Got the first link to work. Wow.
So what's stopping the same thing from happening to PublishAmerica?
PA: A SHOT in the dark
- Thread starter overfiend
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Got the first link to work. Wow.
So what's stopping the same thing from happening to PublishAmerica?
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You might also want to check out the entire subforum on these folks here in B&BC:
http://www.absolutewrite.com/forums/forumdisplay.php?f=202
Thats really funny because they sent my friend a new contract with the above addresses on it telling her thats where she could mail her new manuscript to them. hahaha they really are scamming people.
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Thank you! That's a timely update.
I just checked the BBB page on them. I'm surprised they made as high a rating as a "C"!
http://www.bbb.org/greater-maryland...publish-america-lllp-in-frederick-md-32010985
Wonder where "Metropolitan Court" is?
Hmm. Google maps shows it a couple miles south of the Frederick business area, across the way from Aspen Publishing, printer of legal books. How ironic.
I wonder what their employment turnover is compared to PA?
Name: Publish America, LLLP Phone: (301) 695-1707 Fax: (301) 631-9073 Address: Metropolitan Court
Frederick, MD 21701 Website: www.publishamerica.com Original Business Start Date: September 1999 Principal: Publish America, Inc., General Partner Customer Contact: Ms. Miranda Prather, Exec. Director - (301) 695-1707 or [email protected] Email Address: [email protected] Entity: Partnership Incorporated: MD Employees: 60 Type of Business: Publishers-Book BBB Accreditation: This company is not a BBB Accredited business.
How many addresses do they use? fake or not Fake. who knows if your manuscript would ever get there with all these addresses, don't remmember my friend saying anything about this address. They told her to mail it to them at the above address. Make sure that every thing was ready to print as is. they no longer do editing unless they charge.
Well people, I am passionate about the manuscript because i wrote its continuation .Better of course. Now that the current publisher is seriously thinking of editing and publishing it (will not name the publisher), i am thinking it needs the first book(currently held by PA ) so that the audience can get the whole story as they should.Even new publisher is asking for it.I just said it was a multiple submissioons issue and it is being considered elsewhere so i cannot commit it to him just yet.
I started rewriting and re editing and i done a pretty gone job but in the end i will not do what i had intended.Why? Well as someone said..bad karma.Don't really believe in this but i know 2 wrongs cannot make a right in the end.
About writing to PA..No chance.They don't care anymore.I quoted the use of the law,Zero sales,No publicity form my part, no bookstores want a flawed book and even added i will sue them for deflamation of reputation.After all they are selling a flawed book with my name on it against my will.
No dice sadly.
The answer was..your fault.Want to fight, see you in court.no lawyer will dare take us in especially when we spent that much on your book
Want out..buy 50 copies or give us 300$
I started rewriting and re editing and i done a pretty gone job but in the end i will not do what i had intended.Why? Well as someone said..bad karma.Don't really believe in this but i know 2 wrongs cannot make a right in the end.
About writing to PA..No chance.They don't care anymore.I quoted the use of the law,Zero sales,No publicity form my part, no bookstores want a flawed book and even added i will sue them for deflamation of reputation.After all they are selling a flawed book with my name on it against my will.
No dice sadly.
The answer was..your fault.Want to fight, see you in court.no lawyer will dare take us in especially when we spent that much on your book
Want out..buy 50 copies or give us 300$
I think they're desperate. I also believe they're lying about how much they spent on your book. Hold firm.
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AGAIN: Try the certified business letter, addressed to Larry Clopper.
Odds are excellent that you got the partyline from Miranda Prather. She's the one who deals with unhappy writers, so she gave you the "tone letter" treatment that she's dished out to hundreds of others before you. She's had plenty of practice and counts on the fact that most people don't want to get into a fight. After a couple of tries, where the PA writers are trying to be reasonable (and she is clearly not), they give up and wait out the contract.
PA is not likely to sue you. It costs more money to sue than to release a contract, and they always go for zero expenditure of money.
