The Newer Never-Ending PublishAmerica / America Star Books Thread

Chris P

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Finally! After a few email exchanges, in which PA had at first said my contract had automatically renewed despite my email confirmation that it would not be:

"Your contract expired and your book went out of print on 10/24/14."

Searching their bookstore by title turned up:

"No products for the search: [title]"

Which officially means:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LdJn0DeD-ec Crank it up! I've waited seven years to post this.
 

Jill Karg

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You shoulda seen ME in 1975!

wait that was before the bicentennial right...lol. Think I remember 8 track tapes, the spirit of 76, bell bottoms and oil crisis (which is mild compare to prices we currently accept). I was a kid and doing the math on if I could live to see the tricentennial. :Huh:

Congrats on getting your book back from the rodents that are PA/America Star.
 

Don Davidson

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The Joy of Freedom

Finally! After a few email exchanges, in which PA had at first said my contract had automatically renewed despite my email confirmation that it would not be:

"Your contract expired and your book went out of print on 10/24/14."

Searching their bookstore by title turned up:

"No products for the search: [title]"

Which officially means:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LdJn0DeD-ec Crank it up! I've waited seven years to post this.

Love it!!! Congratulations! The taste of freedom is indeed sweet.
 

AnthonyJones

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It's been a while since I've posted in here. By that, I mean 4 years. I'm sure the answer is somewhere in here, but the thread is just a little bit long haha.

I know PA or whatever they called has been sued several times. Apparently they're not losing. Why? Where's the loophole because there has to be one.
 

ResearchGuy

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It's been a while since I've posted in here. By that, I mean 4 years. I'm sure the answer is somewhere in here, but the thread is just a little bit long haha.

I know PA or whatever they called has been sued several times. Apparently they're not losing. Why? Where's the loophole because there has to be one.

PA did lose a case several years ago. Details were secret.

The contract makes suits difficult or impossible, and arbitration is, essentially, futile.

--Ken
 

DreamWeaver

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Actually, PA lost a case pretty definitively at arbitration several years ago. The arbitrator wouldn't allow their attorney's delaying tactics or other crap. I believe PA took arbitration out of the contract after that. I don't remember the details other than that the book was a history having to do with WWII. The author basically blogged the whole arbitration process; then a short while after the decision all his posts disappeared.
 

Filigree

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Unless the case is as messy and public as, say, Ellora's Cave v. Dear Author, the details are likely to be kept secret as a condition of settlement. So you probably won't find much online about successful (or otherwise) suits against PA/AS or other predatory publishers.

What you can do is read between the lines and do some basic research in the local/state/provincial court system, tracking the names of publishers and their principals. It can be eye-opening.
 

Chris P

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Have you seen this? Looks like Karma has bitten at least on of the PublishAmerica crooks - Miranda Prather getting all the misery she deserves

I don't see how this has to do with Publish America/America Star Books. Respect your fellow writer, please (even if this letter is authentic, which I suspect it is not)
 

mandypandy

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Miranda Prather's blog

wow! who died and left you in charge around here Chris? Nothing to do with PublishAmerica? I thought it was a well known fact that Miranda Prather was on of the principals of PublishAmerica.

How was my post not "respecting" a writer? I didn't call into question her writing skills in any way and the blog itself, if you had taken a moment to actually look at the blog, is not a writing blog.

In the past, this site has posted all sorts of stuff about the principals of PublishAmerica far worse than anything I posted.

I think this site perhaps needs to take a look at its holier than though attitude.

Sincere and true (should I doubt you?)
Amber
 

Gillhoughly

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wow! who died and left you in charge around here Chris? Nothing to do with PublishAmerica? I thought it was a well known fact that Miranda Prather was on of the principals of PublishAmerica.

How was my post not "respecting" a writer? I didn't call into question her writing skills in any way and the blog itself, if you had taken a moment to actually look at the blog, is not a writing blog.

In the past, this site has posted all sorts of stuff about the principals of PublishAmerica far worse than anything I posted.

I think this site perhaps needs to take a look at its holier than though attitude.

Sincere and true (should I doubt you?)
Amber

Amber,

First, welcome to AW. :welcome:

Second, as you explore this site you'll find that it is not like any other message boards. Members are encouraged toward positive and professional behavior toward other members.

Many of us are long-time professionals in the publishing machine, volunteering our time and experience to help others. Any one of us could be your future editor, agent, or colleague at a conference, including Chris P.

The best guide to follow is if you wouldn't say it to their face, then avoid posting it in public.

