9News (Colorado) runs "feel good" story about a PA Author

Jozzy · May 6, 2010

Ugh:

http://www.9news.com/rss/article.aspx?storyid=138241

Pretty typical PA story, except 9News runs it as a legitimate business transaction. They do not mention the publisher, but the Amazon listing does.

I sent an email to 9News, and the reporter (Jennifer Ryan), informing them about PA's "F" rating on the BBB...no response.

What can we do as writers to combat this troll when they have the press in their grasp?

brainstorm77 · May 6, 2010

Sadly the general public including that reporter probably didn't have a clue what PA actually is. I'm glad you informed her.

merrihiatt · May 6, 2010

Twenty-five pages and selling for $24.95. Ouch! The spider illustration is cute with the pink outfit and hat. Wish she'd found another publisher other than PA.

brainstorm77 · May 6, 2010

She got several offers for publication and went with PA? I wish she had seen these threads first.

Jozzy · May 10, 2010

Hey all,

The reporter replied back to me, and she said that the newsroom was "looking into" PA. Not sure if 9News will do a follow-up, but at least I wasn't ignored. I'll let you know if they run a story on them, or a follow-up with the author.

Little1 · May 10, 2010

Jim Oliver said:
Hey all,

The reporter replied back to me, and she said that the newsroom was "looking into" PA. Not sure if 9News will do a follow-up, but at least I wasn't ignored. I'll let you know if they run a story on them, or a follow-up with the author.

Perhaps they will do a report that gets some light shed on them (P.A)

Here's hoping...

Sheryl Nantus · May 10, 2010

I see this all the time in my local paper - I'm willing to bet that the "other offers" were from other vanity presses looking to get money from her.

Unfortunately the average newspaper seems to not know or care about who's being published by whom. Not a month goes by without seeing a story in my local paper about some epic tome being published by so-and-so and you find way down, at the bottom of the article, that it's either self-pubbed or through PA/other vanity presses.

Bad reporting.

JulieB · May 10, 2010

Oh, I wouldn't go so far as to call it bad reporting. Most of the time they're just looking for the "local person does something interesting" angle.

CACTUSWENDY · May 10, 2010

This happens in our area also. You would think that those in the media would check out like type things before they run with a story. So sad.

Marian Perera · May 10, 2010

brainstorm77 said:
She got several offers for publication and went with PA? I wish she had seen these threads first.

I read an account online, from an editor at a small press, about a writer whose manuscript received two offers. One was from the editor, and the press could provide a quality product plus regional if not national distribution. The other was PA, which gave her the "available through bookstores from sea to shining sea" line.

She went with PA, so the book turned out unedited, overpriced and without distribution. In desperation the writer contacted the editor asking if the small press could do anything to help, but he had to tell her no. It was incredibly sad.

stormie · May 10, 2010

I emailed a newspaper reporter a few weeks ago, when he wrote a long, glowing piece about five "dedicated" writers who gave a talk at the local library about writing, etc, and their books. He never mentioned their publishers.

I had looked up each author's book on Amazon. Three were PublishAmerica, two were self-published. I told him all about PA. He didn't know.

A reporter really should mention who the publisher is AND research it before going to press.

BenPanced · May 10, 2010

I don't think reporters would really know about scam publishers. They hear about a local person being published, but they wouldn't know any red flags. Sure, they've done stories about scam contractors, scam auto dealers, and other consumer cons, but publishing scams like PA aren't as well known and would really fly under peoples' radar.

colealpaugh · May 10, 2010

BenPanced said:
I don't think reporters would really know about scam publishers. They hear about a local person being published, but they wouldn't know any red flags. Sure, they've done stories about scam contractors, scam auto dealers, and other consumer cons, but publishing scams like PA aren't as well know and would really fly under peoples' radar.

TV reporters generally wouldn't, but print reporters should. I've been to a hundred news events where the TV reporter asked the subject about to be interviewed the following question, right before the camera rolled:

"What should I ask you?"

stormie · May 10, 2010

If a reporter added who the publisher was (which they should when talking about someone's book), and typed in "PublishAmerica" in a search, they'd see "scam" come up quite a bit.

colealpaugh · May 10, 2010

stormie said:
A reporter really should mention who the publisher is AND research it before going to press.

It's one of the first questions a reporter should ask. It's not to say the story shouldn't run, but the story should mention that the author paid to have the book published. It's just one of the facts.

Marian Perera · May 10, 2010

colealpaugh said:
It's one of the first questions a reporter should ask. It's not to say the story shouldn't run, but the story should mention that the author paid to have the book published. It's just one of the facts.

What would be the best way to describe PA, though? Given that its major selling point is that the writer didn't pay for publication, at least not upfront.

It might make for a very unhappy writer if the article mentions "vanity press" or "author mill".

