What Professional Writers, Editors, and Agents Say About PA

kullervo

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So you've locked the first book in a series into a contract that will last seven years. You've sold first publication rights to a notorious vanity press. Think they're not? They admit it:

http://bb.publishamerica.com/viewtopic.php?t=31473

Nobody in the publishing industry thinks this is a publishing credit, but at the same time all story rights, character rights, etc., now belong to them for seven years. Whether by accident or design you are now playing Author — the Roleplaying Game rather than going through the pain of hunting for a legitimate agent and publisher. That is not an easy thing to undo.

The diploma mill analogy is apt, except the diploma received would have to cost three times as much as Harvard. You've got a $35 paperback on your hands. How do you expect to sell that?
 

CaoPaux

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PS: I wonder if a mod should split this discussion into a new thread? The OP gave specific guidance on the content of this thread.
Mmm, it's going a little far afield, but I'm inclined to let the discussion develop some more before deciding where/how to split it out.
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merrihiatt

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Gullible does not begin to describe me. Perhaps egotiscal, maybe, given the right kind of flattery even - stupid. Whatever the case may be I've found out the hard way that PA is all that I have been reading about here at the writers water cooler. What I humble myself to ask al of you who have published - what do I do now? I want my book back. how do I go about that? Can I change the title (GACK %$^&+*&$#)? Change my name? HELP!!

Welcome, Working Spy! :welcome: I was afraid your post was going to get lost amid the other comments.

You are not stupid. You signed a contract without fully knowing who you were dealing with. Some people have had success at getting their rights returned by sending polite letters stating they are not in a position to purchase books or promote their work and they'd like the rights returned. That didn't work for me. I tried for two years. I ended up paying the $99 reversion of rights fee to get my rights returned. I'm not saying that's the best idea out there, just putting it out there.

I hope you'll check out other areas of the site, as well. There are a lot of wonderful people here who will help you find your way through the publishing maze.
 

Unimportant

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Working Spy, Merri is correct. I'll also add: No, you cannot change the title or your name and sell the same rights to another publisher. You have legally contracted those rights to Publish America. You either have to get them to agree to return the rights, or wait until the contract runs out.
 

Jill Karg

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ok going to clear up a few things....

I have been published through gov't pubs at work "co wrote" supplemental guides. These guides are no longer in print. I also have written for the postal services in house and published gov't documents to a division that is no longer in existence. I also wrote short stories and poems for a literary magazine in college locally. :Lecture:

I did do research and found equal for and against PA. Hindsight, it was a mistake to go with them. But it wasn't because of ego or lack of research. I waited 8 months for rejections from both agents and publisher alike and I didn't submit it to multiple publishers or agents at the same time, (in the course of several years). I was patience and again went down my list. :Headbang:

Yes I would prefer correspondence through computer aka I'm a computer person. I will not be mention PA directly in the querying. But when asked by an agent I will tell them the truth. :e2BIC:

I have written other series of books that I can easily go with and might try to market them first they are not a scifi series. I also have read them in writers groups I am in locally. The writer groups love them and only liked the scifi books.

Another point, I checked contract again after reading post the other 6 books are not under contract with PA nor are the characters. I signed for only "The Work" not for a series, one single book.

This is last post I will defend myself and if you wish to pick it apart so be it. But again, people make mistakes.:deadhorse
 

JulieB

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Hi, Jill.

Yes, you made a mistake. We all make 'em.

I'm convinced one reason that writers do go with PA or someone else not suitable for their work is that they don't know enough about how the publishing industry works. One of the things we try to do here is educate people on that topic.

I should point out that this particular thread is about what pro writers, editors, and agents say about PA. We're generally quoting from their blogs, and agents and editors have a tendency to be blunt about this sort of thing sometimes.

Once again, we're not here to chastise you for your mistake. Live and learn, pick up the pieces and move on. It's the best most of us mere humans can do, and I honestly wish you the best.
 
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Jill, no one is saying that you personally are a bad writer or a bad person or anything like that. We are saying that Publish America is well known in the publishing industry, and that there is a taint by association.

PA's contract has changed many times over the years. Sometimes they included an options clause that gives them the right of first refusal on subsequent works by the author, so we always advise people to check their contracts to make sure they are legally free to submit their next books to other publishers.
 

Marian Perera

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I didn't submit it to multiple publishers or agents at the same time, (in the course of several years).

Just one point - it's OK to query agents and publishers simultaneously. I generally send out queries in batches of 5 to 10 at a time. My publisher is also fine with simultaneous submissions of manuscripts to other houses, as long as they're informed about it.
 
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Kweei

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Jumping in for a sec...

Jill, you don't need to defend yourself here. I understand a lot of what you're hearing is not what you'd like to hear and no one is questioning or doubting your intelligence or your commitment to your writing.

The truth is that many people here have been dealing with PA for a long time, either as former PA authors or those that just want to warn people. Yes, it can get snarky sometimes, and yes it's not always easy to hear, but I swear that these posts are made to help. There are tons of people on this board with extensive experience as published authors and know how the industry works. They don't want to sugar coat anything for new people to AW. They want people to know what is expected of you and what publishing is like (or supposed to be) based on their experiences.

I hope you can settle in here at the forum and find a home. We all love writing here, in some way or another, and want everyone to be successful.
 

amergina

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The Query Shark (aka Literary agent, Janet Reid) just chomped (as she is wont to do) on a query from an author who uses PA as a credential:

http://queryshark.blogspot.com/2010/09/176.html

The important bit:

Dear Query Shark:

I am the author of (redacted), published by Publish America.

And that's where I stop reading. If you've had a book printed by any of these template houses that profess to publish but in fact do not offer any of the additional value of a publisher, for the love of Mike, don't mention it. Ever.

This is not a publishing credential. It's also a huge disadvantage. Once you've published a book, you're no longer a debut author. It's MUCH easier to sell a debut novel than a second or third from a writer who hasn't enjoyed robust sales.

Ms. Reid pulls no punches.