PublishAmerica's stock image covers

Jeez. Same font and everything.

I recall there were some books and some record albums that were put out with the same covers using different colors for experimental marketing purposes though I don't know how the experiment turned out. This is totally different. In fact, if it was being done by two different companies there'd probably be a legal battle in court over copyright. As it is now, it's confusing. I can't help but wonder if it violates their contracts with their authors to provide original covers.

I'm trying to remember what my contract states about the cover. I don't think it states anything other than PA has complete control over what is on the cover.

Mental Suicide doesn't seem to have anything to do with poker, or royal flushes, though. Do you think the artist actually looked inside the book and found a poker scene?

The really sad part is that not one of those covers tells me anything about the book inside.

Can you imagine how awful it would feel if you were a PA author browsing the bookshelves at Barnes and Noble and saw the cover of your book? You'd be so thrilled and do a double take only to discover that it was your cover, but the book wasn't actually yours -- there was a completely different title and author named on the cover. What a cruel trick to play on an author.

merrihiatt said:

Can you imagine how awful it would feel if you were a PA author browsing the bookshelves at Barnes and Noble and saw the cover of your book? You'd be so thrilled and do a double take only to discover that it was your cover, but the book wasn't actually yours -- there was a completely different title and author named on the cover. What a cruel trick to play on an author.

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The odds of seeing a PA book in a bookstore are slightly lower than of having an extra-terrestrial adolescent lick your eyeball on a dare.

Well, yes, there is that. How could I forget that PA books don't usually see the inside of a bookstore?!

The collection of rose covers reminds me of the cloud phase they went through awhile back.

And what on earth does the title "Mouth For War" have to do with roses? Unless maybe it's The War of the Roses. Somehow, I doubt it, though.

ChristineR said:

Mental Suicide doesn't seem to have anything to do with poker, or royal flushes, though. Do you think the artist actually looked inside the book and found a poker scene?

The really sad part is that not one of those covers tells me anything about the book inside.

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At least they didn't plagiarize the painting of dogs playing poker.

The same cover on different books might not happen as often if PA would hand out raises instead of pink slips.

DaveKuzminski said:

At least they didn't plagiarize the painting of dogs playing poker.

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Reminds me of a choreographer I worked with back in the day. She was so LITERAL! If the song had the word 'cry' in it, sure enough, we had to make a crying motion. Heaven forbid the word 'fly' or 'bird' appeared!
Thankfully, I moved on and so did she. Hey... maybe she works at PA now designing covers.

They also went through a phase using a leaf with a drop of dew at the tip. I think I remember seeing four or five covers with that graphic on it.

Ulee_Lhea said:

The collection of rose covers reminds me of the cloud phase they went through awhile back.

And what on earth does the title "Mouth For War" have to do with roses? Unless maybe it's The War of the Roses. Somehow, I doubt it, though.

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If you look closely at the cover you can see it's "Book One of the Chronicles of the Rose." Not that that tells you much--maybe it's a fantasy saga, maybe a historical, maybe something else altogether.

ChristineR said:

If you look closely at the cover you can see it's "Book One of the Chronicles of the Rose." Not that that tells you much--maybe it's a fantasy saga, maybe a historical, maybe something else altogether.

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In effect, that whole series may now be doomed because the first volume is under contract with PA. I hope the author can salvage it somehow.

Queen of Swords said:

More cover recycling.

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Could they at least try a little harder and change the background or something?

well, I wouldhate to see where else they used the cover for my book at, any of you can see it on PA Its called seductive stories for lovers. by daisy shiloh rose. my pen name, i love the cover and thats the only thing that i do love about it. that they did. cant put the picture of here cause i dont know how to do that, but its on yahoo.com to under the book section, found that the other day. if someone can put it on here would appreciate it.

thank you queen of swords. how did you do that. thats the only good thing they did, wish it would be selling in bookstores now. Its really doing me some good isnt it/ to have a book with a hot guy on it that women would like to look at, and then i cant sell it because its not in bookstores. B@N even told me, to get a new publisher and they would put any book that i wrote inn their store as long as its not pa. or any vanity press book.

but, yet PA ays that Barnes and Noble will carry any of their books. YEAH RIGHT!!!!!!!!!

B&N will sell any book THROUGH their store. If someone knows it exists, they walk up to the counter and request a copy in person and pay on the spot.

Locally, a single B&N manager can opt to shelve local author titles in their one store on consignment (you buy them, B&N resells them for you).

Regionally, it's B&N's (public) policy not to carry POD books or host the authors of such books for signings. The books aren't always there on time, they're not returnable for the same consideration as commercial books, and the quality isn't up to standards. If they get a bad book (loose pages, curling covers, fading ink), they'd have to jump through hoops to get them returned, never mind what they'd run into if the book just didn't sell and was clogging the shelf space. The books also can't compete in the market because of the prices, so it's good business for chain stores to NOT stock them on shelves.

she said that people would have to find it online and pay them for it, but other than that thats all they will do, but really she said that just dont like that company at all. so now I have a hot book inside and out and cant sell it cause no ne knows about it. At least Mrs Strauss wrote me back and gave me some ideas, that i will be working on while writing the other chapters.