And all I did was ask how their "free" special of getting your book made to an ebook and sent to kindle and nook could be "free" when they charge $69.00 to do it. So that is what got me banned. Give me a break.
Banned from the PA message board
- Thread starter JCNoelle
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Welcome, JCNoelle. I was banned from the PA message board a long time ago. I agreed with another PA author who said they thought their book was priced too high and that PA seemed to want to sell books to their authors more than readers. With PA, stating the truth will get you banned from their message board quick as a wink.
MacAllister
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Hi JCNoelle, and welcome. You'll find a lot of folks here who've been banned from the PA boards, over the years.
I just figure that if PA wants to squander intelligent and dedicated writers like that, their loss is our gain.
I just figure that if PA wants to squander intelligent and dedicated writers like that, their loss is our gain.
Well they just got a nasty letter from me, not that it will make a difference. I told them I wanted my rights back to my next two books, but I don't expect them to do it, and no way in hell am I paying to have them do it but they sure won't see any more of my business. I'm so done with them. This was the last straw.
That thread got deleted, too.
It's sad how many authors paid $99 for their books to be uploaded to Amazon and are still waiting to have it done - when they could do it themselves for free, much more quickly. Unfortunately, PA already bought the digital rights for a buck.
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Glad you're here! Sorry about your experience. I'm a PA author too, although I never participated on the message boards. I learned about PA too late, as I was trying to figure out why their books were priced so high I found this place and Preditors and Editors.
This is a great site. I hope you stick around and become one of the regulars.
This is a great site. I hope you stick around and become one of the regulars.
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Welcome and come on in, have a seat and stay a while.
You might also wander around the rest of the site. There are some great things here just waiting for you.
AWP
You might also wander around the rest of the site. There are some great things here just waiting for you.
AWP
Welcome JCNoelle
I am also an ex PA author, although I never posted to their message board. I lurk here a lot since I have had my rights reverted, but seldom participate. AW and P&E gave me a lot of support back in 2004 when I realized what kind of company I was dealing with.
It took me about three months to come to grips with reality and then I went ballistic. I wrote the IRS three times with complaints. I also joined Ann Crispin's bid to expose them and wrote every Maryland Official I could access.
I wrote the BBB (and caught PA out in some rather unethical behaviour). I went on Wizardess of books on the WWW and related my story. I gave as good as I got from them until they let me go. I never paid a cent to be released. I guess I just became too much of a thorn in their side. My book is still out there, although not on their website, and as I pursue my writing career, I will use my maiden name if I ever reach the publishing plateau again.
Don't feel badly, a great many of us made the same "stupid" mistake. Do not give them a cent more of your money. I told them they could keep the damn book, but they could not shut me up and they didn't, so eventually they gave me my rights back.
To all of you out there who read this, PA are bottom feeders and you can do much better than that. Back to lurking!
Postshy
I am also an ex PA author, although I never posted to their message board. I lurk here a lot since I have had my rights reverted, but seldom participate. AW and P&E gave me a lot of support back in 2004 when I realized what kind of company I was dealing with.
It took me about three months to come to grips with reality and then I went ballistic. I wrote the IRS three times with complaints. I also joined Ann Crispin's bid to expose them and wrote every Maryland Official I could access.
I wrote the BBB (and caught PA out in some rather unethical behaviour). I went on Wizardess of books on the WWW and related my story. I gave as good as I got from them until they let me go. I never paid a cent to be released. I guess I just became too much of a thorn in their side. My book is still out there, although not on their website, and as I pursue my writing career, I will use my maiden name if I ever reach the publishing plateau again.
Don't feel badly, a great many of us made the same "stupid" mistake. Do not give them a cent more of your money. I told them they could keep the damn book, but they could not shut me up and they didn't, so eventually they gave me my rights back.
To all of you out there who read this, PA are bottom feeders and you can do much better than that. Back to lurking!
Postshy
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No, no, no! It's NOT stupid to get caught up by PA. They're master deceivers. It's unfortunate to get caught in their net, but not not not 'stupid'.
And good on you to get free of them!
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I had seen your post on PA's forum and was very sure it wouldn't be long before they deleted it (but had no idea they banned their writers that quickly, creeps!)
I hope a few of the other PAers got to read it before it disappeared. You may have helped them.
Agreeing with Terie, no, no, don't think you as a new writer are stupid! Naive perhaps, when first signing with them but on a fast learning curve once the PA experience begins. I'd never blame the victim but the perpetrator? Ah well, that's a different story, have many choice names and words for them
I hope a few of the other PAers got to read it before it disappeared. You may have helped them.