Snowstorm · May 10, 2010

Queen of Swords said:
I read an account online, from an editor at a small press, about a writer whose manuscript received two offers. One was from the editor, and the press could provide a quality product plus regional if not national distribution. The other was PA, which gave her the "available through bookstores from sea to shining sea" line. She went with PA, so the book turned out unedited, overpriced and without distribution. In desperation the writer contacted the editor asking if the small press could do anything to help, but he had to tell her no. It was incredibly sad.

That is so awful. Man, I wish writers would research. (I know, I'm preaching to the choir, but still ...)

colealpaugh · May 10, 2010

Queen of Swords said:
What would be the best way to describe PA, though? Given that its major selling point is that the writer didn't pay for publication, at least not upfront.

It might make for a very unhappy writer if the article mentions "vanity press" or "author mill".

It would be the editor's final decision, but I'd simply describe it as a self-published book. The writer trying to play the part of a published author won't be happy, but I also wouldn't be passing judgment on PA in that piece. But once I Googled PA and saw all the complaints, you'd be sure to see a hardcore piece on PA two weeks later.

My wife has a similar dilemma, in a way, as the local library director. How to handle self-pubbed books. She won't provide space for signings, nor will she buy the books. But if it's a local person, she allows them shelf space for a donated copy, then culls the book after a certain period if it's not checked out. That way, everyone is reasonably happy.

christwriter · May 10, 2010

JulieB said:
Oh, I wouldn't go so far as to call it bad reporting. Most of the time they're just looking for the "local person does something interesting" angle.

My mother's local newspaper did a piece on a local who published through iUniverse. She passed the article on to me because I did the woman's book cover and the article included a photo of the book.

I could tell halfway into the project that she had no idea what she was doing (okay, writing wise she might have known what she was doing. I don't know. She wouldn't let me read the book. She knew absolutely nothing about designing an image), and she told me she went with iUniverse because they would allow her more control over her book than a publisher would. It was a godawful experience working with her. The image she decided on was very pretty, but it was very, very boring and not something I want in my portfolio (And I couldn't make a better suggestion because she wouldn't let me read the book). And the last two weeks of the project were spent e-mailing back and forth because the printed versions of the image were "Too purple" (it was her printer. She needed a new cartridge BAD.) And after a few questions, I decided not to actually discuss publishing with her because I really needed the money (I'm not proud of doing this. I REALLY needed the money)

And I remember a time when getting published by iUniverse was something I aspired to (I was thirteen).

So yeah. The general public probably doesn't understand anything about books past how to read one, and authors don't understand much about publishing, except that it makes books.

stormie · May 11, 2010

colealpaugh said:
It would be the editor's final decision, but I'd simply describe it as a self-published book. The writer trying to play the part of a published author won't be happy, but I also wouldn't be passing judgment on PA in that piece. But once I Googled PA and saw all the complaints, you'd be sure to see a hardcore piece on PA two weeks later.

Exactly.

James D. Macdonald · May 13, 2010

Local man writes book.
Local man enters Boston marathon.
Local man joins Army.

What do these stories all have in common? "Local man."

Small town newspapers. Gotta love 'em.

Manuel Royal · May 13, 2010

James D. Macdonald said:
Local man writes book.
Local man enters Boston marathon.
Local man joins Army.

What do these stories all have in common? "Local man."

Small town newspapers. Gotta love 'em.

I'm just glad they still exist.

James D. Macdonald · May 13, 2010

They'd run Local Man Rewires Kitchen if it comes to that.

allenparker · May 14, 2010

James D. Macdonald said:
They'd run Local Man Rewires Kitchen if it comes to that.

It is not about the grandeur of the story. It is about the local people doing daily stuff, and the ones who have a modicum of success.

I love to read about the locals when I visit a new location. I get to look into the community and see what is exciting to these people.

Gillhoughly · May 14, 2010

What's been said.

It's a local thing, including the sales of the book.

book is being sold at local shops

Odds are *excellent* that the 24.95 price tag will put off everyone. Thank you, bloody PA, you've screwed up another writer's dreams. How can you look in the mirror every morning is beyond me.

When my first book came out I called all the papers in my area to pitch the "local makes good" angle, and no one was interested.

I did get a piece in a tiny free paper, the article edited in such a way as to make me look like a moron. (Being geeky wasn't in then.) The interviewer didn't ask who published my book. They assume that if you call them up, it's a real book.

I did interviews on the local cable channel and the local PBS outlet. No one asked who published the books. They wanted the title, and if I was lucky they mentioned it and my name and spelled both right.

Can't say that any of that had much impact on my sales.

The dif is, my book was fairly priced and in stores across the country. This lady will be lucky if she makes any sales, however enthusiastic the initial response is.

Her book is just too danged expensive, and the last thing PA wants is a successful writer. They might wear out the copy machine and be forced to buy another.

9News (Colorado) runs "feel good" story about a PA Author

Please, sir, I want some more.

practical experience, FTW

Writing! Writing! Writing!

practical experience, FTW

Please, sir, I want some more.

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