Other PA writers got their contracts canceled, but they did have to put forth some effort.
Again, don't bring up past mails, start as though it's your first interaction with them.
State that you're unable to promote the book, you aren't buying any copies, that it isn't selling, anyway, and ask for the business deal to be dissolved since neither party is going to make money on it.
Money is all they are interested in. If they could clear the same profit making soap or selling socks, they'd be in THAT business.
If they know they can't make money from you, then there is no point keeping your book. Clopper might be more reasonable. PA is a crap business, but it is a business and he does have to run it efficiently in order to make cash. Miranda is the wingnut who likes the time-wasting head games. Scroll back to my first post in this thread. Look her up.
Odds are excellent that you got the partyline from Miranda Prather. She's the one who deals with unhappy writers, so she gave you the "tone letter" treatment that she's dished out to hundreds of others before you. She's had plenty of practice and counts on the fact that most people don't want to get into a fight. After a couple of tries, where the PA writers are trying to be reasonable (and she is clearly not), they give up and wait out the contract.
PA is not likely to sue you. It costs more money to sue than to release a contract, and they always go for zero expenditure of money.
Other PA writers got their contracts canceled, but they did have to put forth some effort.
Again, don't bring up past mails, start as though it's your first interaction with them.
State that you're unable to promote the book, you aren't buying any copies, that it isn't selling, anyway, and ask for the business deal to be dissolved since neither party is going to make money on it.
Money is all they are interested in. If they could clear the same profit making soap or selling socks, they'd be in THAT business.
If they know they can't make money from you, then there is no point keeping your book. Clopper might be more reasonable. PA is a crap business, but it is a business and he does have to run it efficiently in order to make cash. Miranda is the wingnut who likes the time-wasting head games. Scroll back to my first post in this thread. Look her up.
Everyone is passionate about their books, but once the book has been sold; it's been sold. You said earlier that you weren't "giving it up without a fight", but you've still yet to realize that's what you've already done. You no longer have the right to sell that book to anyone.
Then you've misrepresented yourself. It is NOT a multiple submissions issue, as the book is not on submission ANYWHERE - it's OWNED by someone else. And "whole story" is relative. If you tell a complete story, then it is the whole story from the point you start it.
I'm happy to hear it. I'd hate to see you get into legal trouble for something that's completely preventable.
Write the 2nd book, and if the publisher is legit and wants it, then sell it to them (hopefully for more than $1). If the book is a hit, then maybe you can sell the original as a prequel once it's out of PA's hands.
They never cared.
INAL, but they're not defaming you. They give you a chance to correct those mistakes at your cost. If you don't choose to have them corrected, it's not their problem.
If it were me, I'd ask for an itemized rundown of what they spent on the book at each step. Then I'd do what Gil suggested and send that certified letter.
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Overfiend, this isn't how commercial publishing works. A book doesn't have a 'current publisher' until a deal is made on it. If a publisher is still 'thinking of editing and publishing it', they're a prospective publisher.
And you need to check the background of any propsective publisher to prevent getting into a whole new bad situation. Please check for a listing in the Bewares and Background Check index and read up on this publisher. As has already been commented in this thread, the signs you've giving us are pointing in a worrying direction.
New address:
PublishAmerica
4510 Metropolitan Court, Frederick, MD 21703
301-874-4780
Printing press:
24 South Wisner Street**, Frederick, MD 21701
301-624-4050
**listed in new phone book as 26 Water Street (one block away)
Possibly they moved again
Church Street (vacant)
phone numbers still connected:
301-695-1707
301-695-2825 switches to 301-860-0736 (unknown)
PublishAmerica
4510 Metropolitan Court, Frederick, MD 21703
301-874-4780
Printing press:
24 South Wisner Street**, Frederick, MD 21701
301-624-4050
**listed in new phone book as 26 Water Street (one block away)
Possibly they moved again
Church Street (vacant)
phone numbers still connected:
301-695-1707
301-695-2825 switches to 301-860-0736 (unknown)
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