Received A Letter Today

DaveKuzminski

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Before you agree to anything with that individual, make sure you get it in writing and make a recording of him explaining what it means so he won't pull out his dictionary to argue that he meant an obscure meaning rather than the more common and more frequently used meaning.
 

Christine N.

haz a shiny new book cover
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Wow, sounds like Vic cut-and-pasted from the letter they sent me (by COURIER, no less) a few years back. Oh yes, all kinds of threats for suing me, blah, blah, blah.

PA is not a 'scam' per se; what it IS is an author mill, technically, though that's not really a technical term. Reverse vanity publishing? A Bad Idea for Authors who really want a writing career? A trap for unsuspecting writers who don't know how publishing should work? Yes. Yes. Yes. And Yes.

It's all in how you WORD things. Vic knows this. You can warn people off of PA perfectly well without using the "s" word.
 

allenparker

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PA is not a 'scam' per se; what it IS is an author mill, technically, though that's not really a technical term.

Christine, I have great respect for you and this disagreement does not, in any way, alter that, but I can not agree that PA is an author mill in the traditional sense of a mill. When you look at the mill process, you find there is one advantage to the mill process. You get good at one thing.

The example can be taken from Earl Shieb (sp?) Paint and Body. They were terrible paint jobs, but you came in at 8 AM and drove home my 5PM. The advantage to working there, you got good at spraying the paint. The body work was terrible. You got a bad rep from working there. But you got good at a gloss finish by sheer repetition.

At PA, just simply writing will help improve what you do, but there is no incentive to get better. You simply turn out the same stuff you did before, making the same mistakes as before. At a real publisher, the editors send you corrections that teach you what your specific errors are. Most editors at PA that I've seen didn't know what to edit, how to edit, or were simply using a flawed edit process given them by their bosses. In any case, the mistakes that are made are reinforced by the editors. If they didn't see anything wrong with the book, everything the author did must be correct.

We may be saying the same thing in a different manner. I may have just pointed out something you mentioned, but in more detail. Either way, I applaud your willingness to be on this board against the threats you have received.

just a thought...
 

robjvargas

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Yep, they're an author mill. They stick the author under the grindstone, engage the water wheel, and let the mill turn them to flour.

:D
 

Marie Pacha

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I really dislike it when my name is mentioned in any context having to do with PA. That was my reason for requesting that my contracts with them be rescinded. PA fought that.

I'm not going to rehash my arbitration at this point, but I would like to clarify a couple of things. My initial dispute with PA arose because I did not receive a royalty statement when scheduled. I contacted them about the matter by email. If they had simply sent me a duplicate copy at that time, I would have been satisfied. They did not make that offer.

The email sent by PA's attorney reads"In another case, Marie Pacha accused PA of shorting her royalties. She a bought a copy of her book from a bookstore, waited until the royalty period ended and then cried foul when a sale did not show up on her royalty report."

It requires some correction to be remotely accurate. I did not buy a copy of my book and then wait until the royalty period ended. An acquaintance of mine purchased a book a year before and that individual saved the receipt as a bookmark. That receipt was presented as evidence at my arbitration and my acquaintance testified at the hearing.
 
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Marie Pacha

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From PA's closing arguments at my arbitration,which was not sealed. "The phrase “traditional publisher” is not a statement that is capable of supporting a fraud claim. It is just too inexact or unverifiable to ever be proven false. Even if it was not “seller talk”, PublishAmerica clearly satisfies the definition. In the context of its advertisements, PublishAmerica has clearly defined “traditional publisher” as a publisher that does not charge authors any fees. Beyond question this is true. PublishAmerica simply does not charge authors for publishing expenses. Thus, no misrepresentation has been made. For the same reason, PublishAmerica is not a vanity publisher. The test for identifying vanity presses collapses into a single question: does the author pay the costs to publish the book? PA Ex. 13. Since PublishAmerica’s authors do not do so, PublishAmerica cannot be defined as a vanity press. It is as simple as that."

 

James D. Macdonald

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It is beyond question that a publisher can be a vanity press, yet not charge fees.

It is beyond question that PublishAmerica is a vanity press.

It is beyond question that PublishAmerica relies on false, misleading, and deceptive advertisements to induce authors to sign with them.

See: http://www.absolutewrite.com/forums/showthread.php?t=32966

Sorry about your case, Maria, but it was badly argued.
 

Marie Pacha

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You're right, Jim. I didn't do it justice.

PA's own definition for "traditional publisher" and vanity press states that "Publish America does not charge authors for publishing expenses." If that's the case, what are their charges for editing fees and corrections, or their charges for hardcovers, or their charges for expediting the publishing process...all for fees?
 

alvin123

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I seriously can't believe PA still exist. Those guys just don't know when to quit, do they. :/ Idiots.
Of course they're making money by scamming new authors and I can't say I hadn't almost sent something to them. Luckily, I made it to this site before theirs.

Absolute Write saves lives. (Along with sites that warn you about these predators.)
 

JBReed

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ISBN Reverting Rights

Hello to all. Have not posted for a while but I have a question that someone may be able to answer.

I am planning to buy back my rights from PA, however, I was sent an e-mail with a link that states it will cost me 299.99. Okay, I did not want to pay that much but considered it would be worth it.

However, going to their new website, I found a page that lists what they charge their authors for various services. There I found three different amounts for buy backs. The one I was sent stated it was ISBN Reverting Rights. Two others, one for 99.00 and one for 149.00 were called ISBN Returning Rights.

Would anyone know the difference between reverting and returning? Sounds like the same thing to me. There is no explanation on PA's website. Thanks.
 

Chris P

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How much time do you have on your contract? I'm letting mine expire and not paying anything. If you don't have a burning use for that book, then send them a letter (certified, or whatever it is they must sign for and you get notification they signed) telling them you will not be renewing your contract. If you don't tell them, it automatically renews.

You are under no obligation to pay them anything. All they own is the book cover, but you can have a new one made for less than PA will offer to sell it to you for when you decide to republish. As Gravity said, the ISBN is useless to you and not worth paying for. Publish America (now going by America Star Books) owns the text layout, but that will be redone anyway wherever you decide to republish. I haven't paid PA a dime since I bought 10 of the grand total of 12 copies of my book, and I won't pay them another dime for any reason.

Write you next books and if you're like me you'll be so into the new books it won't matter that the first one is tied up for the duration of the contract.
 

JBReed

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Purchased Publishing Rights

Well, I broke down and paid to have my publishing rights returned to me. I received e-mail confirmation as well as a hard copy letter stating I now have publishing rights. They assured me they contacted Amazon and other retailers advising them they are no longer selling this book. They also said in the hard copy letter that they removed the book from their website bookstore.

Amazon informed me today they have received nothing from them saying they are no longer selling the book. I checked their website and the book is still showing and it can in fact be ordered.

I sent them an e-mail today advising them to remove the book from their website immediately and also informed them of what Amazon told me. If it is not removed by the end of this week, I intend to speak with my attorney.
 

Dhewco

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I think I've said it before, on another board...but that lawyers' parents must have hated him. His name sounds like a cartoon villain. I have not evidence to his personality, but that's got to be one of the worse names for a lawyer I've heard.