Your post about Prather is under review and it will be the moderator's call on whether it should be put up again. Give it a little time.

In the meanwhile, please check out the many, many other forums here. AW is a gem of a resource for all writers. Give yourself a tour and have some fun!
 

AW Admin

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I think this site perhaps needs to take a look at its holier than though attitude.

Sincere and true (should I doubt you?)
Amber

You will respect other writers, and you will not rejoice at the misfortune of others.

If that's all you're here to do, you're not welcome.

And lest you have difficulties reading the screen, I am in charge; feel free to complain about me to the site owner MacAllister.
 

Jill Karg

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Amber,

First, welcome to AW. :welcome:

Second, as you explore this site you'll find that it is not like any other message boards. Members are encouraged toward positive and professional behavior toward other members.

Many of us are long-time professionals in the publishing machine, volunteering our time and experience to help others. Any one of us could be your future editor, agent, or colleague at a conference, including Chris P.

The best guide to follow is if you wouldn't say it to their face, then avoid posting it in public.

Your post about Prather is under review and it will be the moderator's call on whether it should be put up again. Give it a little time.

In the meanwhile, please check out the many, many other forums here. AW is a gem of a resource for all writers. Give yourself a tour and have some fun!


Without Chris, you and several others that post here, I would have been fustrated, spinning my wheels and screaming at everyone around me about how stupid I was and how it was all my fault. All of you have given me the courage to look at it a different way and to move past it. Without your encouragement over the years I would have never rewritten and finished the rewrite of my "captive" book and free the orginial from PA. You are all an inspiration and I will always be thankful for your friendship and beacon of hope during the huricane that was PA for me.
 

DreamWeaver

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In the past, this site has posted all sorts of stuff about the principals of PublishAmerica far worse than anything I posted.
That is true, but as you noted, it's in the past. Forums change and grow, just as people do. This is one area that has changed, and I would say for the better. I've had a few problems with RYFW (I've self-banned a couple of times for things I simply couldn't resist saying), but overall it's a great rule that keeps things on a much more civil footing.

Welcome to AW, by the way :welcome:.
 

Chris P

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Posting a link to a personal letter by someone in the publishing industry is not called for here, no matter who it is. It is in extremely poor taste, and does not speak to the professionalism of this board or the people who post here.

The letter you linked to in no way informs authors of the merits or hazards of publishing with this company. In my opinion, it is completely irrelevant to the publishing experience of PA/ASB authors and therefore has no place here.

That is why I reported it, and hope that the moderators decide to remove the link.
 

Dhewco

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Great, now I'm as curious as heck at what mandy posted. I didn't get to see it. I wish every reference post had been cleared up. I'm going to wonder for at least an hour or so. LOL, (actually, I only snorted out loud...but you might not have understood SOL in this context.) :)
 

Jill Karg

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Ok going to ask,Name at least one thing you are thankful for that PA/America Star can't remotely effect in your life of writing?

Mine being a former PA writer (not under their umbrella anymore) is the possibilities are endless for a new and exciting journey of publishing and writing my books.

Remember they only have control over one or two of your works, not your creativity or drive to accomplish your goals.
 

ShaunHorton

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Well, after my friend posted that he had an email that ASB had submitted his book to the agent for Ellen Degeneres's show and his wife started jumping up and down about how she was going to meet Ellen, I bluntly informed him that most people consider PA/ASB a scam at best. :p Needless to say his posts won't show up to me anymore. Ah well. Some people can't live with their heads above the sand.
 

Gillhoughly

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How much did they charge that poor writer to have his name and book title pasted on an email list with the names of other unfortunate writers that will go straight to the agent's spam folder?

The only writers who are on talk shows are the ones who sell LOTS of books, not pay to get on a list.

PA/ASB is an absolute guarantee of no sales except to the poor authors.

Can someone get a copy of the ASB begging letter and inform Degeneres's people that her name is being used to scam writers out of their cash?
 

ResearchGuy

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. . . The only writers who are on talk shows are the ones who sell LOTS of books, not pay to get on a list.
. . .
Not true at local level. For example, Kiyo Sato (see www.DandelionThroughTheCrack.com) was interviewed on Sacramento public radio when her book's sales were not over the hundreds. (It has had modest but steady sales, including in new editions from a much larger publisher.) I could rummage around and find other examples locally among authors I know, including one whose memoir I published, but since I don't watch local TV or listen to radio, I'd have to make some inquiries. That said, it was not through some email gimmick that Kiyo or the others got onto those shows. It was local connections.

--Ken
 
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