i want out of my contract

[riverofhope]

hi there

i have been here before but it has been a long time!! my hubby and i were scammed into PA and didn't find out the truth until our book was already published....er i mean printed (haha!) we are now wanting to "republish" our book (with more to it) and get others published too! i know there is a lot of info on here about how to try to get out of our contract and i was wondering if ya'll could direct me to that info and give me some pointers! in 2008 i think we "sold" 5 books (MAX) and thats only b/c we bought them ourselves to sell to friends!!

also---to the person who started the thread on the "stock photo covers" for pa books....have you seen my cover used on any other books? our book is river of hope by popeye and humminbird --- http://www.amazon.com/River-Hope-Pop...194934&sr=1-13 ????

thanks!
jess

[Prozyan]

Hey Jess,

As far as I know, the only successful attempts to get out of a PA contract so far have been through a buyout. Last I heard, PA will take $300 to release you from your contract. Only you can decide if your current book is worth that price tag, or if you would be better off moving onto another project.

Best of luck!

[merrihiatt]

Hi Jess. Welcome to AW.

I've been trying for several months to get out of my contract. No luck yet, but I'm not giving up. The most recent thing I have seen is that PA made an offer to one of their authors to purchase something like 50 books and they would release them from their contract. I wish you luck.

[Sheryl Nantus]

The best way without paying them any cash is to keep sending emails that state that you want your rights back and a full release; you won't buy any more books and you won't be promoting it.

I advise just being polite and firm despite their probably childish responses. Just stick to the high ground and they'll eventually come around. Meanwhile, work on another book and please, PLEASE don't think about starting your own publishing company unless you do a lot of work and research into the industry. It may be tempting to just leap in but you and your friends and your writing deserve the best that you can all get.

[RobJ]

Speak to PA. See if you can negotiate a release.

Cheers,
Rob

[M.R.J. Le Blanc]

Follow Sheryl's advice. Save the email as a draft or on your computer, so that everytime they send you an email you just keep sending that same email. And yes, starting your own publishing company is definitely not the answer. I know it may seem like it, but PA is not a bad publisher - they're not even a publisher. Start a new book. Keep writing. Follow the advice here at AW and you'll get all the help you need to send new and future projects to real agents and publishers who'll really give your book 'the chance it deserves'. You're in good hands here

[Arkie]

They're going to keep you for a few months hoping to squeeze a few books out of family and friends and maybe a library sale or two. Don't send a lot of emails, they'll just put a block on them. Send a professional business letter once a month and in it discuss lack of sales, their lack of support, and how it would probably be in their best interest to terminate your contract to alleviate their administration requirements to administer your file. Always make it something that will be to their benefit, not something you want.

[DaveKuzminski]

Library sales? Don't make me laugh.

As to gaining a release, just use your personal web page to keep posted all correspondence between you and PublishAmerica. Let the world see how poorly PA behaves. It might not result in an immediate release, but the more sites that show how bad PA is, the more likely they'll release you and others so they can counter your sites as sour grapes. Just don't pay them for a release.

[Gillhoughly]

Publish America is to REAL publishing what a garage sale is to Walmart.


What Dave said.

Post their e-mails in public so the world can see how they treat you.

DO NOT pay to get our of your contract or buy more of your own books. That's what they want.

DO NOT open your own publishing house. Not unless you've actually worked in one. Publishing is not an entry level kind of business. Unless you actually know what you're doing, it's a fast way to go broke.

I've been a pro writer and now editor in the publishing industry since the late 80s, and I so totally do not know enough about the business to make a go of my own house!

[RobJ]

It sounds as though you're in the same position as JasonRobert:

http://www.absolutewrite.com/forums/...45#post3273445

He received similar advice here across a couple of different threads. He has since chosen to delete many of his posts.

Originally Posted by DaveKuzminski

As to gaining a release, just use your personal web page to keep posted all correspondence between you and PublishAmerica. Let the world see how poorly PA behaves. It might not result in an immediate release, but the more sites that show how bad PA is, the more likely they'll release you and others so they can counter your sites as sour grapes. Just don't pay them for a release.

Originally Posted by Gillhoughly

What Dave said.

Post their e-mails in public so the world can see how they treat you.

DO NOT pay to get our of your contract or buy more of your own books. That's what they want.

I'm sure you'll receive a lot of similar advice from members here, and all well-meaning. And if you want to take that approach at the start, posting their emails and taking a confrontational approach, that's up to you. Maybe it will work, although no one here can give you that guarantee. Your contract is with PA, after all.

There's a very strong anti-PA lobby here, and I would say think twice before you throw in your hand with it. I'm not saying that they don't mean well or raise real issues with PA, just that their advice may not offer the best way for you to achieve what you're seeking to do, which is to get out of your contract.

Your contract is with PA. If you're not happy with it and want to be released from it, maybe your first step would be to contact them and see whether they're prepared to release you from that contract, and if so under what terms. If they offer terms that are acceptable to you, even if it includes buying books or paying money, then it's your decision as to whether or not you accept those terms. It might be in your own interests, with your book in mind, to cut your losses, pay up, and be free to go ahead from there. Only you can decide whether that's right for you.

If they are not prepared to negotiate your release from the contract, and until you talk to them you don't know - no matter what the experience of other people here, then you'll need to think about what to do next.

The word scam suggests something fraudulent or illegal. If you really believe you have been scammed, as you suggest, consider whether you have any way to address that through the courts. If that's the case, seek legal advice.

Taking a confrontational approach from the start may lead to you achieving what you're seeking in the long run. Then again, it may not. I'm not convinced that all of the advice you'll receive on here will be in your best interests, so you need to think about whether people here are actually serving your needs or pushing their own anti-PA agenda, albeit with best intentions.

