Re: Long, long ago and Once upon a time......
I remember sitting right where all those happy PA authors are sitting now. I had wrote a novel, my first, and allowed a few people to read it before I tried doing anything with it.
My first step was to try my hand at getting an agent, I mean, after all that's what any writer should do, right? I got that book, you know the one that has the listing for all those agents and such, and mailed or email queries. I got a few hits asking for sample chapters, so I sent them.
One day I got this letter from this agent, I think some of you will know who I'm speaking of, her first name starts with a K. She wanted to be my agent, loved the novel, well you know the drill. I was jumping up and down, so happy I could hardly breathe.
Now, keep in mind, in this book she was listed as not charging any fees. It wasn't long after I received this letter my phone rang, and it was Ms. K, ranting and raving about my novel, she told me she was sending me the contract, still no mention of any fees. A few days later I received the contract and a listing (according to how many publishers you wanted to submit to was how much her charge was), I looked her up in this book again, and sure enough it had nothing listed about her charging fees.
I was new at all of this and thought this might just be standard practice with some agents. I opted for whatever it was as to how many publishers I wanted her to send my ms off to, signed the contract and made out the check then mailed it. Still, there was something in the back of my mind that nagged at me. This was all before the internet got so good and long before I learned to a great deal of research.
Time passed and nothing from Ms. K, so I email her asking for a progress report. She answered saying she had not heard back from any of the publishers she had sent my ms to and to just hang on. I did as she said. A few weeks later my phone rang, it was Ms.K.
She told me a publisher wanted me, I jumped for joy and asked which one? When she told me Publish America, a bell went off in my head, you see, I had started to figure out this Internet thingy and ran across some unplesant things about this publisher. I questioned her about this, she reassured me they were great and that I would be very happy with them. I agreed for her to go with them, she's the agent and should know what she's talking about because it was for sure I didn't know.
Now, I knew this novel needed editing. I'm a great story teller but am horrible at all that grammar stuff (can't you tell by this?) and I was assured that PA would edit my book (by Ms. K, not anyone at PA)
Time rocked on, soon I had the contract from PA signed and returned, so happy about receiving that silly one dollar it is not embrassing. Then came my galleys (yea, right) and to my surprise not only had they not edited it but had changed GBI to FBI throughout the book. I knew then they were using the spell checker and GBI was not in there but FBI was. I tried my best to make sure they changed this back, explaining why it was G (standing for Georgia)BI and not F(standing for Federal)BI. I had something like 30 pages of corrections to send back.
Long story short, the book was not edited. When I received my authors copies I was horrified at the lack of editing, and I voiced my disappointment to PA about it. To bad, to sad, it was now printed and nothing could be done about it.
With all of that said, let me say this. Even with all the above happening to my first book, I was a happy author I really was. I was for a long, long time. Still, there was something that made me not feel this happiness deep in my soul.
I can relate to all those happy PA authors and I say, enjoy it while it lasts, cause it is comming to an end. It may not be this year even, but that happiness will ware out, the hopes of getting your books into the hands of the public will ware you down and you will simply give up and let the book die. Sad death that it is, it will still die.
I didn't try to get my first novel released from PA, but I did my second one. Oh, I know what you are going to say, you sent ANOTHER one to them? Well, according to the contract I signed, I had no other choice. I have now got if back, though it does have that God awful gag thingy in it.
But, I sent an email to Ingram and Lightning Source; Barnes & Noble, Books-A-Million and Amazon telling the about the termination of my contract with PA and if they printed or sold another of my books I would sue them for copyright infringment. I am happy to report that Ingram has deleted my book from their system (I call the other night just to be sure), Barnes & Nobel has taken it off their web site as has Books-A-Million. Amazon still has it there but I think that is because they have 3 used copies available.
Oh, yes, I sent an email to PA telling them the same thing about copyright infringment and that the gag order woul NOT hold up in a court of law if they did not remove my book from their book section, it was gone that same day.
Onward and upward.
Violet:hat
