -- until the next step, where the teacher demonstrates that everyone got the same horoscope. The text was designed with generalities that not only can define just about everyone but what everyone wants people to think about them, etc.

There are also experiments where the people running the experiment give "psychic readings" to people using lots of fluffy generalities. And most people think they just met a real psychic, never realizing they said the same thing to each person. All you have to do is use psychology (hint hint) to say what people want to hear. PA's claim of giving books the chance they deserve is not that far from someone giving psychic readings and saying things like "No one appreciates you, and you wish people would understand you more."

James D. Macdonald · Mar 27, 2006

ByGrace said:
http://www.fredericknewspost.com/sections/fusetalk/forum/messageview.cfm?catid=7&threadid=1625&enterthread=y

Here's the money quote:

I know someone who worked for Publish America. Very bad experience. They refused to give him his final paycheck but were kind enough to include it in his W-2 for the year. I've also heard that their accounting firm dropped them because of their shady business practices.

If that person could be convinced to go to the IRS....

aruna · Mar 27, 2006

orraloon said:
Also came across this one - http://www.andersbruce.com/scampublisher/catalog.html

He's learning fast!

That site is hilarious! He's written 6 books and is only 15. He also has a funny agent site:

http://www.andersbruce.com/

Christine N. · Mar 27, 2006

Anders used to stop by here all the time, and I hear from him now and again. He's a great kid

I guess PA can't be bothered to tell the rest of the world that PAt no longer exists. Hmmm... wonder how long until the current UK authors find that out?? Wonder what will happen next time they want to order books?

It's kind of like a soap opera...

xhouseboy · Mar 27, 2006

Bufty said:
This what you are looking for, Dave? Hopefully it means just what it says.

To PA - On behalf of all those UK writers who now won't have the privilege of being screwed by you -goodbye and good riddance! But I do thank you for your courteous and prompt reply.

Wonder if the disappearance of PA'S UK operation might have anything to do with the out of court settlement with EB. Weren't EB suing for 75k plus costs? Maybe they weighed up the pros and cons of continuing in the UK, balanced against the fact that they were already in the hole, and decided it was a scam too far in this instance. Cut their losses and run.

Ilovepensandpaper · Mar 27, 2006

A PublishAmerica Yahoo Group...

Wow I didn't think one existed!
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/PublishAmericaAuthors/?yguid=113292026

James D. Macdonald · Mar 27, 2006

Still off topic, and will shortly be moved, but:

Over on the PA boards, there's this thread:

BE CAREFUL WHAT YOU OPEN!!!!!

UNFORTUNATELY MY WIFE OPENED E-MAILS FROM THE SCAM ARTISTS CLAIMING YOU HAVE WON A MAJOR LOTTERY. WE WON SOMETHING FOR SURE. A WORM THAT IS EMBEDDED ON MY COMPUTERS HARD DRIVE THAT DEVOURS FILES. THE ONLY FIX IS TO REPLACE THE HARD DRIVE OR TRASH THE COMPUTER. I'M THANKFUL I HAD BACK UP DISCS IN PLACE FOR MY SECOND BOOK WHICH IS A LITTLE OVER HALF COMPLETE. BE CAREFUL GUYS AND GALS ONLY OPEN MAIL FROM SENDERS YOU KNOW YOU CAN TRUST.

Please tell this person NOT TO TRASH HIS HARD DRIVE JUST YET!

If you are this person's friend, please tell him to do the following:

Turn off System Restore.

Then:

Run TrendMicro Housecall http://housecall.trendmicro.com/

Download and install:

ZoneAlarm Firewall http://www.download.com/3000-2092-10039884.html

Download and run:

AVG AntiVirus http://free.grisoft.com/freeweb.php/doc/2/

Download and run:

AdAware SE: http://www.lavasoftusa.com/software/adaware/

Download and run:

Spybot S&D: http://www.safer-networking.org/

Download and run:

Spyware Blaster: http://www.javacoolsoftware.com/spywareblaster.html

Download and run:

Windows Defender Beta 2: http://www.microsoft.com/athome/security/spyware/software/default.mspx

Download and install:

All Windows Updates.

All of the above programs are FREE. Yes, this can be time-consuming. Cheaper and faster than trashing your computer and everything on your hard drive, though.

Add to this:

Tuneup Utilities 2006: http://www.tune-up.com/

This is 30-day trialware. Use it to clean up your disk and your registry after you've cleaned out the viruses/trojans/spyware.

I do not have any personal stake in any of those programs.

There's one more that I recommend. My personal interest in this is that I know the guy who wrote it. This is shareware (I don't make a dime on it, though):

Greyware Registry Rearguard (GRR): http://www.greyware.com/software/grr/

Shareware, like I said, but it doesn't expire even if you don't pay for it.

IF YOU'RE RUNNING A WINDOWS MACHINE, DO ALL OF THIS STUFF NOW, BEFORE YOUR COMPUTER DIES. DO NOT RUN A MACHINE ON THE INTERNET THAT DOESN'T HAVE SERIOUS ANTI-VIRUS/ANTI-SPYWARE/FIREWALL PROTECTION.

astonwest · Mar 27, 2006

orraloon said:
Btw, you're right Jim, Lightning Source prints PA books in the UK, although PA tried to charge me shipping from the US (unsuccessfully) when I bought my 50 copies in 2003.

I wonder how many UK authors were indeed charged more shipping than they should have been...and also wonder if that constitutes financial fraud?

Nexusman · Mar 27, 2006

astonwest said:
I wonder how many UK authors were indeed charged more shipping than they should have been...and also wonder if that constitutes financial fraud?

Actually... I wonder how many authors were indeed charged more shipping than they should have been...

-Nick

James D. Macdonald · Mar 27, 2006

Nexusman said:
Actually... I wonder how many authors were indeed charged more shipping than they should have been...

-Nick

All of them.

PA's shipping charges are outrageous. But that isn't illegal. If the pizza shop says "We can deliver your stuff to your house for $2,000" and you say "Okay!" then, well, you just bought yourself a very expensive pizza.

Jean Marie · Mar 27, 2006

James D. Macdonald said:
All of them.

PA's shipping charges are outrageous. But that isn't illegal. If the pizza shop says "We can deliver your stuff to your house for $2,000" and you say "Okay!" then, well, you just bought yourself a very expensive pizza.

The difference there would be, the pizza is definitely better than the PA book

Okay, to be fair--9 x's out of 10.

veinglory · Mar 27, 2006

...have you every felt like you could make a great pizza, but those big pizza parlors just won't let your original recipe anywhere near their ovens? Here at Pizza America...

The New Never-Ending PublishAmerica Thread (NEPAT)

Holding out for a Superhero...

DeePower

Chaos Warrior

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Resident Curmudgeon

Lost in School Work

Resident Curmudgeon

Cat hair collector

Nefarious Ghost Fan

Your Genial Uncle

On a wing and a prayer

haz a shiny new book cover

In the Yellow Woods

Come...Tell me about it

Your Genial Uncle

2 WIP? A glutton for punishment

Chaos Warrior

Your Genial Uncle

calm waters ahead

volitare nequeo