By the way, I believe that in the UK emails are automatically covered by copyright. I could be wrong, and I don't know if the same automatic cover applies elsewhere, but you might want to check.

Nothing that I've said above is intended as a criticism of other people here offering advice. That's just the way I see it as someone who observes the PA threads here but has no vested interest on either side. Not all advice offered is necessarily good advice, and people do have their own agendas. If you think a confrontational approach is the best way to achieve what you're after, by all means go right ahead. Your goal, however, is not to bring PA down, but to do what's best for you and for your book.

Good luck.

Cheers,
Rob

[Pookee]

It can happen. I got out of my contracts. I told them I had exhausted all efforts of marketing my book and that I no longer could afford to buy any copies. Then I asked them to release me and they did. Keep trying.

Oh, and if you are determined to have a writing career, work hard, learn the industry and the keys to good writing, you can make it. It took me a few years, but I got a legitimate publishing contract with a tried and true publisher. My editor did not care that I had my first book with PA. It made no difference to him.

[Ulee_Lhea]

With regards to posting PA emails:

Scams depend on silence. Please share (perhaps quietly at first, with PA people whom you have relationships with) your concerns. You can then expand as you feel comfortable. Maybe it will be days and maybe it will be years, but do proceed with the intention of your story being told.

I was a victim of a very manipulative, destructive person at a former job. It's been almost two years, and I still am not ready to speak out publicly about what happened to me (and my replacement, who is getting the same treatment). I firmly believe there will come a time when I feel comfortable going very public about what happened, but at this point I still feel like I need things from the former employer. So while I have worked within my sphere of influence to warn people, I have stopped short of blogging about it, posting on field-related message boards about it, etc. I still need references from this monster. You still need your rights back. I look forward to a time I can be more honest about my feelings.

Even if it takes time, I hope you will speak out eventually about your treatment with PA. As a new author, I have been very influenced (and moved) by the postings of former PA authors. In the meantime, trust your gut. Balance courage for ending the silence with your gut instinct about what is wise for you right now.

Best of luck!

[Kaji]

I am hoping they are going to end my contract. They removed my books from their website, so nobody can buy them. lol. YAY!

[Sarashay]

Do not spend another dime on them and I wouldn't worry too much about whether or not you're being 'confrontational'. Simply inform them that you have no intention of purchasing any other books and you wish to be released from your contract. Ignore all the psychological tricks they will pull on you to make you feel ashamed of asking. (In fact, post them here so we can laugh at them!)

In the meantime, I suggest what Uncle Jim has recommended to others in your situation. Write another book. Write a better book, write a book with what you've learned between now and when you wrote your previous book. Even if you don't get your rights back immediately, you can start shopping around new work that they don't have their hooks in, and give it the real 'chance it deserves'.

[dksyooper]

I was recently scammed by PA too.

After a month of deceptive emails from PA, they finally agreed to my proposal to terminate the contract if I purchased 50 books for $400 (including shipping & handling). Their glitch was that I had to order by last Friday at 5pm, so I called them at 4:30pm. Nobody picked up the phone, so I left a voice mail. Surprise, suprise, nobody has returned my phone call, probably because they never intended to follow through on my proposal.

I've contacted the Attorney General and the Better Business Bureau, but both were useless.

Has anyone ever been able to terminate their PA contract without paying them off hundreds of dollars? I haven't purchased my book and never will. Fortunately, I never sent them my family and friends' email addresses, so they won't be spammed to death.

[James D. Macdonald]

Many people have had their contracts terminated without paying PA a dime.

It's pretty much random, near as I can tell.

[Cyia]

Originally Posted by dksyooper

Has anyone ever been able to terminate their PA contract without paying them off hundreds of dollars? I haven't purchased my book and never will. Fortunately, I never sent them my family and friends' email addresses, so they won't be spammed to death.

Look two people above you. Kaji just had his contract rescinded.

[Kaji]

Yea, I sent them a very professional letter explaining it would be the best interest of both parties, for the contract to be terminated immediately. I got the letter in the mail days letter.

[Marie Pacha]

Kaji did not have his contract rescinded. Reversion of rights is considerably different.

[Cyia]

Originally Posted by Marie Pacha

Kaji did not have his contract rescinded. Reversion of rights is considerably different.

They said they decided not to "publish" the book. They voided the contract.

[Marie Pacha]

He posted the following quote from PA's letter on another thread, "In our opinion the work is unacceptable and unsatisfactory for publication. We are herewith returning all rights to the book to you."

PA did decide not to publish his book, but they had already assigned an ISBN to the book. They returned his rights to him. Rescinding a contract is a very different matter and has only happened once with a PA book to the best of my knowledge, as a result of arbitration.

[LexiCan]

Maria is right. PA always keeps their contracts in place due to the arbitration clause that covers their butt. The language is something like "this clause endures beyond the life of the contract"...in other words, even beyond the 7 years (or 14 years if they auto-renew).

[Marie Pacha]

Although Shane's rights have been returned to him, as have mine, to the best of my knowledge PA still does not cancel ISBN #'s. They are the only ones who can initiate that procedure.

For most of us whose rights have been returned our books still show on Barnes and Noble and Amazon (and other places) as being published by PA. In many cases it reads the books are out of stock.

The book written by the individual whose contract was rescinded also still shows as being published by PA on Barnes and Noble (I checked today).

[James D. Macdonald]

The ISBNs are unimportant. They uniquely identify the title, the format, the edition, and the publisher.

Books that are long out of print from publishers that are long out of business still retain their ISBNs.

[LexiCan]

Ah, thanks Uncle Jim