Agreeing with Terie, no, no, don't think you as a new writer are stupid! Naive perhaps, when first signing with them but on a fast learning curve once the PA experience begins. I'd never blame the victim but the perpetrator? Ah well, that's a different story, have many choice names and words for them
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JC, I forgot to ask, any thoughts on why in the world is PA offering something for FREE in the first place? That is SO not them. Was this a buy 20 books, get your book made into an ebook type of thing?
Here is what the email said....
Go to www.publishamerica.net/MyKindle.html to activate your e-book for Amazon's Kindle and to receive free activation of your book as a PublishAmerica e-book, plus a free copy of the e-book.
Go to www.publishamerica.net/BN.html to activate your e-book for Barnes and Noble's Nook and to receive free activation of your book as a PublishAmerica e-book, plus a free copy of the e-book.
But if you click on those links, it's $69.00 to do. This is why I questioned it being "free" and that is why they banned me.
Last night I was so angry that I wrote them a nasty email. They wrote back saying "Are you done? And no, you can't have your rights back." Needless to say, I wrote them back and told them to go ahead and keep those rights, they know where they can stick them. (I still have two more unpubs with them that they still need to publish but I am just going to let them go. I can re-write them later, though re-writes are a pain in the hiney.)
Go to www.publishamerica.net/MyKindle.html to activate your e-book for Amazon's Kindle and to receive free activation of your book as a PublishAmerica e-book, plus a free copy of the e-book.
Go to www.publishamerica.net/BN.html to activate your e-book for Barnes and Noble's Nook and to receive free activation of your book as a PublishAmerica e-book, plus a free copy of the e-book.
But if you click on those links, it's $69.00 to do. This is why I questioned it being "free" and that is why they banned me.
Last night I was so angry that I wrote them a nasty email. They wrote back saying "Are you done? And no, you can't have your rights back." Needless to say, I wrote them back and told them to go ahead and keep those rights, they know where they can stick them. (I still have two more unpubs with them that they still need to publish but I am just going to let them go. I can re-write them later, though re-writes are a pain in the hiney.)
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Okay, isn't advertising something as free and then charging for it a violation of either federal or state truth-in-advertising statutes?
You would think so. But then PA makes offers similar to this all the time and they don't seem to be worried about their false advertising. I'd love to know how they are getting away with it because it seems no matter what the complaint is, PA just blows it off like it's nothing and they continue to get away with it.
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False, deceptive, and misleading advertising is PA's stock in trade. It's the basis of their business plan; they practice it on a daily basis.
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True. But specifically stating that something is 'free', and then charging for what's advertised as 'free' goes beyond 'deceptive and misleading'. Saying 'you get X free if you buy Y' (which is their usual scheme) is different from saying 'free activation' when the activation costs $69.
It's misleading and deceptive to say, 'we're just like traditional publishers,' when they're really not. It's another thing to advertise something as 'free' that actually has to be paid for.
It's been more than 10 years since I moved abroad (from California), but I seem to remember that laws were made specifically against using the word 'free' when it wasn't free. But I might be wrong, I might be misremembering, or laws might've been changed.
It would be interesting for someone who actually received that e-mail to check with the relevant authorities. (Again, I can't remember if regulations on advertising are state or federal.)
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No, no, no! It's NOT stupid to get caught up by PA. They're master deceivers. It's unfortunate to get caught in their net, but not not not 'stupid'.
And good on you to get free of them!
I have noticed a unusual situation over the last twenty years. Some of the smartest business men and women i know are trusting. They operate on a handshake and move forward. they get taken on occasion, but the majority of their deals are clean and make them money. The few that take them are tossed aside.
I think being a good business person involves picking good associates. A trait of a smart person is moving on when things don't work out.
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The activation was free - they're charging you for conversion or formatting or some other ridiculous thing, I'll bet.
Yeah, it probably operates like Christine said. The ice-cream is free, but the cone's going to cost you.
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Sorry, Uncle Jim. I thought you meant that since their advertising has always been deceptive and misleading, this wasn't anything new.
And as I said above, I might be wrong.
But I do think this one is a one that might actually go over the line of legality. I'd love to see someone who actually received the offer take it to the authorities and see.
Ah, but if you parse the sentence very carefully, what it says is that if you go to that MyKindle link and (pay to) activate your ebook for Kindle, which will be sold via Amazon, then you will also get free activation of the PA e-book (which is presumably the version sold on the PA website) and a free copy of the (probably crappy) PA ebook.
So the PA ebook activation is free -- if you pay for the Kindle ebook activation.
Typical of PA -- deceptive and misleading, but weasel-worded in such a way that they haven't outright lied.